Week-48 — This one feels like a turning point

Need-to-Know

• Sierra hit $100M ARR in under two years, highlighting surging enterprise demand for automated AI customer-support agents.
• Wikipedia’s guide to identifying AI-written text remains one of the more dependable methods for spotting LLM-generated content.
• Udio, after settling with Universal, blocked downloads—and its class-action waiver leaves users almost no legal recourse.
• Profluent Bio raised $106M from Jeff Bezos and others to accelerate AI-driven, on-demand protein design.
• Archetype secured $35M from Bezos Expeditions and others to use its Newton models for unifying sensor data and automating industrial monitoring.
• Momentic raised $15M to expand its AI-powered system for large-scale software testing amid increasing pressure from foundation-model competitors.
• Ubisoft revealed Teammates, an FPS built around AI-controlled squadmates as the studio’s newest generative-AI experiment following past failures like NFTs.
• DEXAI found that framing harmful prompts as poetry can bypass nearly every leading AI model’s safety filters.
• Facing growing lawsuits, Roblox will require AI-verified selfies or IDs for age checks and restrict chat to age-similar groups.
• OpenAI safety lead Andrea Vallone is departing as pressure rises over ChatGPT’s handling of mentally distressed users.
• OpenAI introduced ChatGPT’s “shopping research,” which offers personalized product comparisons and future in-chat purchasing features.
• Former MrBeast strategist Jay Neo launched Palo, a $250/month AI editor for short-video creators with 100k+ followers.
• Fleet Space used its satellite–AI platform to expand a major lithium discovery in Quebec, cutting analysis time from weeks to 48 hours.
• OpenAI projects about 220M paying ChatGPT subscribers by 2030, aiming to build one of the world’s largest subscription businesses.
• Harmonic, led by Robinhood’s CEO, raised $120M at a $1.45B valuation to pursue verifiable, math-driven AI for safety-critical domains.
• According to Google’s support page, Gemini will replace Assistant on Android Auto by March 2026, though the full rollout remains unclear.
• Project Prometheus acquired VLA-focused startup General Agents to strengthen AI systems for manufacturing and industrial robotics.
• xAI is building a small Memphis solar farm for its Colossus datacenter, though it will power only about 10% of its needs.
• RealPage is suing New York to overturn its ban on AI rent-pricing tools, arguing the restriction violates free-speech rights.
• Clover raised $36M to embed AI agents into product-design workflows and shift security toward proactive, design-first protection.
• Aroundtown plans to open its first Berlin datacenter within three years and convert additional offices despite Europe’s strained power grid.
• The EU proposed two reforms to simplify GDPR + AI Act compliance and reduce regulatory overhead for businesses.
• Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says future games will all use AI, making Steam’s “Made with AI” labels essentially meaningless.
• A breach at Mixpanel, a third-party vendor, exposed basic OpenAI API user info—though no sensitive data or core systems were impacted.
• More than 1,000 Amazon employees warn the company’s aggressive AI and data-center strategy threatens jobs, climate goals, and democratic stability.

Weekly AI Launches

• Dim Notes launched a minimalist, auto-tagging notes app that helps ideas interconnect on their own.
• BrandJet AI introduced a unified system for multi-channel outreach with real-time brand intelligence tracking.
• ProspectEcho released a no-code tool turning Facebook Ad Library searches into enriched lead lists.
• Felo launched LiveDoc, a collaborative space where humans and AI agents co-work on evolving projects.
• Fluently introduced Accent Guru, a free 30-second AI accent test to help users improve spoken English.
• HushLink rolled out a tool that monetizes any digital content in under 60 seconds via secure payment links.
• Addsubtitle launched a browser-based translator, dubber, and auto-subtitle generator supporting 100+ languages.
• Ostivities delivered an upgraded event-management suite with new modules for speakers, vendors, and breakout sessions.
• Nao introduced an AI-powered data IDE for building SQL/Python/dbt workflows with warehouse-native execution.
• Hatable launched an AI agent that ruthlessly critiques landing pages to deliver blunt, actionable insights.
• CatDoes v3 added web deployment and GitHub sync to its no-code mobile app builder.
• Klariqo unveiled AI voice assistants with a built-in CRM that automate calls, chats, and scheduling in minutes.
• Questas released a platform for building interactive, choose-your-own-adventure stories with AI visuals.
• FireCut launched a DaVinci Resolve plugin that automates repetitive editing tasks like silence and zoom cuts.
• Rubber Duck rolled out a hybrid AI + human service that tests iOS apps before App Store submission.
• Orion 1.0 launched as a privacy-focused WebKit browser with full extension support.
• Links v2.0 debuted as an iOS-26-optimized, privacy-first link manager with iCloud sync.
• Craft.do released a major update with an improved AI assistant, MCP integrations, and an Android beta.
• NoSho.app launched a tool for businesses to fill last-minute openings and secure deposits through auto-notifying links.
• InsightTube introduced an AI platform that summarizes videos, generates subtitles, and lets users chat with any video.