This week’s AI developments show the industry shifting from experimentation to execution, as major platforms harden strategy and startups scale into production. Apple is preparing to debut a Gemini-powered Siri following its partnership with Google, while Google is pushing conversational search deeper into its core product and Meta is re-centering its growth plans on AI glasses, agents, and infrastructure spending. At the research edge, Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs is staking out a world-model alternative to large language model–centric AI, and Anthropic’s hiring process is being reshaped by the rapid rise of AI-assisted coding.
Capital and deployment are moving just as quickly. New York Robotics has formally launched to organize a fast-growing regional ecosystem, while AI finance leadership concentrates in a handful of global hubs. In startups, OpenEvidence doubled its valuation to $12 billion as AI adoption spreads across healthcare, LiveKit reached unicorn status on surging demand for real-time voice infrastructure, and Waabi paired a $750 million raise with a deepening robotaxi partnership with Uber.
Industry & Enterprise
Apple Set to Debut Gemini-Powered Siri Following AI Partnership With Google
Apple is preparing to unveil the first major result of its AI partnership with Google, with a revamped Siri expected in the second half of February that integrates Google’s Gemini models to enable more complex, context-aware tasks, according to Mark Gurman. The update is positioned as an early step ahead of a broader Siri overhaul anticipated at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June, signaling a clearer direction for Apple’s generative AI strategy following recent leadership changes. (AI Insider)
Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs Unveils World-Model Strategy With Paris Headquarters
Yann LeCun has outlined the research direction of AMI Labs, confirming the venture will focus on building “world models” aimed at enabling AI systems to understand and reason about the physical world rather than relying on large language model–centric approaches. Led by CEO Alex LeBrun, formerly of Nabla, the Paris-based company plans to license its technology for high-stakes domains such as healthcare, robotics, automation, and industrial systems, while publishing research and contributing to open-source efforts. (AI Insider)
Anthropic Revamps Technical Hiring Tests as Claude’s Coding Capabilities Advance
Anthropic has repeatedly redesigned its technical interviews as rapid improvements in its Claude models made traditional take-home coding tests ineffective, with candidates explicitly allowed to use AI tools and performance gaps steadily disappearing, according to team lead Tristan Hume. As Claude Opus 4 and 4.5 matched or exceeded top applicant performance, Anthropic shifted assessments toward novel problem structures that current AI systems struggle to solve, underscoring how AI-assisted coding is reshaping hiring inside leading AI labs. (AI Insider)
Google Expands Conversational Search and Rolls Out Lower-Cost AI Plus Plan as Gemini Becomes Central to Consumer AI Strategy
Google is expanding AI-driven search by enabling conversational follow-up questions within AI Overviews that flow directly into AI Mode, while making Gemini 3 the default model powering AI Overviews worldwide. Separately, Google confirmed global availability of its lower-priced Google AI Plus subscription at $7.99 per month in the U.S., positioning it as an entry-level option to broaden adoption of its AI tools and ecosystem. (AI Insider)
Meta Positions AI Glasses and Personal Agents at the Center of Its Next Growth Phase
Meta is reorienting its long-term strategy around AI, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg detailing a push into AI wearables, personal agents, and large-scale infrastructure while shifting investment away from the metaverse toward smart glasses and foundation models, noting that sales of Meta’s AI glasses tripled over the past year. Meta also outlined rising capital spending of $115 billion to $135 billion in 2026 to support its AI labs, alongside plans to roll out new models and agent-driven commerce tools, positioning the company against parallel efforts by Google, OpenAI, Apple, and Snap. (AI Insider)
New York Robotics Formally Launches Regional Ecosystem to Support Surge in Investment And Demand
New York Robotics has formally launched as robotics activity accelerates across New York City and the Tri-State area, citing more than 160 startups — nearly 100 in New York City — as robotics and embodied AI move from research into commercial deployment. The nonprofit said it has built a coordinated ecosystem spanning more than 80 corporations, 20 academic institutions, 40 research labs, and 300 venture capital firms, alongside initiatives such as the NYR Index and partnerships including work with C10 Labs through NYCEDC’s AI Nexus to support workforce development and applied AI commercialization. (AI Insider)
Research & Innovation
Report: The Institutionalization of AI in Finance is Redrawing The Global Map
Artificial intelligence in finance has shifted from experimentation to infrastructure, with leadership consolidating in jurisdictions able to deploy AI at scale within regulated, production workflows, led by the United States through institutional depth and by China through faster, centrally coordinated execution. Advantage is increasingly concentrated in hubs such as New York, London, and Hong Kong, with Riyadh and Dubai gaining ground through quicker institutional follow-through as many mid-tier centers struggle to convert talent into durable advantage. (AI Insider)
Startups & Capital
OpenEvidence Raises $250M, Doubling Valuation to $12B as AI Adoption Accelerates in Healthcare
OpenEvidence has raised $250 million in a funding round led by Thrive Capital and DST that doubled its valuation to $12 billion, following earlier backing from Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, Nvidia, Kleiner Perkins, Craft Ventures, and Mayo Clinic. Founded in 2022, the Miami-based company said more than 40% of U.S. physicians now use its AI platform trained on peer-reviewed literature and clinical feedback, generating over $100 million in annualized revenue last year while remaining free to clinicians and monetized through advertising. (AI Insider)
LiveKit Reaches $1B Valuation With $100M Raise as Voice AI Infrastructure Demand Surges
LiveKit has raised $100 million at a $1 billion valuation in a round led by Index Ventures, with participation from Altimeter Capital Management, Hanabi Capital, and Redpoint Ventures, less than a year after its prior financing. Founded in 2021 by Russ d’Sa and David Zhao, LiveKit has evolved from an open-source project into a managed cloud platform used by OpenAI to power ChatGPT’s voice mode and by companies including xAI, Salesforce, and Tesla, reflecting rising demand for real-time voice AI infrastructure. (AI Insider)
Rezolve Ai Closes $250M Oversubscribed Financing, Enters 2026 With One of the Strongest Balance Sheets in AI Commerce
Rezolve Ai closed an oversubscribed $250 million registered direct financing, materially strengthening its balance sheet and positioning the company as a well-capitalized platform as AI-powered commerce moves from pilots to production. Management said the funding provides flexibility for disciplined M&A, faster enterprise deployments, and progress toward revenue targets, reflecting institutional confidence in its commerce-focused AI platform and readiness for global retail scale. (AI Insider)
Neurophos Raises $110M Series A to Advance Photonic AI Compute and Cut Inference Energy Costs
Neurophos has raised $110 million in a Series A round led by Gates Frontier, with participation from M12, Carbon Direct, Aramco Ventures, and Bosch Ventures, to advance optical computing aimed at lowering the energy cost of AI inference. Spun out of Duke University and incubated by Metacept, the company plans to build data center–ready photonic systems and expand engineering in Austin and San Francisco, targeting initial chip availability by 2028. (AI Insider)
Canada’s Waabi Raises $1B, Partners with Uber for Robotaxis
Waabi raised $750 million in an oversubscribed Series C and entered an exclusive partnership with Uber to deploy Waabi-powered robotaxis on Uber’s platform, with Uber committing an additional $250 million in milestone-based investment. The round, co-led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, will support Waabi’s autonomous trucking business and expansion into robotaxis, targeting deployment of at least 25,000 vehicles over time with no timeline or markets disclosed. (AI Insider)
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