Meta Platforms has restructured its artificial intelligence operations, creating two separate units — an AI Products team headed by Connor Hayes and the AGI Foundations unit jointly run by Ahmad Al-Dahle and Amir Frenkel. The move comes as Meta is delayed getting its latest foundation model Llama 4 Behemoth to market and has also seen several key AI engineers depart. The idea is that dividing a single large organization into two smaller divisions will speed product development and add flexibility as Meta faces tough competition from top companies such as Google and OpenAI, as well as social companies X and TikTok. Continue reading Meta Restructures AI Ops in Wake of Llama 4 Behemoth Delay

Texas has codified a new law that requires the Apple and Google app stores to verify users’ ages for downloads, providing parents and guardians more control over children’s downloads. California and Illinois are considering similar measures, but so far Texas is the largest among 20 states that have evaluated similar smartphone laws aimed at child safety. In March, Utah became the first state to establish such regulation. As part of a broader national push Congress this month reintroduced the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) requiring social media platforms to police harmful content. Continue reading Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act to Protect Children

Stargate UAE is the first major deal announced by the OpenAI-led Stargate consortium in its march to develop giant data centers for artificial intelligence around the world. The massive Abu Dhabi cluster is expected to go live with 200 megawatts in 2026 then scale up to 1 gigawatt — enough to power a million homes — eventually taking its place as part of a 5GW UAE-U.S. AI technology cluster in the region. Stargate partners G42, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank are participating in the build-out, which OpenAI explains was “developed in close coordination with the U.S. government.” Continue reading OpenAI-Led Stargate UAE Is Latest in Middle East Tech Push

Google and Xreal publicly displayed the first eyewear to run Android XR. Developed as Project Aura, the extended reality smart glasses are expected to be available for purchase later this year or in early 2026. Google is also working with Samsung on a headset as part of Project Moohan. Pricing on the Aura glasses wasn’t announced at Google I/O, but they’ll reportedly cost less than the thousand dollar-plus price tags being floated for the Samsung device and Meta’s next-gen smart glasses, code-named Hypernova. At its annual developer conference, Google also showcased glasses being made with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster that won’t feature AR. Continue reading Google Tees-Up Android XR to Take On Meta, Apple Eyewear

TikTok AI Alive is a new image-to-video feature that can add sequential expression to selfies and add progressive hues to sunsets. Accessible through the platform’s Story Camera, AI Alive uses intelligent editing tools that give anyone, regardless of experience, “the ability to transform static images into captivating, short-form videos enhanced with movement, atmospheric and creative effects.” TikTok says it is prioritizing safety and transparency by adding a label to AI Alive stories, which will also have C2PA metadata embedded, traveling with the content even when it’s downloaded and shared elsewhere. Continue reading TikTok Offering ‘AI Alive’ Image-to-Video Generator in Stories

Amazon’s growth contracted in Q1, with revenue up 9 percent compared to 13 percent a year ago. That was good enough to outperform Wall Street forecasts, with overall sales increasing to $155.7 billion, compared with $143.3 billion in Q1 2024. In addition, Amazon Web Services sales grew by nearly 17 percent to $29.3 billion. Yet Amazon share price fell by up to 4.3 percent after hours, a reflection of a Q2 forecast the company says could be affected by newly imposed tariffs. “Obviously, none of us know exactly where tariffs will settle, or when,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told analysts on the Q1 earnings call. Continue reading Amazon Reports Strong Quarter, Braces for Impact of Tariffs

Meta Platforms revenue for Q1 was $42.3 billion, up 16 percent year-over-year and besting Wall Street estimates of $41.3 billion. Profits were up 35 percent to $16.6 billion, hurtling past analyst estimates of $13.6 billion. Advertising, up nearly 15 percent for the quarter compared to last year, comfortably passed $41 billion, driving the revenue performance. Meta began Q2 by launching its anticipated standalone Meta AI app. Built with natively multimodal Llama 4 models, the company is positioning the Meta AI app as “a personal AI designed around voice conversations,” according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Continue reading Meta Touts 35 Percent Q1 Profit Jump, ‘Personalized’ AI App

