EssilorLuxottica announced on Monday that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Nuance audio glasses, a groundbreaking product that combines hearing solutions with prescription eyewear. Nuance will be available in the US and Italy in the first quarter of this year, with a planned launch in France, Germany, and the UK by mid-2025.
Chairman and CEO Francesco Milleri described the Nuance glasses as more than just a combination of two medical devices, calling them “entirely new smart glasses” that are both innovative and accessible. The company aims to provide this life-changing technology to the 1.25 billion people worldwide who suffer from mild to moderate hearing loss.
This launch marks a significant step for EssilorLuxottica as it expands its offerings beyond traditional eyewear, seeking to improve the lives of those with hearing impairments by making hearing solutions more readily available and convenient.
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, is shaking up the ΑΙ landscape by offering technology at a significantly lower cost compared to US competitors like OpenAI. Hemanth Mandapati, CEO of German startup Novo AI, recently switched to DeepSeek’s chatbot services, noting that the transition was quick and easy, and the cost savings were substantial. Mandapati reported that DeepSeek’s pricing was five times lower than what he was paying, with no noticeable difference in user performance. Analysts estimate that DeepSeek’s prices are 20 to 40 times cheaper than OpenAI’s, making it an attractive option for many startups.
The rise of DeepSeek is seen as a potential game-changer, particularly in Europe, where tech startups have struggled to compete with their US counterparts due to limited funding. Some believe DeepSeek’s low-cost offerings could democratise AI and help level the playing field with major tech companies. However, concerns about DeepSeek’s data practices, particularly regarding the potential copying of OpenAI’s data or censorship of Chinese content, have raised regulatory questions across Europe.
Despite scepticism around the actual cost of DeepSeek’s training and data usage, the company has garnered significant attention, especially after its model topped the productivity app rankings on the Apple App Store. Industry leaders argue that this shift in pricing could spark a broader movement in AI, with smaller companies gaining more access to advanced technologies without needing large budgets. This could foster innovation across the sector, although major corporations remain cautious due to security and integration concerns.
As the cost of AI continues to fall, competition is intensifying. For example, Microsoft recently made OpenAI’s reasoning model available for free to users of its Copilot platform. While price is becoming a dominant factor in AI adoption, industry experts suggest that trust and security certifications will still play a critical role for larger businesses when choosing their AI partners.
Australia’s government recently passed laws banning social media access for children under 16, targeting platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and X. However, YouTube was granted an exemption, with the government arguing that it serves as a valuable educational tool and is not a ‘core social media application.’ That decision followed input from company executives and educational content creators, who argued that YouTube is essential for learning and information-sharing. While the government claims broad community support for the exemption, some experts believe this undermines the goal of protecting children from harmful online content.
Mental health and extremism experts have raised concerns that YouTube exposes young users to dangerous material, including violent, extremist, and addictive content. Despite being exempted from the ban, YouTube has been criticised for its algorithm, which researchers say can promote far-right ideologies, misogyny, and conspiracy theories to minors. Studies conducted by academics have shown that the platform delivers problematic content within minutes of search queries, including harmful videos on topics like sex, COVID-19, and European history.
To test these claims, Reuters created child accounts and found that searches led to content promoting extremism and hate speech. Although YouTube removed some flagged videos, others remain on the platform. YouTube stated that it is actively working to improve its content moderation systems and that it has removed content violating its policies. However, critics argue that the platform’s algorithm still allows harmful content to thrive, especially among younger users.
Voice cloning startup ElevenLabs has raised $180 million in a Series C funding round, tripling its valuation to $3.3 billion. Co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Iconiq Growth, the funding round also saw participation from new investors like NEA and World Innovation Lab, alongside increased support from existing backers such as Sequoia Capital and Salesforce Ventures. The company aims to leverage the new funding to enhance its research into expressive voice AI, develop new products, and expand its tools for developers and businesses.
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in London, ElevenLabs specialises in AI-generated voices that replicate various languages, accents, and emotions. The startup’s technology has already found applications in publishing and gaming, with partnerships including The New Yorker and Cloud Imperium Games. In 2024, ElevenLabs broadened its product offerings to include speech generation, voice design, sound effects, and AI-driven dubbing across 32 languages.
CEO Mati Staniszewski, who co-founded the company with Piotr Dabkowski, described the funding as a significant step towards making voice interactions more natural and effortless. With a total of $281 million raised so far, ElevenLabs is poised to play a leading role in the rapidly growing generative AI sector.
Goldman Sachs has named Daniel Marcu, a former Amazon executive, as its global head of AI engineering and science. Marcu, who previously led Amazon’s AGI division, brings over 30 years of experience in academia, start-ups, and multinational corporations. He joins a team of technology experts at Goldman, including Marco Argenti, the bank’s Chief Information Officer and a fellow Amazon alumnus.
