Weekly AI News

Hey it’s Jul,
Greetings and welcome to the eighteenth edition of “Weekly AI News”!

Remember when we used to make fun of Google for announcing stuff that didn’t actually exist? Well, guess what… They FINALLY got the memo!

This week was absolute madness in Silicon Valley. Google dropped Veo, AI Mode, Gemini Live, a coding assistant called Jules — and boom — everything’s available right now. Not in six months, not “coming soon”… now!

Anthropic launched Claude 4, which apparently codes better than half the devs out there (and might report you to the authorities — lovely). OpenAI bought the guy who designed the iPhone to build… well, no one really knows what yet. But it cost $6.5 billion, so hey, must be something fancy.

Even Sergey Brin came out of hiding to say AI is the biggest tech revolution of his life. That should tell you how hot things are getting.

Happy reading!

🤖🚀 Gemini & Search Level Up at Google I/O

Google unveiled significant enhancements to its Gemini and Gemma AI models at Google I/O, alongside new AI search and shopping functionalities. Updates include Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash, a new "2.5 Deep Think" reasoning model, and Gemma 3n for mobile. Additionally, AI Mode in search, virtual try-on, agentic shopping, and the coding agent Jules are rolling out, marking a major evolution in user interaction with Google's flagship products.

🎨🎬 Google's Next-Gen Creative AI Tools Unveiled

Google announced a suite of new creative AI models and tool upgrades at I/O, including Veo 3 for video, Imagen 4 for images, and the Flow filmmaking platform. Veo 3 can generate synchronized audio with video, while Imagen 4 offers improved quality and typography. Flow integrates Veo, Imagen, and Gemini into a unified creative studio, available with the Google AI Ultra plan, pushing the boundaries of AI-powered content creation.

🎬💡 Flow: All-in-One AI Studio for Videographers

Flow combines Google's Veo (video), Imagen (visual), and Gemini (narration) into a single, comprehensive AI creation tool. It enables users to produce scripted clips with integrated audio, recurring scenes, consistent characters, and prompt-driven narration. Featuring a fluid interface, entity references, and a timeline, Flow functions as a virtual studio, controllable by voice or text, though it's only available in the US.

🔍🤖 Google Rolls Out 'AI Mode' in Search to All U.S. Users

Google is launching its chatbot-style AI Mode search tab to all U.S. users, as announced at Google I/O. This significant update will soon incorporate agentic tools to automate tasks like booking tickets and online shopping. The rollout also includes new versions of Google's AI models, notably an updated Veo video generation model with enhanced audio capabilities, transforming the search experience.

👓🤝 Google & Warby Parker Partner for Gemini Smart Glasses

Google announced a major partnership with Warby Parker at I/O, investing up to $150 million to co-develop Android XR eyewear with integrated Gemini AI and AR features. These smart glasses, set to rival Meta's Ray-Ban line and expected after 2025, aim to be mainstream, not just "geek gear." This collaboration revives Google's wearable ambitions, leveraging Warby Parker's fashion credibility and retail presence.

📱📚 Google's NotebookLM App Now Fits in Your Pocket

Google has launched standalone NotebookLM apps for Android and iOS, fulfilling a top user request. The mobile version mirrors desktop features like AI-summaries and Audio Overviews, with added system-level share-sheet support for seamless content import. This move transforms NotebookLM into a mobile learning companion, pushing AI-driven synthesis into everyday, on-the-go knowledge work.

🔮🔄 Google Swaps Serendipity for Gemini Chat

A Mashable scoop reveals Google is testing an "AI Mode" button, replacing the iconic "I’m Feeling Lucky" spot since 1998.15 Labs users are seeing a rainbow-ringed badge that initiates a Gemini-powered dialogue instead of a plain results page.16 While Google labels it an experiment, this shift signals a move away from serendipitous discovery towards an AI-mediated conversational search experience.

📈💸 Google Starts Testing Ads in ‘AI Mode’ Search

Google is experimenting with showing sponsored links below chatbot answers in its new AI Mode search tab, which recently rolled out to all U.S. users. Ads in AI Overviews are also expanding to desktop in the U.S. and globally later this year. Google is pushing marketers to use AI for ad spending, with features like "Smart Bidding Exploration," as it navigates the disruption of its search ads business.

