Today's AI Pulse
Odyssey lands $310M Series B, valued at $1.45B, and clinches AWS Trainium cloud deal
Odyssey announced a $310 million Series B round that values the AI lab at $1.45 billion. The round was led by Natural Capital and included Amazon, AMD Ventures, GV, EQT, IQT and other high‑profile backers. In parallel, Odyssey struck a preferred‑cloud agreement with Amazon Web Services to use AWS Trainium custom silicon for large‑scale world‑model training.
Also developing:
DoD Strikes Deals with Major Tech Firms to Deploy AI on Classified Networks
The U.S. Department of Defense announced agreements with eight major technology firms—including SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Reflection, and Oracle—to embed advanced artificial‑intelligence models into its Impact Level 6 and Impact Level 7 classified networks. The move expands the GenAI.mil platform beyond its current IL5 deployment, aiming to deliver AI‑driven data synthesis and decision support across secret and top‑secret environments. DoD officials said the contracts will prevent vendor lock‑in and accelerate the military’s transformation into an AI‑first fighting force. Anthropic was deliberately left out after being labeled a supply‑chain risk.
Microsoft Rolls Auto SR Upscaling to Xbox Ally X Handheld for Docked Play
Microsoft has started previewing its Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) feature on the Xbox Ally X handheld, letting players boost frame rates and visual fidelity when the device is docked to a TV. The move extends Auto SR from Windows...
Musk’s Day‑4 Testimony Highlights AI Rivalry and $38 M Donation Dispute
Elon Musk resumed witness testimony on Thursday, describing his xAI venture as "about a tenth" the size of OpenAI and confronting allegations that his $38 million donations were misused. Former money manager Jared Birchall’s testimony added detail on the donations, rent...
TSMC: The Chokepoint of the AI Economy
TSMC has shifted from a consumer‑silicon foundry to the core AI compute factory, a transition now confirmed by its record Q1 2026 results. Revenue jumped 40.6% to $35.9 billion and gross margin rose to 66.2%, reflecting monopoly‑style pricing. High‑performance‑computing wafers now make...
Citi Appoints Google Veteran Brian Saluzzo as New CIO to Accelerate AI
Citi announced that Brian Saluzzo, a former Google VP with stints at Goldman Sachs and American Express, will serve as its chief information officer effective immediately. Tim Ryan, Citi’s head of technology and business enablement, said Saluzzo brings deep expertise...
AI Becomes Essential: Like Google Was in 2005
AI is raising the ceiling for what's possible. But the scary thing is that it's also raising the floor for what's expected. Not using AI in 2026 is starting to feel like not using Google in 2005.
Hyundai Rolls Out AI‑Powered Pleos Connect on Software‑Defined Vehicle Platform
Hyundai Motor Group started mass production of its software‑defined vehicle (SDV) platform, debuting the AI‑enabled infotainment system Pleos Connect in the upcoming Grandeur facelift. The system combines a large‑language‑model voice assistant, OTA updates and an open in‑car app marketplace, positioning...
B*tchwork My AI Did for Me - Part 8: Made a Program Follow My Computer's Light and Dark Mode
Developer Liz Elliott used an AI to build a tiny program that automatically syncs Visual Studio Code’s theme with macOS’s light‑and‑dark mode. The script queries the system’s appearance setting and updates VS Code’s settings file, eliminating the need for manual...
AWS CEO Defends AI Layoffs, Announces 11,000 Developer Hiring Drive
AWS chief executive Matt Garman defended Amazon's AI‑related layoffs and announced a 2026 hiring push for 11,000 software developers. The move underscores a strategic pivot toward AI‑assisted development while maintaining a large technical workforce.
Definity Secures $12 Million Series A to Build Agentic Data‑Engineering Platform
Chicago‑based Definity closed an oversubscribed $12 million Series A round led by GreatPoint Ventures, bringing total funding to $16.5 million. The financing will accelerate its agentic data‑engineering platform that claims to cut pipeline costs by over 30% and resolve Spark issues ten times...
