An AI Stan Lee Hologram Is Coming to LA Comic Con (Really)

Tech-news AI, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Comic-Con, Marvel, Stan Lee September 20, 2025

Los Angeles Comic Con is next week, and one of its big guests is, apparently, an AI hologram of Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee.

Per the Hollywood Reporter, the hologram will be part of the Stan Lee Experience at LACC. Along with the standard $15-20 experience fee to join the booth, fans can spend money to take selfies with the hologram or have one-on-one conversations with it for three minutes. It was created by Proto Hologram—the company that made an interactive mirror for malls to promote The Conjuring: Last Rites—and virtual production company HyperReal.

Stan Lee Legacy Programs head Bob Sabouni assured the trade that the hologram wouldn’t say anything that isn’t “in line with things [Lee] spoke about in his lifetime, [letting us] build a voice that stays true, not always word for word, but always faithful in spirit, context, and intent.”

Even so, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Stan Lee died in late 2018 months after reports circulated of people in his social circle trying to capitalize on his decades-long success for their own ends in very weird ways. (One source at the time described the whole ordeal as “a fucking mess,” which just says it all.) This can’t help but fall into that territory, compounded by the fact that he can’t say no or even be duped into consenting as he could’ve toward the end of his life—and that’s not getting into the recent controversies and concerns surrounding AI and its relationship to the dead.

In a statement to io9, Chris DeMoulin, CEO of LACC parent company Kamikaze Entertainment, said he previously worked with Lee in the 2010s when LACC had a license deal with Lee’s POW! company, and observed “how much Stan loved interacting with fans, being on panels, telling the Marvel story, and engaging future generations of fans. I met with Bob and pitched him the idea of working to create a hologram representation of Stan, which could faithfully represent how Stan used to interact with fans at cons, including [ours].” The hologram has been in development for “several months,” added DeMoulin, and has been “coming along great” in recent weeks.

“This is all about helping to extend Stran’s legacy — something he himself talked to many of us about when he was alive. […] We know that this hologram isn’t Stan, and can never be perfect. But we think it is fun, authentic, very accurate in terms of how it responds to questions, and gives the fans a look into who Stan was, kind of [like] an IRL documentary. And in that regard, it serves the mission of the Stan Lee Universe team to preserve and extend Stan’s legacy into the future. We invite everyone to come see it for themselves, and after you’ve actually experienced it, we’d love to get your feedback.”

io9 has reached out to LA Comic Con organizers for any additional comments or clarity on the Stan Lee hologram and will update if a response is given. Los Angeles Comic Con runs September 26 to 28.

Update (9/20/2025 @ 2:30 PM ET): This story has been updated with quotes from Kamikaze Entertainment CEO Chris DeMoulin.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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#Apples #touchscreen #MacBook #happening #report #claims">

Apple’s touchscreen MacBook is definitely happening, report claims
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once famously said a touchscreen MacBook was never going to happen, but that was a long time ago, and things are changing. A leaker known as Instant Digital, known for some eerily accurate Apple-related predictions, seemed certain about it in a recent Weibo post (via MacRumors). “It’s 100% confirmed that the MacBook screen will be touch-enabled,” he wrote.

Mashable Light Speed

The leaker did not add any other details, so we don’t know which version of the MacBook is getting the touchscreen, nor when this is supposed to happen. But the post builds on previous reports from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, with both previously stating that Apple is working on a touchscreen variant of the MacBook. Rumors about such a device have circulated for years, though, and nothing ever came to fruition. Gurman’s report dates February 2026, and back then he said the initial batch of touch-enabled Macs are coming “this fall.” Gurman said the company would be pretty lax about the touchscreen, allowing the users to use it as much or as little they’d like, instead of positioning the Mac as a better version of the iPad.

SEE ALSO:

Apple’s WWDC 2026 recap: What did Apple announce?

Apple is also rumored to launch a high-end “MacBook Ultra” later this year; this top-of-the-line device should come with Apple’s most powerful chips, an OLED display, and it might be the first one to be touch-enabled.

#Apples #touchscreen #MacBook #happening #report #claims

mwasimuddin125 0

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once famously said a touchscreen MacBook was never going to happen, but that was a long time ago, and things are changing.
A leaker known as Instant Digital, known for some eerily accurate Apple-related predictions, seemed certain about it in a recent Weibo post (via MacRumors).
“It’s 100% confirmed that the MacBook screen will be touch-enabled,” he wrote.

