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Apple TV+ losing $1B yearly
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Good morning, tech enthusiasts. Apple is reportedly losing $1B a year on its streaming service, Apple TV+, despite investing some $5B annually to produce hit shows like Severance.
While Netflix thrives on its massive library, Apple has been following a more curated strategy, releasing fewer but high-quality titles. The question is: will the company keep TV+ as this high-profile vanity project or make big changes to take on streaming giants?
In today’s tech rundown:
Apple TV+ losing $1B per year
Drones delivering gear on Mt. Everest
Google’s new low-cost Pixel 9a
AI forecasts weather in seconds
Quick hits on other major tech news
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
APPLE
📺 Apple TV+ losing $1B per year
Image source: Apple TV+
The Rundown: Apple's streaming service, Apple TV+, is reportedly losing over $1B a year—the only subscription not generating profit—despite growing to 45M subscribers last year and earning critical acclaim for shows like Ted Lasso and Severance.
The details:
Apple has been investing heavily in content, spending $20B since 2019, with Severance season 2 reportedly costing $20M per episode.
However, losses are not unusual in the early days of the streaming business; Apple anticipates TV+ losses between $15B and $20B over its first decade.
Still, CEO Tim Cook has reportedly begun scrutinizing the platform's spending more closely, slashing its $5B content budget by $500M for 2024.
In terms of viewership, Apple TV+ continues to fall behind, accounting for just 0.3% of U.S. screen time in June 2024 — as compared to Netflix’s 8%.
Why it matters: Apple’s focus on quality garners major awards, but that hasn’t translated into subscriber numbers compared to Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. Of course, Netflix operated at a loss for years before turning profitable and Apple can also sustain the hit—it made $391B in total revenue during the last fiscal year.
DJI
🏔️ Drones delivering gear on Mt. Everest
Image source: Ideogram/The Rundown
The Rundown: Mount Everest expeditions are about to shift: DJI drones are being deployed alongside Nepalese Sherpas to transport supplies, haul equipment, and remove waste along some of the mountain’s most treacherous routes.
The details:
Starting next month, expedition companies will begin testing DJI FlyCart 30 drones capable of carrying loads up to 35 pounds at high altitudes.
These unmanned aircraft will transport equipment, retrieve ladders used for route-setting, remove waste, and even deliver hot meals and oxygen cylinders.
Drones can also assist Sherpas in safe route mapping and can go from the base camp to camp one in just 15 minutes—compared to a Sherpa’s 7 hours.
Nepalese drone startup AirLift first tested DJI drones last spring and noted they can handle the transport tasks despite extreme winds and temperatures.
Why it matters: Proponents argue that drones will make work safer, faster, and more efficient for Sherpas, eliminating repeated crossings of the treacherous Khumba Icefall, for example. However, critics fear that drones buzzing around Everest could jeopardize the livelihoods of people who rely on these expeditions for their families’ income.
📱 Google’s new low-cost Pixel 9a
Image source: Google
The Rundown: After a flood of leaks, Google officially unveiled the Pixel 9a, its latest mid-range smartphone with a larger battery, a new camera, and a slimmed-down design—all coming at a price tag lower than that of Apple’s “budget” iPhone 16e.
The details:
The Pixel 9a starts at $499 for the 128GB model in the U.S., the same price as last year’s model, and is powered by Google’s in-house Tensor G4 chip.
It features a sleek, flat profile with rounded edges, departing from the traditional camera bar design of other Pixel models.
The new phone also boasts a 6.3-inch Actua display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,700 nits—35% brighter than the Pixel 8a.
Its dual rear camera system includes a 48MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide—with AI photography features like Magic Eraser and Night Sight.
Why it matters: The Pixel 9a stands out in the mid-range market with its larger display, higher refresh rate, and more versatile camera setup—all at a lower price than the iPhone 16e’s $599. However, its real-world performance remains untested, as Google has delayed its release to "sometime in April."
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
☀️ AI forecasts weather in seconds
Image source: University of Cambridge
The Rundown: The University of Cambridge researchers developed Aardvark Weather, a groundbreaking AI-driven weather prediction system that can deliver accurate forecasts in one second without the need for a supercomputer.
The details:
The researchers say Aardvark relies on a machine-learning model using data from satellites, weather stations, and other sensors.
The system produces forecasts in about a second on a desktop computer, using thousands of times less computing power than conventional systems.
It already outperforms the U.S. national GFS forecasting system, despite using only 10% of the input data of existing systems.
The researchers say its simplicity can make tailored predictions possible for specific industries or locations, potentially democratizing weather forecasting.
Why it matters: By replacing hours-long supercomputer processing and extending accurate forecasts from five to eight days, Aardvark Weather can provide governments with a more efficient and accessible tool to anticipate natural disasters like floods and plan mitigation strategies in advance to save lives.
QUICK HITS
📰 Everything else in tech today
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S.-made chips and electronics over the next four years.
AI infrastructure startup CoreWeave is set to launch an IPO to raise nearly $2.5B—and mark one of the largest tech listings of 2025.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla has completed its first Optimus humanoid robot at the new pilot production line at its Fremont Factory.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the messaging service now has 1B monthly active users, with each user opening Telegram 21 times daily and spending 41 minutes.
Google is introducing an AI-powered upgrade to Gmail’s search function that prioritizes your most-clicked emails and frequent contacts for better results.
Tesla is recalling nearly all Cybertrucks in the U.S., more than 46K vehicles, to fix an exterior panel that could detach when driving.
Social media users flagged that Google’s new Gemini AI is being used to remove watermarks on images from Getty Images and other stock media companies.
Amazon lost its legal battle against a record privacy fine of $812M handed out by Luxembourg's privacy regulator, a ruling upheld by the country's administrative court.
Meta announced that its AI-powered virtual assistant, Meta AI, is finally launching in the EU — but as a more limited version compared to what’s offered to U.S. users.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander completed its two-week mission on the moon, capturing HD images and marking the longest commercial mission on the moon.
COMMUNITY
🎥 Join our next live workshop
Join our next workshop this Friday at 4 PM EST to learn about how to use AI to transform and enhance images using AI for content creation and creative projects, with Dr. Alvaro Cintas, The Rundown’s AI professor.
RSVP here. Not a member? Join The Rundown University on a 14-day free trial.
See you soon,
Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team
Apple TV+ losing $1B yearly
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Good morning, tech enthusiasts. Apple is reportedly losing $1B a year on its streaming service, Apple TV+, despite investing some $5B annually to produce hit shows like Severance.
While Netflix thrives on its massive library, Apple has been following a more curated strategy, releasing fewer but high-quality titles. The question is: will the company keep TV+ as this high-profile vanity project or make big changes to take on streaming giants?