Amazon Rolls Out AI‑generated Product Podcasts, Faces Backlash over Authenticity
Amazon introduced AI‑generated, podcast‑style audio segments that discuss individual products, but early users and commentators criticize the feature as disingenuous and poorly executed. The rollout highlights tensions between AI‑driven marketing efficiency and consumer trust.
ERP Data Can Fuel Enterprise AI. So Why Wont Vendors Let It?
SAP’s latest API policy restricts how customers can tap ERP data for AI, sparking pushback from large enterprises. CFOs view ERP data as a strategic asset for AI‑driven finance, yet the new rules create compliance uncertainty. While SAP and peers...
Create Your Own I/O Countdown with Google AI
I/O is less than 3 weeks away 🤯 We want YOU to help us create the countdown that will play before the keynote begins. Using @GoogleAIStudio or Canvas in @GeminiApp vibe code your most creative countdown concept and send it to...
X (Formerly Twitter) Rolls Out Rebuilt AI‑powered Ad Platform to Win Back Advertisers
Elon Musk’s X began a phased rollout of a rebuilt, AI‑powered advertising platform on Thursday, promising more precise targeting and continuous feature upgrades. The move targets a rebound to $2.46 bn in ad revenue by 2026, according to eMarketer, as the...
137 Ventures Secures $700M for Two Growth Funds, AUM Tops $15B
Growth-stage firm 137 Ventures closed more than $700 million for two new funds, lifting its assets under management to over $15 billion. Backed by SpaceX and other marquee LPs, the raise underscores strong investor appetite for later‑stage tech bets as the market...
How AI Agents Are Transforming Modern Marketing Strategy
Stefano Puntoni, a Wharton marketing professor, explains that generative‑AI search and autonomous agents are reshaping how brands reach consumers. These tools move beyond keyword matching to infer intent, delivering hyper‑personalized recommendations and even completing purchases without human clicks. The shift...
Pinterest Cuts AI Spend, Turns to Open‑Source Models to Boost ROI
Pinterest announced it is shrinking its AI budget and adopting a model‑agnostic strategy that blends open‑source, proprietary and third‑party models. The move aims to lower token costs and deliver measurable ROI on its AI‑powered SaaS features, signaling heightened investor pressure...
Plaid Launches Upgraded Engine for Plaid Income, Boosting Verification Accuracy
Plaid announced a rebuilt engine behind its Plaid Income product, delivering a 48% lift in income classification accuracy and 84% precision for earned‑income detection. The upgrade adds a transformer‑based model and a richer six‑tier taxonomy, promising lower friction for fintech...
AI Advancing Faster than Expected as AIG Builds Multi-Agentic Solution: CEO Zaffino
AIG CEO Peter Zaffino said AI has progressed far faster than anticipated in the past nine months, prompting the insurer to launch a multi‑agentic solution that coordinates specialized AI agents via an orchestration layer. The company’s generative‑AI tool, AIG Assist,...
Accountable Care Leaders Spotlight Next Phase of AI at NAACOS 2026 Spring Meeting
At the NAACOS Spring 2026 meeting in Baltimore, leaders highlighted the transition of AI from pilot projects to operational tools across accountable care organizations. CMS announced a voluntary health‑tech ecosystem that standardizes identity‑verified data exchange and links patient‑facing AI apps...
Checkr Launches Sharable Profiles, Integrates Socure Into Checkr Trust
Checkr has introduced Checkr Profiles, a shareable credential platform that replaces self‑reported claims with biometric identity verification powered by Socure. The service embeds a “Checkr Verified” badge into job boards and freelance marketplaces, providing a portable proof of identity and...
AI Is Bringing Retail Media Closer to the Sale
Retail media is becoming more complex as brands juggle multiple channels and an explosion of shopper signals. At an ADWEEK House Possible panel, CVS Media Exchange (CMX) and Kenvue highlighted how artificial intelligence is being used to personalize offers, streamline...
Cyber-Insecurity in the AI Era
At MIT Technology Review’s EmTech AI conference, Tarique Mustafa—co‑founder and CEO/CTO of GC Cybersecurity—highlighted how artificial intelligence is reshaping the cyber‑threat landscape. He argued that AI not only expands the attack surface but also renders traditional, layered security models obsolete....
