AI This Week

Google announced new generative AI features built into Chrome for desktop. Tab Organizer suggests smart groups and names to tame overflowing tabs. Create with AI lets users generate custom browser themes from plain-language prompts about subject, mood, and style. Help me write brings AI drafting and rewriting to any text box on the web, using page context to keep suggestions relevant. The rollout starts for signed‑in users in the U.S., in English, on Chrome for Mac and Windows. Users can go to Settings and switch on the Experimental AI section to try these tools. Google frames this as part of an ongoing series of AI upgrades to everyday browsing.

Figure, a California-based robotics company, has partnered with Brookfield Asset Management to advance humanoid AI. The collaboration aims to build the world’s largest humanoid pretraining dataset using Brookfield’s massive real estate portfolio, including 100,000 homes, 500 million square feet of office space, and 160 million square feet of logistics facilities. This data will train Helix, Figure’s proprietary vision-language-action model, enabling humanoid robots to navigate and operate in diverse environments. Brookfield, a global leader in alternative assets, also invested in Figure’s Series C funding. CEO Brett Adcock emphasized the importance of real-world data, while Brookfield executives highlighted the partnership’s potential to enhance AI-driven productivity across their operations. Data collection efforts have already begun.

China’s internet regulator has ordered major tech companies to stop buying Nvidia’s AI chips and cancel existing orders, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the directive. The Cyberspace Administration of China told firms including ByteDance and Alibaba to terminate testing and orders of Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000D. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking in London, said the United States and China “have larger agendas to work out,” adding he was disappointed but patient. The move follows Beijing’s accusation that Nvidia violated anti-monopoly law and comes as U.S. officials raise national security concerns at talks in Madrid. The reported ban goes beyond earlier guidance focused on Nvidia’s H20 chip.

Anthropic’s third Economic Index charts how people use Claude across countries, states, and enterprises. Coding still leads, with more than a third of activity, while new code creation doubled over eight months and debugging fell. Education rose to 12% and science topped 7%, as business and management shares slipped. Automation now beats collaboration: hands-off conversations jumped from 27% in late 2024 to 39% by August 2025. Stronger first-try accuracy and growing user confidence fueled the shift. The United States contributed 21.6% of global usage; per capita leaders included Israel, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. Washington, DC led US per-capita use. Enterprises automated nearly eight in ten interactions, with 44% of API traffic in coding.

China has introduced a groundbreaking "brain-inspired" AI model that claims to operate up to 100 times faster than conventional systems, all without relying on Nvidia chips. This development comes as the tech world faces rising competition for advanced AI hardware. The model, called SpikingBrain, is designed to simulate how the human brain processes data, enabling sharp improvements in speed and efficiency. By bypassing Nvidia’s widely-used GPUs, the move signals a push for domestic innovation and a shift in global AI dynamics.

Albania’s Prime Minister, Edi Rama, has introduced Diella, an Artificial Intelligence-generated virtual minister, to combat corruption and streamline government operations. Diella, presented wearing traditional Albanian attire, serves as the State Minister for Artificial Intelligence. First launched as a digital assistant on Albania’s public service platform, she has already facilitated over one million digital document transactions. Rama claims Diella will ensure corruption-free public tenders and improve transparency. Diella’s role highlights Albania’s broader ambitions, including its bid for European Union membership by 2027. However, legal experts and opposition leaders question her constitutional legitimacy, with critics dismissing the move as mere theatrics.

Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity has raised $200 million in new funding, reaching a $20 billion valuation. The company, known for its AI bot that generates clear, bulleted responses to user queries, is emerging as a competitor to Google Search. Perplexity's valuation has skyrocketed from $500 million at the start of last year to $14 billion in May. The startup recently launched an AI browser called Comet and reportedly offered $34.5 billion to buy Google Chrome. Existing backers include Nvidia, NEA, Accel, SoftBank, and Jeff Bezos.

Microsoft is moving away from exclusive reliance on OpenAI by integrating Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4 AI into Office 365 applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. This decision reflects growing tension between Microsoft and OpenAI, as both companies pursue independent initiatives. Microsoft’s leaders reportedly believe Anthropic's models excel in specific capabilities, such as designing visually appealing presentations, and see value in diversifying their AI portfolio. Additionally, Microsoft is advancing its own in-house AI systems while negotiating new terms with OpenAI, whose restructuring plans remain in progress. On the other side, OpenAI is reducing dependence on Microsoft’s infrastructure by developing its own AI chips. This evolving competition marks a shakeup in the AI market.

Alibaba Group has introduced its most advanced AI model, Qwen-3-Max-Preview, featuring over 1 trillion parameters. Released via its cloud platform and OpenRouter marketplace, this model joins the elite ranks of AI systems developed by OpenAI and Google DeepMind. A member of the company’s Qwen3 series, Qwen-3-Max-Preview is designed exclusively for text-based tasks and outperformed earlier iterations in internal evaluations. It reportedly surpassed competitors like MoonShot AI’s Kimi K2 and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 in performance benchmarks, though Alibaba has not provided an official technical report. AI parameters, which determine a model’s learning capacity, continue to be a key measure of innovation in the field.

French AI firm Mistral has solidified its position as Europe’s leading AI contender with a staggering €17 billion investment round. The funding, led by Dutch chip manufacturer ASML, granted the sponsor an 11% stake and a seat on Mistral’s strategic committee. The company’s valuation doubled to €117 billion, showcasing rapid growth yet highlighting the gap compared to U.S. rival Anthropic’s €183 billion mark. Mistral stands apart through its commitment to open-source AI models, allowing developers worldwide to adapt and improve them. Strategic collaborations, including NVIDIA and MGX, reflect Mistral’s ambitions for global AI influence. By partnering with ASML, Mistral aims to advance innovation across both AI models and semiconductor technology