Hello and welcome to the Week in Tech, your weekly roundup of the top technology news from across the globe.
In this week’s roundup, we bring you the latest on Magic Leap’s AR glasses, Tesla’s potential buyout and Airbnb’s failed competition.
Investments
First up, though, here’s a quick overview of the most recent funding rounds closed by UK tech companies.
- Deepbridge Capital invests in online therapy platform Mynurva
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Female member’s club AllBright raises £9m to expand globally
Magic Leap’s hotly anticipated product launch
Magic Leap’s hotly anticipated AR glasses have finally gone on sale more than three years after the firm, based in Florida, published its first ever teaser video.
Backed by huge players in the tech space, including Alibab, AT&T and Google, to the tune of $2.3bn (£1.8bn), Magic Leap’s headwear combines graphics and real-world views. It requires a wired connection to a small computer, which is then clipped on to a pocket. The headset, which retails at £1,780, is controlled by a handheld device.
Although the company has managed to raise a staggering amount of funding, many tech pundits have shed doubt over whether it would manage to successfully launch a product that lived up to hype and expectations.
Despite launching the product in-market, some early reviews suggest improvements are necessary.
Twitter and InfoWars
Twitter’s CEO has said it will not ban InfoWars or its founder Alex Jones from its platform.
According to the entrepreneur, neither accounts violate Twitter’s terms and conditions.
The news comes after tech giants – including Facebook and YouTube – removed the right-wing conspiracy theorist’s content earlier this week. Both companies said they did so on the grounds of hate speech.
Teslas’s potential buyout
Tesla’s board has said it will consider chief exec Elon Musk’s proposal to delist the company to take it private.
Six board members released a statement after Musk took to Twitter to say he had amassed the funding to delist-the business.
According to the statement, the board “met several times over the past week,” to discuss the possibility of going private.
The statement also said this “included discussion as to how being private could better serve Tesla’s long-term interests”.
On Twitter, Musk said shareholders would be offered offered $420 (£326) per share, valuing his business at over $70bn.
If this were to happen, it would be the biggest deal of its kind.
Airbnb cancels Great Wall of China sleepover
In other news, sharing economy giant Airbnb has cancelled a competition offering the opportunity to spend a night on the Great Wall of China.
As part of the competition, Airbnb had asked users to compose a 500-words essay on overcoming cultural boundaries.
The giant’s plans, however, resulted in mixed feedback as well as concerns that hosting such an event at the historical landmark could result in potential damage to its structure.
Additionally, Chinese media reported that Airbnb had never been given the green light from local authorities to host the sleepover in the first place.
Airbnb said it “deeply respected the feedback” and confirmed its decision to cancel the event.
That’s all for today. See you next Friday!