Beyond Tech

WHAT’S INSIDE:

👇️ Todays’ Feature: The Loyalty Platform That Frees You From the Chain

• Ford EVs, Apple AI, Vine, Roku Howdy, Genie 3, ElevenLabs, NotebookLM

• Latest food and dining and food technology news

• Arts and culture news, intersection of tech and entertainment

• The latest sports news and sports tech

• Futurism, the latest in future concepts and cutting edge deep tech

• Latest news in wellness and wellbeing tech, biotech, medtech and more

TOP CONSUMER TECH NEWS

Ford's EV Future — Despite a $36M net loss and a $2.5B tariff impact, Ford plans "breakthrough" EVs in the US. A mid-size electric pickup is expected by 2027, focusing on LFP batteries for cost efficiency.

Apple AI — Apple is forming a team to create an AI "answer engine" akin to ChatGPT. This could improve Siri and other products' search functions, potentially affecting Apple's Google search deal amid antitrust concerns.

Vine Archives Return — Elon Musk announced the return of the Vine archives, allowing X users to access and post old Vines. Meanwhile, xAI launched Grok Imagine, an AI tool generating short videos from text prompts.

Roku's Howdy Debut — Roku introduces Howdy, a $2.99/month ad-free streaming service boasting nearly 10,000 hours of content from Lionsgate and Warner Bros. Discovery following its Frndly TV acquisition.

DeepMind's Genie 3 — DeepMind introduces Genie 3, an innovative world model advancing towards AGI. Capable of generating interactive 3D environments and maintaining physical consistency.

ElevenLabs Tunes In — A new AI music generator approved for commercial use. Collaborations with Merlin Network and Kobalt Music Group provide training materials, with artist opt-in ensuring copyright compliance.

NotebookLM for Teens — Google expands its AI note-taking app to users aged 13 and up, featuring Audio Overviews and Mind Maps and enhanced content policies ensure data privacy.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PACASO

Big investors are buying this “unlisted” stock

When the founder who sold his last company to Zillow for $120M starts a new venture, people notice. That’s why the same VCs who backed Uber, Venmo, and eBay also invested in Pacaso.

Disrupting the real estate industry once again, Pacaso’s streamlined platform offers co-ownership of premier properties, revamping the $1.3T vacation home market.

And it works. By handing keys to 2,000+ happy homeowners, Pacaso has already made $110M+ in gross profits in their operating history.

Now, after 41% YoY gross profit growth last year alone, they recently reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Invest for $2.90/Share

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

FEATURE ARTICLE 

The Loyalty Platform That Frees You From the Chain

Hospitality’s most powerful brand might not be a name at all – it might be the freedom to choose.

By Sam Elyaszadeh for The Tech Buzz

What if loyalty didn’t look like a chain?

For decades, hotel loyalty was synonymous with sameness — accumulate points, chase elite tiers, and settle into familiar stays across indistinguishable properties. But a new hospitality startup wants to rewrite the rules. Journey, fresh off a $7.7M seed round led by Lerer Hippeau and Slow Ventures, is launching a loyalty platform that treats individuality as an asset.

This isn’t a sleepy tech plug-in or a bolt-on booking widget. Journey calls itself an HXP (Hospitality Experience Platform) built to give independent hotels and rentals the tech muscle to rival the Marriotts and Hiltons of the world. On the guest side, it rewires loyalty to reward exploration over repetition.

A Map of Properties Without the Chain

At launch, Journey Alliance spans over 1,400 properties across the globe:

• Nihi Sumba in Indonesia, once voted the #1 hotel in the world, offers barefoot luxury on remote surf beaches.

• Castle Hill Inn in Rhode Island channels Gilded Age grandeur with 19th-century bones and Newport views.

• Onera in Texas is a treehouse retreat fit for stargazers and solitude seekers.

The throughline? No two stays are the same, yet each one sits under a single loyalty umbrella. Guests earn 5x points per dollar when booking direct, with rewards they can spend mid-stay for real-time perks. No waiting. No blackout dates. No plastic status card required.

Loyalty, Reinvented by AI

Under the hood, Journey’s platform uses AI to optimize offers, surface direct booking incentives, and personalize guest experiences across its decentralized network. Each property gets access to the tools that typically sit behind massive corporate paywalls: automated CRM, targeted marketing, upsell modules.

But Journey isn’t just building software. It’s building behavior. One that teaches travelers and operators to opt out of uniformity without sacrificing benefits.

The Bigger Unlock

Loyalty, historically, has been a velvet cage. Once you’re in, you stay in because switching costs are high, and the perks only pay off after repetition. Journey flips that logic. Here, loyalty follows the guest, not the brand. It’s portable, flexible, and permissionless.

There’s an economic edge, too. By reducing reliance on online travel agencies, Journey helps independents own their guests and reclaim margins lost to distribution fees. As travel demand returns, this margin control could be the difference between surviving and scaling.

What Comes Next

With capital from Brian Kelly (The Points Guy), Chris Burch, and Kim Perell, Journey is backed by investors who understand hospitality, travel behavior, and digital scale. But its true test will come not from scale but from coherence. Can it knit a constellation of independent experiences into a seamless journey?

