Today's AI Pulse
Odyssey lands $310M Series B, valued at $1.45B
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 backers such as Amazon, AMD Ventures, GV, EQT and IQT. In parallel, Odyssey struck a preferred‑cloud deal with AWS to use Trainium silicon for large‑scale model training.
Also developing:
MongoDB Combines Database and Embedding Models for Simplified AI Development
MongoDB announced the general availability of its Voyage 4 family of embedding models and the multimodal‑3.5 model, integrating them directly into Atlas and the community edition. The new models—voyage‑4, voyage‑4‑large, voyage‑4‑lite, and voyage‑4‑nano—offer varying trade‑offs in accuracy, latency and cost, while the multimodal model adds video handling. MongoDB also launched automated embedding for its Community Vector Search and new embedding and reranking APIs, plus an AI‑powered assistant for Compass and Atlas Data Explorer. Additionally, the MongoDB for Startups program expanded, now representing over $200 billion in combined startup valuation.
Teaching AI How to Forget
In this episode Ben Lorica interviews Ben Luria, CEO and co‑founder of Hirundo, about the rising importance of machine unlearning for enterprise AI systems. They explore how organizations can remove or forget specific data points from trained models to comply...
This Old Pennsylvania Coal Town Could Get a Reboot From AI
The former Homer City coal plant, once the largest in Pennsylvania, shut down three years ago, leaving the town without its 2‑gigawatt power source. A new natural‑gas facility is slated to begin operations in 2027, delivering 4.5 GW—more than double the...
Model Security Is the Wrong Frame – The Real Risk Is Workflow Security
Security teams are still focusing on protecting AI models, but recent incidents show the real risk lies in the workflows surrounding them. Malicious Chrome extensions harvested chat data from over 900,000 users, and prompt‑injection attacks can coerce AI coding assistants...
Sadiq Khan to Urge Ministers to Act over ‘Colossal’ Impact of AI on London Jobs
London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned that artificial intelligence could trigger "mass unemployment" in the capital unless the government intervenes. He cited research indicating that 70% of job skills will change by 2030, especially in finance, creative and professional services. City...
The Real AI Talent War Is for Plumbers and Electricians
AI firms are now battling for a scarce pool of electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians needed to build the power‑hungry data centers that drive artificial‑intelligence workloads. The U.S. faces an average annual shortfall of about 81,000 electricians, with McKinsey estimating...
AiMOGA Deploys Robotic Traffic Police Unit at Intersection in China
AiMOGA Robotics has placed its Intelligent Police Unit R001, a humanoid traffic‑policing robot, at a busy intersection in Wuhu, China, transitioning from pilot trials to routine urban use. The robot performs standardized hand signals and behavioral reminders for non‑motorized traffic...
AI and the Future of Warfare with US Under Secretary of War Emil Michael
In this episode, Under Secretary of War Emil Michael explains how the Department of War is deploying a generative AI platform, GenAI.mil, to over a million users within its first month, leveraging models like Gemini and Grok to boost decision‑making...
AI Agents Need a GTM Specialist, Not Just Sales Teams
"You can't just hand an AI Agent to the sales team or marketing team to deploy. Not if they don't have the skills to implement the agent, train it, manage it." with @kylecnorton CRO @kylecnorton "You have to find that GTM...
China’s Zoomlion Integrating AI and Embodied-Intelligence Robotics for Intelligent Manufacturing
Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology is rolling out a full‑chain AI system that links construction machinery, smart factories and humanoid robots. The company now operates 12 smart factories and more than 300 production lines, enabling high‑mix, small‑batch output with...
'Society Cannot Function if No One Is Accountable for AI' — Jaron Lanier, the Godfather of Virtual Reality, Discusses How...
Jaron Lanier, the virtual‑reality pioneer, argues that AI systems must remain under human accountability in the second episode of the new podcast *The Ten Reckonings*. He warns that delegating responsibility to machines would undermine law and civilization. The discussion references recent...
New Report From Meltwater and We. Communications Reveals 90% of PR Teams Are Integrating Generative AI Into Their Workflows
Meltwater and We. Communications released their inaugural State of PR Report, surveying over 1,100 communications professionals worldwide. The study finds that more than 90% of PR teams have incorporated generative AI into daily tasks such as drafting releases, content optimization,...
