AI Spotlight

Cedars-Sinai launched the Center for Autonomous Robotic Surgery, a new initiative bringing surgeons and engineers together to develop the next generation of surgical robots capable of performing certain surgical tasks autonomously while working alongside surgeons in the operating room

Google announced the Gemini agent, a universal agent for work that has business context and can be used for everything from knowledge work to answering questions, and from content creation to coding, all from a single prompt box

Microsoft announced an AI coding model that can run directly on personal computers and ​new security technology to prevent AI agents from accessing data without permission

MillikinWORKS, Millikin University’s workforce development initiative, and the Decatur Regional Chamber of Commerce partnered to launch AI for Business, a pilot workshop that gives local business owners, managers and professionals hands-on experience using artificial intelligence in their daily work, with a focus on doing so responsibly

Ondas, a provider of advanced autonomous systems and next-generation defense and security technologies, partnered with Palantir to form Regna AI, to help customers develop and deploy mission-specialized fine-tuned AI models within their own sovereign environments

AMD introduced the AMD Helion agentic AI rack, an open blueprint for agentic AI infrastructure allowing customers to match CPU performance, core density and power with GPU acceleration for the work their AI agents perform

Google introduced Playground, an experimental gaming platform that lets users create, play, and share custom games from an AI prompt

Staffordshire Police launched an AI-powered chatbot called Bobbi to answer non-emergency queries from people, in a bid to cut waiting times and free up call handlers for more complex cases

Anthropic launched OSS Scanner, an opt-in vulnerability scanner for the open-source ecosystem informed by the company’s experience using Claude to find vulnerabilities during Project Glasswing

X introduced X Lift, an AI-powered ads product bringing together speed, scale and intelligence

Morningstar, a provider of independent investment insights, launched Morningstar Direct AI, designed to allow investment professionals to uncover insights, explore opportunities, and perform analysis

Indosat, a telecommunication network and services provider, and F5, a multi-cloud application services and security company, partnered to expand access to enterprise AI through the Indosat Intelligence Suite

The University of Missouri partnered with Google Public Sector to expand access to artificial intelligence infrastructure, training, technical expertise, and high-performance computing for researchers across the University of Missouri System

Applied Materials, a provider of materials engineering for the semiconductor industry, partnered with Intel to accelerate chipmaking innovations for AI-driven computing

Aptean, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software, announced Aptean Ascent, an AI-powered offering designed to help manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers move past the roadblocks stalling most AI projects

PwC and Cohere partnered to help organizations deploy secure enterprise AI and turn AI investment into measurable business value, combining Cohere’s security-first, sovereign enterprise AI platform and models with PwC’sindustry, risk, regulatory, technology and transformation expertise to help clients apply AI securely and responsibly in complex enterprise environments

Asda, one of the UK’s largest grocers, and Rokt, an ecommerce company using machine learning to make the shopping experience more relevant to each customer, partnered to deliver relevant offers to Asda’s customers at checkout across its online grocery business and George, its clothing and home brand

Arden University and Google Cloud partnered to provide the institution’s students with the tools they need to become AI-ready and help prepare them for the global job market, including access to Gemini Enterprise

Accenture and Dell Technologies expanded their partnership with the formation of the Accenture Dell Business Group, designed to help organizations scale AI within their own environment and modernize their infrastructure

Hawthorn Football Club partnered with Google Cloud to improve analytics with AI

AIR, an integration layer connecting applications and AI agents to Moca Chain’s identity infrastructure built by Animoca Brands, and Minds by Animoca Brands, an agentic AI platform, partnered with Reap, a global stablecoin cards and payments fintech enabling efficient money movement, and Pivota, the commerce decision and order execution layer for AI agents, to develop identity-powered personalized agentic commerce

Kodiak AI, a provider of Physical AI-powered autonomous driving technology, and Charger USA, a cross-border carrier serving the United States and Mexico, partnered to equip trucks with the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s autonomous driving system

Washington State Athletics partnered with FanWord, an AI technology and storytelling company in college sports, with Washington State implementing FanWord Assist, FanWord’s AI-powered communications platform, to support storytelling efforts across the athletic department

Abridge, an AI-driven platform that transforms patient-clinician conversations into structured clinical notes for healthcare industries, partnered with University of Texas REAL Health AI to expand access to Abridge’s clinician intelligence platform across the UT System

TGS, a global provider of energy data and intelligence, partnered with exploration company Galdor Exploration AS to unlock exploration opportunities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and the broader North Sea region through the application of advanced, integrated data solutions and AI