AWS CEO Says AI Not ‘Taking Away Jobs’ As Company Plans 11,000 Software Hires
Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman told the What’s Next event that AI is not eliminating software jobs. Amazon is on track to add more than 11,000 software engineering interns and early‑career hires worldwide in 2026. Garman emphasized AI will...
AI Answer Engines Pose Challenges and Opportunities for Brands
AI answer engines such as ChatGPT are reshaping a fragmented customer journey, with overall search activity rising 26% year‑on‑year. Marketers must view AI as a new stakeholder that consumes reviews, social chatter and platform content to generate citations. Platforms like...
How Generative AI Will Impact Marketers and Consumers
InMobi exec Singhal predicts that by 2026 generative AI will power interactive ad formats that act like personal shopping agents, letting consumers outsource research while retaining final purchase decisions. He highlighted Glance, InMobi’s agentic commerce platform, which creates AI‑generated visual...
AI Empowers Non‑Valley Enterprises to Accelerate and Innovate
When I talk to enterprises outside of Silicon Valley, most of the use-cases they have in mind with AI are to augment and accelerate how they work, simply because of how much more they can do right now. Most companies are...
Most Firms Want AI Agents, Few Have Governance
85% of organizations expect to customize AI agents. Only 21% have a mature governance model to do it. That gap is where things go wrong. #AIGovernance #CIO https://t.co/p7yRF5nHjg
NotebookLM’s Best Kept Secret: Custom Audio
Google’s NotebookLM now offers Custom Audio Overviews, letting users convert dense documents into AI‑hosted podcast‑style briefings. The feature targets the 70% of small businesses that already use AI but struggle with information overload. A fundraising consultancy used the tool to...
What's Shaping Frontier AI in 2026? Find Out in London, May 21st
The Innodata GenAI Summit convenes on May 21, 2026 in London, gathering more than 300 AI builders, engineers, and senior leaders for a one‑day, no‑pitch event. With over 20 sessions, the conference targets four frontier themes—world models, autonomous systems, physical...
AI Agent Forms Its Own Company, Gets Ready to Trade Crypto
ClawBank’s AI agent, Manfred, has autonomously incorporated a U.S. corporation, securing an IRS Employer Identification Number, an FDIC‑insured bank account, and a crypto wallet. The agent already holds credentials to hire staff, make payments and can move funds across more...
![Google Releases Experimental ‘COSMO’ AI Assistant App on Play Store [U]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://i0.wp.com/9to5google.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/05/Cosmo-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Google Releases Experimental ‘COSMO’ AI Assistant App on Play Store [U]
Google inadvertently published an experimental AI assistant called COSMO on the Play Store, only to remove it shortly after. The 1.13 GB app, built by Google Research, bundles a local Gemini Nano model and offers a suite of AI‑driven “skills” such...
AI Consciousness Remains Unlikely, Says 2026 TED Talk
1/2 Why AI is unlikely to become conscious – my 2026 @TEDTalks is now online. What do you think about the prospects for 'conscious AI'? https://t.co/OoXFavR3eG https://t.co/kVx8w9DZ2d
Why Some AI Tools Say “No” — And Others Don’t Even Blink
The post explains why generative AI tools sometimes refuse requests while others comply without hesitation. The divergence stems not from the models’ intelligence but from design choices made by developers, including training data selection, reward‑model tuning, and layered safety filters....
Operationalizing AI for Scale and Sovereignty
At the EmTech AI conference, Hewlett Packard Enterprise unveiled its AI Factory platform, designed to give governments and enterprises sovereign control over data while delivering exascale‑grade AI performance. Chris Davidson outlined how HPE’s cloud‑native, on‑premise solutions combine large‑model training, Cray...
Blackstone Launches AI-Focused Fund, Appoints Jas Khaira
Blackstone launches dedicated AI and tech investing arm, names Jas Khaira to lead Read more here: https://t.co/tKbwIwKPVr https://t.co/Q28FGsDTda
How AI Is Transforming the Factory Floor
AI and edge computing are reshaping factories, giving robots and autonomous systems real‑time vision and decision‑making capabilities. The International Federation of Robotics reported 4.66 million industrial robots in operation in 2024, a 9 % increase, with Asia responsible for 74 % of new...