In today’s tech rundown:
Apple TV+ losing $1B per year
Drones delivering gear on Mt. Everest
Google’s new low-cost Pixel 9a
AI forecasts weather in seconds
Quick hits on other major tech news
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
APPLE
📺 Apple TV+ losing $1B per year
Image source: Apple TV+
The Rundown: Apple's streaming service, Apple TV+, is reportedly losing over $1B a year—the only subscription not generating profit—despite growing to 45M subscribers last year and earning critical acclaim for shows like Ted Lasso and Severance.
The details:
Apple has been investing heavily in content, spending $20B since 2019, with Severance season 2 reportedly costing $20M per episode.
However, losses are not unusual in the early days of the streaming business; Apple anticipates TV+ losses between $15B and $20B over its first decade.
Still, CEO Tim Cook has reportedly begun scrutinizing the platform's spending more closely, slashing its $5B content budget by $500M for 2024.
In terms of viewership, Apple TV+ continues to fall behind, accounting for just 0.3% of U.S. screen time in June 2024 — as compared to Netflix’s 8%.
Why it matters: Apple’s focus on quality garners major awards, but that hasn’t translated into subscriber numbers compared to Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. Of course, Netflix operated at a loss for years before turning profitable and Apple can also sustain the hit—it made $391B in total revenue during the last fiscal year.
DJI
🏔️ Drones delivering gear on Mt. Everest
Image source: Ideogram/The Rundown
The Rundown: Mount Everest expeditions are about to shift: DJI drones are being deployed alongside Nepalese Sherpas to transport supplies, haul equipment, and remove waste along some of the mountain’s most treacherous routes.
The details:
Starting next month, expedition companies will begin testing DJI FlyCart 30 drones capable of carrying loads up to 35 pounds at high altitudes.
These unmanned aircraft will transport equipment, retrieve ladders used for route-setting, remove waste, and even deliver hot meals and oxygen cylinders.
Drones can also assist Sherpas in safe route mapping and can go from the base camp to camp one in just 15 minutes—compared to a Sherpa’s 7 hours.
Nepalese drone startup AirLift first tested DJI drones last spring and noted they can handle the transport tasks despite extreme winds and temperatures.
Why it matters: Proponents argue that drones will make work safer, faster, and more efficient for Sherpas, eliminating repeated crossings of the treacherous Khumba Icefall, for example. However, critics fear that drones buzzing around Everest could jeopardize the livelihoods of people who rely on these expeditions for their families’ income.
📱 Google’s new low-cost Pixel 9a
Image source: Google
The Rundown: After a flood of leaks, Google officially unveiled the Pixel 9a, its latest mid-range smartphone with a larger battery, a new camera, and a slimmed-down design—all coming at a price tag lower than that of Apple’s “budget” iPhone 16e.
The details:
The Pixel 9a starts at $499 for the 128GB model in the U.S., the same price as last year’s model, and is powered by Google’s in-house Tensor G4 chip.
It features a sleek, flat profile with rounded edges, departing from the traditional camera bar design of other Pixel models.
The new phone also boasts a 6.3-inch Actua display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,700 nits—35% brighter than the Pixel 8a.
Its dual rear camera system includes a 48MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide—with AI photography features like Magic Eraser and Night Sight.
Why it matters: The Pixel 9a stands out in the mid-range market with its larger display, higher refresh rate, and more versatile camera setup—all at a lower price than the iPhone 16e’s $599. However, its real-world performance remains untested, as Google has delayed its release to "sometime in April."
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
☀️ AI forecasts weather in seconds
Image source: University of Cambridge
The Rundown: The University of Cambridge researchers developed Aardvark Weather, a groundbreaking AI-driven weather prediction system that can deliver accurate forecasts in one second without the need for a supercomputer.
The details:
The researchers say Aardvark relies on a machine-learning model using data from satellites, weather stations, and other sensors.
The system produces forecasts in about a second on a desktop computer, using thousands of times less computing power than conventional systems.
It already outperforms the U.S. national GFS forecasting system, despite using only 10% of the input data of existing systems.
The researchers say its simplicity can make tailored predictions possible for specific industries or locations, potentially democratizing weather forecasting.
Why it matters: By replacing hours-long supercomputer processing and extending accurate forecasts from five to eight days, Aardvark Weather can provide governments with a more efficient and accessible tool to anticipate natural disasters like floods and plan mitigation strategies in advance to save lives.
QUICK HITS
📰 Everything else in tech today
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S.-made chips and electronics over the next four years.
AI infrastructure startup CoreWeave is set to launch an IPO to raise nearly $2.5B—and mark one of the largest tech listings of 2025.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla has completed its first Optimus humanoid robot at the new pilot production line at its Fremont Factory.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the messaging service now has 1B monthly active users, with each user opening Telegram 21 times daily and spending 41 minutes.
Google is introducing an AI-powered upgrade to Gmail’s search function that prioritizes your most-clicked emails and frequent contacts for better results.
Tesla is recalling nearly all Cybertrucks in the U.S., more than 46K vehicles, to fix an exterior panel that could detach when driving.
Social media users flagged that Google’s new Gemini AI is being used to remove watermarks on images from Getty Images and other stock media companies.
Amazon lost its legal battle against a record privacy fine of $812M handed out by Luxembourg's privacy regulator, a ruling upheld by the country's administrative court.
Meta announced that its AI-powered virtual assistant, Meta AI, is finally launching in the EU — but as a more limited version compared to what’s offered to U.S. users.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander completed its two-week mission on the moon, capturing HD images and marking the longest commercial mission on the moon.
COMMUNITY
🎥 Join our next live workshop
Join our next workshop this Friday at 4 PM EST to learn about how to use AI to transform and enhance images using AI for content creation and creative projects, with Dr. Alvaro Cintas, The Rundown’s AI professor.
RSVP here. Not a member? Join The Rundown University on a 14-day free trial.
See you soon,
Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team
Claude (finally) searches the web
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Good morning, AI enthusiasts. Claude's days of being stuck in the past are officially over — with Anthropic finally giving its powerful AI assistant the ability to search and cite real-time web information.
With web search now in one of the market's most powerful models, will this late but crucial addition be the upgrade that puts the company ahead in the AI assistant race?
P.S. Don’t miss our next workshop today at 4 PM EST to learn how to use AI to transform images for content creation and creative projects. RSVP here.
In today’s AI rundown:
Claude gets real-time web search
OpenAI's voice AI with personality boost
Bring old photos to life with color
Apple shuffles AI leadership amid Siri crisis
4 new AI tools & 4 job opportunities
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
ANTHROPIC
🔍 Claude gets real-time web search
Image source: Anthropic
The Rundown: Anthropic just added web search capabilities to Claude, giving its AI assistant access to real-time information and closing a major feature gap with competitors like ChatGPT and Gemini.
The details:
Web search integrates directly with Claude 3.7 Sonnet and automatically determines when to surf the internet for more current or accurate information.
Claude provides direct citations for web-sourced information, allowing users to verify sources and fact-check responses easily.
