LLM

Volkswagen Advances Autonomous Driving with ID. Buzz Pre-Series Production Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has officially commenced the pre-series production of the autonomous ID. Buzz at its main plant in Hanover, Germany. These self-driving vehicles are being assembled on the same production line as the conventional, non-autonomous ID. Buzz models, showcasing an integrated manufacturing approach. After the standard production stages, the autonomous models are uniquely fitted with a specialized roof module containing cameras and other critical sensors required for self-driving functionality. This development marks a significant milestone towards the commercial deployment of Volkswagen’s autonomous vehicle technology. ...

SoftBank’s $4B DigitalBridge Acquisition to Supercharge AI Infrastructure SoftBank Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire digital infrastructure asset manager DigitalBridge Group for approximately $4 billion. This strategic acquisition is designed to significantly strengthen SoftBank’s position in the AI sector. By gaining control over critical digital assets like data centers, cell towers, and fiber networks, SoftBank aims to build the necessary infrastructure for training and deploying advanced AI models on a global scale, advancing its goal of achieving Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, with DigitalBridge continuing to operate as a separately managed platform under its current CEO, Marc Ganzi. ...

AI Breakthrough: New Molecule Boosts Pancreatic Cancer Chemotherapy In a significant advancement for AI in healthcare, researchers have developed a molecule using artificial intelligence that dramatically improves chemotherapy effectiveness for pancreatic cancer. The AI-generated aptamer, named Apt1, works by disrupting DNA repair mechanisms within cancer cells. This targeted action makes tumors more susceptible to chemotherapy drugs like olaparib, even at lower dosages. This breakthrough highlights the immense potential of AI in drug discovery and creating novel treatments for aggressive cancers by precisely targeting cellular processes. ...

BNP Paribas Deploys Internal AI Tool to Streamline Investment Banking BNP Paribas has introduced a proprietary AI-powered tool, IB Portal, to streamline the creation of client pitches for its investment banking division. The tool operates as a sophisticated search engine, scanning the bank’s historical pitch materials to identify relevant slides and analyses, aiming to reduce repetitive tasks. According to the bank, this innovation can shorten research time by days, enabling teams to focus more on strategic development. The system is built on the bank’s internal “LLM as a Service” platform, which leverages multiple large language models within a secure, private infrastructure. All information generated by the tool requires human review to ensure accuracy and the proper handling of sensitive data. ...

Kodiak’s Autonomous Trucks Hit Milestone with 100+ Driverless Deliveries in Permian Basin Kodiak Robotics and Atlas Energy Solutions have achieved a major milestone in logistics automation, successfully completing over 100 driverless deliveries of frac sand in the Permian Basin. This operation, utilizing two autonomous Class 8 semi-trucks, represents the first commercial use of a customer-owned fleet of self-driving trucks without a safety driver. The trucks navigate a challenging 21-mile route on private, unpaved oilfield roads, handling conditions like dust storms and heavy equipment traffic. Atlas Energy Solutions has praised the reliable service and ordered 100 more trucks, planning to scale the program in 2025 and 2026 as part of a broader strategy to create a fully automated supply chain. ...

Galbot Unveils DexNDM & NavFoM: Major Breakthroughs in Embodied AI for Robotics Robotics firm Galbot has announced two significant technological advancements in embodied intelligence: DexNDM and NavFoM. DexNDM is a neural dynamics model designed to enhance robotic dexterous manipulation, enabling robots to perform high-precision, in-hand rotations of various objects. NavFoM is presented as the world’s first cross-embodiment, cross-task navigation foundation model, allowing robots to autonomously perform complex tasks in diverse environments. These innovations, developed with Tsinghua and Peking University, integrate DexNDM into a teleoperation system for intricate tasks like tightening screws with high-level human commands. These advancements are poised to revolutionize industries like manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare by improving the adaptability and efficiency of robots in real-world settings. ...

Anthropic Unveils Claude Sonnet 4.5 with Advanced Reasoning and Coding Anthropic has officially released its latest large language model, Claude Sonnet 4.5, featuring significant improvements in processing long contexts and performing complex mathematical and logical reasoning tasks. The company claims the model can perform tasks autonomously for over 30 hours and has demonstrated state-of-the-art performance on the SWE-bench Verified evaluation for software coding. Alongside the new model, Anthropic launched Claude Code 2.0, an integrated coding environment for developers with an enhanced UI and performance based on Sonnet 4.5. To facilitate the development of AI agents, the company has also released the Claude Agent SDK. The new model is now available through Anthropic’s API, the Claude app, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud’s Vertex AI. ...

OpenAI & Nvidia Eye $100B Chip Deal to Fuel Next-Gen AI OpenAI and Nvidia are reportedly planning a landmark $100 billion chip deal aimed at shaping the future of artificial intelligence. This significant investment underscores the increasing competition and demand for specialized data center chips to power advanced AI models. The collaboration is expected to involve OpenAI acquiring Nvidia’s GPU systems, with Nvidia taking a non-controlling equity stake. This strategic partnership aims to significantly scale OpenAI’s computational infrastructure. ...

How Google AI’s New Method Reduces LLM Training Data by 10,000x Google Research has unveiled a groundbreaking method for fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) that reduces required training data by up to 10,000 times. This innovative approach utilizes active learning to focus expert labeling on the most informative examples, especially “boundary cases” where model uncertainty is highest. In experiments with Gemini Nano models, this technique matched or surpassed the quality of models trained on 100,000 random labels with as few as 250 to 450 targeted examples. This development promises to make AI model development significantly leaner, more agile, and more cost-effective. ...