lunin

SoftBank currently owns 11% of OpenAI, and Masayoshi Son plans to increase that stake.

OpenAI is currently seeking new investment. Altman is meeting with investors from the Middle East and wants to raise at least $50 billion, with a valuation of $750–$830 billion.

SoftBank plans to invest another $30 billion in OpenAI

AI is a horse - Kevin Conner

GPT-5.2 helps you write and format text, inserts formulas, and checks citations. Collaboration with co-authors is supported.

Free here: https://prism.openai.com/

OpenAI launched Prism, an AI editor for scientific documents

The main innovation is Agent Swarm mode. In complex tasks, the model manages a swarm of 100 subagents and makes up to 1,500 tool calls.

In coding, according to benchmarks, Kimi K2.5 performs at the level of Gemini 3 Pro.

You can try it for free here: https://www.kimi.com/
Trial access to Agent Swarm is only available on higher-tier plans.

The code and weights are available on HuggingFace.

Kimi K2.5, the most powerful open-source model to date, has been released

Benchmarks show the new Qwen is close to top Western models.

Weights have not been published. The API costs $1.20 per 1 million tokens for input and $6.00 per 1 million tokens for output.

You can try it out in the chat at https://chat.qwen.ai/ using the "Thinking" button.

Alibaba has updated its most powerful Qwen 3 Max Thinking model

MiniMax Agent Desktop can sort files, write social media posts, generate images, and use cloud-based AI agents.

You can entrust your computer to China's answer to Claude Cowork here: https://agent.minimax.io/ 
It runs on Windows and macOS.

PS:

MiniMax has updated its AI agent for computer management

The startup helps companies create training videos with generated avatars. Now they're going further, creating AI agents that users can interact with on work-related matters.

Major clients: Bosch, Merck, and SAP. Last April, ARR was $100 million.

Latest valuation: $4 billion

Synthesia Raises $200 Million to Generate Avatar Videos

Anthropic has integrated Claude directly into Microsoft Excel.

Key features:
- You can write tasks, not formulas: "Group customers by LTV and purchase frequency."
- Claude automatically analyzes the data and returns the results directly in the table.

Plus:
• Creates complex formulas for a task
• Explains how they work
• Checks existing formulas for errors and logical inconsistencies
• Creates pivot tables on demand
• Compares periods
• Looks for trends and deviations
• Provides comments on figures, not just numbers

Already available for Pro plans.

Claude in Excel without scripts or hacks

![](https://m.stacker.news/126986)
In six months to a year, AI will be able to develop new AI models on its own, says Dario Amodei.

The head of Anthrpoic not only criticized the US and Nvidia in Davos, but also offered his forecast for the year. Amodei believes that AI models will soon be able to code new AI models themselves. This could happen in as little as six to 12 months.

The question Amodei still hasn't answered is when AI will be able to manufacture chips and train new models, so that the cycle is complete.

In six months to a year, AI will be able to develop new AI models on its own

OpenAI's Director of Global Communications said that development of the gadget, dreamed up by Altman and Ive, is proceeding as planned. The presentation is scheduled for the second half of 2026.

The identity of the device is still unknown. Altman promised that it will be less intrusive than a smartphone, and its simplicity will shock users. Other theories include an earpiece and a brooch.

OpenAI will unveil an AI device this year

ElevenLabs plans to raise hundreds of millions of dollars at an $11 billion valuation.
The specific amount has not yet been disclosed; negotiations with investors are ongoing.
In the fall of 2025, ElevenLabs was valued at $6.6 billion.

AI voice start-up ElevenLabs in funding talks at $11bn valuation

Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals

Anthropic is raising $350 billion in funding. 
The planned round size is $25 billion, with Nvidia and Microsoft contributing $15 billion.

In 2015, Musk invested $38 million in OpenAI. He then fell out with everyone and, in 2024, filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of deception. The money was allegedly given to a non-profit organization, but OpenAI abandoned its noble mission and focused on commercial products.

A financial expert hired by Musk's lawyers calculated that Musk is entitled to a portion of OpenAI's current valuation. The estimate is between $79 billion and $134 billion (approximately 3,500 times Musk's investment).

The case will be heard by a jury in April. OpenAI has already warned its partners that Musk is preparing "ridiculous statements to attract attention."

Musk is demanding $134 billion from OpenAI for broken expectations

Altman launched a competitor to Neuralink and raised $250 million from OpenAI.

Merge Labs is developing a brain-computer interface. Unlike Neuralink, Altman's company won't be drilling new holes in patients' skulls. Instead, it plans to read and send signals to neurons remotely.

The technology isn't just intended to help people with paralysis. The startup wants to create a remote control so anyone can control OpenAI products with their mind.

The size of the seed round is not specified. OpenAI invested $250 million at a valuation of $850 million.

OpenAI invests in Sam Altman’s brain computer interface startup Merge Labs

Parloa Raises $350 Million for AI Customer Support.

Berlin-based startup Parloa makes AI bots to replace human call centers. Clients include Booking.com, Allianz, SAP, and several other large companies.

In December, the startup announced it had reached $50 million in ARR. This is roughly on par with competitors Poly AI and Decagon.

Parloa's latest valuation is $6 billion.

Parloa raises $350M to make enterprise customer experience fully conversational

Gemini introduces Personal Intelligence

Yes, I use this option to check "similar" links and news context.

The company claims to generate 4.5 million videos daily, most of which are for commercial use.
The latest valuation is $1.3 billion.

Higgsfield Raises $130 Million for AI Video Generation

Luc Metz and CTO Barrett Zof have left Murati. Both previously worked at OpenAI, then helped found Thinking Machines Lab, and have now decided to return to Altman.

Two Thinking Machines Lab co-founders have returned to OpenAI

> It's not a dupe, per se.

I wonder if the duplicate search by comparing links works, not content and titles?

@k00b It seems that the search for dupes is not working correctly.