254. Forecastr's $4.5M Raise, Worldcoin's Real Human Verification, and Meta's AI Persona Advancements

This week, Logan and Evan start off by discussing Forecastr, a promising business-to-business, software-as-a-service company that recently raised an impressive $4.5 million in funding. With plans to allocate the capital to product development, sales, and finance, Forecastr aims to further expand its presence in the market. Join us as we explore Forecastr's impressive growth trajectory and the impact it could have on the tech startup landscape. Next up, we dive into the world of cryptocurrencies with the intriguing launch of Worldcoin's crypto project. At the heart of this project lies the World ID, a "digital passport" designed to verify real humans and differentiate them from AI bots. We'll discuss the project's vision for combating income inequality through concepts like universal basic income (UBI) and the potential role of World IDs in this endeavor. Tune in to learn more about Worldcoin's ambitious mission and its potential implications for the future. Lastly, we'll uncover the latest AI updates from tech giant Meta. With AI-powered personas becoming a focal point of their services, Meta aims to revolutionize experiences in platforms like Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. We'll delve into the possibilities these AI personas offer, from enhanced recommendations to immersive multi-modal experiences. Additionally, we explore Meta's recent open-sourcing of AudioCraft, a suite of generative AI tools for creating music and audio from simple text prompts. Join us as we analyze the potential impact of Meta's AI advancements on the tech industry and beyond. Reference Articles EXCLUSIVE: How Forecastr got to $1M in annual recurring revenue: https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/inno/stories/inno-insights/2022/09/07/forecastr-1m-arr.html OpenAI's Sam Altman launches Worldcoin crypto project: https://www.reuters.com/technology/openais-sam-altman-launches-worldcoin-crypto-project-2023-07-24/ Meta’s AI ‘personas’ might launch next month: https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/1/23815287/meta-ai-persona-generative-llama-instagram-facebook Meta releases open source AI audio tools, AudioCraft https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/08/open-source-audiocraft-can-make-dogs-bark-and-symphonies-soar-from-text-using-ai/?utm_source=tldrnewsletter Visit us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MiddleTech.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Follow Us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Logan's Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Evan's Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Middle Tech is proud to be supported by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KY Innovation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bolt Marketing⁠⁠