Codes of Culture | Issue 103
Audemars Piguet x Swatch collab has the internet divided
Welcome back to Codes of Culture. I’m Ashumi Sanghvi.
Apologies in advance to everyone who got the newsletter last week, without my introduction. Admittedly, I was on the road (between SF and the Bay Area) and working on it on the go. It didn’t work out as planned.
The week in LA for the Milken Global Conference was nothing short of incredible. So many new connections, reconnecting with the network and also hosting our events. Posted more about it here. Thanks to everyone who reached out for more information. We will keep you on the list for everything coming up.
On my radar this week is the Audemars Piguet x Swatch collab, which has the internet polarised. AP’s CEO, Illaria Resta, shared more thoughts here, and we share more details in this issue below. Curious what you think?
Also on my radar this week is the digitally native skincare brand 4 AM, which raised 4 million in an oversubscribed seed round and is launching in 1700+ Target stores in the US. Read more here.
If you are new here, or want to catch up on the best of Codes of Culture, we’d recommend you start here and remember to subscribe for full access to our news, insights, podcast and global events.
📖In this issue
Thinking Machines is rebuilding the AI interface from scratch.
Nyobolt is turning battery chemistry into AI infrastructure.
OTB and Google are moving the fitting room into the client relationship.
Fitbit Air puts Google’s health play beneath the screen.
Swatch and Audemars Piguet turn the Royal Oak into a pocket watch.
1. AI INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTERACTION DESIGN
Thinking Machines is rebuilding the AI interface from scratch.
What’s happening: Thinking Machines has published a research preview of an interaction model built for continuous real-time exchange across audio, video, and text. The system runs in 200-millisecond streams, with one model handling live interaction and another handling deeper reasoning and tool use in the background. The proposition is clear: conversation is moving from interface to core system design.
TLDR:
Continuous 200ms micro-turns across audio, video, and text.
A dual-model setup splits live presence from deeper reasoning.
The system handles interruptions, visual cues, and overlapping speech.
Published benchmarks show strong interaction performance.
A wider release is planned later this year.
Why it matters: Most enterprise AI products still assume the turn-based interface is good enough. This preview suggests that the assumption is beginning to break down. The more consequential question is not model quality in isolation, but what happens when interactivity itself becomes the product advantage.
2. CAPITAL AND PHYSICAL AI INFRASTRUCTURE
Nyobolt is turning battery chemistry into AI infrastructure.
What’s happening: Cambridge battery company Nyobolt has raised a $60M Series C at a $1B valuation, led by Symbotic, whose warehouse robots already run on its batteries. Nyobolt says its technology delivers ultrafast charging, long cycle life, and high-power response for systems that require continuous uptime. It is now pushing into warehouse robotics, humanoids, and AI data centre infrastructure, including a planned 100MW deployment in Rajasthan.
TLDR:
Symbotic is both an investor and a customer.
Nyobolt is already deployed in live robotics environments.
The company is targeting robotics and AI infrastructure simultaneously.
Rajasthan gives it exposure to one of the fastest-growing AI buildouts.
Total funding now stands at roughly $160M.
Why it matters: Physical AI has an energy problem, and that problem is becoming investable. Nyobolt is a reminder that the strategic layer beneath robotics is no longer just compute. Power, charging, and uptime are starting to define who scales.
3. FASHION COMMERCE AND AI CLIENTELING
OTB and Google are moving the fitting room into the client relationship.
What’s happening: OTB Group has launched a virtual try-on tool built on Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, starting with Diesel and Jil Sander in the US and Europe. The product is designed for remote client consultations, with sales associates sharing 360-degree previews before an in-store visit. OTB plans to extend the rollout to Marni and Maison Margiela.
TLDR:
The use case is clienteling, not passive browsing.
Google’s infrastructure now sits inside OTB’s service layer.
The rollout begins with Diesel and Jil Sander, then expands across the group.
Customers can also place themselves inside branded campaigns.
The tool links personalisation directly to conversion.
Why it matters: Luxury’s next AI layer is arriving through service, not spectacle. The important shift is where the data sits: inside the adviser relationship, before the store visit, and inside the direct client interaction. That is where value starts compounding.
4. WEARABLE HEALTH AND CONSUMER AI
Fitbit Air puts Google’s health play beneath the screen.
What’s happening: Google has launched Fitbit Air, a screenless fitness tracker priced at £84.99/$99.99. It tracks sleep, recovery, HRV, and step count, and pairs with a rebuilt Google Health Coach app powered by Gemini. The device goes on general release on 26 May.
TLDR:
The screenless form is designed for continuous wear.
Gemini-powered coaching now sits at the centre of the product.
Google Health Coach replaces the Fitbit app entirely.
The price opens the category to a broader audience.
A Steph Curry edition adds cultural reach to the launch.
Why it matters: The hardware story is straightforward. The data story is larger. Fitbit Air points to where the strategic asset is being built: continuous biometric data at a mainstream scale, with an AI layer ready to shape behaviour on top of it.
5. LUXURY AND CULTURAL ACCESS
Swatch and Audemars Piguet turn the Royal Oak into a collectable accessory.
What’s happening: Swatch and Audemars Piguet have revealed Royal Pop, an eight-piece pocket watch collection that recasts the Royal Oak through Swatch’s 1980s POP format. Instead of producing a straightforward entry-level wristwatch, the collaboration turns AP’s octagonal design language into a colourful object designed to hang from chains, bags, or clothing. The collection uses a hand-wound mechanical movement adapted from SISTEM51, with transparent casebacks and graphic detailing that push it closer to a collectable design object than a conventional watch drop.
TLDR:
Royal Pop is a pocket watch collection built around Royal Oak design codes.
The release includes eight colourways, each tied to the Royal Oak’s eight-sided bezel.
The collaboration is designed to be worn on chains, bags, or clothing, not just kept on the wrist.
The movement is a reworked SISTEM51 adapted into a hand-wound mechanical setup with extended power reserve.
The product lands as a fashion object, a watch reference, and a collector's piece at once. This last point is an editorial inference based on the product format and styling described by Culted.
Why it matters: The interesting move here is not accessibility alone. It is category slippage. Audemars Piguet has taken one of watchmaking’s most recognisable design signatures and moved it into the space between fashion accessory, collectable, and mechanical object. That gives the collaboration cultural reach without forcing AP into a direct entry-level Royal Oak wristwatch.