Latest AI News
Deepseek ‘In Talks’ To Raise Funds at $20 billion Valuation
Fresh capital would let DeepSeek invest more in infrastructure and pay competitive salaries to retain top engineering talent.’
View
OpenAI Unveils ChatGPT Images 2.0 With Improved Image Generation, Reasoning Capabilities
OpenAI on Tuesday launched its next-generation image generation model. Dubbed ChatGPT Images 2.0, it is claimed to deliver more precise, usable, and context-aware images, based on prompts entered by the user. The new model introduces improvements in instruction following, multilingual rendering, and composition. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) giant says it also adds reasoning capabilities for more complex tasks. ChatGPT Images 2.0 is being rolled out across ChatGPT, Codex, and the API.
View
Exclusive: Google deepens Thinking Machines Lab ties with new multi-billion-dollar deal
Former OpenAI executive Mira Murati’s startup, Thinking Machines Lab, has signed a new multi-billion-dollar agreement to expand its use of Google Cloud’s AI infrastructure, including systems powered by Nvidia’s latest GPUs, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The deal is valued in the single-digit billions, according to a source familiar with the matter, and includes access to Google’s latest AI systems built atop Nvidia’s new GB300 chips, alongside infrastructure services to support model training and deployment. Google has been actively striking a number of cloud deals with AI developers as it aims to wrap together its cloud offerings with other services like storage, a Kubernetes engine, and Spanner, its database product. Earlier this month,Anthropic signed an agreementwith Google and Broadcom for multiple gigawatts of tensor processing unit (TPUs) capacity (these are Google’s custom-designed AI chips for machine learning workloads). But the competition is fierce. Just this week, Anthropic also signed a new agreement with Amazon to secure up to 5 gigawatts of capacity for training and deploying Claude. Earlier this year, Thinking Machines partnered with Nvidia in a deal that included an investment from the chipmaker. But this is the first time the lab has struck a deal with a cloud services provider. The deal is not exclusive, so Thinking Machines may use multiple cloud providers over time, but it’s still a sign that Google is looking to lock in fast-growing frontier labs early. Murati left her job as OpenAI’s chief technologist and founded Thinking Machines in February 2025. The company, which soon afterwards raised a $2 billion seed round at a$12 billion valuation, has remained highly secretive, but launched its first product in October. DubbedTinker, it’s a tool that automates the creation of custom frontier AI models. Wednesday’s deal provided some insight into what Thinking Machines is developing. In a press release, Google noted that it can support the startup’s reinforcement learning workloads, which Tinker’s architecture relies on. Reinforcement learning is a training approach that has underpinned recent breakthroughs at labs, including DeepMind and OpenAI, and the scale of the Google Cloud deal reflects how computationally expensive that work can get. Thinking Machines is among the first Google Cloud customers to access its GB300-powered systems, which offer a 2X improvement in training and serving speed compared to prior-generation GPUs, per Google. “Google Cloud got us running at record speed with the reliability we demand,” Myle Ott, a founding researcher at Thinking Machines, said in a statement.
View
Google Maps is about to get a big dose of AI
Google has unveiled new generative AI features for its mapping and geospatial apps that are designed with enterprise users in mind. The new features, announced at Cloud Next in Las Vegas this week, add generative AI capabilities to Google’s mapping platform, giving it enhanced visual and data analytics powers. One of the new features, called Maps Imagery Grounding, allows enterprise users to use generative AI to create realistic scenes in Google Street View to visualize how a particular project—be it a movie set or a planned construction site—might look. Users merely type a prompt into Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, which then conjures the scene inside Street View, as long as the proper settings have been enabled within Google Maps Imagery. “In seconds, you can storyboard your creative vision with an accurate image—and you can even use Veo to animate the scene,” the company said in its press release. The company is also expanding the ways in which users can analyze data from satellite imagery in Google Earth. A new feature called Aerial and Satellite Insights allows users to analyze imagery that is stored in Google Cloud’s BigQuery—the company’s cloud-based data warehouse and analytics platform. The company claims that this feature shrinks “weeks of work” into just minutes of labor. Finally, the company is also launching two new Earth AI Imagery models, AI systems designed to assist with geospatial analysis. Google says that the models have been trained to identify “specific objects in imagery–like bridges, roads, and power lines.” Previously, companies had to build and train their own AI systems to do this, a process Google says could take months. The new models mean “businesses no longer need to spend months training and building AI from scratch when developing their own products.” The announcements build on Google’s broader push into enterprise geospatial AI. The company’s Earth AI platform is already being used by partners includingAirbusandBoston Children’s Hospitalfor applications ranging from environmental monitoring to disaster response. “These AI updates unlock entirely new possibilities for businesses, data analysts, and urban planners,” the company said in its release.