📺🤖 Google, Netflix Bring AI to Video Advertising

Both YouTube and Netflix are introducing new AI-powered ad formats to optimize and personalize advertising content. YouTube's "Peak Points" uses Gemini AI to place ads after emotionally charged content, while Netflix is developing AI-generated ads that visually blend brands with show content. These innovations mark a significant step towards dynamically generated and perfectly tailored ad experiences for viewers.

⚖️🤝 Justice Department Reportedly Investigating Google’s Character.AI Deal

The Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Google's $2.7 billion deal to license technology from AI startup Character.AI and hire many of its employees, suspecting antitrust violations. The probe questions if the deal was structured to avoid scrutiny, adding to Google's ongoing antitrust challenges. This investigation could have broader implications for the AI industry's talent acquisition strategies.

🧠💻 Anthropic Launches Claude 4 Opus, Sonnet Models

Anthropic has unveiled Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4, their next-generation models with advanced reasoning capabilities and autonomous coding. These models feature "hybrid" modes for instant or extended thinking, visible reasoning summaries, and parallel tool use. Opus 4 achieved 72.5% on SWE-bench, capable of hours-long autonomous coding, marking a significant step towards agentic AI collaboration.

🚨🔒 Anthropic's Latest Model Could Report Users to SEC

Anthropic's new Claude Opus 4 model can reportedly use email app access to report "egregious wrongdoing" to law enforcement or media, as detailed in a technical report. While a spokesperson clarified this behavior occurred under "highly unusual" experimental conditions, the disclosure sparked social media debate about data sharing. This raises significant security and privacy concerns for businesses considering Anthropic's AI.

🍏💡 OpenAI Acquires Ex-Apple Designer Jony Ive’s AI Device Startup for $6.5 Billion

OpenAI is acquiring io, the AI device startup co-founded by Jony Ive and Sam Altman, for approximately $6.5 billion. The deal integrates io's 55 employees into OpenAI, with Ive overseeing creative and design while his firm, LoveFrom, remains independent. This move signals OpenAI's ambition to develop AI-powered consumer devices, potentially including "screenless phones" and AI-enabled household products.

🤖📲 Sam Altman Aims for 100 Million AI 'Companions'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman informed staff that the company aims to ship 100 million AI "companions" following the $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's io. These unobtrusive devices, designed to be fully aware of users' surroundings and lives while fitting in a pocket or on a desk, are envisioned as a third core device after computers and mobile phones, with the potential to add $1 trillion in value to OpenAI.

🌐⚡ OpenAI Updates Operator to o3 for ChatGPT Pro

OpenAI has upgraded its Operator autonomous web Browse agent within ChatGPT from GPT-4o to the more powerful o3 reasoning model. Available as a "research preview" for $200/month ChatGPT Pro subscribers, Operator allows the AI to autonomously point, click, scroll, and type to complete web-based tasks directly through a browser interface, enhancing its agentic capabilities.

🌍🏢 OpenAI Confirms UAE Stargate Data Center

OpenAI will build a data center in the UAE through its Stargate joint venture with SoftBank, aiming to help governments build "sovereign AI capability" rooted in democratic values. The facility will be part of a 5-gigawatt campus and is expected to be operational next year, supporting around 100,000 Nvidia Blackwell AI chips. The UAE will also invest in OpenAI's U.S.-based data center projects.

💰🏗️ JPMorgan to Lend Over $7 Billion for OpenAI Data Center

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to lend more than $7 billion to firms constructing OpenAI's massive AI data center campus in Abilene, Texas. This significant deal, previously unreported, highlights continued strong interest from lenders and investors in financing the physical infrastructure crucial for developing advanced AI software.

📊🤖 xAI's Grok Now Generates Visual Charts

xAI has rolled out a new feature for its Grok chatbot, enabling it to generate visual charts. This functionality is now accessible via browser, enhancing Grok's ability to present data in a more intuitive and visually engaging format for users.

