Google DeepMind has released a new vision-language-action (VLA) model, Gemini Robotics On-Device, that can operate robots locally, controlling their movements without requiring an Internet connection or the cloud. Google says the software provides “general-purpose dexterity and fast task adaptation,” building on the March release of the first Gemini Robotics VLA model, which brought “Gemini 2.0’s multimodal reasoning and real-world understanding into the physical world.” Since the model operates independent of a data network, it’s useful for latency sensitive applications as well as low or no connectivity environments. Google is also releasing a Gemini Robotics SDK for developers. Continue reading Google Gemini Robotics On-Device Controls Robots Locally

Google has launched Search Live with voice-input, a two-way conversational query function for exploring online resources. Presently available via the Google app for Android and iOS to U.S. users enrolled in Google Labs’ AI Mode experiment, Search Live is designed to handle complex, multi-part questions. Google suggests the new feature is “perfect for when you’re on the go or multitasking, like if you’re packing for a trip.” The discursive voice feature follows Google’s general rollout of AI Mode, recently launched to compete against products such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search and Perplexity AI. Continue reading Google Search Live Features Conversational Voice Capability

The redesigned Firefly AI app Adobe released in April with third-party model support is now available on iOS and Android. Text-to-video and background editing are among the features included in the new mobile package, which Adobe claims will help users capture inspiration as it strikes with “the freedom to generate images and videos wherever you are.” Adobe says those of all skill levels will be able to use the app, which was designed “to complement the ways we already interact with our phones.” The company is also rolling out its AI-powered online moodboard creator — Firefly Boards — in public beta, now with video functionality. Continue reading Adobe Unveils Firefly Generative AI App for iOS and Android

Google is testing podcast-like audio search summaries generated by AI. Audio Overviews uses Google’s latest Gemini models to generate “quick, conversational audio overviews for certain search queries.” It can be enabled through Google Labs, the company’s public-facing portal to AI experiments. An Audio Overview “can help you get a lay of the land, offering a convenient, hands-free way to absorb information,” Google says, noting that the feature displays search results “right within the audio player” to make it easy to delve further. Google already had AI audio summaries in NotebookLM and Gemini. Like those, Search features AI discussion “hosts.” Continue reading Google Is Testing ‘Hosted’ GenAI Audio Summaries in Search

Meta is launching a generative AI video editing tool, available in the Meta AI app, via the Meta.AI website and in the Edits app for Facebook and Instagram. Users are now able to transform 10 seconds of video using preset AI prompts that can change an outfit, location, style and more. The company says the feature is “inspired by” its Movie Gen models and promises it is the “first step toward our goal of bringing you AI video generation and editing across our apps and products,” with Meta AI video editing able to handle individualized text prompts later this year. The free tool is now available in the U.S. and about a dozen countries around the world. Continue reading Meta Rolls Out AI Video Editor Available via App and the Web

Qualcomm has made no secret of its belief that smart glasses are going to be a significant future product, and during the Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, California this week, the chipmaker shared its vision for the sector, demonstrating eyewear using its new Snapdragon processor. According to the company, the AR1+ Gen 1 is 26 percent smaller than earlier chips and runs artificial intelligence tools independent of Internet or smartphone connectivity. Qualcomm’s goal is to help smart glasses become “fully independent devices” that can do processing and complete agentic tasks with or without connectivity. Continue reading Qualcomm Chip Could Be a ‘Breakthrough’ for Smart Glasses

During WWDC at Apple Park in California this week, the company unveiled visionOS 26 updates for its mixed reality Vision Pro headset that will up the ante for both consumer and enterprise users, with new spatial widgets and more realistic avatar Personas among the noteworthy updates. The customizable widgets will appear to blend into a headset wearer’s physical environment, “integrating seamlessly into a user’s space” and reappearing exactly where the user left them each time the Apple Vision Pro is activated. A great deal of effort has gone into improved iPhone integration, including the ability to initiate calls directly from the headset. Continue reading Apple visionOS 2026 Features Spatial Widgets, Better Avatars

