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☆ I flew a Boeing 737 Max simulator and it gave me a new respect for just how hard being a pilot really is
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I tried out two flight simulators, including one for a Boeing 737 Max. AdvertisementI write about planes nearly every day at Business Insider, but trying out a Boeing 737 Max flight simulator gave me new insights into just how much skill and dedication is required to be a pilot. I was helped along the way by Matthew Yemm, a Skyborne flight instructor who spent a decade in the Royal Navy. Flying the 737 MaxThe more imposing simulator was that of a Boeing 737 Max. The entrance to the Boeing 737 Max simulator.

Persons: —, Matthew Yemm, Pete Syme, Max, Nick Heard, Skyborne, it's enthralling, Heard, wasn't, I'd Organizations: Boeing, Service, Business, Max, Gloucestershire Airport, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Cathay Pacific, MCC Locations: England, Gloucestershire

☆ Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft, and Paramount execs discuss the use of AI in Hollywood. Here are 9 startups they're watching.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewStartups are rushing to create the best artificial intelligence video generation tools and convince Hollywood that AI won't decimate the creative industries. But, the most common early use of AI in entertainment is often more mundane than reverse-aging Harrison Ford to simulate a younger Indiana Jones. When top executives at the intersection of AI and entertainment met at the virtual Digital Hollywood summit on Monday, the use cases for AI in Hollywood were decidedly deeper in the details. These are some of the startups AI and entertainment leaders have their eyes on. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesLuma AI, another image generation AI startup Bakhtar named, has raised more than $68 million according to Bain, with recent backing from Andreessen Horowitz.

Persons: —, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, They're, Panah Bakhtiar, we're, Phil, Alejandro Matamala, Ortiz, Anastasis Germanidis, Cristóbal Valenzuela, Krikey, Bakhtar, Marc Andreessen, Justin Sullivan, Bain, Andreessen Horowitz, Amit Jain, xMentium, Eliot Sakhartov, Speechmatics Michael Kaplan, Oleg Elkov, Nvidia's Kaplan, Sakhartov, Jensen Huang, Reid Hoffman, Huang, Kaplan Organizations: Service, Hollywood, Business, Paramount, Companies, Microsoft, AWS, Nvidia, Runway, Google, Apple Vision Pro Locations: London, New York, Taiwan

☆ John Leguizamo reveals he turned down Stanley Tucci's iconic part in 'The Devil Wears Prada'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

John Leguizamo revealed that he turned down Stanley Tucci's part in "The Devil Wears Prada." AdvertisementJohn Leguizamo said that he declined what turned out to be an iconic role for Stanley Tucci — lovable art director Nigel Kipling in "The Devil Wears Prada." 'The Devil Wears Prada,' the Stanley Tucci part," Leguizamo responded. 20th Century Studios"The Devil Wears Prada" wasn't the only role that Leguizamo said he regretted turning down. "I felt dissed, and they probably weren't dissing me, but I felt dissed," Leguizamo said.

Persons: John Leguizamo, Stanley, Wears, Leguizamo, Smith, —, Stanley Tucci, Nigel Kipling, Tucci, Anne Hathaway's, Andy, Miranda Priestly, Meryl Streep, Anna Wintour, Vince Vaughn's, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Robin Williams, Williams, Sid Organizations: Service, Studios

PARIS (AP) — An air of surrealism enveloped Chanel’s Spring Couture show Tuesday as celebrity guests including Naomi Campbell and Kendrick Lamar faced a navigational challenge: walking past a towering pair of open metal scissors. Here are some highlights of Tuesday’s spring couture shows:BUTTONS AND BALLETThe button is a humble icon, but it was not always so. Viard used the button-jewels as a spice for the drama of the ballet stage, scattering them across contrasting and often segmented silhouettes. The house was keenly aware of its history: 2024 marks a century since Coco Chanel first ventured into ballet design. In a world that often seeks the innovative, Mabille reminds us of the enduring allure of classic couture.

Persons: Naomi Campbell, Kendrick Lamar, Baz Luhrmann, Gabrielle “ Coco ” Chanel, “, Virginie Viard, Viard, Coco Chanel, Léon Bakst, Sergei Diaghilev, Chanel, ” Viard, Karl Lagerfeld, didn’t, Margaret Qualley, Andie MacDowell, Dave Free, Barbra Streisand’s, ”, Rue, Anna Mouglalis, Alexis Mabille Organizations: PARIS, Palais, Russes, Rue Cambon Locations: Paris

☆ I grew up in the West Bank under military occupation. Now I pay homage to my homeland through my fashion designs.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Yoonji Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThis is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Rami Kashou, a Palestinian American fashion designer. I grew up during the second intifada under the Israeli military occupation. Courtesy of Rami KashouMaking clothes as a kid living in the West BankEven when I was younger, I was fascinated with fashion. AdvertisementIn the West Bank, making your own clothes was a way to be fashionable because we don't have much access to the rest of the world. Draping comes from a culture where women drape themselves in fabric, whether it's a shawl, a veil, or a long dress.