🏗️💡 Musk Says xAI Building New Data Center ‘Near’ Memphis

Elon Musk announced that xAI is constructing another AI data center near Memphis, designed to house one million Nvidia AI chips. This new facility follows xAI's earlier acquisition of a 1-million-square-foot warehouse in Memphis. Musk confirmed plans to continue purchasing chips from Nvidia, AMD, and potentially other firms to power Grok's training and operations.

🌐🤖 Microsoft Unveils Vision for Open Agentic Web at Build

Microsoft showcased its "open agentic web" vision at Build 2025, introducing significant AI tools and upgrades. These include a revamped, asynchronous GitHub Copilot, Copilot Studio, Azure Foundry, and an AI browser agent. Microsoft also open-sourced Magentic-UI and introduced NLWeb for conversational UI, signaling a strong shift towards open-source and agentic AI.

🔬💡 Microsoft’s New AI to Speed Up Science R&D

Microsoft unveiled "Discovery" at Build, an enterprise platform designed to accelerate scientific research by enabling scientists to collaborate with specialized AI agents. This platform uses AI "postdoc" agents and a graph-based knowledge engine to generate hypotheses, simulate experiments, and analyze results, aiming to compress R&D timelines from years to hours and democratize supercomputing for researchers.

☁️🚀 Microsoft Launches xAI’s Grok on Azure Cloud

Microsoft announced that xAI’s Grok AI models are now available through its Azure cloud server unit, diversifying its AI offerings beyond OpenAI. Unveiled at the Build conference, this move underscores Microsoft's strategy to expand its AI business. The announcement also highlighted new AI features across Windows, Office 365, GitHub, and Azure, including asynchronous coding agents and tools for building custom AI agents.

🎧🗣️ Microsoft’s Satya Nadella Opts for Chatbots Over Podcasts

A Bloomberg profile reveals Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella now uploads podcast transcripts into Copilot for discussion during his commute, instead of listening directly. He uses over ten custom Copilot Studio agents for executive tasks, joking his role is "email typist." This internal adoption of generative AI, where AI authors up to 30% of Microsoft's code, hints at a future of AI-mediated knowledge work and accelerated workforce shifts.

🤝💻 Microsoft Chooses Anthropic to Power GitHub’s New AI Coding Tools

Microsoft has partnered with Anthropic to use its models for new AI agent features in GitHub Copilot, signaling a diversification from OpenAI.46 Anthropic’s Claude 4 will exclusively power complex agent features like website monitoring and code rewriting. This deal strengthens Anthropic’s position in enterprise AI sales, complementing Microsoft's broader strategy of integrating various leading AI models.

🇫🇷💻 Mistral Debuts Devstral, an Open-Source Coding-Agent LLM

French startup Mistral AI, in partnership with All Hands AI, released Devstral, a 24-billion-parameter open-source model. Tuned for solving real GitHub issues, editing multiple files, and driving autonomous software-engineering agents, Devstral tops the SWE-Bench Verified leaderboard while remaining compact enough to run locally. This release lowers the bar for agentic coding, offering a powerful, accessible alternative to proprietary models.

📄✨ Mistral Releases Document AI for Enterprise Document Processing

Mistral has launched Document AI, an enterprise tool designed for highly accurate text extraction from documents and images, including complex layouts, handwriting, and tables. Boasting over 99% accuracy across global languages, it can process up to 2,000 pages per minute with minimal latency and cost-efficiency. This solution integrates OCR with Mistral’s AI tools, enabling flexible document lifecycle workflows and instant archive accessibility.

🍏👓 Apple Rushes AI Glasses to Challenge Meta

Apple is reportedly accelerating the development of its AI-powered smart glasses for a late 2026 launch, aiming to compete with Meta's successful Ray-Ban smart glasses. The device will feature cameras, mics, and speakers for real-world analysis via Siri, handling calls, music, navigation, and live translations. Despite internal concerns about Apple's AI shortcomings, the project is fast-tracked from its original 2027 timeline.

🛍️💡 Shopify Unveils New AI Store Builder & Tools

Shopify's Summer '25 Edition introduces powerful AI-driven features, including an automated store builder that creates full storefronts from simple text descriptions. The platform also offers new AI-enhanced 'Horizon' themes for no-code design customization. Significant upgrades to the Sidekick AI assistant enable voice conversations, screen sharing, and automated business tasks, alongside new AI shopping agent tools for broader customer exposure.

