Artificial Intelligence Industry News

Lemon Slice Raises $10.5 Million Seed Round for Real-Time AI Avatar Technology

YC and Matrix Partners back zero-shot interactive avatar model that transforms single images into conversational video experiences

Marissa Mayer's Dazzle AI Raises $8 Million Seed Round at $35 Million Valuation for Consumer AI Tools

Former Google and Yahoo executive bets on application-layer AI products focused on everyday simplicity rather than foundation model development

China Issues Draft Regulations Requiring Disclosure for Human-Like AI Systems

New rules mandate user notifications every two hours and addiction prevention measures for AI systems simulating human personalities

Ambassador Raises $7 Million to Scale AI-Powered Customer Engagement Platform

Seattle startup launches HiroAI to analyze customer feedback across referrals, surveys, and loyalty programs, bringing total funding to $11 million

Cornell Study Finds AI Supercharges Scientific Output While Quality Declines

AI Slop Named 2025 Word of the Year as AI-Generated Content Surpasses 50% of English Web

Merriam-Webster recognizes term for low-quality AI content as mentions surge ninefold and artificial intelligence systems now produce majority of English online articles

Nvidia Acquires AI Chip Startup Groq for $20 Billion in Largest Deal Ever

Chipmaker pays nearly 3x Groq's valuation to secure AI inference technology and talent in strategic move to expand beyond training chips

SoftBank's $22.5B Sprint, AI Persuades Voters, and the Race to Power Data Centers

From year-end funding scrambles to classroom AI expansion, today's developments reveal how capital intensity, regulatory gaps, and infrastructure constraints shape AI's trajectory across business and society.

Amazon Expands AI Education Program to Nearly 500,000 Students Across 18 US Partners

Company more than doubles investment to $800,000 after overwhelming demand from school districts for AI curriculum and tools

AI Chatbots Successfully Persuade Voters to Switch Candidates, Cornell Study Reveals

Research across US, Canada, and Poland shows conversational AI more effective than political ads at changing voter intentions