Persons: —, Rami Kashou, I'd, Elsa Klensch, sister's Barbies, Paris Hilton, Penelope Cruz, Kim Kardashian, I've Organizations: Service, Business, West Bank, US Locations: Palestinian American, Jerusalem, Ramallah, America, —, Hollywood, Palestine

☆ Clothing rental service Nuuly reaches profitability, beating rival Rent the Runway to the benchmark
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The milestone marks the first time Nuuly has earned money since its launch in 2019, a goal for the company from the beginning as it looked to prove it could run a clothing rental business profitably. While there is wide demand for clothing rental services, particularly among younger consumers, the logistics of rental have made it difficult to make money, threatening the platforms' viability. watch nowNuuly and Rent's services are similar in that they both offer clothing for rent on a monthly basis for all sorts of occasions. The clothing rental market is still a budding industry. As brands look to convince consumers to rent instead of buy, offering a wide-ranging assortment has proven critical.

Persons: Natalie Rice, Nuuly, David Hayne, we've, Gen Z, Jenn Hyman, Rent, Hayne, Urban's, Richard Hayne Organizations: Natalie Rice Urban Outfitters, CNBC

☆ How Urban Outfitters’ Nuuly is outsmarting Rent the Runway
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Natalie Rice | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Urban Outfitters Inc., or URBN, has been quietly building a new segment near its headquarters in Philadelphia. Launched in 2019, Nuuly is a clothing rental subscription service that features the company's brands Urban Outfitters, Free People and Anthropologie, as well as more than 400 other brands and designers. Nuuly is set to reach profitability in its third or fourth fiscal quarter of 2023. "Most of the timeframes that we've set up until now, we've been running ahead of," Hayne said. Though Nuuly isn't the first rental service on the market, analysts said there's a lot of opportunity in the nascent space.

Persons: Dave Hayne, Nuuly, Adrienne Yih, we've, " Hayne, Hayne, Yih, Vince Camuto Organizations: Urban Outfitters Inc, Urban Outfitters, Free, Barclays, McKinsey & Company, Analysts, Banana Locations: Philadelphia, URBN's, Kansas City , Missouri, Kansas, Banana Republic

☆ CEO built her $96 million company with a simple 2-word lesson: It's 'the most powerful thing you can do'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Having a good idea wasn't enough to win those colleagues over, she said — she needed to be likable. The lesson proved valuable when Hyman came up with the idea for Rent the Runway six years later in 2008, she said. The pair cold-emailed Diane von Furstenberg, and by luck, landed a meeting. As Hyman recounted, von Furstenberg worried that allowing her clothes to be rented for cheap would "cannibalize" her consumer base. In other words, they could help von Furstenberg grow her consumer base.

Persons: Jennifer Hyman, —, Hyman, wasn't, didn't, Jennifer Fleiss, Diane von Furstenberg, Von Furstenberg, Hyman wasn't fazed, von Furstenberg, Warren Buffett Organizations: Stanford Graduate School of, Starwood Hotels, Resorts, Harvard University, Social Psychology

☆ Rent the Runway CEO started her company as a Harvard graduate student—now it's worth $120 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Rent the Runway co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman came up with the idea for her clothing rental company, fittingly, in a closet. Hyman recounted a story from Rent the Runway's early days, when she and Fleiss cold-called designer Diane von Furstenberg. They landed a meeting, but von Furstenberg scoffed at their idea, Hyman said. It was an effective argument, and von Furstenberg was struck by the co-founders' openness and ability to engage in dialogue, said Hyman. Von Furstenberg eventually partnered with the brand and introduced the co-founders to other fashion labels and publicists, Hyman added.

Persons: Jennifer Hyman, Hyman —, —, Bergdorf Goodman, Hyman, She'd, Jennifer Fleiss, It's, Hyman hadn't, Diane von Furstenberg, von Furstenberg scoffed, von Furstenberg, Von Furstenberg Organizations: Harvard University, Stanford Graduate School of, Stanford, Hyman's, Forbes

☆ Generative AI is coming for the visual effects industry: What the technology means for the future of animation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Four VFX artists told Insider that AI could boost productivity and inspire creativity. Four visual-effects artists spoke to Insider about how generative AI could change their industry. Given its impressive capabilities, they believe AI has the potential to save visual-effects artists time on laborious tasks and create new forms of storytelling. Generative AI is impressing VFX artists — but it's not ready for prime timeAll four VFX artists who Insider spoke with said the quality of AI-generated animations impressed them. McCarron believes that the technology will enhance the quality of artists' work — not take over.

