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AI News Roundup: Google Suncatcher, OpenAI TEAR, Apple & Gemini, Vidu Q2, and More! 🚀

Welcome to the latest AI News Roundup! Today, we’re diving into major moves from Google, OpenAI, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Sora, and more—covering futuristic data centers, billion-dollar AI deals, next-gen image/video models, and the latest legal drama around AI-powered browsing. Let’s jump right in!


🔭 Google’s Suncatcher: AI Data Centers... in Space?!

Google revealed “Project Suncatcher”—a vision to build massive AI data centers in space! Why? Here’s the big idea:

  • Solar Power in Space: Solar panels in the right orbit can be 8x more efficient than on Earth.
  • Solving Earth’s Power Bottleneck: Data centers on Earth are hitting power limits; in space, energy is abundant.
  • Communication Challenge: High-bandwidth satellite clusters will beam signals between arrays—satellites flying just a few hundred meters apart!
  • Surviving Space: Google’s custom AI chips, tested against space radiation, survived intense conditions.
  • Cost Factor: By 2030s, launch costs may drop to $200/kg with reusable rockets, thanks largely to SpaceX.

Google bets big on the future—could this revolutionize the AI world?


🤝 OpenAI’s Mega Deals: The TEAR is Real

OpenAI is on a “TEAR” with a string of massive compute infrastructure deals:

  • $500B Stargate deal
  • $100B Nvidia / $100B AMD
  • Fresh deals with Intel, TSMC, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle
  • Considering a trillion-dollar IPO
  • After restructuring, OpenAI partnered with AWS for compute—the fight for processing power is fierce!

🍏 Apple Teams Up With Gemini for Next-Gen Siri

Apple is reportedly paying Google $1B per year to power the next Siri (“Apple Intelligence”) using a fully custom Gemini model:

  • Apple runs this tech in its private cloud (not Google’s!), optimizing control and privacy.
  • OpenAI was a contender, but Apple chose Google for key gen-AI features.
  • Users can expect a smarter, more natural Siri as soon as next spring.

⏸️ OpenAI’s New Feature: Interrupt Long Queries

OpenAI shipped a must-have quality-of-life feature: you can now pause/interrupt long-running queries, add more context, and resume from where you left off—a real win for deep research and productivity!


🎨 Microsoft’s MAI Image One: Next-Gen Image Creation

Microsoft launched MAI Image One:

  • In-house image generation model, top 10 on LM Arena.
  • Prioritizes creativity, avoids generic outputs.
  • Designed with feedback from professional creators.
  • Excels at photorealism: landscapes, lighting, nuanced detail.
  • Try it on bing.com/create!

🎥 Vidu Q2: The Video Gen Model to Watch

  • Vidu Q2 launched at #8 on the text-to-video leaderboard, surpassing Sora 2 and others.
  • Supports multiple reference images for controllable results (e.g., character consistency across scenes).
  • Variants: up to 8s of 1080p video. Pro version: $6–10 per minute.
  • Standout features: great lighting, realistic water/physics, higher creativity.

Sample: “A young elf rides a unicorn through a glowing enchanted forest.” Magical!


⚖️ Amazon Threatens Perplexity Over Agent Buying

Amazon issued a legal threat to Perplexity: stop using AI agents to buy Amazon products for users.

  • Why? If AI agents shop for us, we bypass Amazon’s ad-driven business model (no chance to serve you ads as you shop).
  • Larger implications: as AI agents grow, expect more legal clashes between tech giants and the new agentic internet.

🧑‍🎤 Sora Updates: Character Cameos!

OpenAI’s social video network Sora now lets you:

  • Upload characters, pets, or designs to appear as cameos in your AI-generated videos.
  • Feature your custom character in any scene—cool, creative, and fun!

🚀 Thanks for Reading!

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