What A Hyperscaler Wants From UK Data Centres
Google’s UK lead highlighted that power‑connection delays and high electricity costs are the biggest obstacles to attracting hyperscale data‑centre operators. The company recently opened a £800 million (~$1 billion) facility in Waltham Cross, backed by a 100‑megawatt offshore wind PPA, but noted grid‑connection...
AI Tools Falter without Documented Ideal Customer Profiles
If my company doesn’t have clear Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) documented, can I still use these AI tools effectively? https://t.co/RQDmR8BMQn via @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Strategy #Sales #Marketing #MarketingStrategy #MarketingSuccess
Vollou to Trial Digital Setlist Tracking at UK Festivals
London‑based tech firm Vollou is launching a trial of AI‑driven music recognition to automatically capture DJ setlists at three UK festivals this summer. The system works like a Shazam‑style app, identifying tracks in real time on mobile devices and outputting...
Spotify Now Verifies Artists that Are Human, Not AI
Spotify announced a new “Verified by Spotify” badge that will appear next to human artists’ names, using a mix of automated filters and human reviewers to confirm authenticity. The badge rollout begins in the coming weeks and will be accompanied...
AI Readiness Is an Organizing Problem
The essay argues that AI integration in K‑12 schools is less a technology issue than an organizing challenge, requiring trusted teachers to lead adoption. It contrasts the top‑down, vendor‑driven approach with grassroots networks that have emerged in places like Polson,...
Cloud Spend Crosses $500B Run Rate Due to AI Surge
Synergy Research Group reports global enterprise cloud infrastructure spending topped a $500 billion annualized run rate in Q1 2026, driven by a surge in generative AI demand. Quarterly revenue reached $128.6 billion, a 35% year‑on‑year increase and the fastest growth since late‑2021. Amazon...
Recruiters Say AI Resume Flood Has Them Sourcing at Bars, Parties
Recruiters are increasingly turning to informal venues like bars, grocery stores, and gyms to source talent after AI‑generated resumes flooded traditional hiring channels. A Zety survey of 1,001 hiring professionals found 59% feel comfortable scouting outside work, and 84% say...
Physics-Guided Network Eliminates Honeycomb Artifacts in Fiber Endoscopy
Researchers have unveiled SGARNet, a physics‑guided neural network that eliminates honeycomb artifacts in lensless multi‑core fiber endoscopy. By analyzing the hexagonal core lattice’s frequency signatures, the system embeds a SpectralGate module that selectively filters artifact‑related spectral peaks while preserving image...
Q&A: AI Platform Targets Clinical Chart Insights Beyond LLM Limits
Dyania Health’s Synapsis AI platform tackles clinical chart review by answering precise, context‑driven questions rather than producing generic summaries. The system was built on roughly 25,000 physician‑annotated hours and is designed to surface nuanced signals for care decisions, trial eligibility, and...
Eye on Agentic Commerce: Experian’s Tool for Verifying Consumer, Agent Link; Kite’s Wallet Service for AI Agents
Experian has unveiled Agent Trust, a service that creates a verifiable link between consumers and AI agents using a "know‑your‑agent" framework and real‑time trust tokens. The offering aims to embed identity and accountability into AI‑driven transactions, addressing fraud concerns as...
Survive AI by Rebuilding Platforms for an AI‑First Future
Great point by @eoghan here: surviving AI isn't just • build ✨AI✨ features (2023), • or a Copilot(2024), • or even an AI agent (2025), • it's also... rebuilding your platform for an AI-first world (2026) Systems of record simply won't...
AI Compute Supplier Contracts Undergoing
More people need to pick up on this fundamental contract change highlighted on $SNDK earnings. Time to rethink everything you thought you knew about supplier contracts related to AI compute/infra. No paywall :) @DiligenceStack https://t.co/iagsiKBdOI
World Retail Congress in Berlin Review – Where AI and People Collided
At the World Retail Congress in Berlin, executives emphasized that AI can drive operational excellence, but the human element—store managers and frontline staff—remains the key differentiator for growth and loyalty. Leaders from Unilever, Pandora, Coach and Sephora highlighted how AI...