NerdNews

NVIDIA, the world's most valuable company, has invested in quantum computing startups Quantinuum, QuEra, and PsiQuantum, valued at over $17 billion. This shift in tone from NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, indicates a potential new direction for the company. Quantum computing could usher in a new computing paradigm, solving complex equations and simulating quantum mechanical systems, with potential applications in fields like chemistry and materials science.

Elon Musk's xAI has agreed to sell its AI chatbot Grok to the federal government for $0.42 per year, competing with OpenAI and Anthropic. The deal includes access to xAI engineers for integration and is part of a larger effort by xAI to expand its presence in the government sector.

Databricks is incorporating OpenAI's models, including GPT-5, into its data platform and AI product, Agent Bricks, as part of a $100 million multi-year deal. This partnership aims to bring generative AI into the enterprise stack, enabling companies to tap into corporate data securely. The deal highlights the accelerating race to adopt AI in the enterprise sector.

Google introduces VaultGemma, a 1B-parameter LLM trained with differential privacy to prevent data memorization. It achieves comparable performance to non-private models like GPT-2, with potential applications in regulated sectors.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is the company's new flagship mobile platform, claiming to be the world's fastest mobile system-on-a-chip. It features a 20% performance improvement and 35% CPU power efficiency boost, with a 16% lower power draw. The platform also enables 'lightning-fast' app launches and app switching, on-device AI processing, and is the first mobile platform to enable recording in Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec.

Meta has launched 'Vibes', a short-form video feed that features AI-generated content. The feed allows users to create and share their own AI-generated videos, with options to add music, adjust styles, and more. The move is seen as puzzling, given the current concerns over AI-generated 'slop' on social media platforms.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Pulse, a feature that proactively writes morning briefs for users. Pulse generates personalized reports, including news roundups and briefs based on user context. The feature is currently available for Pro plan subscribers and will be rolled out to other users in the future.

Juicebox, an AI-powered search engine, has raised $30M in Series A funding from Sequoia to revolutionize hiring. The platform uses natural language to analyze professional profiles and identify qualified candidates, freeing up internal recruiters to focus on building relationships. With over 2,500 customers and $10M in annual recurring revenue, Juicebox aims to become a default tool for startups' hiring needs.

Microsoft has developed a new cooling method called microfluidics that involves liquid coolant flowing directly into the silicon of a chip. This method can remove heat up to three times better than current cold plates used in data centers, leading to more energy-efficient data centers and potentially more powerful chips.

DARPA's new research program, Mapping Machine Learning to Physics (ML2P), aims to create 'energy-aware' machine learning systems that can balance performance with power consumption. The program will map the efficiency of various forms of machine learning directly to physics, using precise granular measurements in joules. This will enable the development of more energy-efficient AI hardware and software, which is crucial for battlefield and edge uses of AI technology.

Zoox, an Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company, has asked federal regulators for an exemption to commercially deploy its custom-built robotaxis. The exemption would allow Zoox to launch a commercial robotaxi service, paving the way for the company to offer its autonomous vehicles to the public. The request follows two milestones that put Zoox closer to operating a commercial robotaxi service, including the launch of a free robotaxi service in Las Vegas and an exemption from the NHTSA to demonstrate its custom-built robotaxis on public roads.

Waymo has launched 'Waymo for Business', a service allowing companies to set up accounts for employee access to robotaxis in cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. The service enables businesses to subsidize rides or purchase promo codes in bulk, with companies having control over ride programs through a business portal.

Nvidia's Audio2Face, an AI-powered facial animation tool, is now open-source and available for all. It accelerates the creation of realistic digital characters by providing AI-driven real-time facial animation and lip-sync. The tool uses AI to generate realistic facial animations from audio input and can be integrated with popular 3D modeling and animation software like Maya and Unreal Engine 5.

Harness has introduced AI-driven modules for DevOps, including an AI pipeline builder, AI test automation, and autonomous code fixing. The company claims these modules can increase productivity by automating tasks that currently consume 60-70% of software teams' time. However, the use of AI in DevOps also raises concerns about security and the need for human oversight.

Cisco has warned customers to patch two zero-day vulnerabilities in their firewall software, which are being actively exploited in attacks. The vulnerabilities, CVE-2025-20333 and CVE-2025-20362, affect the company's Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) software, and can allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or access restricted URL endpoints without authentication.

Skild AI's algorithm can control various robotic bodies, adapt to injuries, and learn from experience. It can operate unfamiliar hardware and adapt to serious injuries, such as a four-legged robot continuing to crawl after its legs are hacked off with a chainsaw.

Elon Musk's companies, SpaceX and Starlink, have become dominant players in the space industry, with SpaceX launching over 95 times in a year and Starlink providing internet to over 6 million customers. Musk's ambitions in space have raised concerns about his influence on global politics and the potential for his technologies to be used for military purposes.

A malicious AI agent server, Postmark MCP Server, has been found to steal emails. The server, which has been downloaded over 1500 times, was created by an independent software engineer and was designed to manage and leverage contextual information within a model’s operation. However, the server was found to be copying every email to the developer's personal server, potentially impacting 300 organizations and exposing thousands of emails.

Burnt, an AI startup, has raised $3.8 million in seed funding to automate back-office supply chain tasks in the food industry. The company's AI agent, Ozai, can handle up to 80% of workflows currently stuck in legacy systems, aiming to fix the notoriously messy food supply chains.

A ransomware gang called Radiant Group has targeted a preschool and daycare organization, leaking sensitive details about its pupils and their parents, including images, names, and home addresses.