Gemini is launching to orbit
Google’s latest moonshot might almost be literal. They are preparing for sending their TPU processors into low-earth orbit, and maybe then build a proper AI data center in space — where there is ample sunlight to provide it with energy. They have already tested a TPU in orbit conditions in a particle accelerator and it survived, and the next step is the launch of two prototype satellites in early 2027. They call it Project Suncatcher, and say that «in the future, space may be the best place to scale AI compute.»
More at: Sundar Pichai’s tweet, Google’s announcement blog
Google close to Apple deal for AI Siri
Apparently, Apple has chosen Gemini for its upcoming AI version of the Siri assistant. They will use what is likely a custom version of the model with 1.2 trillion parameters, running on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers. Apple supposedly also tested options from OpenAI and Anthropic, but Anthropic’s fees were too high and Apple already partners with Google for search results. The deal will cost Apple $1 billion a year, far less than the $20 billion Google pays Apple to be their search provider.
More at: Bloomberg, MacRumors, TechCrunch.
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Amazon wants Perplexity to stop shopping
Citing a bad shopping experience with the Comet browser, Amazon has sent a cease and desist letter to demand it stop browsing and shopping on Amazon’s servers. They do this with a lot of AI agents, but apparently, Perplexity is cheating with user agent-id’s, making it harder to implement a technical fix. Perplexity has responded by calling Amazon «bullies,» adding that they should love the experience as much as Comet’s users does. At the core of the issue is what Amazon calls a degraded shopping experience, that doesn’t broaden discovery, lacks personalization and is slower than what users would get from «regular» Amazon.com.
More at: Amazon’s statement, Perplexity’s answer, writeup on CNBC.
Gemini is coming to Google Maps navigation
Delivering the world’s first «hands-free, conversational driving experience,» you can now use Google’s Gemini to navigate for you while driving with maps. That means you can ask the app to recommend vegetarian restaurants with great parking along your route, have it to find charging stations nearby and update you on the latest games. It can then reroute your itinerary to the places you chose. You can even share your ETA if you are using Android, and connect it to your other Google apps, letting it update you on, say, your meetings for the day from Calendar. The AI can even give you a heads up if there’s a traffic jam ahead.
More at: Google’s blog, 9to5Google and TechCrunch
Anthropic projects stellar future revenue
While OpenAI is betting on a hundred billion or more in revenue by 2028, Anthropic is rapidly closing the gap. They now estimate $70 billion in revenue by that year, up from an expected $9 billion in 2025. This is primarily on the strength of its business products, which are seeing aggressive adoption, with Claude Code being the star offering. Also, Reuters report that Google is in «early discussions» to deepen its investment in the company, in a funding round that would value them at $350 billion. For comparison, OpenAI is valued at $500 billion, so it’s getting closer.
More at: The Information (Paywalled), writeup on TechCrunch, and Reuters with investment news.