The feature is now available to all paid Claude users in the U.S., with international and free-tier expansion planned for the near future.
Users can also access the feature by toggling on the ‘Web Search’ tool in the profile settings of the platform.
Why it matters: It’s hard to believe it took this long for Claude to gain access to the web, given how long ago its rivals debuted the feature. But Anthropic’s models are among the most capable on the market — and getting real-time information gives a boost that could completely undercut more search-specific options like Perplexity.
TOGETHER WITH TURING
🗣️ Inside the minds of AI visionaries
The Rundown: Turing’s AGI Icons speaker series brings you direct access to the world’s top AI leaders like Sam Altman, Adam D’Angelo, and Jeff Dean — covering everything from the cutting-edge breakthroughs shaping tomorrow’s world to the ethical and societal implications of advanced AI.
Attend AGI Icons and experience:
Access to exclusive insights and in-depth conversations with AI visionaries
Exploration of the latest advances and ethical considerations in AI
Global networking with a community of AI enthusiasts and experts worldwide
OPENAI
🎙️ OpenAI's voice AI with personality boost
Image source: OpenAI
The Rundown: OpenAI launched its next-gen API-based audio models for text-to-speech and speech-to-text, giving developers the ability to customize AI speaking styles via text and delivering improved speech recognition across multiple languages.
The details:
The new gpt-4o-mini-tts model adapts its speaking style based on simple text prompts — like "speak like a pirate" or "use a bedtime story voice."
The GPT-4o-transcribe speech-to-text models reach SOTA performance across accuracy and reliability tests, outperforming existing Whisper models.
OpenAI also released openai.fm, a public demo platform allowing users to test different voice styles and experience the new models firsthand.
The models are available through OpenAI's API, with integration support through the Agents SDK for developers building voice-enabled AI assistants.
Why it matters: AI voice agents are about to be integrated with all sorts of applications and platforms — and being able to customize outputs with text commands is a massive unlock for more diverse, natural AI interactions. But these OpenAI demos don’t seem as human as voice rivals like Sesame and ElevenLabs, at least for now.
AI TRAINING
🎨 Bring old photos to life with color
The Rundown: In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the new native image generation feature in Gemini 2.0 Flash to instantly colorize black and white photos and make creative edits with simple text prompts.
Step-by-step:
Visit Google AI Studio and select "Gemini 2.0 Flash (Image Generation) Experimental" from the “Models” dropdown.
Upload your black-and-white image by clicking the message field’s "+" button.
Type "Colorize this image" and hit Run to transform your photo.
Make creative edits with additional prompts like "Add snow on the trees" or "Change the lighting to golden hour" and download your brand new image!
Pro tip: You should be very specific with color preferences in your prompts to get more personalized results. Try "colorize with warm, summer tones" instead of just "add color" for better outcomes.
PRESENTED BY INNOVATING WITH AI
🤝 Turn AI passion into a consulting career
The Rundown: Innovating with AI's new program, AI Consultancy Project, transforms AI enthusiasts into professional consultants — tapping into a market projected to reach $54.7B by 2032.
The 6-month program delivers:
Proven frameworks for client acquisition and service delivery
A step-by-step path to six-figure consulting income
Students who land their first AI client in as little as 3 days
Click here to request early access to The AI Consultancy Project.
APPLE
🍏 Apple shuffles AI leadership amid Siri crisis
Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown
The Rundown: Apple is making major changes to its AI leadership, according to Bloomberg insider Mark Gurman — with Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell taking over Siri development to accelerate its delayed AI features and catch up to competitors.
The details:
Siri’s most significant AI upgrades, including personalization features teased with iPhone 16 marketing, have faced delays with no release timeline in sight.
Rockwell will now report directly to software chief Craig Federighi, completely removing Siri from current AI leader John Giannandrea's oversight.
A recent internal assessment found significant issues with Siri’s development, with team leads revealing missed deadlines and implementation hurdles.
The changes follow discussions at Apple's exclusive annual leadership summit, where AI strategy emerged as a critical priority.
Why it matters: Apple’s AI era has been a disaster — with Apple Intelligence, which was once thought to be a major driver of mass adoption, turning out into a series of overpromises that don’t even come close to matching capabilities seen elsewhere across the industry. A shakeup is clearly needed, but it’s a big ship to turn around.
QUICK HITS
🛠️ Trending AI Tools
🧠 Llama Nemotron - Nvidia’s new family of open-source reasoning models
🤖 EXAONE Deep - LG’s newly released reasoning model series
🌌 grok-2-image-1212 - xAI’s image generation model, now available via API
🗣️ Epiphany - Turn voice notes into instant actions in your favorite tools
💼 AI Job Opportunities
📊 OpenAI - Product Manager, Financial Engineering
🧠 AE Studio - Alignment Data Scientist
📝 Palantir Technologies - Legal Counsel
📣 DeepL - Marketing Operations Director
📰 Everything else in AI today
IMAGINE AI LIVE '25 connects business leaders with AI innovators for three days of enterprise AI discovery at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas May 28-30. Apply by Saturday, March 22 to save 20%.*
OpenAI released its o1-pro model via API, charging developers a whopping $150 and $600 per million input and output tokens — 10x the price of regular o1.
Perplexity is set to raise nearly $1B at an $18B valuation, potentially doubling its worth, as the AI search startup approaches $100M in annual recurring revenue.
Google’s NotebookLM added a new Interactive Mind Map feature, allowing users to turn their notes or source material into visual representations.
Meta is rolling out its AI assistant across 41 European countries — via Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger — after a year-long regulatory battle.
Hugging Face published a response to the White House’s AI Action Plan, advocating for open-source AI systems to drive innovation over commercial models.
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COMMUNITY
🎥 Join our next live workshop
Join our next workshop this Friday at 4 PM EST to learn about how to use AI to transform and enhance images using AI for content creation and creative projects, with Dr. Alvaro Cintas, The Rundown’s AI professor.
RSVP here. Not a member? Join The Rundown University on a 14-day free trial.
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Rowan, Joey, Zach, Alvaro, and Jason—The Rundown’s editorial team
Nvidia's GR00T N1 AI for humanoids
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Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. At this week’s jam-packed Nvidia GTC conference, CEO Jensen Huang unveiled Isaac GR00T N1, the world’s first open-source and fully customizable foundation model for humanoids.
Huang says that “the age of generalist robotics is here,” and that GR00T N1 is what developers need to train smarter, more capable humanoids—faster than we ever imagined. But will Nvidia’s advances live up to the hype?
In today’s robotics rundown:
Nvidia’s open-source AI for humanoids
Disney’s Star Wars droid comes to life
A robot that leaps like a squirrel
Humanoid with touch-sensitive ‘skin’
Quick hits on other robotics news
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
NVIDIA
🧠 Nvidia’s open-source AI for humanoids
Image source: Nvidia
The Rundown: At its GTC 2025 conference in San Jose, Nvidia unveiled Isaac GR00T N1, its open-source foundational model designed to accelerate the development and capabilities of humanoids and “open the next frontier in the age of AI.”