Snapchat is offering experimental augmented reality and generative AI tools through its new Lens Studio iOS app and web tool. According to the company, “you can generate your own AI effects, add your dancing Bitmoji to the fun, and express yourself with Lenses that reflect your mood or an inside joke.” The app responds to text prompts, producing filters that can be published to Snapchat. Snap previously offered generative AI capabilities only to professional creators as part of its Lens Studio. The company has also launched an app that lets users read and reply to messages using their Apple Watch. For professional developers, Snap’s Lens Studio has added tools to build Bitmoji games. Continue reading GenAI Powers Snapchat Tools for Creating AR Lenses, Bitmoji

China’s Manus AI has unveiled a text-to-video generator it says can transform “prompts into complete stories — structured, sequenced, and ready to watch. With a single prompt, Manus plans each scene, crafts the visuals, and animates your vision,” the company announced last week. Manus generated buzz in March for its agentic approach to AI, and now it is putting that autonomous technology to work on generative AI, promising story generation within minutes. Last month, the firm that developed Manus, Butterfly Effect, reportedly secured $75 million in funding led by U.S.-based Benchmark for a nearly $500 million valuation. Continue reading Manus AI Takes an Agentic Approach with Its Video Generator

Hollywood heavyweight Jeffrey Katzenberg has thrown his support behind an AI advertising startup called Creatify, leading its Series A round with $1.5 million via WndrCo. Katzenberg is also taking a board seat at the two-year-old firm, which claims more than 1.5 million global users and 10,000 teams using its tech to create social media-centric video ads, leveraging AI avatars and real-time testing. Marketing teams can use its tools to “spin up high-quality video creative in minutes (not weeks),” the company claims, mentioning a client that uses Creatify to generate 1,000-plus ads per month. Continue reading Katzenberg’s WndrCo Invests $1.5M in AI Ad Startup Creatify

Google is celebrating 10 years of Google Photos by introducing a redesign of the Photos editor, including helpful new tools. The Photos editor gets some AI editing features previously available only on Pixel phones as part of its generative AI Magic Editor. The Photos platform is also expanding access to its AI-powered text-to-image Reimagine and automatic framing and related features first introduced with the Pixel 9. The company explains there are currently more than 1.5 billion monthly Photos users that have stored 9+ trillion photos and videos. The updates reflect Google’s AI push as it continues to integrate Gemini across its growing family of products and services. Continue reading Google Photos Rolling Out Redesign and New AI Editing Tools

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

Salesforce has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AI-powered cloud data management Informatica for $8 billion. The move will boost Salesforce’s presence in the enterprise space, combining two large, established software firms. Salesforce says the move will enhance its ability to deliver agentic AI via “Informatica’s rich data catalog, data integration, governance, quality and privacy, metadata management, and Master Data Management (MDM) services.” Informatica will help the Salesforce platform establish “a unified architecture for agentic AI — enabling AI agents to operate safely, responsibly, and at scale across the modern enterprise,” according to Salesforce. Continue reading Salesforce Agrees to Buy Data Firm Informatica for $8 Billion

Google is in a filmmaking frame of mind. The search giant introduced Veo 3, the latest version of its generative video model, loading it with cinematic capabilities including a new AI storytelling tool called Flow. At the Google I/O conference the company also debuted an upgraded image generator, Imagen 4, and announced expanded access to the AI music tool Lyria 2. Veo 3 can generate videos with audio — a Google first, adding things like background traffic noises, birds singing, “even dialogue between characters.” It offers improved consistency of characters, scenes and objects, while gaining camera controls, outpainting and object add/remove. Continue reading Google Upgrades GenAI Models, Debuts AI Storyteller ‘Flow’

Nvidia has teamed up with Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX to establish what they’re predicting will be Europe’s largest AI data center complex. The partners have also reached out to French firms with a goal of creating a 1.4 gigawatts capacity campus near Paris. The announcement was made at the Choose France Summit in Versailles in a joint statement with investment firm Bpifrance SACA and regional AI startup Mistral AI. On a related note, Cisco chose France as the location for one of its Global AI Hubs, planting a flag for the development of energy-efficient, AI-ready infrastructure. Continue reading Nvidia, Cisco Plan Massive AI Data Center Projects in France