Tags: Open Ai

Periodic Labs, founded by former Google Brain and DeepMind researcher Ekin Dogus Cubuk and ex‑OpenAI VP of Research Liam Fedus, announced a $300 million seed funding round backed by top tech investors. The startup aims to create AI scientists that run autonomous laboratories, conducting physical experiments to discover new materials such as advanced superconductors. Leveraging the founders' experience in AI breakthroughs—including a trillion‑parameter neural network and AI‑driven crystal discovery—the company plans to generate fresh physical‑world data to fuel future AI models and accelerate scientific innovation. Read more

PayPal announced new capabilities for its Honey browser extension that integrate with AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The features deliver product recommendations, real‑time pricing, merchant options and deal alerts directly within the chatbot experience. Honey also highlights retailers that the AI may have omitted, giving shoppers a broader view of options. Designed as an AI‑agnostic solution, the rollout begins with ChatGPT and fits into PayPal’s larger agentic commerce push, which includes a recent partnership with Google and other tools aimed at streamlining online buying. Read more

OpenAI introduced Sora 2, an AI system that creates realistic video and synchronized audio, alongside a TikTok‑like social app that lets users generate and share videos featuring their own likenesses. The rollout includes parental controls, watermarking, and strict policies that prevent the creation of deepfakes of public figures without consent. While OpenAI touts the technology as a step toward useful world simulators, it also acknowledges the potential for misinformation and emphasizes built‑in safeguards such as metadata signals and content moderation. Read more

Apple has asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s companies, xAI and X Corp, which allege that Apple’s partnership with OpenAI to embed ChatGPT in the iPhone harms their own AI projects. Apple argues the claims are speculative, that its OpenAI deal is non‑exclusive, and that it is free to partner with multiple generative‑AI services. The company contends there is no plausible basis for the allegations and requests the case be dismissed. Read more

OpenAI has launched Sora 2, an AI video generation model paired with an invite‑only iOS app that lets users create short videos from text prompts. The new platform adds a "cameo" feature that enables users to insert their own face and voice into generated scenes, while offering synced audio, improved physics, and a TikTok‑style feed for remixing and sharing. Robust safeguards—including explicit opt‑in, identity verification, parental controls, and moderator review—aim to mitigate deepfake and disinformation risks. Sora 2 enters a crowded market alongside offerings from Google, Runway and Meta. Read more

Electricity bills are climbing across the United States, with the sharpest increases occurring near data centers that power cloud services, video streaming and artificial‑intelligence training. Wholesale power prices have risen as much as 267% over the past five years in those hotspots, according to Bloomberg analysis of regional transmission data. Demand from AI‑focused firms such as Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon and OpenAI is driving a projected doubling of data‑center electricity use by 2035. Grid constraints, aging infrastructure and the lengthy timeline for new transmission lines are limiting growth, prompting utilities and tech companies to adopt smarter sensors, dynamic line‑rating technology and on‑site renewable generation to meet the surge. Read more

OpenAI unveiled Sora, an AI‑powered video generation app built on the new Sora 2 model. Currently limited to iOS users in the United States and Canada, the app requires an invitation and lets early adopters invite four friends. Sora offers a "cameo" feature that lets users grant permission for their likeness to appear in generated clips, designating them as co‑owners who can delete or restrict further edits. The app also includes a Remix function for re‑imagining trending videos, while blocking the creation of pornographic content and videos of public figures unless explicit consent is provided. Read more

OpenAI has introduced parental controls for ChatGPT and its video generator Sora 2 after a lawsuit alleging the AI contributed to a teen's suicide. The company has also rolled out a series of safety updates, including routing sensitive chats to a stricter reasoning model and testing age‑prediction technology. While suicide‑prevention experts acknowledge progress, they urge faster action, and the plaintiff’s attorney says the changes arrive too late. The new controls let parents limit usage and, in rare high‑risk cases, review chat logs, sparking further debate over the balance between safety and user autonomy. Read more

OpenAI introduced Instant Checkout, a new feature that lets users purchase individual items from Etsy sellers directly inside ChatGPT. Powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol developed with Stripe, the service currently supports single‑item purchases in the United States for both free and paid ChatGPT users. OpenAI says the rollout will expand to include multi‑item carts, more regions, and a broader set of merchants, with over a million Shopify sellers slated to adopt the technology soon. Payments are processed by the merchant, and merchants cover a small fee without affecting product prices. Read more

A growing number of senior staff at Elon Musk's AI venture xAI and at Tesla have left the companies, citing concerns over Musk's free‑speech absolutism, lax safety practices, and aggressive product timelines. The exodus includes former executives, engineers, and product leaders who have moved to rivals such as OpenAI or started their own safety projects. Internal tensions have also been highlighted by remarks about Musk's decision‑making style and the integration of controversial AI features, fueling uncertainty about the future direction of the firms. Read more