The details:
GR00T N1 features a dual system architecture designed for “fast” and “slow” thinking systems, inspired by principles of human cognition.
The slow thinking system enables robots to perceive, reason, and plan actions, while the fast thinking system translates these plans into real-world action.
Nvidia is also releasing simulation frameworks and blueprints for generating synthetic training data, making GR00T N1 highly adaptable for various uses.
Pre-trained on both synthetic and real data, this model has demonstrated tasks such as grasping, object manipulation, and executing multi-step instructions.
Why it matters: While GR00T N1 is a big jump in humanoid robotics, its ability to fully deliver on its promises will become clearer as it's more widely integrated and tested in various real-world applications. Companies that are already implementing the tech in their humanoids include 1X, Boston Dynamics, Agility, and Figure.
DISNEY
🎢 Disney’s Star Wars droid comes to life
Image source: Nvidia/YouTube
The Rundown: During his GTC keynote, Jensen Huang revealed Nvidia has partnered with Disney and DeepMind to develop Newton, an open physics engine aimed at bringing a new wave of robots—starting with a Star Wars-inspired droid named “Blue.”
The details:
Huang introduced the “Blue” prototype on stage, showcasing how it uses Newton for complete real-time simulation and action.
Built on Nvidia's Warp framework, Newton will provide a customizable and scalable simulation environment, optimized for AI-driven robotic characters.
Nvidia says Newton will be compatible with DeepMind's MuJoCo and its own Isaac Lab, accelerating robotics workloads by over 70x.
It plans to release an early, open-source version of Newton later in 2025, allowing developers worldwide to experiment with the technology.
Why it matters: BDX droids like Blue are expected to roam around Disney parks this year, with Nvidia and DeepMind playing an integral role in powering the company’s future in robotics. However, it’s worth noting that the usefulness of this tech will go far beyond entertainment to more capable, expressive robots across various industries.
UC BERKELEY
🐿️ A robot that leaps like a squirrel
Image source: UC Berkeley
The Rundown: UC Berkeley researchers developed Salto, a squirrel-like robot that can take a flying leap and land on a narrow pipe—marking what the team says is the first time a bot has been able to stick the landing on such a small target.
The details:
Salto is the result of extensive research into squirrel biomechanics, including how a squirrel’s front legs absorb kinetic energy from jumping.
The robot features a motorized flywheel for balance, adjustable leg forces, and a passive gripper designed to minimize torque applied to the landing spot.
In tests, it successfully leaped from one PVC pipe to another 25 times out of 30, with two trials resulting in a perfect upright balance on the pipe.
Originally developed in 2016, Salto has been a work in progress; it started sticking landings on flat surfaces in 2020.
Why it matters: The team hopes that Salto’s small size and high, reactive jumps could allow the bot to quickly move through uneven terrain, which could mean life and death in search and rescue missions. Salto could also lead the way to agile bots working on construction sites, hopping from pipes while carrying cameras for inspection.
NEURA ROBOTICS
🇪🇺 Humanoid with touch-sensitive ‘skin’
Image source: Neura Robotics
The Rundown: German robotics company Neura Robotics is launching its third-gen 4NE-1 humanoid in June, with CEO David Rege saying that Europe’s new take on the generalist robot will be the best in the world.
The details:
The 4NE-1 stands nearly 6 feet tall and features 3D vision, touch sensors, and AI-driven cognition designed after human thought processes.
However, Neura says the difference is in its advanced sensor “skin,” enabling it to sense touch, predict contact, and measure pressure with precision.
The company is developing the cognitive humanoid using Nvidia’s GR00T N1 AI — joining players like Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics with early access.
It has doubled its workforce to over 300 employees in a year and recently secured $130M in Series B funding for its Neuroverse platform.
Why it matters: In an era of tariff wars, Neura sees the development of its all-purpose 4NE-1 as crucial for European competitiveness. This push from the company comes as the UK’s Humanoid is still in the process of developing its robot and Norway’s 1X is gearing up to manufacture tens of thousands of units of its NEO humanoid by 2026.
QUICK HITS
📰 Everything else in robotics today
Apptronik, the company behind Apollo humanoid, announced it added an extra $53M to its Series A funding round, bringing the total funding from the round to $403M.
Boston Dynamics released a clip of its Atlas humanoid demonstrating some impressively fluid moves, including crawling, breakdancing, and cartwheeling.
Nvidia is partnering with GM to advance the autonomous driving systems of the carmaker as well as its manufacturing processes.
Unitree released a video showing its G1 humanoid performing a standing side flip—a world-first—using 23 degrees of freedom and cutting-edge technology.
Chinese developer Dobot unveiled a new humanoid called Atom, which has 28 degrees of freedom, ±0.05 mm precision, and a price tag of $27K.
PETA India donated a robotic elephant to a temple in India to be used in place of live animals in ceremonies, in a commitment to protecting endangered Asian elephants.
Chinese researchers developed a tiny robot to explore ocean depths of 10,600 meters (34,776 feet), now being tested in the Mariana Trench.
Researchers from Princeton and the University of Edinburgh found that an AI-powered robot can take over coffee-making duties in busy kitchens and cafes.
U.S. researchers created a reinforcement learning-based framework that allows legged robots to successfully ride a skateboard.
Chinese scientists developed a six-legged robot inspired by insect movements, for future mining operations on the Moon and missions to deep space asteroids.
COMMUNITY
🎥 Join our next live workshop
Join our next workshop this Friday at 4 PM EST to learn about how to use AI to transform and enhance images using AI for content creation and creative projects, with Dr. Alvaro Cintas, The Rundown’s AI professor.
RSVP here. Not a member? Join The Rundown University on a 14-day free trial.
See you soon,
Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team
Nvidia's GR00T N1 AI for humanoids
Read Online | Sign Up | Advertise
Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. At this week’s jam-packed Nvidia GTC conference, CEO Jensen Huang unveiled Isaac GR00T N1, the world’s first open-source and fully customizable foundation model for humanoids.
Huang says that “the age of generalist robotics is here,” and that GR00T N1 is what developers need to train smarter, more capable humanoids—faster than we ever imagined. But will Nvidia’s advances live up to the hype?
In today’s robotics rundown:
Nvidia’s open-source AI for humanoids
Disney’s Star Wars droid comes to life
A robot that leaps like a squirrel
Humanoid with touch-sensitive ‘skin’
Quick hits on other robotics news
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
NVIDIA
🧠 Nvidia’s open-source AI for humanoids
Image source: Nvidia
The Rundown: At its GTC 2025 conference in San Jose, Nvidia unveiled Isaac GR00T N1, its open-source foundational model designed to accelerate the development and capabilities of humanoids and “open the next frontier in the age of AI.”
