Apple has acquired all rights to its hit show "Severance" from Fifth Season for just under $70 million, and will produce future seasons in-house, according to TechCrunch. The deal mirrors a similar arrangement Apple made with AMC Studios for the sci-fi show "Silo." In other tech news, AI inference startup Modal Labs is reportedly in talks to raise a new round at a $2.5 billion valuation, and YouTube is finally launching a dedicated app for the Apple Vision Pro.
The acquisition of "Severance" will see Apple's in-house studio taking over production of the show's future seasons, while Fifth Season will remain as an executive producer, TechCrunch reported. The production costs for "Severance" had reportedly exceeded Fifth Season's financial capacity, leading the studio to seek advances from Apple and consider relocating production from New York to Canada for tax benefits, according to Deadline. "Severance" will now join other popular Apple series such as "Your Friends and Neighbors" and "Stick" as a marquee title.
In other developments, AI inference infrastructure startup Modal Labs is in discussions with venture capitalists for a new funding round that would value the company at approximately $2.5 billion, TechCrunch reported. This valuation would more than double the company's previous valuation of $1.1 billion, announced less than five months ago during an $87 million Series B round. General Catalyst is reportedly in talks to lead the round, according to sources. Modal Labs' annualized revenue run rate (ARR) is approximately $50 million, sources said. However, Modal Labs co-founder and CEO Erik Bernhardsson denied that his company was actively fundraising, characterizing his recent interactions with VCs as general conversations, according to TechCrunch.
Additionally, YouTube is launching an official visionOS app for the Apple Vision Pro on Thursday, The Verge reported. Users will be able to watch all video formats available on YouTube, including standard videos, Shorts, 3D, 360, and VR180 videos, according to Apple spokesperson Corey Nord. The Vision Pro launched more than two years ago, but has not had a dedicated YouTube app until now.
In other tech news, xAI, Elon Musk's AI lab, published a 45-minute all-hands meeting video on X, revealing details about its product roadmap and its ties to the X platform, according to TechCrunch. The video also revealed that the company had layoffs resulting from a changing organizational structure.
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