🤯 Sesame's breakthrough AI voice model

Also: DeepSeek shocks with huge 545% AI profits

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Welcome, AI enthusiasts

Sesame AI has just announced a groundbreaking conversational voice model in their blog post, crossing the uncanny valley of conversational voice. Notably, Sesame AI has confirmed they will open source this model to the public soon.

Let’s dive in!

In today’s insights:

  • Sesame’s breakthrough AI voice model

  • DeepSeek shocks with huge 545% AI profits

  • Siri's AI overhaul faces Big Delays until 2027

Read time: 4 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Evolving AI: OpenAI launches GPT-4.5, its largest model yet, improving efficiency and performance without being classified as a frontier AI.

Key Points:

  • Brendan Iribe, who created Oculus VR, now leads a startup called Sesame.

  • Sesame made two AI assistants that feels natural to talk with.

  • People are impressed, calling this an "AGI moment" for AI voice technology.

Details:

Most voice assistants today make you wish you could skip the chat. But Sesame’s new AI assistants, Maya and Miles, feels different. It has natural pauses and quickly adapts during conversations, making chats feel smooth. Sesame, led by Oculus founder Brendan Iribe, plans AI-powered glasses you can wear daily. Sesame already has funding from big investors and aims to release to open source their models under the Apache 2.0 license soon, helping developers add realistic AI voices to their apps.

Online, Sesame is getting a lot of shocked reactions from people chatting with Maya. This is the most times people have said they’re ā€œfeeling the AGIā€ because it’s so much better than anything out there — even OpenAI’s voice mode.

Try it out yourself here and be your own judge →

Why It Matters:

Voice assistants from big companies still feel stiff, even after recent updates. But Maya shows a voice assistant can actually feel human. If this catches on, people might finally prefer talking to AI instead of typing… but are we ready for that shift?

Apple's New Smart Display Confirms What This Startup Knew All Along

Apple has entered the smart home race with its new Smart Display, firing a $158B signal that connected homes are the future.

When Apple moves in, it doesn’t just join the market — it transforms it.

One company has been quietly preparing for this moment.

Their smart shade technology already works across every major platform, perfectly positioned to capture the wave of new consumers Apple will bring.

While others scramble to catch up, this startup is already shifting production from China to its new facility in the Philippines — built for speed and ready to meet surging demand as Apple’s marketing machine drives mass adoption.

With 200% year-over-year growth and distribution in over 120 Best Buy locations, this company isn’t just ready for Apple’s push — they’re set to thrive from it.

Shares in this tech company are open at just $1.90.

Apple’s move is accelerating the entire sector. Don’t miss this window.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Email may contain forward-looking statements. See US Offering for details. Informational purposes only.

Source: AP

Evolving AI: DeepSeek claims massive profits from AI models.

Key Points:

  • DeepSeek shared a surprising "theoretical" profit margin of 545% on its AI services.

  • Actual profits are lower due to discounts, limited paid services, and research costs.

  • Unlike competitors, DeepSeek openly shared data and details about their AI models.

Details:

DeepSeek, the infamous Chinese AI startup just 20 months old, made waves by revealing that its AI models could theoretically earn profits more than five times higher than their operating costs. They explained that these impressive margins come from efficiently managing resources like computing power and electricity. But DeepSeek also clarified that real profits are lower because many services aren't fully monetized, and high research costs aren't included. Still, their openness contrasts sharply with the secrecy common in the AI industry.

Why It Matters:

With OpenAI and Anthropic recently raising prices due to high operating costs, DeepSeek's reveal pressures AI companies to rethink efficiency and transparency. If DeepSeek can be profitable while openly sharing details, what does this say about the real costs — and future — of closed AI giants?

Source: Bloomberg

Evolving AI: Apple's big Siri upgrade could take until 2027.

Key Points:

  • Apple's AI development is lagging behind rivals like Google and Microsoft.

  • Siri's planned AI update is delayed, with a modern version unlikely before 2027.

  • Apple struggles with internal setbacks, slow progress, and talent shortages.

Details:

Apple planned a major upgrade for Siri to catch up with competitors. But the project, known internally as "LLM Siri," faces significant delays. Siri currently runs two separate systems — an older version and a newer AI-based one. Apple hopes to combine them by early 2026 but insiders now say a truly modern, conversational Siri might not appear until iOS 20 in 2027. Apple's slow pace and outdated tech are causing it to fall further behind rivals.

Why It Matters:

Apple has faced criticism for moving slowly in the AI race, and with these new setbacks the gap could widen further. Recent progress from companies like Amazon’s Alexa+, and Sesame which we discussed earlier, only makes Apple's delays feel worse. Users might begin to question whether waiting for Siri is worth it — or if Apple can ever truly catch up.

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