The details:
GR00T N1 features a dual system architecture designed for “fast” and “slow” thinking systems, inspired by principles of human cognition.
The slow thinking system enables robots to perceive, reason, and plan actions, while the fast thinking system translates these plans into real-world action.
Nvidia is also releasing simulation frameworks and blueprints for generating synthetic training data, making GR00T N1 highly adaptable for various uses.
Pre-trained on both synthetic and real data, this model has demonstrated tasks such as grasping, object manipulation, and executing multi-step instructions.
Why it matters: While GR00T N1 is a big jump in humanoid robotics, its ability to fully deliver on its promises will become clearer as it's more widely integrated and tested in various real-world applications. Companies that are already implementing the tech in their humanoids include 1X, Boston Dynamics, Agility, and Figure.
DISNEY
🎢 Disney’s Star Wars droid comes to life
Image source: Nvidia/YouTube
The Rundown: During his GTC keynote, Jensen Huang revealed Nvidia has partnered with Disney and DeepMind to develop Newton, an open physics engine aimed at bringing a new wave of robots—starting with a Star Wars-inspired droid named “Blue.”
The details:
Huang introduced the “Blue” prototype on stage, showcasing how it uses Newton for complete real-time simulation and action.
Built on Nvidia's Warp framework, Newton will provide a customizable and scalable simulation environment, optimized for AI-driven robotic characters.
Nvidia says Newton will be compatible with DeepMind's MuJoCo and its own Isaac Lab, accelerating robotics workloads by over 70x.
It plans to release an early, open-source version of Newton later in 2025, allowing developers worldwide to experiment with the technology.
Why it matters: BDX droids like Blue are expected to roam around Disney parks this year, with Nvidia and DeepMind playing an integral role in powering the company’s future in robotics. However, it’s worth noting that the usefulness of this tech will go far beyond entertainment to more capable, expressive robots across various industries.
UC BERKELEY
🐿️ A robot that leaps like a squirrel
Image source: UC Berkeley
The Rundown: UC Berkeley researchers developed Salto, a squirrel-like robot that can take a flying leap and land on a narrow pipe—marking what the team says is the first time a bot has been able to stick the landing on such a small target.
The details:
Salto is the result of extensive research into squirrel biomechanics, including how a squirrel’s front legs absorb kinetic energy from jumping.
The robot features a motorized flywheel for balance, adjustable leg forces, and a passive gripper designed to minimize torque applied to the landing spot.
In tests, it successfully leaped from one PVC pipe to another 25 times out of 30, with two trials resulting in a perfect upright balance on the pipe.
Originally developed in 2016, Salto has been a work in progress; it started sticking landings on flat surfaces in 2020.
Why it matters: The team hopes that Salto’s small size and high, reactive jumps could allow the bot to quickly move through uneven terrain, which could mean life and death in search and rescue missions. Salto could also lead the way to agile bots working on construction sites, hopping from pipes while carrying cameras for inspection.
NEURA ROBOTICS
🇪🇺 Humanoid with touch-sensitive ‘skin’
Image source: Neura Robotics
The Rundown: German robotics company Neura Robotics is launching its third-gen 4NE-1 humanoid in June, with CEO David Rege saying that Europe’s new take on the generalist robot will be the best in the world.
The details:
The 4NE-1 stands nearly 6 feet tall and features 3D vision, touch sensors, and AI-driven cognition designed after human thought processes.
However, Neura says the difference is in its advanced sensor “skin,” enabling it to sense touch, predict contact, and measure pressure with precision.
The company is developing the cognitive humanoid using Nvidia’s GR00T N1 AI — joining players like Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics with early access.
It has doubled its workforce to over 300 employees in a year and recently secured $130M in Series B funding for its Neuroverse platform.
Why it matters: In an era of tariff wars, Neura sees the development of its all-purpose 4NE-1 as crucial for European competitiveness. This push from the company comes as the UK’s Humanoid is still in the process of developing its robot and Norway’s 1X is gearing up to manufacture tens of thousands of units of its NEO humanoid by 2026.
QUICK HITS
📰 Everything else in robotics today
Apptronik, the company behind Apollo humanoid, announced it added an extra $53M to its Series A funding round, bringing the total funding from the round to $403M.
Boston Dynamics released a clip of its Atlas humanoid demonstrating some impressively fluid moves, including crawling, breakdancing, and cartwheeling.
Nvidia is partnering with GM to advance the autonomous driving systems of the carmaker as well as its manufacturing processes.
Unitree released a video showing its G1 humanoid performing a standing side flip—a world-first—using 23 degrees of freedom and cutting-edge technology.
Chinese developer Dobot unveiled a new humanoid called Atom, which has 28 degrees of freedom, ±0.05 mm precision, and a price tag of $27K.
PETA India donated a robotic elephant to a temple in India to be used in place of live animals in ceremonies, in a commitment to protecting endangered Asian elephants.
Chinese researchers developed a tiny robot to explore ocean depths of 10,600 meters (34,776 feet), now being tested in the Mariana Trench.
Researchers from Princeton and the University of Edinburgh found that an AI-powered robot can take over coffee-making duties in busy kitchens and cafes.
U.S. researchers created a reinforcement learning-based framework that allows legged robots to successfully ride a skateboard.
Chinese scientists developed a six-legged robot inspired by insect movements, for future mining operations on the Moon and missions to deep space asteroids.
COMMUNITY
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Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team
AI's 'Moore's Law' emerges
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Good morning, AI enthusiasts. The AI capability curve just found its "Moore's Law" moment — with new research showing task completion abilities doubling every 7 months since 2019.
With systems tackling hour-long human tasks today and potentially month-long projects by 2030, is the world prepared for the automation tsunami quickly approaching?
In today’s AI rundown:
AI capabilities following ‘Moore's Law’
Hollywood against AI copyright proposals
Improving non-reasoning AI responses
Nvidia’s open-source reasoning models
4 new AI tools & 4 job opportunities
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
AI RESEARCH
📈 Study: AI capabilities following ‘Moore's Law’
Image source: Metr
The Rundown: Researchers at METR just published new data showing that the length of tasks AI agents can complete autonomously has been doubling approximately every 7 months since 2019, revealing a "Moore's Law" for AI capabilities.
The details:
The study tracked human and AI performance across 170 software tasks ranging from 2-second decisions to 8-hour engineering challenges.
Top models like 3.7 Sonnet have a "time horizon" of 59 minutes — completing tasks that take skilled humans this long with at least 50% reliability.
Older models like GPT-4 can handle tasks requiring about 8-15 minutes of human time, while 2019 systems struggle with anything beyond a few seconds.
If the exponential trend continues, AI systems will be capable of completing month-long human-equivalent projects with reasonable reliability by 2030.
Moore's Law predicts that computing power doubles roughly every two years — explaining why devices get faster and cheaper over time.
