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AI Developments Mark a Week of Innovation and Change
In a week marked by significant developments in the artificial intelligence sector, several key announcements and shifts have captured attention. These include the launch of a new AI-powered grocery shopping assistant by Uber Eats, the disbanding of OpenAI's mission alignment team, and the emergence of a new AI model designed for Latin America. Additionally, xAI revealed details of its future plans, and AI inference startup Modal Labs is reportedly seeking a new funding round.
Uber Eats unveiled its new AI feature, Cart Assistant, on Wednesday, designed to streamline the grocery shopping process for customers. The beta version of the chatbot is now available within the app, allowing users to upload lists or images of recipes, which the assistant then uses to automatically populate their baskets. Users can then customize their orders by swapping items or adding more products.
OpenAI, meanwhile, disbanded its mission alignment team, which was responsible for communicating the company's mission to the public and its employees. The team's former leader has been appointed as the company's chief futurist. According to an OpenAI spokesperson, "The Mission Alignment project was a support function to help employees and the public understand our mission and the impact of AI." The team had been formed in September of 2024.
In Latin America, Chile has introduced Latam-GPT, an AI model designed to use Latin American data. The project, promoted by Chile's National Centre for Artificial Intelligence (Cenia), aims to reduce bias and provide a more accurate representation of the region in a sector dominated by US developments.
xAI, the AI lab founded by Elon Musk, took the rare step of publishing a full all-hands meeting video on X, revealing details about its product roadmap and its ongoing ties to the X platform. The video also addressed a string of departing employees, which Musk described as layoffs resulting from a changing organizational structure.
Finally, AI inference startup Modal Labs is reportedly in talks to raise a new funding round at a valuation of approximately $2.5 billion, according to four sources with knowledge of the deal. If the deal closes at these terms, it would more than double the company's valuation from its previous $1.1 billion announced less than five months prior. Modal Labs co-founder and CEO Erik Bernhardsson denied that his company was actively fundraising and characterized his recent interactions with VCs as general conversations.
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