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 53, a pioneering California law that imposes new transparency and safety reporting requirements on large AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google DeepMind. The legislation mandates disclosure of safety protocols, grants whistleblower protections, and creates a reporting channel to the state’s Office of Emergency Services for critical incidents, including cyber‑attacks and deceptive model behavior. While the bill received mixed reactions—industry groups warning of a patchwork regulatory landscape and Anthropic offering support—it positions California as a potential model for other states, with New York considering a comparable measure. Read more

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab, has rapidly risen in popularity after its chatbot app topped major app store charts. The company’s models, including DeepSeek‑V2, V3 and the R1 reasoning model, have demonstrated strong benchmark performance while being priced far below competitors. This success has drawn attention from U.S. The firm benefits from backing by High‑Flyer Capital Management and has partnered with Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry, yet it faces bans on government devices in the United States and other jurisdictions due to security and propaganda concerns. Read more

OpenAI has introduced an Instant Checkout feature that lets ChatGPT users buy directly from U.S.-based Etsy sellers within the chat interface. The tool displays product details, prices and reviews, and allows users to confirm orders, shipping and payment without leaving the conversation. OpenAI says the feature will soon expand to more than one million Shopify merchants and will operate on a small fee model for completed purchases. The company also plans to open source the underlying Agentic Commerce Protocol, built with Stripe, to enable broader integration of AI‑driven checkout experiences. Read more

Opera has launched Neon, an AI‑enhanced browser that offers specialized agents for tasks such as browsing and workflow management. Early users can access Neon for a monthly fee, while others join a waitlist. The browser includes features like Task workspaces, Do browsing agents, and customizable Cards for prompts. Neon joins a growing field of AI browsers that includes Perplexity’s Comet, OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agent, and Google’s Gemini‑enabled Chrome, highlighting a rapid expansion of AI integration in web navigation. Read more

Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 53, known as the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act, into law. The bill, authored by Senator Scott Wiener, replaces the vetoed SB 1047 and requires large AI developers to publicly disclose safety frameworks, report critical incidents, and protect whistleblowers. While AI firms remain divided, Anthropic endorsed the legislation after negotiations, whereas Meta and OpenAI expressed opposition, proposing compliance through federal or international agreements. Read more

OpenAI has begun testing a new safety routing system in ChatGPT and introduced parental controls for teen users. The routing feature detects emotionally sensitive conversations and temporarily switches to a GPT‑5 model trained with "safe completions," aiming to prevent harmful interactions that have previously led to legal challenges. Parental controls let guardians set quiet hours, disable voice and memory functions, block image generation, and receive alerts if the system detects self‑harm risk. The changes have sparked mixed reactions, with some praising the added safeguards and others viewing them as overly restrictive. Read more

OpenAI is rolling out a suite of parental safety tools for teenagers using ChatGPT. The new features let parents receive notifications if a teen discusses self‑harm or suicide, restrict exposure to graphic or mature content, set usage time windows, and opt out of data training. These measures arrive amid lawsuits alleging the chatbot contributed to a teen's death and follow a similar tragedy involving another AI platform. OpenAI says the updates aim to provide age‑appropriate experiences while balancing teen privacy, and the company expects other AI firms to adopt comparable safeguards. Read more

Anthropic announced its new Claude Sonnet 4.5 model, highlighting a 30‑hour autonomous coding run that produced roughly 11,000 lines of code for a chat application. The company touts the model as the leading solution for real‑world agents, coding, and computer use, noting strong performance in cybersecurity, financial services, and research. Early testers such as Canva reported success with complex, long‑context tasks. Anthropic also introduced developer‑focused updates—including virtual machines, memory, and multi‑agent support—to help build custom AI agents, positioning the launch amid fierce competition from OpenAI and Google. Read more

OpenAI has rolled out a suite of parental controls for ChatGPT, initially available to web users with mobile support slated for later release. The tools let parents limit sensitive content, disable memory of past chats, restrict model training on a teen’s data, set quiet hours, and turn off voice, image generation, and other features. Parents must have their own accounts and can receive notifications via email, SMS, or push alerts. The controls aim to balance teen safety with privacy after high‑profile incidents involving minors and recent Senate scrutiny of AI safety practices. Read more

OpenAI has launched parental controls for ChatGPT, allowing parents to link their accounts with teen accounts to set safeguards. Features include default reduction of sensitive content, the ability to limit memory retention, quiet hours, and the option to disable voice and image generation. Parents can also decide whether a teen's chats are used to improve future models. Account linking requires mutual consent, and parents do not gain direct access to chat content except in rare safety‑risk situations. The rollout aims to provide stronger safety measures for younger users while preserving user privacy. Read more