In this week’s wrap of developments in the world of AI and robotics, Apple accelerated development of AI-powered wearables including smart glasses and an AI pendant, while Google added music generation to Gemini, signaling intensifying competition at the consumer edge. Also, Infosys partnered with Anthropic to build Claude-powered AI agents, and Toyota advanced humanoid robotics into scaled factory deployment through a Robots-as-a-Service agreement with Agility Robotics.
At the same time, capital and compute are concentrating at historic levels. OpenAI is reportedly nearing a $100 billion funding round as it expands aggressively across India through education, payments and data center partnerships, while Reliance unveiled a $110 billion AI infrastructure plan and Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs raised $1 billion to advance spatial “world models.” Researchers explored how empathetic, multimodal robots could combat loneliness and how AI agents should formally delegate tasks to prevent systemic risk, even as the European Parliament restricted generative AI tools over security concerns — a reminder that policy, governance and infrastructure are evolving just as fast as the models themselves.
Industry & Enterprise
Apple Accelerates Development of AI Wearables Including Smart Glasses and AI Pendant
Apple is accelerating development of a new lineup of AI-powered wearable devices, including an AI-enabled pendant, smart glasses code-named N50 and upgraded AirPods with expanded AI capabilities, as competition in AI hardware intensifies. The devices are designed to integrate tightly with the iPhone and Siri, with the smart glasses potentially entering production in late 2026 ahead of a possible 2027 release as Apple positions itself against efforts from Meta and Snap. (AI Insider)
Guest Post — 2026 Global Strategy Briefing on AI And Quantum For Boards
In a guest post, Marvin Cheung of Quantum Oaks Advisory at Unbuilt Labs outlines the basics of AI, LLMs, agentic systems, world models and quantum AI, while examining how emerging export controls and geopolitical shifts are reshaping access to advanced technologies. He argues that boards should build relationships with technology providers, consider investing in proprietary AI capabilities and proactively integrate quantum into long-term strategy. (AI Insider)
Infosys and Anthropic Partner to Build Enterprise AI Agents with Claude Models
Infosys has partnered with Anthropic to develop enterprise-grade AI agents using Claude models, integrating the technology into its Infosys Topaz platform to automate complex workflows across banking, telecommunications and manufacturing. The collaboration, announced at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, expands Anthropic’s footprint in India’s enterprise sector as AI services account for roughly ₹25 billion, or 5.5%, of Infosys’ quarterly revenue. (AI Insider)
Google Adds Lyria 3 AI Music Generation to Gemini App and Expands Creator Tools Globally
Google has rolled out a beta music-generation feature in the Gemini app powered by DeepMind’s Lyria 3 model, allowing users to create 30-second original songs with lyrics and cover art from text prompts or uploaded media. The launch includes global expansion of Dream Track for YouTube creators and embeds SynthID watermarking and detection tools to label AI-generated audio across supported languages. (AI Insider)
Agility Robotics Announces Humanoid Robot Agreement with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada has signed a Robots-as-a-Service agreement with Agility Robotics to deploy the humanoid robot Digit in its Cambridge and Woodstock assembly plants after a successful pilot. The move shifts Digit into scaled production use for repetitive manufacturing and logistics tasks, adding Toyota to a growing list of large enterprises testing humanoid robots in real-world factory environments. (AI Insider)
OpenAI Expands Strategic AI Footprint Across India With Education, Payments, and Infrastructure Partnerships
OpenAI is accelerating its expansion in India through partnerships across higher education, enterprise payments and large-scale data center infrastructure, positioning the country as a key hub for global AI adoption. The push includes campus-wide deployments at leading institutions, an AI integration partnership with Pine Labs for payments automation, and a 100-megawatt data center alliance with Tata Group under its Stargate initiative, with plans to scale to 1 gigawatt and open new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. (AI Insider)
Research & Innovation
Music And Empathetic Speech in Robots Could Combat Loneliness
Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University found that AI-powered robots combining music with empathetic speech significantly increased users’ perception of empathy and social presence compared with speech alone. The study, published in ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction, suggests adaptive, personalized multimodal design will be critical for social robots deployed in mental health support, elder care and education, as the emotional impact of music diminished over time without customization. (AI Insider)
DeepMind Study Proposes Rules for How AI Agents Should Delegate
A new DeepMind study warns that as AI agents increasingly delegate tasks to other agents and humans, formal systems for authority, accountability and verification will be needed to prevent systemic risk. The paper proposes an “intelligent delegation” framework with dynamic capability assessment, monitoring and strict permission controls, cautioning that without verifiable protocols, large-scale multi-agent systems in finance, health care and infrastructure could amplify failures and obscure responsibility. (AI Insider)
Policy & Governance
European Parliament Restricts AI Tools on Lawmakers’ Devices Over Security Concerns
The European Parliament has moved to block lawmakers from using built-in generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Claude on official work devices, citing cybersecurity and privacy concerns over confidential data shared with external platforms. The restriction reflects broader European scrutiny of data protection, AI governance and reliance on U.S.-based cloud infrastructure as policymakers reassess how sensitive government information is handled. (AI Insider)
Startups & Capital
OpenAI Nears $100B Funding Deal as Valuation Approaches $850B
OpenAI is reportedly nearing a funding round exceeding $100 billion that could value the company at more than $850 billion, underscoring strong investor demand despite ongoing cash burn. Major partners including Amazon, SoftBank, Nvidia and Microsoft are expected to anchor the raise, which would rank among the largest in tech history as OpenAI tests new revenue streams such as advertising in ChatGPT. (AI Insider)
Reliance Unveils $110B Plan to Build Gigawatt-Scale AI Infrastructure Across India
Mukesh Ambani said Reliance Industries will invest ₹10 trillion, or roughly $110 billion, over seven years to build large-scale AI infrastructure across India, including gigawatt-scale data centers and a nationwide edge network integrated with Jio. Construction has begun on multi-gigawatt facilities in Jamnagar with more than 120 megawatts expected online in 2026, as Reliance pairs renewable energy assets and industry partnerships to deploy AI across sectors and expand support for Indian languages. (AI Insider)
Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs Raises $1B in Fresh Funding to Advance Development of World Models
World Labs raised $1 billion from investors including AMD, Autodesk, Emerson Collective, Fidelity, NVIDIA and Sea to accelerate development of its spatial intelligence “world models.” The company’s Marble platform generates and edits persistent 3D environments from text and visual inputs for applications in gaming, visual effects, virtual reality and robotics, building on $230 million previously raised since its founding by Fei-Fei Li. (AI Insider)
Temporal Announces $300M Series D to Scale Infrastructure for Agentic AI Applications
Temporal raised $300 million in a Series D led by Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the durable execution platform provider at $5 billion as demand grows for infrastructure supporting agentic AI and stateful applications. The company, led by CEO Samar Abbas, reported more than 380% year-over-year revenue growth and counts OpenAI, Block, ADP and Yum! Brands among users as it expands its managed cloud service and global engineering footprint. (AI Insider)
Vega Security Secures $120M Series B to Scale AI-Native Cloud Security Operations
Vega Security raised $120 million in a Series B led by Accel, valuing the AI-native cybersecurity startup at about $700 million as it builds a platform to detect threats directly within cloud and distributed data environments. The two-year-old company, founded by CEO Shay Sandler, has secured multimillion-dollar enterprise contracts across banking, healthcare and Fortune 500 customers, and will use the funding to expand globally and scale product development. (AI Insider)
Rezolve AI Acquires Reward for $230M to Expand Agentic Commerce Platform
Rezolve AI has acquired UK-based loyalty technology firm Reward for $230 million in cash, combining Reward’s card-linked cashback and transaction intelligence capabilities with its Brain conversational commerce platform. The deal follows Rezolve’s recent $200 million capital raise and is aimed at expanding AI-driven, hyper-personalized commerce and payments infrastructure across the Americas. (AI Insider)
Check out AI Insider every day for the latest developments in AI and robotics.