Utah’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy announced new healthcare AI sandbox pilots with AI-powered health companion August AI, AI-powered digital doctor developer Nolla Health, and pre and post-natal fitness streaming app Expect Fitness

SiMa.ai, a provider of Physical AI, and Wobot.ai, a provider of AI-powered video intelligence, partnered to make Wobot.ai’s deployment-ready, reasoning-based video analytics solution available on SiMa.ai’s Modalix MLSoC PCIe Card and System-on-ModuleSiMa.ai

The City of Spokane partnered with Permittable, which uses AI to help developers, architects, builders, and municipal teams streamline the building permit approval process, to provide free pre-screening services to people rebuilding homes following fires in August

FPT, a global ICT corporation, and NAVER Cloud, an IT firm that provides cloud-based solutions, partnered to expand their AI Factory business and market presence across Asia-Pacific and into global markets through joint technology development, AI service delivery, and commercialization initiatives

TekVision Technologies, a provider of AI and customer experience assurance solutions, and Carahsoft partnered, with Carahsoft serving as TekVision’s Public Sector distributor, making TekVision’s Flow Suite of solutions available to the public sector

Elligint Health, provider of the Helios Intelligence Platform serving health plans and value-based care organizations, partnered with Laguna Health, a conversational AI company for payer case management, to give Elligint Health’s payer clients expanded tools to support care teams and improve outcomes for the members they serve

Rings AI, an extended relationship management platform and Perplexity, an AI agent platform focused on accurate AI, partnered to make the Rings connector available in Perplexity Computer

U.S. News & World Report partnered with Candid, an AI-powered engagement start-up serving senior living and post-acute care organizations, to modernize feedback collection and advance resident engagement and quality measurement standards across the senior living industry

SAP acquired TechWolf, a provider of an AI work intelligence platform

Sopris Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm, acquired Blackford Analysis, a provider of AI orchestration for medical imaging, from Bayer

Fastbreak AI, an AI-powered sports operations company, acquired Groupbook, an AI-powered travel and event management platform

Fastbreak AI acquired Competition Travel, an event housing and travel management partner specializing in competitive cheer, dance, and international event producers

Automation Anywhere, an enterprise software company specializing in Agentic Process Automation and Robotic Process Automation, acquired Boost.ai, a developer of enterprise conversational AI and voice AI technology from Nordic Capital

BlueMatrix, a capital markets content publishing technology, acquired Aiera, an AI-powered content delivery platform

PayJoy, a financial services provider for underserved consumers across emerging markets, acquired select strategic assets of Finia AI, a fintech company that developed AI-powered underwriting and financial products for micro-businesses in Mexico

Zeta Global, an intelligent AI infrastructure company, acquired Senso, an AI engineering company

Citrin Cooperman Advisors, a tax, advisory and accounting provider for private middle-market businesses and high-net-worth individuals, acquired Rosetree Solutions, a consultancy that designs and deploys AI systems inside client businesses

Temporal, an open-source platform that powers AI applications, acquired the team behind Oso, an AI agent security and control platform

GreyOrange, a provider of AI-powered multi-agent warehouse orchestration and store inventory software, acquired Site Bionics, developer of an AI-powered digital twin platform

Hightouch, an agentic marketing platform, acquired Strata, an AI platform that connects marketing tools without code

Navitas Semiconductor, a provider of power semiconductors and power delivery solutions, acquired Claros, a power management solutions company developing integrated voltage regulator technology for AI data centers

PLACE, a real estate and financial services technology unicorn, acquired Ardley, an AI-powered automated recapture and retention software for mortgage companies and banks

HR Path, a provider of HR consulting and HRIS solutions, acquired SnapAI, a start-up specialising in AI and regulatory compliance

Amplified People Group, a specialist B2B sales and marketing recruitment firm, acquired Higher, an executive search firm specializing in AI and engineering leadership hires

Apple acquired team members and technology from Huxe, an AI app that turned email, calendars, news and personal interests into personalized audio briefings

Frontline Managed Services, a provider of specialized managed business, financial, and IT operations built exclusively for the legal industry, acquired KL Software Technologies, a developer of digital workplace and intelligent application technology for the legal sector

InteleTravel, a global travel distribution group and host agency, acquired group AI startup 40Hammocks

According to research from Appian, 60% of Australian workers have personally identified an error made by an AI tool at work. The workplace study found that while workers widely report AI mistakes, more than 20% said employees in their organization are discouraged from challenging its recommendations or decisions, and only 14% fully trust the AI-generated outputs used within their organization