Why it matters: The discovery of a predictable growth pattern in AI capabilities provides an important forecasting tool for the industry. Systems that can handle much longer (months-long tasks for humans) and more complex tasks independently will completely reshape how businesses across the world approach AI and automation.
TOGETHER WITH MONGODB
📘 The hub for building better GenAI
The Rundown: Step into MongoDB’s Generative AI Use Cases Repository to discover how MongoDB powers GenAI applications— from text and vector search to robust AI Retrieval methods.
Inside, you’ll find:
Notebooks on real-world scenarios like advanced RAG techniques and AI agents
Integration with top LLM providers and frameworks
Pre-built datasets and embedding tools to accelerate your GenAI development
A central resource and community for developers using MongoDB
CELEBRITIES VS. AI
⭐️ Hollywood against AI copyright proposals
Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown
The Rundown: More than 400 Hollywood creatives signed an open letter urging the Trump administration to reject OpenAI and Google’s proposals to expand AI training on copyrighted works—arguing that it would let them "freely exploit" creative industries.
The details:
The letter is a direct response to OpenAI and Google's AI Action Plan submissions, which argued for expanded fair use protections for AI training.
OpenAI framed AI copyright exemptions as a "matter of national security," while Google said the current fair use framework already supports AI innovation.
Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett, Paul McCartney, Taika Waititi, and Aubrey Plaza are among the high-profile creatives who have signed the letter.
They have emphasized that AI companies could simply "negotiate appropriate licenses with copyright holders — just as every other industry does."
Why it matters: Hollywood vs. AI represents a values collision — the tech industry’s "move fast and iterate" mindset vs. Hollywood's centuries-old IP frameworks. But with AI giants across the globe already ingesting the world’s data even without copyright protections, this fight, in reality, may be more symbolic than action-oriented.
AI TRAINING
🧠 Improving non-reasoning AI responses
The Rundown: In this tutorial, you will learn how to dramatically improve the intelligence of non-reasoning AI models by implementing a structured reasoning approach with XML tags—forcing the model to think step-by-step before answering.
Step-by-step:
Structure your prompt with XML tags like <thinking> and <answer> to separate the reasoning process from the final output.
Provide specific context and task details, including examples.
Force step-by-step reasoning by explicitly instructing the model to “think” first, then answer.
Compare results with and without your reasoning framework to see the dramatic improvements in quality.
Pro tip: You can use this technique especially when asking AI to match writing styles or analyze complex information before generating content.
PRESENTED BY DAGSTER
🚀 Streamline your AI stack with Dagster
The Rundown: Dagster consolidates your AI capabilities into one powerful orchestrator that developers love — helping reduce costs, eliminate complexity, and ensure reliable pipelines from prototype to production.
With Dagster, you can:
Consolidate all AI capabilities under one intuitive interface
Save 40%+ on infrastructure costs by optimizing AI workloads
Ship AI features 3x faster with standardized development practices
Schedule a demo to learn more about how Dagster can simplify your AI platform.
NVIDIA
🧠 Nvidia’s open-source reasoning models
Image source: Nvidia
The Rundown: Nvidia released its Llama Nemotron family of open-source reasoning models, designed to accelerate enterprise adoption of agentic AI capable of complex problem-solving and decision-making.
The details:
The new model family comes in three sizes: Nano (8B), Super (49B), and Ultra (249B) — each optimized for different deployment scenarios.
Early benchmarks show impressive performance, with the Super version outperforming both Llama 3.3 and DeepSeek V1 across STEM and tool testing.
The models feature a toggle that allows AI systems to switch between intensive reasoning and direct responses based on the task.
Post-training resulted in 20% better accuracy than base Llama models and 5x faster speed than rival open reasoners.
Nvidia is also releasing an "AI-Q Blueprint" framework in April to help businesses connect AI agents with their existing systems and data sources.
Why it matters: Nvidia’s reasoning models may be overshadowed by the insane amount of releases over the past 48 hours, but the chipmaking giant has seemingly built every block necessary to be a force across the entire AI stack — from the most advanced hardware to high-quality reasoning models ready for the agentic era.
QUICK HITS
🛠️ Trending AI Tools
💎 Diamond - Graphite’s agentic AI-powered code review companion
📋 Canvas - Gemini’s new collaborative space for document editing and coding
🎥 Stable Virtual Camera - Images into 3D videos with dynamic camera paths
🧊 Hunyuan 3D 2.0 MV - Open model for high-quality 3D shape generations
📰 Everything else in AI today
Google AI and UC Berkeley researchers proposed "inference-time search" as a new AI scaling method, producing several answers in parallel and selecting the best option.
LG released EXAONE Deep, a reasoning AI that achieves comparable performance to models like DeepSeek V1 in math, science, and coding with just 32B parameters.
Muse released Muse S Athena, a headband wearable combining EEG and sensors to measure both brain activity and oxygen levels for AI-powered cognitive fitness training.
Nvidia and xAI are joining Microsoft, BlackRock, and MGX in the AI Infrastructure Partnership, aiming to raise $30B initially and potentially $100B for AI data centers.
xAI debuted its first image generation API featuring the ‘grok-2-image-1212’ model, allowing developers to create multiple JPG images per request at $0.07 each.
Microsoft is partnering with neuroscience AI startup Inait to develop brain-inspired AI that learns from real-world experiences rather than data patterns.
COMMUNITY
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Join our next workshop this Friday at 4 PM EST to learn how to use AI to transform and enhance images for content creation and creative projects with Dr. Alvaro Cintas, The Rundown’s AI professor.
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Rowan, Joey, Zach, Alvaro, and Jason—The Rundown’s editorial team
Nvidia's 'AI Super Bowl' kicks off
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Good morning, AI enthusiasts. One of AI’s greatest showmen just kicked off his own ‘AI Super Bowl’, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivering a wide-ranging keynote on the chip leader’s latest and greatest.
With Huang's dramatic reveals of new AI chips, personal supercomputers, Star Wars-style robots, and a fleet of autonomous vehicles, the company’s explosive growth may be just getting started.
P.S. Our next workshop is TODAY at 4 PM EST — come learn how to apply AI to enhance advertising and creative production workflows with Kling AI! RSVP here.
In today’s AI rundown:
Nvidia’s AI and robotics advances
Adobe’s army of enterprise AI agents
Expand Claude's abilities using MCPs
Anthropic testing new voice features
4 new AI tools & 4 job opportunities
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
NVIDIA
🏟️ Nvidia’s AI and robotics advances
Image source: NVIDIA
The Rundown: “AI Jesus” Jensen Huang kicked off Nvidia’s GTC 2025 conference with a two-hour-long keynote, calling the event “AI’s Super Bowl” and revealing exciting new updates on upcoming chip releases, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and more.
The details:
Nvidia’s new GPU lineup includes Blackwell Ultra in late 2025, Vera Rubin in 2026, and Feynman in 2028, each promising major performance gains.