Auto-Close Tickets only when AI Reply Succeeds
Any @Zendesk experts out there? We have a gen AI reply out there for @haveibeenpwned which attempts to answer a support question, but has a fallback for if it can’t. How can we automatically close the ticket if a reply...
Spain-Based DAO Xmaquina Raises $10M for Early-Stage Robotics Investments
Spain-based DAO Xmaquina has raised more than $10 million through its on‑chain Genesis Auction model, attracting nearly 2,000 contributors ranging from crypto‑focused venture funds to strategic angels. The auctions used uniform pricing and open participation, removing preferential terms typical of traditional...
Wikipedia’s Existential Threats Feel Greater Than Ever
Wikipedia marks its 25th anniversary amid mounting political, legal, and technological pressures. Conservative figures accuse the site of left‑wing bias while governments in the UK and Saudi Arabia propose age‑gating or imprison editors. AI bots scrape its content, driving traffic...
UiPath’s Platform Transition - a Case of Execution over Re-Invention. COO Ashim Gupta Explains
UiPath posted its first quarter of net‑new ARR growth in two years and achieved GAAP profitability, crediting execution discipline over new product launches. The company tightened renewal planning, deepened account management, and focused on post‑sale deployment to accelerate value realization....
Bain & Company Launches AI-Focused Venture Ecosystem With Leading Global VC Firms
Bain & Company announced the creation of an AI‑focused venture ecosystem in partnership with several leading global venture‑capital firms. The initiative will combine Bain’s strategic consulting expertise with VC capital to back early‑stage artificial‑intelligence startups. By establishing a dedicated pipeline,...
The CFO Case for Probabilistic Forecasting With AI | Bruno Annicq
In this episode, CFO Bruno Annicq of Wellhub shares how he transformed the company’s forecasting by adopting an AI‑driven probabilistic ensemble model, moving the finance team beyond single‑scenario planning. He outlines his EMPOWER planning framework, emphasizing cash discipline, sustainable growth,...
America Under Surveillance with Michael Soyfer
In this episode, Kevin Ball talks with Institute for Justice attorney Michael Soyfer about the rapid expansion of surveillance technologies such as automated license‑plate readers, facial‑recognition cameras, and predictive policing tools across U.S. municipalities. Soyfer explains the Fourth Amendment challenges...
Worldline Empowers Agentic Commerce with New AI Capabilities
Worldline announced two new capabilities—Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and the ConnectAI developer hub—to make its Global Collect payment platform agent‑ready. The MCP acts as a secure bridge that lets large language models initiate payments, refunds, and status checks via...
DataMesh Launches DataMesh Robotics to Enable Industrial Embodied AI Training with Executable Digital Twins
DataMesh has introduced DataMesh Robotics, an embodied AI data product built on its executable industrial digital twin platform. The solution lets robot OEMs train, validate and evaluate robots in dynamic, process‑driven virtual factories, producing synthetic data and measurable reward signals....
Guarding Europe’s Hidden Lifelines: How AI Could Protect Subsea Infrastructure
The episode explores how AI can safeguard Europe’s extensive subsea cables and pipelines, focusing on the EU‑funded VIGIMARE project led by researcher Johanna Karvonen. It details how machine‑learning models will fuse satellite imagery, AIS data, radar and acoustic signals from...
ModelOp Launches Simplified Enterprise AI Lifecycle Management and Governance Procurement Availability in AWS Marketplace
ModelOp announced that its ModelOp Center AI lifecycle management platform is now listed on AWS Marketplace. Enterprises can purchase the solution directly through their AWS accounts, consolidating contracts and billing on a single invoice. The offering promises faster deployment of...
IManage Expands AI Capabilities with Appointment of Mike Eichsteadt as Vice President of AI Engineering
iManage announced the appointment of Mike Eichsteadt as Vice President of AI Engineering, reinforcing its push to embed practical, governed AI across its knowledge‑work platform. Eichsteadt will lead efforts to scale applied AI, improve data quality, and ensure responsible deployment...