Mashable Light Speed

The leaker did not add any other details, so we don’t know which version of the MacBook is getting the touchscreen, nor when this is supposed to happen. But the post builds on previous reports from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, with both previously stating that Apple is working on a touchscreen variant of the MacBook.
Rumors about such a device have circulated for years, though, and nothing ever came to fruition. Gurman’s report dates February 2026, and back then he said the initial batch of touch-enabled Macs are coming “this fall.” Gurman said the company would be pretty lax about the touchscreen, allowing the users to use it as much or as little they’d like, instead of positioning the Mac as a better version of the iPad.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s WWDC 2026 recap: What did Apple announce?

Apple is also rumored to launch a high-end “MacBook Ultra” later this year; this top-of-the-line device should come with Apple’s most powerful chips, an OLED display, and it might be the first one to be touch-enabled.

#Apples #touchscreen #MacBook #happening #report #claims">Apple’s touchscreen MacBook is definitely happening, report claims

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once famously said a touchscreen MacBook was never going to happen, but that was a long time ago, and things are changing.

A leaker known as Instant Digital, known for some eerily accurate Apple-related predictions, seemed certain about it in a recent Weibo post (via MacRumors).

“It’s 100% confirmed that the MacBook screen will be touch-enabled,” he wrote.

Mashable Light Speed

The leaker did not add any other details, so we don’t know which version of the MacBook is getting the touchscreen, nor when this is supposed to happen. But the post builds on previous reports from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, with both previously stating that Apple is working on a touchscreen variant of the MacBook.

Rumors about such a device have circulated for years, though, and nothing ever came to fruition. Gurman’s report dates February 2026, and back then he said the initial batch of touch-enabled Macs are coming “this fall.” Gurman said the company would be pretty lax about the touchscreen, allowing the users to use it as much or as little they’d like, instead of positioning the Mac as a better version of the iPad.

Apple is also rumored to launch a high-end “MacBook Ultra” later this year; this top-of-the-line device should come with Apple’s most powerful chips, an OLED display, and it might be the first one to be touch-enabled.

#Apples #touchscreen #MacBook #happening #report #claims

Amazon’s rolling out a free software update for Echo Hub devices that gives the home screen a much-needed update to the interface it launched with in 2024. It had already added Alex Plus AI support, but the new interface has a cleaner, fully customizable layout that fits more smart home info and controls on the screen than the previous version.

A small touchscreen tablet on a counter next to some flowers.

The Echo Hub is also getting access to Ring AI’s Video Search feature that lets you use natural language to search through your smart home camera footage, as well as Alexa Plus summaries of detected camera events.

These are the five new features Amazon highlighted for the Echo Hub:

Organize by r …

Read the full story at The Verge.

#Amazons #Echo #Hub #customizable #Rings #featuresAmazon,Amazon Alexa,News,Smart Home,Tech">

Amazon’s Echo Hub gets a customizable new look and Ring’s AI features

Amazon’s rolling out a free software update for Echo Hub devices that gives the home screen a much-needed update to the interface it launched with in 2024. It had already added Alex Plus AI support, but the new interface has a cleaner, fully customizable layout that fits more smart home info and controls on the screen than the previous version.

The Echo Hub is also getting access to Ring AI’s Video Search feature that lets you use natural language to search through your smart home camera footage, as well as Alexa Plus summaries of detected camera events.
These are the five new features Amazon highlighted for the Echo Hub:

Organize by r …
Read the full story at The Verge.#Amazons #Echo #Hub #customizable #Rings #featuresAmazon,Amazon Alexa,News,Smart Home,Tech

mwasimuddin125 0

Amazon’s rolling out a free software update for Echo Hub devices that gives the home screen a much-needed update to the interface it launched with in 2024. It had already added Alex Plus AI support, but the new interface has a cleaner, fully customizable layout that fits more smart home info and controls on the screen than the previous version.

The Echo Hub is also getting access to Ring AI’s Video Search feature that lets you use natural language to search through your smart home camera footage, as well as Alexa Plus summaries of detected camera events.

These are the five new features Amazon highlighted for the Echo Hub:

Organize by r …

Read the full story at The Verge.
#Amazons #Echo #Hub #customizable #Rings #featuresAmazon,Amazon Alexa,News,Smart Home,Tech">Amazon’s Echo Hub gets a customizable new look and Ring’s AI features

Amazon’s rolling out a free software update for Echo Hub devices that gives the home screen a much-needed update to the interface it launched with in 2024. It had already added Alex Plus AI support, but the new interface has a cleaner, fully customizable layout that fits more smart home info and controls on the screen than the previous version.

