Contributing writer covering AI products and emerging research.
Open-Source & Democratised AIMeta published weights for an 816B-parameter multimodal model it says is the top US open-weight system. Capability claims await independent testing.
AI Mergers & AcquisitionsWorkday signed a deal on October 12 to buy ConductorOne (C1.ai), betting that AI agents need identities and access controls like employees.
LLMsAnthropic's Sonnet 5.5 keeps Sonnet 5 pricing while promising faster output, lower per-task cost and new cyber and anti-distillation safeguards.
AI NewsEma, which builds teams of AI agents to handle HR, IT, and finance work, has raised a $77 million Series B led by Creaegis, quadrupling its valuation since 2024 as it pushes an “AI employee” model that competes directly with enterprise software.
Algorithms & ResearchThe new DeepMind Institute, led by figures including Demis Hassabis and Shane Legg, is publishing essays that do not always agree, aiming to widen the debate over how close AGI is and how it should be governed
AI NewsFrench AI lab Mistral has closed a €3 billion Series D round led by Samsung, valuing the company at more than €21 billion and strengthening its push into sovereign, open-weight AI.
