Sky-based entertainment powered by drones is a nascent entertainment medium that just got a boost from Jeffrey Katzenberg. WndrCo, the investment firm led by Katzenberg and partner Sujay Jaswa, has joined a $50 million funding round for Nova Sky Stories, the drone light show company co-founded by Kimbal Musk. The younger brother of billionaire Elon Musk acquired the technology from Intel in 2022 and says it’s in the early stages of what’s possible. Katzenberg has joined Nova’s board of directors and will serve as a strategic advisor, helping to grow the company’s studio of animators and storytellers. Read more

Insta360 has a new compact action camera, the GO Ultra, which shoots 4K at 60fps with an improved sensor for low light. The tiny hands-free unit weighs in at just 1.87 ounces — 3.8 ounces with the screen-equipped Action Pod. While that’s slightly heavier than the Insta360 GO 3S, it has a 1/1.28-inch image sensor — more than 2x larger than that of its predecessor — and is powered by a 5nm AI chip that “delivers imaging previously impossible in the GO series,” according to Insta360. The f/2.85 aperture has a 14.27mm focal length and captures photos at up to 50MP. Read more

Meta Platforms has restructured its artificial intelligence group for a third time in as many months. Meta Superintelligence Labs is now organized into four groups: general research, superintelligence, AI products, and infrastructure (data centers and hardware). The move comes after newly hired Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang has had a chance to settle in. The aim is to better leverage the billions of dollars spent recruiting talent and more quickly get AI products to market as well as achieving the company’s longer-term goal of developing artificial general intelligence. Read more

Hisense’s new top-of-the-line TVs, which use the China-based company’s latest RGB-MiniLED technology, hit the market last week at “select retailers.” The 116-inch Hisense 116UX lists for $30,000 and the 100-inch Hisense 100UX is priced at $20,000 (though as of this writing Best Buy offers them for $25,000 and $15,000, respectively). The company also announced its new 4K UHD ultra short throw projector, the TriChroma Laser TV L9Q — which supports a picture of 80 to 200 inches — will ship in North America and Europe beginning in Q3. Read more

The new Pixel 10 series of smartphones were formally debuted this week at the Made by Google event. The four new models — the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 XL and Pixel 10 Pro Fold — all run on the new Tensor G5 chipset, which is 34 percent faster than the G4 used with the Pixel 9s and integrates the first image processor designed by Google. Gemini Nano powers on-device AI features including Magic Cue, a contextual suggestion system underpinning native apps. The Pixel 10s are the first to have magnetic Qi2 fast wireless charging. Sales begin August 28. The company also unveiled the Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Buds 2a, both shipping October 9. Read more