The Echo Hub is also getting access to Ring AI’s Video Search feature that lets you use natural language to search through your smart home camera footage, as well as Alexa Plus summaries of detected camera events.

These are the five new features Amazon highlighted for the Echo Hub:

Organize by r …

Read the full story at The Verge.
#Amazons #Echo #Hub #customizable #Rings #featuresAmazon,Amazon Alexa,News,Smart Home,Tech

Humanoids aren’t quite ready to replace factory workers, but the industry can’t wait. Faced with labor shortages, manufacturers have shown growing interest in startups that promise faster automation without the usual tradeoffs.

That’s the bet behind Theker, an AI robotics startup that aims to go beyond robots trained for a single task. “If you always have to put the same cookie in the same box, that works perfectly, but most processes aren’t like that,” co-founder Carla Gómez Cano told TechCrunch.

Theker is designed for that messier reality. Unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed form — think Boston Dynamics — Theker’s machines are built to be reconfigured. Their hands, arms, and overall form can be swapped out or resized depending on the task, whether that’s sorting packages, packing clothing, or handling bottles and cans in a warehouse.

That Inditex, Zara’s parent company, signed on as an early backer is a signal of where Theker’s ambitions start, not where they end. The company’s broader goal is to move beyond retail into heavier industrial settings like manufacturing, where the complexity and scale of manual tasks is even greater.

This generalist ambition has helped cement Theker’s status as one of Europe’s hot startups to watch — and raise capital accordingly. The Barcelona-based startup has just raised $85 million in what it’s calling “Europe’s largest ever robotics Series A.” (We haven’t found a larger one in our records, either.)

Less than a year after a record seed round, this Series A was led by American VC firm CRV and backed by a mix of traditional and strategic investors, including Samsung and Aglaé Ventures, the investment vehicle tied to LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault.

Gómez Cano said Samsung is not a client yet but that the two are in advanced discussions. Theker would welcome having the Korean company as a customer, supplier, and investor simultaneously — a trifecta that would give the startup both revenue and credibility in manufacturing at scale.

She also noted that she and co-founder Jiaqiang Ye Zhu “didn’t build Theker to run pilots,” so the team skips innovation departments entirely and goes straight to logistics or operations, where deals are real and timelines are shorter.

To demonstrate that the company can actually deliver on that, Theker has a showroom in central Barcelona, and plans to open others as it expands across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. It will also grow its headcount across tech, deployment, and sales.

“We already received 15,000 job applications and have to filter like crazy,” Gómez Cano said. She estimated that the team could grow from dozens to up to 120 people by the end of the year, then caught herself: “I am saying that, but I also said that we’d raise $30 or $40 million!”

That Theker managed to raise twice its target also reinforces the startup’s conviction in keeping its HQ in Barcelona, a growing robotics hub, and in Europe’s tech ecosystem more broadly. “It has never been a barrier to acceleration for us, so we are making the most of it,” Gómez Cano said.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Theker #raised #85M #build #factory #robot #doesnt #specialize #TechCrunchAutomation,theker">

Theker just raised M to build the factory robot that doesn’t specialize in anything | TechCrunch
Humanoids aren’t quite ready to replace factory workers, but the industry can’t wait. Faced with labor shortages, manufacturers have shown growing interest in startups that promise faster automation without the usual tradeoffs.

That’s the bet behind Theker, an AI robotics startup that aims to go beyond robots trained for a single task. “If you always have to put the same cookie in the same box, that works perfectly, but most processes aren’t like that,” co-founder Carla Gómez Cano told TechCrunch.

Theker is designed for that messier reality. Unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed form — think Boston Dynamics — Theker’s machines are built to be reconfigured. Their hands, arms, and overall form can be swapped out or resized depending on the task, whether that’s sorting packages, packing clothing, or handling bottles and cans in a warehouse.

That Inditex, Zara’s parent company, signed on as an early backer is a signal of where Theker’s ambitions start, not where they end. The company’s broader goal is to move beyond retail into heavier industrial settings like manufacturing, where the complexity and scale of manual tasks is even greater.