Persons: Runway's, Sebastien Francoeur, Francoeur, it's, Paul Franklin, Franklin, Christopher Nolan's, Mark Chavez, Jennifer Twiner McCarron, McCarron, Rick, Morty, It's, Mark Patch, Patch, Chavez, — Organizations: Adobe, Marvel Studios, Disney, International Alliance, Employees, Thunderbird Entertainment, Netflix, PBS, Marvel Locations: Hollywood

☆ How AI startup Runway aims to simplify video editing and filmmaking, from removing backgrounds to generating scenes from text prompts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The buzzy generative-AI startup Runway wants to revolutionize video creation and editing. Filmmakers and creators have been using the startup to make video editing more efficient. All sorts of AI startups are cropping up with the promise of simplifying video creation and editing. In traditional video editing, this would be done frame by frame, but Runway's AI can do it automatically. "This is a perfect example, the video required the initial iPhone shot that he recorded and the text prompts," Valenzuela said.

Persons: Cristóbal Valenzuela, It's, Ben Mathews, Valenzuela, Stephen Colbert, Oscar, Quinn Murphy, popstar Alicia Keys, Murphy, Kevin Parry, Runway's, Martin Haerlin, Paul Trillo, it's Organizations: Ventures, Runway, Netflix, Star Wars, Wars

☆ How AI startup Runway is trying to make content creation faster and easier, according to its cofounder
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The buzzy generative-AI startup Runway wants to revolutionize video creation and editing. Filmmakers and creators have been using the startup to make video editing more efficient. All sorts of AI startups are cropping up with the promise of simplifying video creation and editing. Valenzuela said Runway's research focuses on making storytelling easier in two ways: helping to "see the world" with video editing, and "generating things in the world" with content generation. In traditional video editing, this would be done frame by frame, but Runway's AI can do it automatically.

☆ AI company Runway valued at $1.5 bln in latest funding -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 29 (Reuters) - AI company Runway has been valued at $1.5 billion in its latest round of funding, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, after it raised $141 million from investors, including Alphabet-owned Google (GOOGL.O) and Nvidia (NVDA.O). The extension to the Series C funding round was also led by Salesforce Ventures and existing investors, the company said in a statement. Runway's software allows users to transform or tweak existing videos or create new videos by using text prompts or images. The company also launched a mobile app earlier this year, giving its users access to its generative AI tools. Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru and Krystal Hu in Toronto; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Jaiveer Singh, Krystal Hu, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Runway, Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, Toronto

☆ AI company Runway valued at $1.5 billion in latest funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 29 (Reuters) - AI company Runway has been valued at $1.5 billion in its latest round of funding, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, after it raised $141 million from investors, including Alphabet-owned Google (GOOGL.O) and Nvidia (NVDA.O). The extension to the Series C funding round also included Salesforce Ventures and Runway's existing investors, the company said in a statement. Runway's software allows users to transform or tweak existing videos or create new videos by using text prompts or images. The company also launched a mobile app earlier this year, giving its users access to its generative AI tools. Earlier in the day, another AI startup Inflection raised $1.3 billion from Microsoft at a valuation of $4 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Jaiveer Singh, Krystal Hu, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Runway, Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures, Microsoft, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, Toronto

Google invested in generative AI startup Runway as part of a $100 million round, sources say. Google and Runway also signed a $75 million cloud computing project, leaked documents show. Google has invested in generative AI startup Runway as part of a $100 million deal, as the Alphabet-owned company leverages its cloud advantage to cozy up to other artificial intelligence players. In addition, Runway has signed a cloud deal with Google worth $75 million over three years, according to internal documents reviewed by Insider. It previously raised $100 million from Amplify Partners, Lux Capital, Coatue, and Felicis Ventures.

Persons: Oscar, Anthropic Organizations: Google, Runway, Lux, Felicis Ventures, Financial Times, Microsoft's, MIT Technology Locations: New York, OpenAI

☆ 10 Things in Tech: TikTok is transforming comedy, Microsoft’s futuristic doctor visits, and Elon Musk announces a new Twitter CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

My colleague Lakshmi Varanasi tested a buzzy AI service called Runway that can generate full videos from just a text prompt. She found that using Runway feels similar to using OpenAI's controversial Dall-E 2 or Stable Diffusion — impressive but not perfect. Check out the photos and videos Runway generated for her here. In other news:In a conference presentation, Andrea Barrett, a physician assistant and Nuance consultant, demonstrates products using generative AI. Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday that he's picked a new CEO for Twitter.

