New York-based CTRL-labs creates tech that lets people control computers with their minds; it will join Facebook’s Reality Labs, which is developing augmented-reality smart glasses. CNBC sources said the deal was worth between US$500 million and US$1 billion, though a Facebook spokesperson said it was lower than US$1 billion. (CNBC)

Talking point: Facebook has been working on this type of technology for three years as part of its efforts to expand into hardware. In a July update, the company said the technology’s potential was “significant,” but at least a decade away from commercialization. However, it hopes to use technology from the four-year-old CTRL-labs to create a wristband that can decode electrical signals sent from the brain through the spinal cord, allowing people to control their devices with their thoughts.