Quadric Raises $30M in Series C Funding
Quadric, a Burlingame‑based AI inference engine provider, announced a $30 million Series C round led by ACCELERATE Fund with participation from several notable venture firms. The capital will fund expansion of its General Purpose NPU (GPNPU) processor IP and end‑to‑end toolchain, which...
SHOW Token Uses AI and Web3 Infrastructure to Improve Film Production Efficiency
SHOW Token has launched an AI‑driven, Web3‑based platform aimed at modernizing film production. The utility token is embedded in the platform to grant access and incentivize participation rather than serve as a speculative asset. By combining blockchain’s transparent contribution tracking...
F5 Targets AI Runtime Risk with New Guardrails and Adversarial Testing Tools
F5 announced the general availability of two AI‑runtime security products—F5 AI Guardrails and F5 AI Red Team. The Guardrails solution provides model‑agnostic, real‑time protection for AI agents, while the Red Team offers automated adversarial testing using a continuously updated threat...
Critical Moment: The AI Imperative for Credit Unions
Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from novelty to necessity for credit unions as younger members increasingly expect AI-driven budgeting, planning and transaction tools. While 55% of members already rely on AI for financial planning and 42% feel comfortable using it...
These Invisible Factors Are Limiting the Future of AI
AI’s growth is increasingly bound by physical infrastructure rather than algorithmic breakthroughs. Generative‑AI models rely on massive data centers that consume huge electricity loads, prompting community pushback in places like Ohio and Virginia. Utilities warn that the surge in AI‑driven...
EXCLUSIVE: Former Perplexity Ad Exec Taz Patel Joins AI Video Startup
AI video startup Higgsfield has hired former Perplexity ad executive Taz Patel as vice president of platform partnerships. Patel, who joined this week, will report to CEO Alex Mashrabov and focus on converting self‑serve AI video users into formal agency...
Nao Labs (Open-Source Analytics Agent, YC X25) Is Hiring
nao Labs, a Y Combinator Spring 2025 startup, is hiring a founding software engineer to build its open‑source AI analytics agent. The company’s AI‑powered IDE already serves over 100 data teams, and the new agent will enable chat‑based analytics across...
Amplitude Acquires InfiniGrow to Bring Revenue Analytics to Marketers
Amplitude announced the acquisition of InfiniGrow, an AI‑powered marketing analytics startup, to embed revenue‑focused analytics into its product suite. The deal expands Amplitude’s AI vision by making session‑based analytics a core feature and delivering forecasting, what‑if analysis, and budget‑allocation tools....
Scale AI Agents with Robust Context Engineering, Not Prompts
Most AI systems don’t fail because of bad prompts. They fail because context breaks at scale. If you’re building AI agents, LLM workflows, copilots, or automation, this is the layer that quietly decides whether your system is reliable or unpredictable....
Golpo AI Unveils Redesigned Interface and Powerful New Video Creation Features
Golpo AI, the Stanford‑originated, Y Combinator‑backed video platform, launched a major product update that overhauls its user interface and adds three new capabilities. The redesigned UI promises faster, more intuitive navigation from content upload to export, reducing the learning curve for...
Exclusive: Volvo Tells Us Why Having Gemini in Your Next Car Is a Good Thing
Volvo will unveil the EX60 electric SUV next week, built on the second‑generation HuginCore software‑defined platform. The architecture combines a cell‑to‑body battery, large castings and a compute stack capable of over 250 trillion operations per second, powered by Nvidia Drive AGX...
The Silent Partner - How Machine Learning Quietly Powers Modern Space Operations
Machine learning has moved from experimental labs to the core of space operations, enabling rapid analysis of massive satellite imagery, telemetry streams, and orbital traffic data. Supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning each address distinct needs—from automated Earth‑observation classification to anomaly...
Evertune Launches Shopping Intelligence to Track Brand Visibility in AI-Powered Product Recommendations
Evertune launched Shopping Intelligence, a feature that tracks how AI models like ChatGPT surface product recommendations and turns that data into actionable brand insights. It provides metrics such as Shopping Visibility, Shopping Trigger Rate, pricing comparisons, and retailer performance, showing...
