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The end of free AI is coming—and ads will replace VC funding
AI-powered consumer applications are currently subsidized by venture capital funding, similar to how companies like Uber and DoorDash operated at losses to build market share in the 2010s. This "AI lifestyle subsidy" is expected to end as companies shift toward advertising-based revenue models, fundamentally changing how users discover and interact with AI-generated content. The big picture: Just as venture capital previously funded unprofitable startups that sold services below cost, investors are now subsidizing AI applications that provide expensive large language model access at artificially low prices. Dedicated groups are already exploiting free trial accounts from AI startups to resell access...
read Jun 23, 2025Google’s Flow AI creates cinematic videos with sound and dialogue. Here’s how to enjoy it.
Google's Flow AI transforms text descriptions into professional-quality videos complete with sound effects, dialogue, and sophisticated camera work. Unlike basic AI video generators that produce silent clips from simple prompts, Flow offers filmmaking-grade controls that let users specify camera angles, add orchestral soundtracks, and script character dialogue—essentially putting a full video production studio at your fingertips. This comprehensive capability comes with a learning curve, but the results can be remarkably cinematic. After extensively testing Flow's features across multiple video projects, here's a complete guide to creating compelling AI-generated videos that go far beyond basic text-to-video conversion. Understanding Flow's pricing and...
read Jun 23, 2025Chinese VC firm launches AI benchmark testing real-world business value
Chinese venture capital firm Hongshan Capital Global has launched Xbench, an AI benchmarking system that evaluates models on both traditional academic tests and real-world task execution. The platform addresses a critical gap in AI assessment by testing whether models can deliver actual economic value rather than just pass standardized tests, with regular updates designed to keep evaluations current and relevant. What you should know: Xbench takes a dual approach to AI evaluation that goes beyond conventional benchmarking methods. • The system includes traditional academic testing through Xbench-ScienceQA, which covers postgraduate-level STEM subjects from biochemistry to orbital mechanics, rewarding both correct...
read Jun 23, 2025Study: AI could actually cut global emissions by 5.4B tons annually by 2035
New research suggests artificial intelligence could cut global climate pollution by up to 5.4 billion metric tons annually by 2035—far exceeding the emissions created by AI's own energy-hungry data centers. The findings from the Grantham Research Institute challenge growing concerns about AI's environmental impact, showing that strategic deployment across transportation, energy, and food systems could deliver net climate benefits equivalent to eliminating all of the European Union's current emissions. The big picture: AI's climate potential hinges on governments channeling the technology toward high-impact applications rather than letting market forces alone dictate its development. The study identifies five key areas where...
read Jun 23, 2025Perplexity launches Comet browser for Windows as Apple eyes $14B acquisition
Perplexity is expanding its AI browser Comet to Windows users through a selective testing program, following its initial macOS beta launch in May. This development comes amid reports that Apple executives are considering acquiring the AI search company for what could be Apple's largest acquisition ever at $14 billion. What you should know: Comet is a Chromium-based browser that replaces traditional search engines with Perplexity AI's conversational search experience. The browser provides curated responses to queries similar to Google's AI Mode, complete with source links and product purchase options. Built-in features include an ad blocker, page summarization, and an Ask...
read Jun 23, 2025Apple faces class-action lawsuit over delayed Siri AI features
Apple faces a federal securities class-action lawsuit from shareholders who claim the company knowingly promoted incomplete Siri AI features for the iPhone 16 despite lacking a functional prototype. The lawsuit, filed by shareholder Eric Tucker, targets CEO Tim Cook and current and former CFOs, alleging violations of US securities laws after Apple's stock fell in March 2025 following confirmation that advanced Siri features won't arrive until 2026. What you should know: The lawsuit represents all individuals or entities who purchased Apple shares between June 10, 2024, and June 9, 2025, seeking damages for alleged securities violations. • Filed against CEO...
read Jun 23, 2025CIOs must shift from system-specific to persona-based AI strategies
CIOs must shift from system-specific AI implementations to persona-based strategies that tailor artificial intelligence capabilities to different employee roles and workflows. This approach promises to unlock AI's full potential by delivering contextual intelligence that understands not just what tasks are being performed, but who is performing them and how they work best. The big picture: Traditional enterprise AI initiatives often remain siloed within individual platforms like customer relationship management (CRM) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, creating fragmented intelligence and duplicated efforts that fail to scale across the organization. Why persona-based AI matters: Different employee archetypes require distinct AI capabilities...
read Jun 23, 2025Cvent unveils AI-powered CventIQ to automate event planning and personalization
Cvent Connect 2025 delivered a clear message: artificial intelligence is reshaping how organizations plan, execute, and analyze their events. The annual conference for Cvent, a leading event management platform provider, showcased CventIQ—a comprehensive AI suite designed to streamline everything from small local gatherings to major corporate conferences. Rather than positioning CventIQ as a standalone product, Cvent integrated these AI capabilities across four strategic areas that directly address common pain points in event management. For business leaders evaluating event technology investments, these announcements signal a significant shift toward AI-powered automation and personalization in corporate events. According to Forrester, a prominent technology...
