Startups & Ventures

🔍 Google launches smart speaker with Gemini

On June 25, Google will start selling the Google Home Speaker for $100, its first smart speaker since 2020. It features Gemini, a new assistant replacing the old one.

Gemini enables full conversations and integrates with third-party services, moving beyond simple commands like playing music.

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🤖 Boston Dynamics Atlas masters new tasks

Boston Dynamics' humanoid Atlas adapts to new environments and tasks beyond pre-programmed actions. Simulations equal to millions of training hours run daily, with skill transfer to the robot in about an hour, per KB Securities.

Atlas now moves a refrigerator over 45 kg, despite training on 23-32 kg loads, using full-body coordination and balance to adjust force dynamically.

Engineering changes simplify mechanics: two actuator types, symmetrical limbs, and continuous-rotation joints without cables. This reduces the simulation-to-reality gap and improves durability.

An analyst predicts Boston Dynamics could capture up to 60% of the premium industrial humanoid market by 2035.

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🚀 SpaceX Unveils AI1 Satellite Data Center

SpaceX introduced AI1, the first satellite data center for AI tasks, per Bloomberg. Elon Musk says AI1 will join a future network of about 1 million satellites performing AI computing in low Earth orbit.

The satellites will have solar panels up to 70 meters long and support 150 kW computing loads with Nvidia chips. Musk says building them is simpler than Starlink satellites, needing mainly solar panels, cooling, and laser links.

SpaceX plans a major production expansion in Texas. The new Gigasat facility will span over 11 million sq ft (~1 sq km) to make large solar panels for these space data centers.

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🔗 MiniMax launches AI-powered creative Hub

MiniMax introduced Hub, a local workstation where AI agents handle creative tasks like research, scripting, image creation, music, and final editing. It supports multiple projects and an infinite canvas for seamless workflow.

Hub runs directly on your computer, integrating local files and apps for instant import and export. Early users before July 1 get 3000 credits, and points from Hailuo AI transfer fully to MiniMax Hub.

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📣 SpaceX to Merge with Cursor for $60B

SpaceX and Cursor signed a final merger agreement valuing Cursor at $60 billion. The deal will be done through a stock swap and aims to close in Q3.

Cursor is a coding tool with a loyal user base, unlike SpaceX's Grok, which failed to gain traction in vibe coding and had an unnoticed Grok Build release.

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🤖 Anthropic sued over subscription limits

A US user named Carl Khan filed a lawsuit accusing Anthropic of misleading customers by lowering subscription limits. He claims the advertised limits for premium plans Max 5x and Max 20x are far from reality.

For example, the Max 20x plan reportedly offers only about 6× the limits of the Pro subscription, not the promised 20×. Khan wants to make the lawsuit class-action, covering all users who bought these plans since April 2025.

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🔍 DeepMind Explores Life Beyond AGI

DeepMind published a detailed study titled "From AGI to ASI" arguing that AGI is not the ultimate goal but just the start. They stress that human-level AI is limited by biology and marketing has oversold it as a finish line.

AGI means Artificial General Intelligence, AI at human level. But human intelligence is specialized and bounded by evolution. Machines can scale memory and speed far beyond human limits.

The real target is ASI, Artificial Superintelligence, which surpasses entire organizations. This could come from scaling many AGI instances or new breakthroughs. Even millions of AGI copies running simultaneously could count as ASI.

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🍏 Apple Holds Back 3 iOS 27 Features

Apple plans to release three unannounced features with the iPhone 18 Pro and new Apple Watch this fall. These include a new watch face, a redesigned Camera app, and expanded Siri support for third-party chatbots.

The new watch face is likely a simplified Modular Ultra design, bringing Ultra aesthetics to standard Apple Watch models. The Camera app update will let users customize which functions appear and in what order during shooting.

Siri will soon support multiple AI assistants beyond Apple’s own, including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. This effectively turns Siri into a platform where users choose the AI handling their voice requests.

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👟 Adidas makes World Cup ball a smart device

The official World Cup ball Trionda must be wirelessly charged before each match. It contains a 14-gram motion sensor operating at 500 Hz, tracking position, speed, spin, and direction 500 times per second. A full charge lasts about 6 hours, enough for the entire game including extra time.

