Google has formally announced the launch of its AI Futures Fund to identify and invest in artificial intelligence startups. Participating startups will get early access to Google DeepMind’s latest models — Gemini, Imagen and Veo, “hands-on support from Google researchers” and Google Cloud credits. The AI Futures Fund has been ramping up these past several months, working with startups including Fal, Replit and Synthesia, among others. In identifying up-and-coming AI startups, Google is competing against Amazon and Microsoft who have aggressively pursued nascent firms, most notably Anthropic and OpenAI, respectively. Read more

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. Read more

Amazon’s Audible audiobook service is partnering with select publishers to bring more print and e-books into the spoken word realm and is leveraging AI narration and translation to help it happen at scale. This move aims to quickly boost Audible’s product offerings so it can compete more effectively against streamers like Apple and Spotify who have rapidly expanded their literary market share. “Audiobooks are the fastest-growing format in publishing,” yet of the millions of titles available today in print and as e-books, only 2-5 percent exist in audio form, according to the company. Read more

Amazon’s second Upfront presentation featured a lineup of Hollywood celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Momoa and Jamie Lee Curtis joined by sports stars such as Travis Kelce and John Cena. The streamer announced that “Spider-Noir,” the Marvel series starring Nicolas Cage, debuts on Prime Video next year, while the post-apocalyptic drama “Fallout” returns for a third season. The Academy of Country Music Awards will call Prime Video home for the next three years. The ad-supported version of the streaming service has added 15 million monthly customers since January 2024 and now reaches about 130 million U.S. households monthly. Read more

Panasonic has raised the curtain on its full 2025 TV lineup, which includes several OLEDs and some LED models, a mini-LED TV among them. OLEDs include the flagship Panasonic Z95B with new ThermalFlow system. Gaining attention as a contender for “TV of the year,” the model makes its debut in the 77-inch category and also comes in 55- and 65-inch versions. Other OLEDs include the midrange Panasonic Z90B and entry-level Panasonic Z80B. The LED roster features the Panasonic W95B, the premium-packed Panasonic W85B, a QLED model dubbed W80A, and at entry-level the Panasonic W61A 4K. Read more