☆ I tried Runway, a buzzy generative AI platform that lets you transform images and videos with text. The results were not what I expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Runway is a generative AI platform with tools for transforming images and video clips. Runway has now made some of its tools publicly available. Theoretically, that makes me an ideal candidate to test Runway, a generative AI platform that aims to make photo editing and filmmaking more accessible to the general public. Runway relies on AI models to let users revamp images and videos in a variety of creative ways, and create images from text prompts. Still, I was a little skeptical that I would actually produce anything of artistic value in my trial of Runway.

☆ Exclusive: Generative AI startup Runway just raised $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation from a cloud service provider
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Generative AI startup Runway has raised a funding round of at least $100 million, Insider has learned. The deal tripled the startup's valuation from its last round to a whopping $1.5 billion. Investors recently told Insider that they were big fans of buzzy photo and video generative AI startup Runway. Runway has raised a Series D funding round of at least $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation from a cloud service provider, according to multiple people familiar with the deal. Have a tip on a startup funding round?

☆ How Runway's idea for AI-driven video and photo editing and generation went from a "crazy" concept to a Silicon Valley darling worth half a billion dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When Runway's founders first came up with the idea for an AI art startup, they were called crazy. Now, the generative AI startup has become a fan favorite of VCs and the public alike. When Cristóbal Valenzuela began building his generative AI company Runway in 2018, investors, filmmakers, and advertisers told the cofounder that he was crazy. "They were saying, 'why would you want to build AI tools for video and filmmaking?'" Many of these features were developed hand-in-hand with customers, who often described to Runway the problems and obstacles they ran into while creating videos, Valenzuela said.

☆ The rise of AI will only make Big Tech more powerful, NYU researchers warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That gives Big Tech companies an advantage. Last week, AI Now released a report detailing Big Tech's impact on AI development — finding that AI development has been "foundationally reliant" on resources controlled by Big Tech, including data and computing power. AI Now said Big Tech has also been positioned as a crucial part of the US-China race, giving them geopolitical importance. The report said much of the narrative around AI development has been shaped by Big Tech, from the idea that AI needs unrestricted innovation for social good to connecting AI development to societal progress. Myers West said better enforcement of antitrust laws and connecting competition with the concept of privacy could limit just how big Big Tech can get.

☆ Rent the Runway is giving customers extra clothes for no extra charge and it's actually boosting business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rent the Runway's decision to give customers more clothes for the same price has been a win-win. Plus, free clothes are a relatively affordable way to gain customers, CEO Jennifer Hyman told Bloomberg at the time. Plus, Rent the Runway isn't spending on buying or housing extra inventory to support the extra items, CFO Scarlett Brillet O'Sullivan said during the call. Going head-to-head with fast fashionA Rent the Runway customer carries one of the company's clothing bags in New York City. Hyman said Wednesday that the majority of RTR subscribers pay $144 for its mid-tier membership of two shipments of clothing per month.

☆ Rent the Runway's losses narrow as company edges closer to profitability
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Rent the Runway's losses narrowed in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings reported Wednesday as the digital retailer continues to streamline its costs and work towards profitability. For the full year, the company expects revenue in the range of $320 million to $330 million. Active subscribers excludes those with paused memberships. At the end of the fiscal year, Rent the Runway had 126,712 active subscribers, a 10% increase compared to the year-ago period. The company expects its active subscriber count to grow by more than 25% in the next fiscal year.

☆ Rent the Runway shares surge after fashion rental company reports stronger quarterly sales
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

As some shoppers think twice about purchases, Rent the Runway is getting a bump. During the quarter, 28% of its subscribers also paid more to add at least one additional rental item each month. Rent the Runway now anticipates $72 million to $74 million in the fourth quarter. Since debuting on the stock market last year, shares of Rent the Runway have plummeted. Hyman said Rent the Runway customers are not just looking to save money.

☆ Not a good buy: Rent the Runway, exactly one-year after IPO, is down nearly 90%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Barbara Collins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

While Rent The Runway closed its retail stores due to the pandemic, it still has a network of drop-off locations in major cities, including New York. More than 50% of clothing hanging up in someone's closet is only worn a handful of times before being discarded, according to Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman. That's why she, along with co-founder Jenny Fleiss, started the fashion rental and subscription business Rent the Runway in 2009 – a service the company has coined a "closet in the cloud." Customers can rent items for as long as they'd like and have the option to purchase any pieces they love. In its first decade of existence, Rent the Runway says it reached more than 11 million members.

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