The Wall Street bank has been heavily investing in AI to modernise its technology infrastructure, boost productivity, and enhance its engineering capabilities. CEO David Solomon recently highlighted the use of AI in transforming operations during the company’s quarterly earnings call. As part of its AI initiatives, Goldman has introduced a generative AI assistant, GS AI, to approximately 10,000 employees, with plans to expand access to all knowledge workers by the end of the year.
In his new role, Marcu will oversee the development of AI platforms and products, working alongside Rahul Sharma, head of GS AI platform engineering, and Bing Xiang, head of AI research. Marcu’s extensive background, which includes two decades at the University of Southern California and the Information Sciences Institute, positions him to lead Goldman’s ambitious AI agenda as the bank continues to innovate in the competitive financial technology space.
The US administration under President Donald Trump is weighing stricter controls on Nvidia’s H20 chips, which were specifically designed for the Chinese market. Discussions, still in the early stages, build on previous export restrictions established by former President Joe Biden to limit the shipment of advanced AI chips to China. Nvidia’s H20 chips comply with existing US regulations but could face additional curbs due to concerns about China’s rapid progress in AI technology.
The potential restrictions come amid mounting unease about China‘s competitive edge in AI. Recent developments, such as the launch of DeepSeek‘s cost-efficient AI assistant, have intensified worries that China may be narrowing the gap with the US in AI development. RAND researcher Lennart Heim revealed that the possibility of further controls on AI chip exports had been discussed for over six months, originating during Biden’s tenure.
Nvidia has expressed its willingness to collaborate with the US government as the administration formulates its policy on AI exports. The company’s stock, already trading lower, saw additional losses following the report. Despite previous restrictions, Nvidia’s H20 chips have so far remained compliant with US regulations and available for shipment to China.
Alphabet’s self-driving unit, Waymo, has announced plans to expand testing of its autonomous driving technology into over 10 new cities by 2025. The company highlighted successful adaptation of its Waymo Driver system in diverse environments, encouraging this expansion. Current test sites include destinations such as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Tokyo, with new testing set to include San Diego and Las Vegas, among other yet-to-be-revealed locations.
The testing process will begin with manual driving through high-traffic and complex areas, including city centres and freeways. Trained human specialists will oversee the vehicles during this phase. Each city will host fewer than 10 vehicles for several months to collect data and refine the technology. Waymo previously expanded its autonomous ride-hailing service to Miami, Florida, as part of its broader strategy to capture market share in the competitive autonomous vehicle industry.
Waymo’s growth comes as the firm faces heightened scrutiny from regulators following incidents involving autonomous driving systems. In October, the company secured $5.6 billion in funding led by parent company Alphabet, aimed at bolstering its technological advancements and operational expansion.
Microsoft has introduced Chinese startup DeepSeek’s R1 AI to its Azure cloud platform and GitHub tool for developers. The R1 model is now part of Microsoft’s extensive model catalogue, which includes over 1,800 AI models. The move reflects Microsoft’s efforts to diversify beyond OpenAI’s ChatGPT and integrate third-party AI technologies into its flagship Microsoft 365 Copilot product.
DeepSeek has recently gained attention for its cost-effective AI assistant, which surpassed ChatGPT in downloads on Apple’s App Store shortly after its launch. However, its use of servers in China for storing user data has raised privacy concerns in the United States. To address such issues, Microsoft announced plans to allow customers to run the R1 model locally on Copilot+ PCs, offering enhanced control over data-sharing.
The rise of DeepSeek has triggered a competitive response from AI industry leaders. OpenAI is investigating allegations that its data may have been misused by a group linked to DeepSeek, while releasing a tailored ChatGPT version for US government agencies. China’s Alibaba has also launched an updated version of its Qwen AI model, underscoring the intensifying race in the global AI sector.
Google has quietly launched its latest AI model, Gemini 2.0 Pro Experimental, through a changelog update for its Gemini chatbot app. The new model, now available to Gemini Advanced subscribers, promises improved accuracy and performance, particularly in coding and mathematics-related tasks.
The release comes as competition in the AI space intensifies, with Chinese startup DeepSeek gaining attention for its high-performing models. Unlike previous Gemini versions, Gemini 2.0 Pro Experimental does not support real-time data access and may exhibit unexpected behaviours as it remains in an early preview phase.
Alongside this update, Google has also rolled out its Gemini 2.0 Flash model to all users of the Gemini app. The company continues to iterate rapidly on its AI technology, positioning Gemini as a key player in the evolving AI market.
Apple has announced that its AI suite, Apple Intelligence, will support additional languages starting in April, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese. The update will also introduce localised English versions for India and Singapore, broadening access to the technology beyond its initial US English release.
The expansion follows a December update that brought support for various English dialects, including those used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK. However, Apple has yet to confirm when its AI suite will be available in the EU or mainland China.
CEO Tim Cook also revealed that the next version of Siri, which will feature improved on-screen contextual understanding, is expected to launch in the coming months. The update marks Apple’s latest effort to strengthen its AI ecosystem and compete with rivals in the artificial intelligence space.
