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Today:

• Microsoft Secures Nuclear Energy Deal

• Jony Ive Teams with OpenAI

• Black Forest Labs Hits Billion Valuation

• Perplexity Plans New AI Ad Model

• Amazon Launches Video Generator Beta

• Crystalyze AI Solves Crystal Mysteries

Microsoft Goes FULL NUCLEAR to Develop AGI…

Microsoft is significantly increasing its investment in artificial intelligence (AI) by introducing a new, highly efficient model called Grin-MoE. This model outperforms larger ones while being smaller, using a "mixture of experts" approach that combines specialized mini-models to solve tasks like coding, math, and logic efficiently. 

To power its AI operations, which require vast amounts of electricity, Microsoft is purchasing energy from the Three Mile Island Unit One nuclear plant—the safe reactor not involved in the 1979 accident. The plant will restart in 2028, and Microsoft has agreed to buy its energy for 20 years. 

WATCH THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

Jony Ive confirms he’s working on a new device with OpenAI

Jony Ive, the former chief designer at Apple, has confirmed he is collaborating with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, on a new device that uses artificial intelligence (AI). The project is in early stages with only 10 employees, including key people from the iPhone team. 

Ive's company, LoveFrom, is leading the design. They are exploring how AI can create a new kind of computing device that can handle complex tasks better than traditional software. Details are scarce, but they are raising significant funding and working from a new office in San Francisco.

THE VERGE

Grok’s image generator, Black Forest Labs, is raising $100M at a $1B valuation

Black Forest Labs, a new startup from Germany, is raising $100 million and is now valued at $1 billion. The company builds artificial intelligence (AI) tools that create images from text descriptions. 

Founded by the engineers who developed Stability AI, Black Forest Labs recently secured $31 million and is attracting more investors. Their technology, called Flux.1, is used by Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok to generate images. The team includes experts who previously worked on the popular iPhone. Black Forest Labs is also developing a tool to make videos from text. 

TECHCRUNCH

Perplexity in talks with top brands on ads model as it challenges Google

Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine, is discussing a new advertising model with major brands like Nike and Marriott in an attempt to disrupt Google's dominance in the $300bn digital ads industry. The start-up aims to revamp the traditional auction-based ads system by introducing sponsored questions with AI-generated answers approved by the advertiser, charging marketers based on impressions at a lower cost compared to Google.

Perplexity has seen growth in its search engine queries and revenues, with plans to roll out the new ad system by the end of the year and aspirations to go public in the future. Competition like OpenAI's ChatGPT poses a threat to traditional search engines by offering comprehensive answers, indicating a shift in the search business landscape that could impact Google's stronghold.

FINANCIAL TIMES

Amazon releases a video generator — but only for ads

Amazon has launched an AI-powered tool called Video Generator, currently available in beta for select U.S. advertisers. This tool transforms a single product image into short videos that highlight the product's features, aiming to help advertisers create engaging ads without extra costs. Each video is 6-9 seconds long, includes customizable text and music, and offers four different versions for users to choose from. 

Additionally, Amazon introduced "live image," which creates animated GIFs from still images. These tools are part of Amazon’s efforts to enhance advertising with artificial intelligence, competing with similar offerings from companies like Google and Adobe.

TECHCRUNCH

AI model can reveal the structures of crystalline materials

MIT researchers have developed an AI model named Crystalyze that can determine the structure of crystalline materials using X-ray data from powdered samples. Traditionally, figuring out these structures is difficult because powdered materials have many small, randomly oriented crystal fragments. 

Crystalyze uses machine learning to analyze patterns from over 150,000 materials and predicts how atoms are arranged in the crystals. This helps scientists design new materials for batteries, magnets, and more. The model successfully solved structures for over 100 previously unknown materials and can accelerate research in various fields by making it easier to understand complex materials.

MIT

🧠RESEARCH

Training Language Models to Self-Correct via Reinforcement Learning

Researchers introduced SCoRe, a new training method using reinforcement learning to help language models fix their own errors. Unlike older techniques, SCoRe trains the model with its own generated data, avoiding reliance on other models. This approach boosted self-correction abilities by over 15% on key tests, enhancing model accuracy.

