TechCapsules

Texas Tech University’s Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering received a Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund award exceeding $19 million to build a next‑generation high‑performance computing cluster in Lubbock. The cluster will integrate Nvidia GPUs, AI, and advanced simulation data to accelerate semiconductor device and material development, particularly wide/ultrawide bandgap technologies for harsh environments. The grant follows prior TSIF awards that funded a new clean room and bandgap research, positioning Texas Tech as a pioneer in AI‑driven semiconductor [...]

Google unveiled Gemini 4 Hydrogen, a major upgrade over Gemini 3.8 Flash, offering native 1‑million‑token input and output. The model scores 51 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index at default high thinking and 54 at xhigh, outperforming peers in speed and accuracy. It excels at tone adherence, structured outputs, and tool usage, delivering ready‑to‑use drafts, tables, and visual breakdowns. Hydrogen powers AI Mode in Search, improving intent comprehension and visual responses, and is the default for AI [...]

Meta’s Muse AI, now serving over 10 million users, has launched a paid feature that lets subscribers place phone calls to U.S. businesses. The capability, announced by Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, allows users to delegate routine calls—such as to cable providers, the DMV, or restaurants—to the AI. Muse offers two subscription tiers: $20 per month for 500 million tokens and $100 per month for 3 billion tokens. The feature follows similar offerings from Instinct and Google Gemini, but businesses [...]

Meta announced that its Muse AI assistant is now available on Wear OS and Apple Watch devices, expanding its reach beyond the previously released Muse Charm. The update, shared on X, highlights the AI’s continuous operation and its integration into smartwatch ecosystems. Users will encounter the familiar, cuddly mascot on their wrists, enabling quick access to daily tasks, app interactions, and contextual queries. The move follows Muse Spark’s launch and underscores Meta’s push toward a “people first” [...]

CD Projekt Red has used generative‑AI voice‑altering technology to restore Polish actor Jacek Rozenek’s Geralt voice for the upcoming Witcher 3 expansion Songs of the Past. After a 2019 stroke left Rozenek’s voice deeper and rougher, the studio, with his consent, partnered with Respeecher to train an AI on his earlier recordings, producing lines that match the original 2015 sound. The company has applied similar AI techniques in Cyberpunk 2077, citing ethical use and consent. The expansion, slated for release next year, [...]

Runway AI Inc. released Praxis‑1, a 27‑billion‑parameter world‑action model for robotics, now available under an Apache 2.0 license. The model, built on Runway’s video foundation, predicts video and actions simultaneously and has achieved top rankings on NVIDIA’s RoboLab leaderboard. Partners such as Noble Machines, Standard Bots, and Ultra have deployed Praxis‑1 on diverse hardware—from legged humanoids to six‑axis arms and dual‑arm warehouse robots—demonstrating rapid learning from limited examples. The open‑weight release includes full fine‑tuning and LoRA support for [...]

A Pokémon enthusiast, Big Kid Nation, has voiced frustration after Anthropic’s Claude AI models began refusing to generate code involving official Pokémon assets. The fan, who has reportedly spent up to $2,000 monthly on “vibe‑coded” AI tools, claims no revenue has been earned from his project, Pokémon Arena 2D, despite significant investment. The game, a free 2D pixel‑art arena, has avoided legal scrutiny so far but may face increased pressure as Anthropic tightens copyright restrictions. [...]

Nvidia’s board removed CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday after he admitted to an affair with a woman suspected by U.S. authorities of being a Chinese spy and an executive of a Singapore‑based cloud firm accused of funneling Nvidia chips to China. The scandal intertwines personal misconduct with national‑security concerns, prompting congressional committees to seek Huang’s testimony and sparking investigations into his political donations, including a $25 million contribution to a Trump‑linked project. Huang’s ouster also strips the AI sector [...]