Factory, a San Francisco‑based startup that builds AI agents for enterprise engineering teams, announced a $150 million Series B round that values the company at $1.5 billion. The financing was led by Khosla Ventures with participation from Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners and Blackstone, and brought Keith Rabois onto the board. Founder Matan Grinberg said the firm’s edge lies in its ability to toggle between foundation models such as Anthropic’s Claude and DeepSeek. Customers already include Morgan Stanley, Ernst & Young and Palo Alto Networks. Read more →

Anthropic has begun rolling out identity verification for users of its Claude chatbot, requiring a government‑issued photo ID and a selfie in limited cases. The verification is handled by third‑party Persona, whose investors include Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. While the company says the step targets fraudulent or abusive activity, many subscribers balk at the added biometric check, citing privacy concerns and the service’s ties to government surveillance firms. Anthropic maintains the data will be encrypted, not stored, and will never train its models. Read more →

Google announced Thursday that its Gemini Personal Intelligence feature will soon generate images using a new Nano Banana‑powered engine. The upgrade lets the AI create pictures that reflect a user’s preferences and photo‑library labels without explicit prompts. Subscribers to Google’s Plus, Pro and Ultra plans in the United States will receive the capability within days, and the company says it will roll out to Chrome desktop and other markets soon. The move expands Gemini’s contextual understanding, but Google warns the system can still misinterpret data and invites user feedback. Read more →

On April 14, 2026, OpenAI announced GPT-5.4-Cyber, a model built for digital defenders, and detailed a three‑pillar strategy to safeguard generative AI against cyber threats. The rollout follows Anthropic’s private release of Claude Mythos Preview, which the company warned could be weaponized by hackers. OpenAI says its existing safeguards already reduce risk sufficiently and outlines new controls—including a "know your customer" access system, iterative deployment, and expanded security investments—to protect current and future AI capabilities. Read more →

After a tweet from Google’s Gemini AI highlighted the need for more specific image prompts, users are experimenting with detailed instructions to boost the quality of generated visuals. The advice calls for defining subject, composition, aspect ratio, lighting, camera settings and precise text placement. Early adopters report sharper composition, realistic lighting and clearer text when they follow the guidelines, marking a shift from generic descriptions to cinematographer‑style direction. Read more →

Google has expanded its Gemini AI chat tool with a new feature that creates interactive visualizations instead of static images. Users can ask Gemini to "show me" or "help me visualize" a topic, then click a button to launch a dynamic simulation with sliders and adjustable views. The capability, demonstrated with a moon‑orbit model and a car‑engine animation, is now available worldwide for Pro‑model users, though it remains excluded from Education and Workspace accounts. Anthropic recently introduced a similar function for Claude, but Gemini currently lacks a save option for the visuals. Read more →

Artificial intelligence has moved past answering questions to becoming a constant, creative presence online. Students draft essays with large language models, dating apps generate prompts, and new platforms let users turn simple ideas into interactive experiences. The change is less about what AI can produce and more about how people engage with it, turning passive consumption into a loop of participation and creation. Read more →

A leading tech outlet has released a comprehensive glossary of artificial‑intelligence terminology, covering everything from large language models and generative AI to hallucinations and compute. The reference, designed for journalists and industry watchers, offers clear, concise definitions and promises regular updates as the field evolves. By standardizing the language around AI, the guide aims to improve reporting accuracy and help readers navigate the rapidly shifting tech landscape. Read more →

Meta unveiled Muse Spark, its first AI model from the Superintelligence Labs, as the new default experience across the Meta AI app and website in the United States. The multimodal chatbot can generate text, images, video and even audio, handling complex constraints while staying socially fluent. Meta says the model prioritizes people and will soon roll out to Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and upcoming AI glasses, positioning the service as a direct competitor to ChatGPT and Google Gemini inside the platforms billions already use. Read more →

Google has upgraded its Gemini chatbot with a feature that creates interactive 3D models and simulations on demand. Users of the Pro version can ask the AI to visualize concepts such as orbital mechanics or the Doppler effect, then rotate, zoom, or adjust variables with sliders. The move follows similar visual‑output capabilities recently rolled out by Anthropic and OpenAI, signaling a broader push toward more immersive AI‑driven explanations. Read more →

Former Apple Vision Pro engineers Chris Nolet and Ryan Burgoyne have unveiled Button, a $179 AI wearable that only activates when pressed. Designed to look like an iPod Shuffle, the aluminum puck houses a generative‑AI chatbot that replies aloud or via Bluetooth. The duo emphasizes privacy—no passive listening—and rapid response, positioning Button as a complementary device to smartphones rather than a replacement. Preorders are open through Y Combinator, with shipments slated for December. Read more →

Google announced that its AI‑powered research tool NotebookLM is now fully embedded in the Gemini chat platform. Subscribers to Google AI Ultra, Pro and Plus can create and manage notebooks from Gemini’s side panel, adding sources like PDFs, web links, YouTube videos and pasted text. The integration lets users ask Gemini to generate summaries, infographics and other formats from the stored data, though Google cautions that the output may contain inaccuracies and should be verified. Read more →

A coalition of YouTube creators has sued Amazon in a Seattle federal court, alleging the company used automated tools to download millions of videos without permission to train its Nova Reel generative‑AI model. The plaintiffs, which include Ted Entertainment—behind the H3 Podcast and h3h3 Productions—assert that Amazon’s scraping violated copyright law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. They seek monetary damages and an injunction to halt the practice. Amazon has not commented as the case joins a wave of high‑profile lawsuits testing the limits of AI training and fair‑use defenses. Read more →