InfiMM-WebMath-40B: Advancing Multimodal Pre-Training for Enhanced Mathematical Reasoning

Researchers introduced InfiMM-WebMath-40B, a new dataset designed to improve mathematical reasoning in multimodal large language models (MLLMs). It includes 24 million web pages, 85 million image URLs, and 40 billion text tokens. This dataset significantly boosts performance in math benchmarks, setting new state-of-the-art results in multimodal math tasks, outperforming larger datasets.

MMSearch: Benchmarking the Potential of Large Models as Multi-modal Search Engines

Researchers introduced MMSearch, a benchmark to evaluate the potential of large multimodal models (LMMs) as AI search engines. The MMSearch-Engine pipeline enables LMMs to handle multimodal queries by performing tasks like requery, rerank, and summarization. Experiments show GPT-4o surpassing Perplexity Pro in search tasks, revealing insights for future multimodal search engine development.

Oryx MLLM: On-Demand Spatial-Temporal Understanding at Arbitrary Resolution

The Oryx MLLM model introduces a flexible approach to processing diverse visual data, from images to long videos and 3D scenes. Its innovations include the OryxViT model, which handles images at any resolution, and a dynamic compressor for efficient tokenization. Oryx excels in spatial-temporal understanding while optimizing for both short and long visual content.

3DTopia-XL: Scaling High-quality 3D Asset Generation via Primitive Diffusion

3DTopia-XL is a new model designed for efficient, high-quality 3D asset generation. It uses a novel representation, PrimX, to encode detailed shapes, textures, and materials for physically based rendering. By integrating diffusion transformers, 3DTopia-XL improves optimization speed and geometric fidelity, outperforming existing methods in creating realistic, high-resolution 3D assets from text or visual inputs.

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📲SOCIAL MEDIA

🗞️MORE NEWS

Apple begins testing AI software designed to bring a smarter Siri to the iPhone 16

Apple is testing new smart software called "Apple Intelligence" to make Siri smarter on the upcoming iPhone 16. The free update is now available to selected testers and will launch to all users next month. It enhances Siri’s responses, automates tasks like writing and photo editing, and is exclusive to the new iPhones priced $800–$1,200.

Open Buildings: AI-powered maps for a changing world

Google expands its Open Buildings project with a new dataset tracking building changes from 2016 to 2023, including heights. Using artificial intelligence on satellite images, it maps 1.8 billion structures to help plan cities and provide services in growing areas, especially in developing countries. The data aids governments and nonprofits despite some limitations.

AI models let robots carry out tasks in unfamiliar environments

Researchers from NYU, Meta, and Hello Robot have created AI models called Robot Utility Models (RUMs) that enable robots to perform tasks like opening doors and picking up objects in new places without extra training. These models achieved a 90% success rate, making robots easier and cheaper to use in homes.

Palmer Luckey partners with Microsoft to turn US soldiers into Starship Troopers

Anduril Industries, founded by Palmer Luckey, is partnering with Microsoft to upgrade the U.S. Army’s IVAS headsets. By adding Anduril’s Lattice software, soldiers will receive real-time threat updates from drones and defense systems. This collaboration aims to enhance soldiers’ awareness and effectiveness on the battlefield using advanced technology.

IBM, UN Launch Free-to-Use Advanced AI Energy Forecasting Tools

IBM and the United Nations launched free AI tools to predict future electricity access and evaluate clean energy fairness worldwide. The Electricity Access Forecasting model estimates power availability by 2030, and the Clean Energy Equity Index scores areas based on environmental and social factors. These tools help leaders make informed energy decisions.

Google.org announces new AI funding for students and educators

Google.org is investing over $25 million to help teachers and students learn artificial intelligence (AI). This funding supports five education groups that create AI courses and training, especially for rural and underserved communities. The goal is to teach AI skills to over half a million people, preparing them for future jobs.

AI tools help uncover enzyme mechanisms for lasso peptides

Researchers used AI tools like AlphaFold to study how enzymes create stable lasso-shaped peptides made by bacteria. These peptides have potential as medicines because they resist harsh conditions. By understanding the enzyme’s structure, scientists can design better drugs, making the process faster and more efficient for developing new treatments.