If it can, it won’t just reshape loyalty. It’ll reset what travelers expect from their next stay—not another predictable night, but something entirely their own.

FOOD + DRINK

Processed Foods — A study shows ultra-processed foods (UPFs) hinder weight loss despite healthy eating habits, highlighting socio-economic impacts and the need for updated dietary guidelines.

Nighttime Coffee Effects — University of Texas research reveals nighttime coffee increases impulsivity in female fruit flies, suggesting potential impacts on shift workers and military personnel with gender-specific caffeine sensitivity.

Tesla Diner Struggles — The Tesla Diner, opened July 21, faces service issues, robot malfunctions, and protests, despite its innovative Supercharger concept.

Prelude's Food Investment — Prelude Growth Partners closed a $600M fund in under three months, targeting $15-75M investments in high-growth consumer brands in food and hospitality with total assets now at $1.3 billion.

Believer Meats Facility — Believer Meats unveils 200,000-square-foot cultivated meat plant in North Carolina capable of producing 10,000 tonnes annually, awaiting final USDA approval amid legislative challenges.

Protein Trend Continues — Protein remains Americans' most sought-after nutrient with one-third increasing consumption last year, though 80% remain uncertain about their daily requirements.

ARTS + CULTURE

Diddy Denied Bail — Judge Arun Subramanian denied Sean "Diddy" Combs bail ahead of sentencing, citing evidence of violence and coercion in prostitution-related charges.

Vogue's AI Controversy — Vogue sparked industry backlash by featuring an AI model in a Guess ad, raising serious concerns about job security, diversity representation, and authenticity in fashion.

California Post Launch — The New York Post Media Group will establish The California Post in 2026, focusing on issue-based journalism to highlight underreported California stories.

Crypto Kidnapping Case — William Duplessie and John Woeltz face charges for an alleged kidnapping scheme following a lavish Kentucky party, highlighting their extravagant lifestyle.

Colbert's New Role — Stephen Colbert will guest star on CBS's "Elsbeth" following the controversial cancellation of "The Late Show," amid political motivation speculation.

SPORTS DESK

Trump Leads LA28 Task Force — Donald Trump will head a 2028 LA Olympics task force involving key government departments; despite local tensions, emphasizes commitment to transgender athlete ban in women's sports.

Son's Historic MLS Move — Son Heung-Min will join LAFC in a record $26M MLS deal, surpassing the previous $22M high; after a decade at Tottenham, Son aims to boost sixth-place LAFC.

MLS-Amazon Alliance — Major League Soccer partners with Amazon to stream free highlights via Fire TV Channels, complementing their Apple TV deal for global expansion.

NFL-ESPN Alliance — NFL and ESPN finalizing deal to transfer NFL Network and RedZone control to ESPN for a 10% equity stake, boosting ESPN's direct-to-consumer and sports betting services.

Liverpool's Revenue Leap — Liverpool FC's commercial revenue hits £308 million, overtaking Manchester United; a new Adidas deal boosts profits while the club expands in the U.S. and Asia with 250 million fans.

Revolut-Audi F1 Partnership — Revolut becomes title partner of future Audi F1 Team for 2026 season; both brands aim to innovate fan engagement and integrate financial operations while challenging conventions.

NBA's European Expansion — The NBA will play regular season games in Berlin and London in January 2026, with future matches in Manchester and Paris; Maverick Carter exploring a global league with European venues.

FUTURISM

Entangled Quantum Leap — Researchers discover method for entangled quantum pairs to share states indefinitely despite diminishing returns, potentially revolutionizing quantum computing capabilities.

AI Boosts Fusion Research — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory creates MADA, an AI system that enhances inertial confinement fusion target design using large language models, accelerating fusion research progress.

Muscle-Inspired Robotics — South Korean researchers develop paper-thin robotic actuator mimicking human muscle proteins with bending and crawling capabilities, promising applications in surgical and industrial robots.

Electric Fields Clean Glass — Chinese scientists developed self-cleaning glass using electric fields that removes 98% of dust particles in seconds, enabling maintenance-free clean surfaces.

Microbial Life from Earthquakes — Fractured rocks from earthquakes create energy sources for deep-living microbes through water-rock reactions, potentially supporting life in extreme environments including other planets.

WELLBEING TECH

Pharma Tariffs — President Trump threatens 250% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, representing the largest proposed levies against the industry, with implementation beginning at lower rates.

Healthcare's Cyber Crisis — Over 75% of healthcare organizations were targeted by ransomware in past year with 53% of attacks succeeding. Ransom payments rarely secure data recovery.

Meta's Privacy Misstep — California jury rules Meta violated privacy laws by collecting menstrual health data from Flo app without consent, highlighting the importance of protecting digital health data and user privacy.

Optical Brain Imaging Breakthrough — New technique combines EEG affordability with fMRI depth for brain imaging, potentially revolutionizing diagnosis of cognitive decline and strokes despite anatomical variation challenges.

Pill Tech Revolution — New pill technology enables therapeutic proteins to cross the gut wall with 5-10% delivery efficiency using non-toxic carriers; human trials expected in two years.

Virtual Connections for Dementia — Virtual socialization significantly reduces isolation in dementia patients through humor, singing, and games; facilitators play key role in improving cognitive health and reducing loneliness.