Zuck's secret $270M Hawaiian tech bunker

Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

A new investigation just unearthed Mark Zuckerberg’s secret apocalypse-ready Hawaiian compound.

Featuring built-in bunkers, helipads, and blast-resistant doors — the $270M compound sounds like something straight out of a movie! Let’s investigate…

In today’s tech rundown:

• Zuckerberg building $270M secret Hawaiian compound

  Boston Dynamics teams with 'Avatar' animatronics firm

• 9 new products

• Robo-taxi firm Cruise suffers massive layoffs

• Elon Musk is establishing schools

• Netflix ramps up its gaming sector

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

META

🏝 Zuckerberg building $270M secret Hawaiian compound

The Rundown: A WIRED investigation just revealed Mark Zuckerberg's years-long construction of a lavish, bunker-equipped sprawling compound in Hawaii — which has bred island controversy over the tech giant’s secrecy, legal tactics and community engagement.

The details:

• The nearly completed Koolau Ranch spans 1,400 acres with over a dozen buildings, 30 bedrooms, off-grid power and food, helipads and underground bunkers with blast-resistant doors.

• Costs eclipse $270 million — with reports of extreme NDAs muzzling hundreds of workers, lawsuits targeting landholders, and Zuckerberg reps allegedly clashing with press.

• Political ties abound as the Chan/Zuckerberg donations flow, including hiring a former council chair and funding a former vice chair's nonprofit.

Our thoughts: While tech entrepreneurs have a history of doomsday prepping, Zuck sounds like he’s taking this Hawaiian hideaway to the next level. With blast-resistant doors and bunkers, the question is – are these measures just extra caution, or does he know something we don’t…?

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ROBOTICS

🤝 Boston Dynamics teams with 'Avatar' animatronics firm

The Rundown: Boston Dynamics is making moves into the entertainment realm – announcing a new partnership with Neon (the parent company of famed animatronics studio Animax) to design engaging consumer robots.

The details:

• While light on specifics, the duo plans a reveal by the end of 2024, aimed at ‘inspiring and dazzling audiences.’

• Animax has crafted life-like robotic creatures for several massive Hollywood IPs turned theme park attractions, including Avatar, Jurassic Park, Marvel, and Harry Potter.

• The move represents an increased focus on commercialization for the robot maker — and builds on Boston Dynamics' own long history of viral performances with its creations.

Why it matters: The combo of Boston Dynamics’ mind-blowing robots and a world-class animatronics studio could make for some serious fun. And if the company’s viral videos are any indication, theme parks might be in for an unforgettable overhaul very soon.

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SNIPPETS

Cruise cuts 900 jobs following a pause in driverless operations due to a severe incident and a reduction in spending by GM.

Intel introduces Core Ultra notebook chips with integrated neural processing units for enhanced AI capabilities.

Elon Musk is set to establish a university and K-12 school focused on STEM education in Austin, Texas, as reflected in recent tax filings.

Apple rolled out the first public beta of macOS Sonoma 14.3 with new features like collaborative playlists in Apple Music.

Netflix is expanding its gaming division with nearly 90 new titles under development, including four games slated for release in 2024.

The FCC has voted to advance a proposal that aims to eliminate early termination fees charged by cable and satellite providers.

JPMorgan analysts anticipate that Ethereum will outperform Bitcoin in the next year due to a network upgrade that is expected to reduce transaction costs and increase throughput.

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