View
The most interesting startups showcased at Google Cloud Next 2026
Google Cloud Next is taking place this week in Las Vegas, and one clear message has emerged: Google wants AI startups on its cloud. To that end, it made several startup-related announcements. The most significant is that the tech giant has earmarked a new$750 million budgetto help its Cloud partners sell more AI agents to enterprises. This funding is available to partners ranging from startups to the big consulting firms. It can be used for costs like Gemini proof-of-concept projects, Google forward-deployed engineers, cloud credits, and deployment rebates. Google alsohighlighteda long list of startups that are using Google Cloud, either newly signed or expanding their footprint. Among them are a few standout names: Lovableis expanding its use of Google Cloud by launching a new coding agent through Google’s enterprise app marketplace. Lovable is the fast-growing vibe coding startup and was on a$400 million ARR track as of February, it said. Notion, Silicon Valley’s favorite AI-infused document productivity app, most recentlyvalued at about $11 billion, is using Gemini models to power its text and image generation features. Gamma, an AI-powered PowerPoint killerrecently valued at a $2.1 billion valuation, is using Google’s state-of-the-art image model Nano Banana 2 and other Google Cloud features. Inferact,thecommercial inference startupfrom the creators of the popular open-source project vLLM, is accessing Nvidia’s GPUs through Google Cloud, in addition to using the tech giant’s AI stack. ComfyUI, the popular open-source tool forcreating AI-generated images and multimedia, also offers access to Nano Banana 2 and is using other Cloud features. Other startups that received the Google Cloud shout-out this year include: ChorusView, which makes AI-powered smart tags that track the condition and movement of goods in real time. Emergent AI, a vibe coding platform. ExaCare AI, which makes AI software for post-acute medical care facilities. Insilica, which creates AI-generated regulatory-compliant chemical safety reports. Optii, which makes AI-enhanced hotel operations software. Parallel AI, which builds web search and research APIs built for AI agents. Proximal Health, which makes AI-powered software that automates the insurance claims adjudication process. Reducto, which does AI-powered document parsing. Stord, which handles e-commerce fulfillment and parcel operations. Stylitics, which makes AI image generation software for retailers for tasks like outfit styling and product bundles. Temporal, a developer cloud environment built to prevent failures. Vapi, which makes dev tools for building conversational voice agents. Vurvey Labs, which conducts synthetic market research via AI agents. Wand, an in-game assistant for single-player PC games. Watershed, which makes software that helps enterprises report on and manage sustainability programs. ZenBusiness, an all-in-one back-office tool for small businesses that includes an AI chat assistant.
View
Deloitte’s Plans to Hire 50,000 in India May Be Part of AI Workforce Reset
Deloitte’s hiring plan is about more than just accessing AI and engineering talent in India.
View
How Tech Companies Can Crack the Critical $100–500 Mn Growth Phase
Zinnov finds firms scale through repeatable models, strong GTM execution, and operational discipline—not capital alone.
View
Cognizant Launches Skillspring, Eyes AI Training as New Revenue Stream
Cognizant is targeting AI readiness at scale while positioning training as a monetisable enterprise service.
View
Why Google Built Two TPUs Instead of One, and What it Signals for AI
Google has launched its eighth-generation TPUs, introducing two distinct chips—TPU 8t for large-scale model training and TPU 8i for real-time inference.
View
Anthropic investigating claim of unauthorised access to Mythos AI tool
Anthropic is investigating a claim that a small group of people gained access to its Claude Mythos model - the cyber-security tool which the AI firm says is too powerful to release to the public. "We're investigating a report claiming unauthorized access to Claude Mythos Preview through one of our third-party vendor environments," the company said in a statement. It was in response to a Bloomberg report that users in a private forum managed to access the model without the normal permissions. There is deep unease about Mythos' capabilities - though the UK's top cyber official has said advanced AI tools could be a "net positive" if the technology was secured from misuse. There is currently no suggestion that malicious actors have managed to get hold of the model, and Anthropic says it does not have evidence its systems are affected. But the report of access by unauthorised users raises questions about the ability of large AI companies to stop their advanced AI models from getting into the wrong hands. This was "most likely through misuse of access rather than a classic hack," according to Raluca Saceanu, chief executive of cyber-security company SmartTech. Anthropic has released the Mythos model to some tech and financial companies in order to help them secure their systems against its reported ability to exploit vulnerabilities. But that relies on those companies making sure their own access is tightly controlled. The person already had permission to view Anthropic's AI models through work they had done for a third-party contractor, according to Bloomberg. The outlet also reported the group has been using the model since it gained access - although not for hacking, because they do not want to be detected. "When powerful AI tools are accessed or used outside their intended controls, the risk is not just a security incident but the spread of capabilities that could be used for fraud, cyber abuse, or other malicious activity," Saceanu said. What is Claude Mythos and what risks does it pose? In a speech to a large cyber-security conference on Wednesday, the head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) made a more positive case arguing AI tools can make things safer and more secure. Richard Horne urged the CyberUK delegates not to fear new AI attacks, but to make sure they are doing the basics of cyber-security right. "As we have seen in the media in recent days, frontier AI is rapidly enabling discovery and exploitation of existing vulnerabilities at scale, illustrating how quickly it will expose where fundamentals of cyber-security are still to be addressed," he said.
View
MeitY Adds Stricter AI-Generated Content Disclosure Rule, Extends IT Rules Feedback Deadline
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) proposed a new change to its draft IT Rules amendments, bringing stricter guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content labelling across online platforms. Additionally, the Ministry has also extended the consultation deadline to submit feedback on the new rules, pushing it from April 29 to May 7. The proposed change to AI labels comes at a time when AI images and videos have surged on social media websites, and concerns regarding deepfakes and misinformation have heightened.
View
Cognizant, OpenAI to Scale Codex Across Enterprise Software Engineering
The OpenAI-Cognizant alliance aims to standardise AI-driven development, accelerate delivery, and modernise legacy systems globally.
View
