March 13, 2025

The Download: Google DeepMind’s plans for robots, and Eastern Europe’s changing tech sector

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Gemini Robotics uses Google’s top language model to make robots more useful The news: Google DeepMind has released a new model, Gemini Robotics, that combines its best large language model with robotics. Plugging…

OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor lays out the bull case for AI agents

March 4, 2025

We still didn’t get a straight up definition of exactly what an AI agent is during Bret Taylor’s Mobile World Congress fireside chat in Barcelona on Tuesday. The Sierra founder and OpenAI board chair preferred to side-step CNN moderator Anna Stewart’s question asking how “agentic AI” is “any different to a GenAI chatbot” by suggesting […]

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Google’s March Pixel Drop has AI-powered scam detection and live location sharing with friends

March 4, 2025

Google announced new software updates for the Pixel phones as part of its so-called Pixel Drop program for March. Pixel Watches and all Android devices are also receiving some new features. The most notable parts of the update include using AI to detect scams in messages and calls, better categorization in the screenshot app, menstrual […]

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Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg talks succession — ‘I don’t want to pass it to a committee’

March 4, 2025

Calls for WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg to step down from his leadership role have increased in recent months amid his controversial fight and legal battle with hosting company WP Engine. Mullenweg not only intends to stay, he’s also thinking about how he plans to manage succession planning. He doesn’t want to pass […]

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Cohere claims its new Aya Vision AI model is best-in-class

March 4, 2025

Cohere for AI, AI startup Cohere’s nonprofit research lab, this week released a multimodal “open” AI model, Aya Vision, the lab claimed is best-in-class. Aya Vision can perform tasks like writing image captions, answering questions about photos, translating text, and generating summaries in 23 major languages. Cohere, which is also making Aya Vision available for […]

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Didi reportedly seeking funds for self-driving unit at $5B valuation

March 4, 2025

Chinese ride-hail firm Didi is on the hunt for fresh funds for its autonomous vehicle technology unit that could value it at $5 billion, according to Bloomberg News. Investor interest in self-driving cars is high in China on the backs of IPOs from WeRide and Pony AI, which have a market capitalization of $4.7 billion […]

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Customizing generative AI for unique value

March 4, 2025
Since the emergence of enterprise-grade generative AI, organizations have tapped into the rich capabilities of foundational models, developed by the likes of OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Mistral, and others. Over time, however, businesses often found these models limiting since they were trained on vast troves of public data. Enter customization—the practice of adapting large language models…