Nvidia has released NeMo microservices into general availability with version 25.4, pivoting its profile from a modular toolkit for creating custom generative AI models to emphasizing it as a platform for building AI agents at scale. As AI agents have become an in-demand commodity, Nvidia is leveraging the fact that NeMo’s capabilities seem purpose built to help them grow and thrive. Built around the Kubernetes open-source container management system, NeMo microservices are offered as “an end-to-end developer platform for creating state-of-the-art agentic AI systems,” according to Nvidia. Continue reading Nvidia Positions Its NeMo Microservices for AI Agent-Building

Alphabet revenue was $90.2 billion in Q1, a 12 percent increase year-over-year that reflects “robust momentum” across Google Search and YouTube ads and Google Cloud, each delivering double-digit growth rates. Google Cloud was up 28 percent to $12.3 billion in divisions including AI infrastructure and generative AI solutions. Net profit surged 46 percent to $34.5 billion while operating income grew 20 percent to $30.6 billion. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the quarter was “super exciting” due to breakthroughs in performance by Gemini 2.5, calling it “our most intelligent AI” and a strong foundation “for future innovation.” Continue reading Alphabet Profit Is Up 46 Percent, Driven by AI and Advertising

Since launching in 2005, YouTube has hosted more than 20 billion videos including music, shorts and podcasts. Now, to celebrate its 20th birthday, the original video streamer is celebrating by sharing stats, unveiling new features and hiding Easter eggs. In the coming weeks, YouTube TV members will be able to “experiment with building their own multiview” with non-sports content and more creators will be able to voice-reply to comments on their videos, something started as a small test last year. Then, this summer, YouTube’s TV app will unveil a makeover. Continue reading YouTube Adds Features to Celebrate 20 Years, 20 Billion Vids

After testing advertising in select markets, Meta Platforms is now offering ads on Instagram’s Threads globally to all eligible advertisers, providing access to the more than 320 million monthly active users the social platform has accrued since launching in July 2023. The Threads feed ad placement will be set on by default for new campaigns using either Advantage+ or Manual Placements unless an advertiser toggles to opt out. Global Threads advertisers will also have access to the platform’s inventory filter, which provides increased control over the distribution of ads. Continue reading Meta Opens Threads Advertising Globally to Eligible Accounts

Instagram has released a standalone video editing tool called Edits that is being described as a full-fledged suite that also has camera capabilities. The resulting content can be released on any social platform, not just those from Meta Platforms, though an Instagram account is required to access Edits. Available worldwide for iOS and Android, Edits is positioned as a way for social videographers to level-up their Instagram or Facebook Reels, but also as a tool for professionals who want a simple mobile solution for short-form videos. Edits also offers analytics so creators can see how their work is performing. Continue reading Instagram ‘Edits’ Video App Is Released for iOS and Android

Instagram is using AI to find teens who have falsified their age and is reclassifying them into “Teen Accounts” settings. The Meta social platform is reaching out to parents to tell them about “the importance of their teens providing the correct ages online, and tips to check and confirm their teens’ ages together,” but letting them know they “don’t have to go it alone — we’re using AI to help.” Instagram launched Teen Accounts last year as a way to enroll users and provide built-in protections. Those under 16 need a parent or guardian’s permission to change the setting. The safeguards are on by default for young users, limiting who can make contact and filtering viewable content. Continue reading Instagram Taps AI to Identify Young Users for Teen Accounts

Meta Platforms has introduced a new Instagram Reels feature called Blend that lets users customize a video feed for themselves and friends. The invite-only Blends can be built for a single friend or within a group chat. Once created, the feed is refreshed each day with new content, with all members able to add material. The idea is to let friends explore and discover content together while adding a new interactive element that harkens back to social media’s roots, cutting through the recent trend of viral influencer content and ads. Earlier this year it was reported that the new feature was being developed. Continue reading Meta Brings ‘Blend’ Custom Video Feed Feature to Instagram

OpenAI has released two new AI models that use images as part of their reasoning process, “thinking with images.” OpenAI o3 and o4-mini “are the smartest models we’ve released to date, representing a step change in ChatGPT’s capabilities for everyone from curious users to advanced researchers,” the company says. The new entries in the “o” series also have agentic capabilities and can independently “use and combine every tool within ChatGPT, including searching the web, analyzing uploaded files and other data with Python, reasoning deeply about visual inputs, and even generating images.” Continue reading OpenAI Introduces New Models That Can Reason with Images