Huang said that scaling is not slowing down, and the computation needed for AI is “easily 100x more than we thought we needed at this time last year.”
He also revealed Isaac GR00T N1, the first open humanoid robot foundation model, alongside a comprehensive physical AI dataset for training robots.
The new DGX Spark and DGX Station bring data center-grade AI computing to personal workstations, with Huang calling it “the computer for the age of AI.”
A robotics physics engine, Newton, also debuted in collaboration with Google DeepMind and Disney — demoed with ‘Blue’, a Star Wars-style robot on stage.
Nvidia also announced a new partnership with automaker GM, with plans to build the company’s first fleet of self-driving cars.
Why it matters: Huang said that AI is currently at an ‘inflection point’ — and this sweeping set of announcements shows the sheer scale of Nvidia’s web of AI-powered infrastructure for nearly every industry and use case. If the chipmaking leader’s roadmap and releases are any indication, AI is not slowing down any time soon.
TOGETHER WITH VANTA
🦺 Simplify compliance with automation and AI
The Rundown: Navigating new compliance requirements can be daunting, but with the right automation tools, it doesn't have to be. Whether you’re a fast-growing startup or a big security team, Vanta can help you achieve continuous compliance (and more).
Join the live demo on April 3 to learn how Vanta can help you:
Automate compliance for frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, HITRUST, and ISO 42001
Continuously monitor controls to build and reinforce your security foundation
Scale your compliance program and manage vendor risk with automated tools and AI
ADOBE
🤖 Adobe’s army of enterprise AI agents
Image source: Adobe
The Rundown: Adobe just released a comprehensive AI agent strategy centered around its new Experience Platform Agent Orchestrator, introducing ten specialized agents for enterprise tasks like customer experiences, marketing workflows, and more.
The details:
The platform includes agents for audience targeting, content production, site optimization, and B2B account management within Adobe's enterprise apps.
A Brand Concierge helps businesses create personalized chat experiences, with traffic from AI platforms to retail sites jumping 1,200% in February.
Adobe Marketing Agent also integrates with Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing teams to access Adobe’s agentic capabilities directly within Microsoft apps.
The company has also partnered with tech firms like AWS, Microsoft, SAP, and ServiceNow, allowing its agents to work across third-party enterprise systems.
Why it matters: Adobe's latest play shows how AI agents could reshape enterprise workflows by orchestrating AI to work together on handling complex processes instead of just individual tasks. But with enterprise AI becoming increasingly crowded, Adobe will need to prove its agents can deliver more than just promises.
AI TRAINING
🔍 Expand Claude's abilities using MCPs
The Rundown: In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Claude's powerful MCP (Model Context Protocol) feature and connect the AI assistant to the Internet, giving it access to real-time information and up-to-date responses.
Step-by-step:
Download and install the latest Claude desktop application.
Visit the Brave Search API portal and register for a free API key (2,000 monthly requests free).
Locate or create your Claude configuration file and add the Brave Search MCP server settings with your API key.
Restart Claude, verify Brave Search appears in the developer settings, and test with questions about current events.
Pro tip: You can ask more specific questions to make the most of Claude's newly enhanced knowledge capabilities and get more reliable results.
PRESENTED BY UNSTRUCTURED
🎯 Improve RAG accuracy by 84%
The Rundown: Contextual chunking is the next level in document retrieval, and Unstructured is going to show you how it beats Gemini 2.0’s long context windows every time, helping you say goodbye to high error rates and hello to precise RAG apps.
Join Unstructured’s live session to learn:
How contextual chunking amplifies retrieval precision
Comparisons with Gemini 2.0’s long context window approach
Real-world strategies to reduce error rates and build stronger RAG pipelines
ANTHROPIC
🗣️ Anthropic testing new voice features
Image source: Getty Images
The Rundown: Anthropic is reportedly planning to launch a voice mode for its Claude platform, with a new report from The Financial Times also detailing a dedicated push towards enterprise and business users over consumer markets.
The details:
CPO Mike Krieger revealed the company is targeting users who "spend all day in meetings or in Excel or Google Docs" with features to streamline workflows.
A new launch in the coming months will analyze calendars and create detailed client reports from internal and external data, designed for meeting preparation.
Krieger also revealed that Anthropic already has prototypes of voice experiences ready for Claude, calling it a “useful modality to have.”
The company has reportedly explored partnerships with “a bunch of partners,” including Amazon and ElevenLabs, to accelerate the launch of voice for Claude.
Why it matters: Anthropic’s models have consistently been at the top of the industry ranks, but the startup has now set eyes on carving out a niche in the lucrative enterprise market instead of mass adoption — targeting a segment where companies are most willing to pay premium prices for productivity gains.
QUICK HITS
🛠️ Trending AI Tools
🧊 Cube 3D - Roblox’s new open-source text-to-3D object generator
🤝 Zoom AI Companion - Agentic AI for meeting productivity, and other tasks
🤖 Mistral Small 3.1 - Fast, open-source model with 128k token context
🎥 ReCamMaster - Edit camera angles and movement in existing videos
💼 AI Job Opportunities
🏗️ Mistral AI - Partner Solution Architect
💰 Coreweave - Finance Manager
🛠️ Databricks - Solutions Engineer
🗣️ Dataiku - User Communications Intern
📰 Everything else in AI today
Google introduced Canvas, a collaborative space in Gemini, for document editing and code creation, along with the addition of Audio Overviews into the Gemini platform.
Meta announced that its Llama open-source model officially reached 1B downloads this month—a significant rise from its 650M downloads in December 2024.
OpenAI’s VP of Research Liam Fedus is departing to launch an AI materials science startup, with OpenAI planning to invest in and partner with the new venture.
Google revealed TxGemma, a new collection of Gemma-based open AI models, to accelerate drug discovery—set for release later this month.
Tencent’s Hunyuan released 3D 2.0 MV and 3D 2.0Mini, two new 3D generation models for high-quality multiview shape generations.
Stability AI unveiled Stable Virtual Camera, a new diffusion model that transforms single images into 3D videos with 14 dynamic camera paths
Anthropic-backed Graphite launched Diamond, an AI code review tool that provides codebase-aware feedback and fixes, and announced a new $52M Series B round.
COMMUNITY
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Join our next workshop today at 4 PM EST to learn how to apply AI to enhance advertising and creative production workflows — whether you’re just starting out or looking to level up content skills — with Tony Pu, Product Marketing Lead at Kling AI.
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Rowan, Joey, Zach, Alvaro, and Jason—The Rundown’s editorial team
Roblox's open-source 3D generator
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Good morning, AI enthusiasts. One of the biggest gaming platforms in the world just made 3D content creation as simple as a text command — and its 85M daily users are about to build and monetize like never before.
Between Roblox’s new open-source Cube 3D model and other recent AI and coding upgrades, building the game of your dreams is suddenly just a few prompts away.
