World model maker Odyssey nabs $1.45B valuation backed by Amazon and other big names
World models are the next big thing in AI beyond LLMs and, with this round, Odyssey has cemented itself as one of the startups to watch.
AI
Two-thirds of Americans think AI is advancing too quickly
According to the latest Pew Research poll, 49 percent of Americans report using chatbots at least occasionally, but 63 percent think the tech is advancing too quickly. Overall, use of AI chatbots has increased dramatically since 2024, when only 33 percent reported using them. Specifically, ChatGPT’s usage has doubled since 2023, with 44 percent of […]
Google bets on Gemini to reinvent the smart home speaker
Google is betting generative AI can breathe new life into the smart speaker. The company’s new $99.99 Google Home Speaker replaces the rigid commands of the Google Assistant era with more conversational Gemini interactions.
Vibe-decoding the White House-Anthropic fight over Fable
Hello and welcome to Regulator, an email for Verge subscribers about technology, politics, and what happens when science crashes headlong into self-interest. Not a subscriber? Sign up here today! Got the scoop on a petty feud that’s going to somehow fundamentally reshape the entire field of frontier AI development? Send ’em over to tina.nguyen+tips@theverge.com. Back […]
Can anyone look cool wearing Snap’s $2,000 glasses?
Yesterday, Snap debuted its new $2,195 Specs glasses. In an interview with CNBC, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel described the Specs as something the company had been working on for more than 12 years, an attempt to “bring computing into the world” and “make it more human.” He positioned them as a device to help people […]
The slowtech revolution is here to kill your phone addiction and rescue your attention span
“People just really want to take back control of their time, their lives, their attention… They’re down for whatever helps them do that.”
Collecting robot training data is dirty, unglamorous work. Some AI labs are already paying XDOF to do it.
If physical AI is going to match the accomplishments of LLMs, there’s a data problem that needs to be solved.
Pramaana Labs raises $27M seed round from Khosla Ventures to bring formal verification to AI
Pramaana will focus on highly sensitive verticals like law, drug discovery, and tax preparation — where errors can be costly and reliability is at a premium.
AI search grounded in Facebook posts? What could go wrong?
AI is pretty reliable at putting things on your calendar these days, but it hasn’t quite cracked answering the related and all-important question of “What should I do this weekend?” Meta’s new AI Mode in search could be a useful tool – if it ever learns to stop getting stuff wrong. AI Mode is a […]