xAI, OpenAI, Apple, and Uber Eats all made significant announcements this week, signaling a flurry of activity in the artificial intelligence space. xAI revealed details of its product roadmap and organizational changes, OpenAI disbanded a mission alignment team, Apple delayed the launch of its AI-powered Siri, and Uber Eats launched an AI-powered grocery shopping assistant.
xAI, founded just 30 months ago, published a 45-minute all-hands meeting video on X, offering a rare glimpse into the company's plans. The video, which was made public on Wednesday, revealed details about the AI lab's product roadmap and its ongoing ties to the X platform. The meeting also addressed employee departures, which were described by Elon Musk as layoffs resulting from a changing organizational structure, according to TechCrunch.
Meanwhile, OpenAI disbanded its mission alignment team, which was designed to communicate 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 TechCrunch, the team was formed in September of 2024 and was dedicated to promoting the company's mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. An OpenAI spokesperson stated that the Mission Alignment project was a support function to help employees and the public understand our mission and the impact of AI.
Apple's plans for its AI-powered Siri have also hit a snag. The company, which first unveiled Apple Intelligence in 2024, has been promising a new and improved Siri. However, the release date has been pushed back repeatedly. According to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the new Siri features, initially expected to launch with the iOS 26.4 update in March, will now roll out more slowly, with some features potentially delayed until the May iOS update or even the release of iOS 27 in September. The delay was reportedly due to issues encountered during software testing.
In other AI news, Uber Eats launched a new AI feature called Cart Assistant. The beta version of the feature, which is designed to help customers fill their grocery carts faster and easier, is now available in the app. Users can search for a grocery store and tap the Cart Assistant icon to begin shopping. They can then enter a list or upload an image of one, and the AI will automatically add the necessary items to their basket, including photos of handwritten lists or screenshots of recipes. Users can then customize the basket by swapping items or adding more products.
In related news, AI inference startup Modal Labs is reportedly in talks to raise a new round of funding at a $2.5 billion valuation, according to four sources with knowledge of the deal. If the deal closes at these terms, the funding round would more than double the company's valuation of $1.1 billion announced less than five months ago. Modal Labs' annualized revenue run rate is approximately $50 million, according to sources. However, 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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