In today’s AI rundown:
Roblox’s open-source 3D generation AI
Zoom’s AI Companion goes agentic
Turn logos into ready-to-sell product mockups
Google’s AI satellite to spot wildfires early
4 new AI tools & 4 job opportunities
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
ROBLOX
🧊 Roblox releases open-source 3D generation AI
Image source: Roblox
The Rundown: Roblox just announced Cube 3D, a new open-source AI system for generating 3D objects and scenes from text prompts — alongside a slew of other tools and updates for AI-assisted game development.
The details:
Cube 3D generates complete, functional 3D objects from text prompts, training on native 3D data instead of traditional image-based reconstruction.
Developers can generate assets through simple commands like "/generate motorcycle," with image input capabilities also coming in the future.
Cube uses ‘3D tokenization’ to predict and generate shapes the same way language models predict text, enabling future 4D scene generation capabilities.
Roblox also released updates to its Studio content creation suite including improved performance, real-time collaboration features, and monetization tools.
Why it matters: Between ‘vibe-coding’, Gemini’s new native multimodal image capabilities, and open-source tools like Cube 3D, it has never been easier to take a game from idea to reality. With 85M+ daily active users, these AI tools will supercharge both Roblox’s growth and the ability for users to build and monetize on the platform.
TOGETHER WITH DEEPGRAM
🗣️ Speech-to-text API designed for healthcare
The Rundown: Deepgram's Nova-3 Medical delivers unmatched accuracy for clinical environments — helping transform your healthcare applications with transcriptions that get medical terminology right the first time, every time.
With Nova-3 Medical, you can:
Capture medical terminology with 63.7% higher accuracy than alternatives
Customize and fine-tune Nova-3 for medical specialties with Keyterm Prompting
Stay secure and compliant with HIPAA-approved, flexible deployment options
Every word matters in healthcare. Start building with Nova-3 Medical today.
ZOOM
🤖 Zoom’s AI Companion goes agentic
Image source: Zoom
The Rundown: Zoom announced a major upgrade to its AI Companion, introducing new agentic capabilities and skills that allow the assistant to identify and complete tasks across the platform’s ecosystem.
The details:
AI Companion is getting new memory and reasoning capabilities to problem-solve and leverage the correct agentic tools for each task.
Zoom Tasks automatically detects and executes action items from meetings, scheduling follow-ups, or generating documents without user intervention.
Other new features include calendar management, clip generation, writing assistance, voice recording transcriptions, and live notes for meetings.
A new $12/month Custom AI Companion add-on is also launching in April, offering personal AI coaches, AI avatars for video messages, and more.
Why it matters: Zoom pivoted in 2024 to be entirely ‘AI-first’, so it’s no surprise to see it now enter the agentic game with automated workflows and tasks on the platform. CEO Eric Yuan previously shared a vision of AI digital twins that can attend meetings in a user’s place, and April’s launch may be the first step towards that goal.
AI TRAINING
👕 Turn logos into ready-to-sell product mockups
The Rundown: In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Recraft's mockup tool to place your brand logos directly onto product images for instant e-commerce and presentation visuals.
Step-by-step:
Sign in to Recraft (free account includes 50 daily credits) and click anywhere on the blank canvas to begin.
Select "Product Photo" and choose a preferred product template (like a t-shirt).
Click "Import Image" to upload your logo to the canvas and click "Remove Background" to make it transparent.
Drag your logo onto the product photo and watch as it automatically adapts to the fabric's contours.
Pro tip: You can try different placements on your product to find the most appealing position before finalizing your mockup.
PRESENTED BY INNOVATING WITH AI
🤝 Turn AI passion into a consulting career
The Rundown: Innovating with AI's new program, AI Consultancy Project, transforms AI enthusiasts into professional consultants — tapping into a market projected to reach $54.7B by 2032.
The 6-month program delivers:
Proven frameworks for client acquisition and service delivery
A step-by-step path to six-figure consulting income
Students who land their first AI client in as little as 3 days
Click here to request early access to The AI Consultancy Project.
🔥 Google’s AI satellite to spot wildfires early
Image source: Google
The Rundown: Google Research and Muon Space just launched the first AI-powered FireSat satellite, designed to provide powerful tools for early wildfire detection — with the ability to spot fires as small as a classroom within minutes of ignition.
The details:
Current wildfire detection relies on infrequently updated, low-resolution imagery that often can't spot fires until they've grown to several acres in size.
Using infrared sensors and AI analysis from space, FireSat can detect fires as small as 5x5 meters — dramatically smaller than current satellite systems.
The satellite is the first of more than 50 planned for the entire FireSat constellation, which will scan nearly all of Earth's surface every 20 minutes.
When fully deployed, the system will create a global historical record of fire behavior to help scientists better understand and model wildfire patterns.
Why it matters: Wildfire seasons continue to intensify worldwide, and early detection can be the difference between a small containment and a catastrophic event. In addition to the wealth of real-time data being fed to emergency responders, FireSat’s data will also advance scientific understanding for more efficient firefighting.
QUICK HITS
🛠️ Trending AI Tools
🤖 Ernie X1 & 4.5 - Baidu’s new deep-thinking and native multimodal models
🧠 Gemini Personalization - Responses based on chats and search history
🗣️ 1B CSM - Sesame’s newly open-sourced text and audio-to-speech model
🧪 Prompt Engineering Studio - Deploy AI prompts across 1600+ models
💼 AI Job Opportunities
💼 UiPath - Commercial Account Executive
🧮 Perplexity AI - Backend Software Engineer, Billing
⚖️ Grammarly - Legal Analyst
🛩️ Shield AI - Production Supervisor, V-BAT
📰 Everything else in AI today
Mistral AI released Small 3.1, a fast, open-source multimodal model with a 128k token context window that outperforms Gemma 3 and GPT-4o Mini across key benchmarks.
xAI acquired generative video startup Hotshot, with the company sunsetting new video creation to integrate and scale up training its models on xAI’s Colossus cluster.
Chinese researchers introduced ReCamMaster, an AI system that can edit the camera angle and movement in a video while preserving details from the original scene.
MagicLab showcased its Magicbot humanoid running continuously outdoors for four minutes, with the robot preparing for an upcoming half marathon in Beijing.
Google is partnering with MediaTek for its next generation of Tensor Processing Units, aiming to reduce reliance on Broadcom while bringing more chip development in-house.
Perplexity shared a new commercial featuring Emmy-winning actor Lee Jung-jae, directly pitting the product against Google Search in a Squid Game-style scenario.
COMMUNITY
🎥 Join our next live workshop
Join our next workshop on Wednesday at 4 PM EST to learn how to apply AI to enhance advertising and creative production workflows — whether you’re just starting out or looking to level up content skills — with Tony Pu, Product Marketing Lead at Kling AI.
RSVP here. Not a member? Join The Rundown University on a 14-day free trial.
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Rowan, Joey, Zach, Alvaro, and Jason—The Rundown’s editorial team
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