Sensor data combines with stadium cameras to create a real-time 3D model of every play. This feeds the VAR room to speed up and improve decisions on offsides, handballs, and goal-line calls. At around $170, Trionda may be the most expensive standard match ball in World Cup history.

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🤖 OpenRouter launches Model Fusion system

OpenRouter introduced Model Fusion, a system that merges multiple neural networks into one advisory unit. It supports combinations like GPT-5.5 with Opus 4.8 tailored for specific tasks.

These model blends can outperform Claude Fable 5 in efficiency while running faster and costing less.

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🌱 Tric deploys UV robots that cut pesticide use by 70%

Tric is deploying autonomous robots that move through fields at night, using UV-C light to kill fungal diseases and spider mites without chemicals. Pilots on California's Central Coast have shown up to 70% reductions in pesticide use.

The technology is based on a simple biological advantage. Many fungi can repair UV damage when exposed to blue light during the day. At night, that repair mechanism does not activate, making the damage permanent. University trials found nighttime UV treatments could eliminate up to 95% of infections on crops including strawberries, grapes, cucumbers, basil, and roses.
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Tric's Eden robot spans more than 40 feet, while its Luna platform covers 6 rows at a time across 50 to 100 acres. The machines can carry UV systems, bug vacuums, and precision cameras in a single pass.
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Farmers do not buy the robots. They subscribe to the service, while Tric operates the fleet.

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The first commercial computer was unveiled on this day in 1951.

It weighed 16,000 pounds.

Smartphones today weighs less than half a pound.

And are millions of times more powerful.

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🍏 Pixar Teases New Film Gatto

Pixar teased Gatto, about a cat named Nero who owes the Venetian mafia. Directed by Enrico Casarosa of Luca.

The animation mimics Puss in Boots 2 with a 2D drawing style.

It will release in March next year.

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🔍 Google Gemini 3.5 translates live speech in 70 languages

Google launched Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, which translates live speech into over 70 languages without pausing. The model processes speech in real time, preserving tone and pace, and marks each synthesized segment with a SynthID watermark.

The feature expanded Google Meet’s language support from 5 to more than 70 languages and over 2000 language pairs. Developers can access it via Gemini Live API, while users get it in the Google Translate app on Android and iOS.

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🤖 OpenAI and Anthropic Subscriptions Unprofitable

SemiAnalysis tested OpenAI and Anthropic subscriptions by running long tasks to use weekly limits. The $20 OpenAI plan delivers about $700 in token value, the $200 plan about $14,000. Anthropic’s $100 plan shows $2,000 in token costs, revealing heavy losses across tiers.

Both companies offer fixed-price subscriptions with variable token usage depending on tasks.

OpenAI’s plans lose money below 15% usage, Anthropic below 20%. The priciest plans show the worst margins: ChatGPT-pro-20x hits -775% at 50% load, Claude-max-20x -400%. This may limit startups to API-only access instead of adding new subscription features.

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🤖 US Orders Anthropic to Block Mythos and Fable

The US government has ordered Anthropic to cut off access to Mythos and Fable for all foreign nationals, including those inside the US and foreign employees of Anthropic.

Anthropic apologized but complied immediately, shutting down access to these models. They called it a misunderstanding and are working to restore access as soon as possible.

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🫡 Xiaomi launches free Claude Code alternative

Xiaomi released MiMo Code, a free terminal AI agent for programming built on OpenCode with an MIT license. It handles long tasks of hundreds of steps by saving state to files and restoring context seamlessly, avoiding memory loss common in other agents.

MiMo Code divides memory into four levels: session notes, project knowledge, user settings, and full action history. It cleans duplicates weekly and converts repeated actions into skills monthly. A Max Mode runs five solutions in parallel, boosting benchmark scores by 10-20% but increasing token use 4-5 times.

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✈️ Telegram launches native app on smartwatches

Telegram is now on all major smartwatches, including Apple Watch, Samsung, Google, and Xiaomi.

Users can read messages, send stickers, record voice notes, and share location from their wrist.

📊@tech