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Happy Thursday, FutureParty People. We’re trying something new today. If you’ve noticed, we’ve updated our design and formatting. Let us know if you love it, and let us know if you hate it, too. We’re just trying some things out. : )

Hopefully, it lands better than this grim, AI-designed Wonka pop-up attraction that left kids crying and was compared to a meth lab.

Oh, and we dropped a new episode of our podcast, Future Forecast. Lay back, press play, and give your brain a workout.

In other news… home equity is a massive untapped market for investors, and companies are approaching the VR mobile experience very differently.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

YT: I Saw The TV Glow X: Crow G: Richard Lewis R: Rebecca Ferguson TT: “Ready or Not” S: “Never gone”

Disney’s India unit is merging with Reliance Industries, the country’s largest conglomerate, to create a new powerhouse venture valued at $8.5 billion.
Read More → nyt

Netflix has tapped Rideback CEO and former Warner Bros. exec Dan Lin as its new film head, who will be in charge of making fewer films than his predecessor, Scott Stuber. Read More → thr

Apple’s cancellation of its decades-long car moonshot, Project Titan, means that the tech giant now has the resources and focus to become a major AI player. Read More → theverge

Tumblr and WordPress are the latest blog-based platforms to license their users’ content to AI companies OpenAI and Midjourney to help train their systems. Read More → engadget

Bitcoin is trading at $60,000 for the first time in two years, highlighting the bullishness that investors feel about the newly launched, US exchange-traded funds. Read More → bloomberg

87.3% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Do you own any NFTs?

“NFT storage farms take a huge amount of energy. While my carbon footprint is hardly petite, I don’t want to add to it by purchasing a bunch of zeros and ones. When I do purchase zeros and ones, it’s for a book.”

“A few of musicians’ for sentimental value. If they go platinum, all the better.”

“I’m struggling enough to remember what the initials even mean.”

“NFTs are Beanie Babies for edgelords.”

“I got one as a gift, and I don’t know what to do with it.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT TIEGE HANLEY.

Extremely simple skincare

The world is complicated these days. And the last thing we need is to make our skincare routine way too complex on top of it.

Tiege Hanley is an easy-to-use skincare system created with men (and those who identify as men) in mind.

Tiege Hanley’s skincare system comes with all the basics: 

• A daily face wash

• An exfoliating scrub

• AM/PM moisturizers with SPF 20

What more does your skin need? 30%! You’ll get that, too (on your first box) — plus a FREE gift.

Give your skin some simple care.

.HOUSING.

Wall Street wants a piece of your home

The Future. As home valuations soar, Wall Street wants to take a piece of the future upside in exchange for giving owners cash today. It’s a bet that homeownership will only get more expensive, making home equity one of the biggest untapped markets for investors… and a sign that first-time buyers may need to search for alternative paths to affording the American dream.

Roomy investment
Wall Street is trying to take “home-equity-sharing agreements” mainstream on Main Street.

• Companies like Point, Hometap, Unlock, and Splitero are offering zero-interest lump sum payments to homeowners in exchange for the future value of their houses — so, the more a house appreciates, the more the investment firm will make.

• Rather than make monthly payments on the loan, homeowners pay a lump sum at the end of the contract’s term — anywhere from 10 to 30 years.

• While these deals have been around for decades, investors believe that an era of high-interest rates will make them more attractive than a typical loan.

Considering the explosive growth of home valuations over the past few years, these deals could provide owners with serious cash and Wall Street with serious upside. According to Insider, “between the beginning of 2020 and the third quarter of 2023, US households gained a staggering $12.6 trillion of equity in their homes.”

With a lack of available new homes plaguing America, that equity will likely only increase.

• Listen: B2B Growth shares how to inspire your boss to finally become a LinkedInfluencer.

• Read: Forbes profiled Yo Gotti to dig into how he produced a $100 million music empire from his home in Memphis, TN.

• Watch: Mark Cuban dropped a MasterClass on how he strategizes his businesses… and yes, there’s a Shark Tank-like pitch opportunity for users who sign up.

.AR/VR.

VR goes mobile

The Future. Honda and Disney are working on very different approaches to the VR mobile experience… literally. Whichever one takes off, its adoption could solve the reason why VR hasn’t taken off yet.

Rollin’ reality
If you thought the VR capabilities of the Apple Vision Pro were cool now, wait until you’re on the move.

• Honda announced an extended reality system that combines a VR headset with its Uni-One mobility device (it’s like a hi-tech wheelchair) that allows people to control their experiences using their bodies as a joystick.

• Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot invented an “omnidirectional HoloTile Floor” that moves as the user moves, creating the illusion that they’re walking. He’s pushing Disney to license the technology to other companies.

Both inventions are being touted as revolutionary technologies for theme park attractions, walk-through activations, and your classic strip-mall VR arcade.

And, hey, these will be much safer than trying to use your headset while driving.

.WORK.

JOBS OF THE WEEK

Explore a weekly curated list of the latest and greatest opportunities in business, tech, and entertainment. For more listings, check out the complete job board.

Senior Environment Artist
Netflix
Los Angeles, CA

Strategic Account Executive
Plaid
London, UK

Chief Engineer, In-Space Propulsion
Blue Origin
Seattle, WA

Project Manager
Oracle
Miami, FL