Arcade, a startup founded by former Okta exec Alex Salazar and former Redis engineer Sam Partee, raised $12M from Laude Ventures for their AI agent platform, focusing on the underlying tool-calling infrastructure rather than individual agents.
Graphite, a startup developing AI-powered coding assistive tools, raised $52 million in Series B funding. The platform offers code review, error detection, and bug fixing using AI models, attracting clients like Shopify and Figma. Graphite plans to launch a new tool called Diamond and aims to expand its team and product offerings with the funding.
Nvidia unveils Blackwell Ultra AI chip platform, enabling apps to reason and act on users' behalf. Demand surges after OpenAI's ChatGPT success, despite competition from Chinese startup DeepSeek. Blackwell Ultra expected to enhance reasoning capabilities for AI models, leading to more complex and specific responses. Companies like Google and Anthropic also advancing reasoning models for AI assistants. Nvidia aims for its chips to be central in future AI agent development.
Google introduced new health-care updates, including a feature called "What People Suggest" for comparing experiences, expanded knowledge panels, and advancements in AI for health-related queries. The tech giant continues its focus on health initiatives with AI tools like AI Overviews and MedLM.
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Google announced the development of AI models for drug discovery called TxGemma. The models will be released through the Health AI Developer Foundations program, aiming to make drug development more efficient by predicting important properties of potential new therapies. Despite AI's past limitations in the field, big pharma and investors remain enthusiastic about its potential.
Baidu releases new AI models, including a reasoning-focused one, to compete in China's AI market. Plans to move towards open-source strategy to catch up with competitors. With focus on data and user base, Baidu aims to maintain market leadership position.
Baidu's shares surged in response to the release of two new AI models, including ERNIE X1 reasoning model, aiming to regain leadership in China's AI space. The models are free to use and promise performance and cost advantages.
Arizona's highest court has introduced AI-generated avatars, Victoria and Daniel, to deliver rulings in a more human-like way. The court aims to enhance public trust and understanding of legal decisions through this innovative approach.
Liam Fedus, VP of research at OpenAI, is leaving to start an AI materials science startup. OpenAI plans to invest in his venture, competing with DeepMind and Microsoft in discovering new materials using AI. Some experts doubt AI's ability to make groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model is being used to remove watermarks from images, raising copyright concerns. Despite being experimental, it can efficiently remove watermarks, prompting backlash from copyright holders. Google warns against copyright infringement.
Elon Musk's xAI acquires Hotshot, a startup specializing in AI-powered video generation tools. Hotshot's CEO announced the acquisition, signaling xAI's entry into video generation models to compete with industry leaders.
OpenAI is beta testing ChatGPT Connectors for business users to link Google Drive and Slack to ChatGPT for easier access to internal information, powered by a secure GPT-4o model. Data is encrypted, permissions are respected, and limited to accessible info.
ReactWise, a UK-based startup, is using AI to optimize chemical manufacturing for drug development, accelerating the process by 30x. The company has raised $3.4 million in funding and is working with pharma companies to streamline drug production.
AI CEO Demis Hassabis predicts artificial general intelligence will emerge in 5-10 years. Challenges include real-world understanding. Multi-agent AI systems are seen as a key advancement. Other tech leaders have varying timelines for AGI arrival.
Telecom firms at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona are investing in AI, 5G, smart cities to move away from being seen as just "dumb pipes" for the internet. They aim to become more like tech companies, offering digital services and driving innovation in the industry.
Google's recent AI updates in search seem to be playing catch up to competitors like OpenAI's ChatGPT. This lack of innovation may be hindering Google's ability to lead in the age of AI.
AI programs like Ana are being used in hospitals to assist with tasks usually done by nurses, causing concern among nursing unions. While AI can help with efficiency, some worry it may override nurses' expertise and degrade patient care.
China is rapidly advancing in the race to develop grid-scale nuclear fusion energy, investing heavily and surpassing the U.S. in new projects. Despite U.S. private sector leadership, China's state funding, project size, and supply chain dominance pose challenges. The U.S. faces a potential brain drain and needs to increase investment to maintain its lead.
Y Combinator's latest batch of startups, heavily focused on AI, is experiencing unprecedented growth. AI is allowing founders to build with smaller teams and achieve revenue milestones earlier, signaling a shift towards profitability in Silicon Valley. Tan highlighted the success of the network and the commercial validation of the companies presented at demo day.
