Weekly Mashup 113: Making Star Wars Tech Real

How Microsoft and Autodesk Are Making 'Star Wars' Technology a Mixed Reality
Fortune

"Microsoft and Autodesk hope to turn Star Wars holographic sci-fi technology into a mixed reality for businesses. The tech giants have partnered to experiment with new ways industrial designers, mechanical engineers, and others in product development fields can benefit from using Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality (AR) headset and Autodesk’s Fusion 360 cloud-based 3D CAD (computer-aided design) tool." Read More

Augmented Reality Company Magic Leap Raising $827 Million
TechCrunch

"According to a report by Forbes, the under-the-radar but much discussed startup is raising a $827 million C round of funding. Magic Leap’s product seems to be a cross between Microsoft HoloLens and the Oculus Rift. This brings Magic Leap’s funding to around $1.4 billion. Existing funding came from Google, Qualcomm Ventures, KKR, Vulcan Capital, KPCB, Andreessen Horowitz, Obvious Ventures and others." Read More

Instant Camera Case Prynt Prints Photos with Augmented Reality
SOURCE

"Prynt is a smartphone case with a built-in photo printer, spitting out mini snapshots you can hold in your hand, but that’s not all. As you and your friends pose for photos, the Prynt app records a six-second video linked to that photo and stores it in the cloud. Then when you point another smartphone at the printed photo, it scans the image like a QR code and plays back the video via augmented reality, making it look like the photo is coming alive on your screen." Read More

Microsoft Reveals Most Searched UK Industry Buzzwords of 2015
Brand Republic

"'Augmented Reality' was the most searched industry buzzword or phrase across the UK in 2015, says the head of sales for Bing Ads at Microsoft UK. 2015 saw the coming together of two worlds. Technology and advertising combined led to one word on marketers’ lips: data. More importantly, marketers in 2015 were faced with the challenge of reaching the consumer at the right time with the right content on the right device." Read More

New VC Firm May Be First to Focus Exclusively on VR and Augmented Reality
FastCompany

"What might be the first venture capital firm devoted entirely to VR and AR has launched. Today, San Francisco-based Presence Capital pulled back the wraps on the first $10 million early-stage VR and AR fund. It said its initial investments included video game maker Harmonix—of Rock Band fame—as well as cinematic VR content maker Baobab and Waygo, which developed technology to automatically translate Asian languages to English, and more." Read More