read Jun 23, 2025Microsoft offers US college students 3 months of Copilot AI free
Microsoft has launched an aggressive play for student mindshare with a compelling offer: three months of Microsoft 365 Personal with Copilot AI integration completely free for US college students. This represents one of the tech giant's most direct attempts to embed artificial intelligence tools into academic workflows, particularly as competitors like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini increasingly target educational markets. The standard Microsoft 365 Personal with Copilot AI typically costs $9.99 monthly, but students can access the full suite for free during their trial period. After three months, the subscription continues at $4.99 per month—a 50% discount from regular pricing....
read Jun 23, 2025Google’s ChromeOS adds practical AI features that outshine competitors
Google has quietly unleashed a suite of artificial intelligence features for ChromeOS that could reshape how business users interact with their computers. Unlike flashy AI chatbots that require separate applications, these tools integrate directly into everyday workflows, offering contextual assistance without interrupting productivity. The standout feature, Text Capture, demonstrates Google's strategic approach to practical AI implementation. Rather than forcing users to learn new interfaces, it works seamlessly within existing applications, analyzing on-screen content and suggesting relevant actions. This represents a significant shift toward ambient computing, where AI assistance becomes invisible infrastructure rather than a separate tool. For business users evaluating...
read Jun 23, 2025Shanghai festival showcases world’s first fully AI-produced animated feature
The Shanghai International Film Festival has evolved from a regional showcase into a global laboratory where traditional filmmaking collides with cutting-edge technology. The 27th edition, which concluded recently, delivered clear signals that China's entertainment industry is accelerating its international expansion through strategic technological adoption and market consolidation. This transformation matters because Shanghai is positioning itself as the bridge between Eastern and Western entertainment markets while simultaneously pioneering AI applications that could fundamentally reshape how content gets produced worldwide. The festival's bold moves—from merging traditional film and TV markets to showcasing fully AI-produced features—offer insights into where the global entertainment industry...
read Jun 23, 2025Not taking the bait: LinkedIn’s AI writing tool flops as professionals fear reputation damage
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky revealed that the platform's AI-powered writing assistant for posts has proven less popular than expected, attributing the lukewarm reception to users' concerns about maintaining their professional reputation. The insight highlights how career-focused social platforms face unique challenges in AI adoption, as professionals prioritize authentic content over AI-generated efficiency when their reputation is at stake. What they're saying: Roslansky explained the tool's limited appeal during a Bloomberg interview, emphasizing the professional stakes involved. "We have an ability where you write a post on LinkedIn," Roslansky said. "We are not going to write it for you from scratch,...
read Jun 23, 2025Snowcap raises $23M for superconducting AI chips promising 25x efficiency gains
Snowcap Compute has raised $23 million to develop superconducting AI chips that could dramatically outperform current systems while consuming far less electricity. The startup claims its technology will be 25 times more efficient than today's best chips in performance per watt, even after accounting for the energy needed to keep the superconducting materials at extremely cold temperatures. The big picture: As AI systems demand increasingly massive amounts of power—with Nvidia's upcoming "Rubin Ultra" server expected to consume 600 kilowatts—the industry is desperately seeking alternatives to conventional silicon chips that are hitting physical limits. How it works: Superconductors are materials that...
read Jun 23, 2025AI computing divide leaves 150+ nations without critical infrastructure
Artificial intelligence computing power is creating a stark global divide, with only 32 countries hosting AI-specialized data centers while more than 150 nations have no such infrastructure. This digital gap is reshaping geopolitics and economics, as nations with advanced AI capabilities gain significant advantages in scientific research, business automation, and technological sovereignty, while those without face mounting challenges in talent retention and economic development. The big picture: The United States, China, and the European Union dominate the AI computing landscape, hosting more than half of the world's most powerful data centers used for developing complex AI systems. American companies operate...
read Jun 23, 2025It’s no sweat for AI and satellites as India attempts to map deadly heat at building level
India's government is deploying artificial intelligence and satellite technology to map urban heat vulnerability at the building level, with organizations like SEEDS, a Delhi-based disaster-preparedness nonprofit, and Microsoft developing models that can assess indoor heat risk for individual structures. This granular approach addresses a critical gap in current heat action plans, which fail to target relief efforts to the most vulnerable populations during deadly heat waves that regularly push temperatures above 45°C (113°F). The big picture: Traditional heat action plans operate at city-wide scales, missing crucial variations in heat exposure that can differ by up to 9°C within the same...
read Jun 23, 2025AI platforms quietly court advertisers at Cannes Lions 2025
AI platforms made their first quiet moves into advertising at Cannes Lions 2025, with companies like Perplexity and Anthropic sending ad executives to the festival for early-stage conversations with agencies and brands. The stealth approach signals AI platforms' inevitable shift toward advertising revenue as their high infrastructure costs demand sustainable monetization strategies. What you should know: Major AI platforms are laying the groundwork for advertising businesses despite maintaining low public profiles at the industry's biggest marketing event. Perplexity sent Taz Patel, its head of advertising and shopping, to meet with agency and brand leads about the company's current ad capabilities...