🛒🤖 Walmart Prepares for a Future of AI-Powered Consumer Shopping

Walmart is actively preparing for a future dominated by AI-powered shopping agents that will handle purchases directly for consumers, potentially disrupting traditional online retail. These autonomous bots could bypass conventional ads and product searches. Walmart is developing its own AI shopping agents and advocating for industry protocols, aiming to establish an early leadership position in this evolving "agentic commerce" landscape.

🚫🇨🇳 Nvidia CEO Criticizes U.S. Chip Export Restrictions for China

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang criticized U.S. export controls on AI chips to China, stating they have empowered Chinese chip developers and reduced Nvidia's market share in the country from 95% to 50% in four years. Huang urged the White House to lift the ban, warning that continued restrictions risk U.S. companies falling behind Chinese competitors and impacting a potential $50 billion Chinese AI chip market by 2026.

🛡️🗣️ AI Whistleblower Protection Act Lands in Congress

A bipartisan bill, the "AI Whistleblower Protection Act," has been introduced in Congress by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and others. It aims to grant full federal whistleblower status to AI engineers and researchers who report safety flaws, shielding them from NDAs, gag clauses, and retaliation, while offering reinstatement and damages if fired. This legislation seeks to enhance transparency and encourage critical disclosures in the AI industry.

🛰️🧠 China Launches First Satellites for "Three-Body Computing Constellation"

China has launched the initial 12 satellites of its "Three-Body Computing Constellation," a massive 2,800-satellite AI-powered computing network. Led by ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab, these satellites will process data directly in space, reducing reliance on ground infrastructure. This marks a shift towards satellites as in-orbit data processors and AI platforms, with significant economic, scientific, and military implications for China's AI leadership goals.

🇺🇸🇨🇳 U.S. Officials Scrutinize Apple-Alibaba AI Partnership

U.S. officials are reportedly scrutinizing Apple's plan to partner with Chinese tech giant Alibaba for AI features in China. Concerns include potential assistance to Alibaba's AI capabilities, expansion of censored Chinese chatbots, and increased exposure to Chinese regulations. While Apple requires a Chinese AI model for regulatory approval, this partnership raises national security fears amid U.S. efforts to contain China's AI industry.

🏫🤖 AI for Teachers: 30% of South Korean Schools Adopt Digital Textbooks

South Korea announced that 30% of its schools have adopted AI-powered digital textbooks since March, showcasing its leading role in classroom technology at the APEC ministers' meeting. These textbooks personalize lessons based on student performance, with plans for nationwide expansion by 2025. While promising, experts caution about addressing concerns related to AI integration in education.

🤝🧠 Study: AIs Build Their Own Social Norms

New research from the University of London reveals that AI agents can develop shared social conventions and collective behaviors through interaction alone, without central coordination. In "naming games," agents established group-level biases and even flipped established norms. This highlights a deeper social dynamic in interacting AI groups, crucial for understanding and aligning them with human values as they negotiate and collaborate online.

🔬🌟 FutureHouse’s AI Makes First Scientific Discovery

FutureHouse announced that its multi-agent AI system, "Robin," has achieved a major scientific breakthrough by identifying a promising new treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness. Robin autonomously generated hypotheses, designed experiments, analyzed data, and created research figures, with human assistance for lab work. The system's code and data, along with its specialized agents, will be open-sourced next week.

🎧🗣️ AI Headphones Translate Crowds in 3D

University of Washington researchers have developed an AI-powered headphone system that simultaneously translates multiple speakers while preserving spatial location and unique voice characteristics. This "Spatial Speech Translation" system uses off-the-shelf noise-canceling headphones with extra mics. AI algorithms separate, translate, and play back speech in real-time with a 2-4 second delay for Spanish, German, and French, operating locally on devices with an Apple M2 chip.

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That's it for this week!
Until next time, stay curious and keep exploring the ever-evolving world of AI!
Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you again soon with more exciting updates.

Jul