A new generative AI startup called Black Forest Labs has hit the scene, debuting with a suite of text-to-image models branded FLUX.1. Based in Germany, Black Forest was founded by some of the researchers involved in developing Stable Diffusion and has raised $31 million in funding from principal investor Andreessen Horowitz and angels including CAA founder and former talent agent Michael Ovitz. The FLUX.1 suite focuses on “image detail, prompt adherence, style diversity and scene complexity,” the company says of its three initial variants: FLUX.1 [pro], FLUX.1 [dev] and FLUX.1 [schnell]. Read more

SiriusXM is launching a standalone podcast service called SiriusXM Podcasts+ available through Apple Podcasts. Beginning this month, the new ad-free service, described as a “premium listening experience for some of the biggest shows on the SiriusXM Podcast Network” will stream to more than 50 countries, including the U.S. and Canada with exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes. Participating shows at launch include “SmartLess” and “Literally! with Rob Lowe,” as well as select programs from the Freakonomics Radio Network. SiriusXM Podcasts+ is priced at $5.99 per month or $44.99 annually, directly through Apple Podcasts. Read more

Facebook parent Meta announced better-than-expected earnings for Q2 last week, surpassing Wall Street estimates for revenue and profit. The company plans to continue spending heavily on artificial intelligence and virtual reality, despite significant losses in its AR/VR and metaverse businesses. Meta reported a revenue increase of 22 percent from $32 billion for the same quarter last year, representing four straight quarters of growth exceeding 20 percent. The company noted that net income jumped 73 percent to $13.47 billion. Advertising revenue, largely from Facebook and Instagram, was up 22 percent year-over-year. Read more

AI media firm Runway has launched Gen-3 Alpha, building on the text-to-video model by using images to prompt realistic videos generated in seconds. Navigate to Runway’s web-based interface and click on “try Gen 3-Alpha” and you’ll land on a screen with an image uploader, as well as a text box for those who either prefer that approach or want to use natural language to tweak results. Runway lets users generate up to 10 seconds of contiguous video using a credit system. “Image to Video is major update that greatly improves the artistic control,” Runway said in an announcement. Read more

OpenAI has released its new Advanced Voice Mode in a limited alpha rollout for select ChatGPT Plus users. The feature, which is being implemented for the ChatGPT mobile app on Android and iOS, aims for more natural dialogue with the AI chatbot. Powered by GPT-4o, which is multimodal, Advanced Voice Mode is said to be able to sense emotional inflections, including excitement, sadness or singing. According to an OpenAI post on X, the company plans to “continue to add more people on a rolling basis” so that everyone using ChatGPT Plus will have access to the new feature in the fall. Read more