This generalist ambition has helped cement Theker’s status as one of Europe’s hot startups to watch — and raise capital accordingly. The Barcelona-based startup has just raised million in what it’s calling “Europe’s largest ever robotics Series A.” (We haven’t found a larger one in our records, either.)

Less than a year after a record seed round, this Series A was led by American VC firm CRV and backed by a mix of traditional and strategic investors, including Samsung and Aglaé Ventures, the investment vehicle tied to LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault.

Gómez Cano said Samsung is not a client yet but that the two are in advanced discussions. Theker would welcome having the Korean company as a customer, supplier, and investor simultaneously — a trifecta that would give the startup both revenue and credibility in manufacturing at scale.

She also noted that she and co-founder Jiaqiang Ye Zhu “didn’t build Theker to run pilots,” so the team skips innovation departments entirely and goes straight to logistics or operations, where deals are real and timelines are shorter.

To demonstrate that the company can actually deliver on that, Theker has a showroom in central Barcelona, and plans to open others as it expands across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. It will also grow its headcount across tech, deployment, and sales.

“We already received 15,000 job applications and have to filter like crazy,” Gómez Cano said. She estimated that the team could grow from dozens to up to 120 people by the end of the year, then caught herself: “I am saying that, but I also said that we’d raise or million!”

That Theker managed to raise twice its target also reinforces the startup’s conviction in keeping its HQ in Barcelona, a growing robotics hub, and in Europe’s tech ecosystem more broadly. “It has never been a barrier to acceleration for us, so we are making the most of it,” Gómez Cano said.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Theker #raised #85M #build #factory #robot #doesnt #specialize #TechCrunchAutomation,theker

mwasimuddin125 0

Humanoids aren’t quite ready to replace factory workers, but the industry can’t wait. Faced with labor shortages, manufacturers have shown growing interest in startups that promise faster automation without the usual tradeoffs.

That’s the bet behind Theker, an AI robotics startup that aims to go beyond robots trained for a single task. “If you always have to put the same cookie in the same box, that works perfectly, but most processes aren’t like that,” co-founder Carla Gómez Cano told TechCrunch.

Theker is designed for that messier reality. Unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed form — think Boston Dynamics — Theker’s machines are built to be reconfigured. Their hands, arms, and overall form can be swapped out or resized depending on the task, whether that’s sorting packages, packing clothing, or handling bottles and cans in a warehouse.

That Inditex, Zara’s parent company, signed on as an early backer is a signal of where Theker’s ambitions start, not where they end. The company’s broader goal is to move beyond retail into heavier industrial settings like manufacturing, where the complexity and scale of manual tasks is even greater.

This generalist ambition has helped cement Theker’s status as one of Europe’s hot startups to watch — and raise capital accordingly. The Barcelona-based startup has just raised $85 million in what it’s calling “Europe’s largest ever robotics Series A.” (We haven’t found a larger one in our records, either.)

Less than a year after a record seed round, this Series A was led by American VC firm CRV and backed by a mix of traditional and strategic investors, including Samsung and Aglaé Ventures, the investment vehicle tied to LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault.

Gómez Cano said Samsung is not a client yet but that the two are in advanced discussions. Theker would welcome having the Korean company as a customer, supplier, and investor simultaneously — a trifecta that would give the startup both revenue and credibility in manufacturing at scale.

She also noted that she and co-founder Jiaqiang Ye Zhu “didn’t build Theker to run pilots,” so the team skips innovation departments entirely and goes straight to logistics or operations, where deals are real and timelines are shorter.

To demonstrate that the company can actually deliver on that, Theker has a showroom in central Barcelona, and plans to open others as it expands across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. It will also grow its headcount across tech, deployment, and sales.

“We already received 15,000 job applications and have to filter like crazy,” Gómez Cano said. She estimated that the team could grow from dozens to up to 120 people by the end of the year, then caught herself: “I am saying that, but I also said that we’d raise $30 or $40 million!”

That Theker managed to raise twice its target also reinforces the startup’s conviction in keeping its HQ in Barcelona, a growing robotics hub, and in Europe’s tech ecosystem more broadly. “It has never been a barrier to acceleration for us, so we are making the most of it,” Gómez Cano said.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Theker #raised #85M #build #factory #robot #doesnt #specialize #TechCrunchAutomation,theker">Theker just raised $85M to build the factory robot that doesn’t specialize in anything | TechCrunch

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Theker #raised #85M #build #factory #robot #doesnt #specialize #TechCrunchAutomation,theker

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