Voxel CEO, Vernon O’Donnell, to Speak at EHS Management Institute Event on Securing Buy-In From AI-Driven Safety
Voxel, a computer‑vision AI firm, announced that CEO Vernon O’Donnell will speak at the invite‑only EHS Management Institute event in New Orleans, Jan 25‑27 2026. His session, “From Pilot to Practice: Securing Buy‑In with AI‑Driven Safety,” will focus on rapid implementation, domain...
Fibocom Launches Global LTE Cat.1 Bis Module LE271-GL
Fibocom has introduced the LE271-GL, a global LTE Cat.1 bis module that delivers single‑SKU connectivity for IoT devices worldwide. The 17.7 mm × 15.8 mm chip is pin‑compatible with existing Fibocom families, supports both FDD‑LTE and TDD‑LTE bands, and registers on networks in under...
Lytra Completes Pre-Seed Financing for AI-Driven Manufacturing Solution
Munich‑based Lytra closed a pre‑seed round led by High‑Tech Gründerfonds, securing capital to scale its AI‑driven operating system for manufacturing service automation. The platform automates core after‑sales tasks such as spare‑parts ordering, technician scheduling and technical support, integrating directly with...
Show HN: MailPilot – Freedom to Go Anywhere While Your Agents Work
MailPilot is a terminal‑based user interface that wraps local large language model agents and forwards each interaction to an email thread. The tool lets users and their AI agents communicate asynchronously via email, freeing the user from a constant desk...
Skene Raises €800k to Accelerate Software Growth via AI Agents
Skene, a Helsinki‑based product growth automation platform, closed an €800,000 pre‑seed round led by Superhero Capital with participation from NVIDIA executives. The startup’s AI agent reads a SaaS product’s source code to generate real‑time, personalized user guidance embedded in everyday...
New Cloudflare Report Warns of a ‘Technical Glass Ceiling’ Stifling AI Growth and Weakening Cybersecurity
Cloudflare’s inaugural 2026 App Innovation Report finds that organizations that modernize their application stacks are three times more likely to realize tangible AI returns, while legacy‑bound firms face heightened security exposure. The study shows 93% of leaders credit software updates...
Google Launches New Initiative to Help Indian AI Startups Scale for Enterprise Adoption
Google India has launched the Market Access Programme to help domestic AI startups scale for enterprise adoption, leveraging Google’s distribution network and access to international markets. Participants receive priority use of Google’s Gemini and Gemma model families, as well as...
CES 2026’s Missing Topics Reveal Real Tech Priorities
What We Didn’t See At CES 2026, And Why That Matters #CES2026 dazzled with AI, robots and smart devices, yet left critical questions unanswered around #jobs , #skills , #sustainability , #governance , #privacy , and real business value. This...
AI Poised to Reshape London’s Finance Hub Swiftly
AI won’t just disrupt factories. Could it hit financial and professional hubs like London even faster? https://t.co/ciwzjvJZWh @PickardJE @Melissahei @ft
286. The Cigna Group’s Brian Evanko on Improving Affordability and Prevention in Healthcare
In this episode, Cigna Group President and COO Brian Evanko discusses the twin challenges of healthcare affordability and prevention, emphasizing the disproportionate spend on chronic care in the U.S. He outlines how Cigna’s two growth platforms—Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth—are leveraging...
How Everyday Foam Reveals the Secret Logic of Artificial Intelligence
Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania discovered that foam interiors remain in perpetual motion, contradicting the long‑held view that foams behave like frozen glass. Using simulations, they showed bubbles wander through countless configurations, a behavior mathematically identical to the parameter...
IBM Tackles Cloud, AI Sovereignty with New Platform
IBM announced Sovereign Core, a software platform that lets enterprises run cloud and AI workloads under their own sovereign control. The solution embeds data‑localization and governance controls directly into the software, offering a customer‑operated control plane. Available in tech preview...
![[Interview] Building for Where Retail Is Going? Sreeraman MG, Co-Founder Fynd](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://www.theretailbulletin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SMG-2.png)
[Interview] Building for Where Retail Is Going? Sreeraman MG, Co-Founder Fynd
Co‑founder Sreeraman MG outlines Fynd’s 2026 UK launch, positioning its AI‑native commerce layer as a plug‑in solution for mid‑market and enterprise retailers. The company will target fashion, beauty and grocery categories, tackling two core UK pain points: trustworthy cross‑channel attribution and...