Posted by Alumni from TechCrunch
June 23, 2025
Smart specs: Meta and Oakley have teamed up on a new pair of smart glasses that can record 3K video, play music, handle calls, and respond to Meta AI prompts. They start at $399 and have double the battery life of Meta's Ray-Bans. A $499 limited-edition Oakley Meta HSTN model will be available starting July 11. Unicorn watch: Wix bought 6-month-old solo startup Base44 for $80 million in cash after it quickly gained traction as a no-code AI tool for building web apps. Created by a single founder and already profitable, Base44's rapid rise made scooping it up irresistible. Sand to the rescue: Finland just turned on the world's largest sand battery ' yes, actual sand ' which stores heat to help power the small town of Pornainen's heating system and cut its carbon emissions. The low-tech, low-cost system is built from discarded fireplace soapstone, is housed in a giant silo, and can store heat for weeks, proving you don't need fancy lithium to fight climate change. You just need a pile... learn more