read Jun 23, 2025Uh-oh, “io”: Trademark fight threatens OpenAI and Jony Ive’s $6.5B AI hardware venture
OpenAI and Jony Ive's highly anticipated AI hardware venture has hit a major legal roadblock after a court order forced the removal of their partnership announcement due to a trademark dispute. The conflict centers on the "io" name for Ive's startup, which another AI company claims infringes on their existing trademark, potentially forcing a costly rebrand of the $6.5 billion collaboration. What happened: OpenAI was forced to remove its blog post announcing the acquisition of Jony Ive's hardware startup "io" following a court order triggered by trademark complaints from a company called iyO. The original blog post detailed a $6.5...
read Jun 23, 2025Apple reportedly considers $14B Perplexity deal to improve AI search
Apple is reportedly considering acquiring AI search startup Perplexity in what would be the iPhone maker's largest acquisition in company history. The potential $14 billion deal would give Apple access to Perplexity's AI-powered search engine and chatbot technology, which serves around 15 million users as a leading ChatGPT alternative, helping Apple accelerate development of its own search capabilities and enhance Siri's intelligence. What you should know: Apple's head of mergers and acquisitions Adrian Perica has been in early-stage discussions with top executives about a potential Perplexity offer, though no bid has been made yet. Executives from both companies have met...
read Jun 23, 2025“Baywatch” stars, in 2025? OhChat charges $30 monthly for AI celebrity chats
OhChat, an eight-month-old AI startup, has launched a platform where users can interact with AI-powered "digital twins" of celebrities and creators, including former British glamor model Katie Price and "Baywatch" actress Carmen Electra. The platform, which has attracted 200,000 users primarily in the United States, allows subscribers to engage in intimate conversations and receive personalized content from these AI avatars that operate autonomously 24/7. How it works: OhChat creates lifelike digital replicas using just 30 images and a 30-minute voice recording from creators. The platform uses Meta's large language model (the AI system that powers Facebook) to generate avatars "within...
read Jun 23, 2025Google’s AI overviews slash website traffic 30% since May launch, publishers freaking
Google's AI Overviews feature is dramatically reducing website traffic as users increasingly rely on AI-generated summaries instead of clicking through to source websites. Data from multiple analytics firms shows click-through rates have dropped 30-35% since the feature's May 2024 launch, threatening the revenue model that has sustained web publishers for decades. The big picture: AI search tools are fundamentally breaking the symbiotic relationship between search engines and content creators, with Google crawling far more pages than it refers traffic to. Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, a web infrastructure company, revealed that Google's ratio of pages crawled to visitors referred has...
read Jun 23, 2025Failing upward: Expelled student’s AI startup raises $15M with “cheat on everything” slogan
Andreessen Horowitz has led a $15 million funding round for Cluely Inc., an AI startup that markets itself with the controversial slogan "cheat on everything." The investment signals the venture capital firm's willingness to back provocative AI companies, even those with founders who have faced academic consequences for creating tools designed to circumvent traditional systems. What you should know: The startup's 21-year-old co-founder Roy Lee was expelled from Columbia University earlier this year for developing Interview Coder, an AI tool that helped job candidates cheat during technical interviews.• Lee responded to his expulsion with characteristic irreverence, posting on LinkedIn: "I'm...
read Jun 20, 2025Meta pursued Perplexity acquisition before $14.3B Scale AI deal
Meta approached AI search startup Perplexity AI about a potential acquisition before ultimately investing $14.3 billion in Scale AI, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The failed talks underscore CEO Mark Zuckerberg's aggressive strategy to strengthen Meta's AI capabilities amid intensifying competition with OpenAI and Google, as the company pursues multiple high-profile deals and talent acquisitions. What you should know: The Perplexity discussions did not result in a deal, with sources offering conflicting accounts of how the talks ended. One person familiar with the matter described the outcome as "mutually dissolved," while another said Perplexity walked away from the...
read Jun 20, 20257 essential strategies for safe AI implementation in construction
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the construction industry, from streamlining bid processes to automating project planning. However, the technology's complexity and the high-stakes nature of construction projects create unique risks that demand careful consideration. Construction attorneys Christopher Horton, a partner at Smith Currie Oles LLP, and Peyton Aldrich, an associate at the same firm, have observed both the promise and perils of AI adoption across their client base. The construction sector's embrace of AI tools brings particular vulnerabilities—complex contracts, tight deadlines, and significant financial exposure mean that AI errors can cascade into costly mistakes. A misinterpreted contract clause or biased...
read Jun 20, 2025Cisco bets on networking-security combo to capture $28B AI infrastructure opportunity
Cisco unveiled a comprehensive AI strategy at Cisco Live 2025, positioning the company to leverage its unique combination of networking, security, and silicon capabilities for enterprise AI deployments. CEO Chuck Robbins emphasized that Cisco's dual expertise in networking and security creates a competitive advantage that neither pure networking nor security companies can match, particularly crucial as agentic AI requires constant high-level activity unlike traditional generative AI chatbots. The big picture: Cisco is betting that the infrastructure transformation needed for AI will mirror the networking boom of the 1990s that originally made the company a juggernaut. Robbins noted that 85% of...
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