OpenAI Launches Codex, Its Most Powerful AI Coding Agent Yet

OpenAI has unveiled Codex, a new AI coding agent designed to handle complex software engineering tasks. Powered by the codex-1 model, Codex aims to serve as a “virtual teammate” for developers, offering cleaner code and better instruction adherence than previous models.

Source: TechCrunch

Windsurf Launches SWE-1 AI Model Family, Signaling Bigger Ambitions Beyond Vibe Coding

AI startup Windsurf, best known for its “vibe coding” tools, has launched its first in-house family of AI software engineering models — SWE-1, SWE-1-lite, and SWE-1-mini. The move marks a major shift from app development to building the AI models powering those apps.

Source: TechCrunch

AI Startup Hedra Raises $32M to Fuel Viral Talking Character Videos and Customizable AI Models

Hedra, a rising AI video generation startup behind the viral trend of talking AI baby podcasts, has secured $32 million in Series A funding. The round, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), will help the company enhance its Character-3 model and build more interactive AI video tools focused on expressive 3D characters and storytelling.

Read more on TechCrunch

Databricks to Acquire Neon for $1B to Power AI-Driven, Serverless Postgres Databases

Databricks is making another bold AI move. The data analytics giant announced it will acquire Neon — a startup offering a cloud-native, open-source Postgres alternative — for approximately $1 billion, aiming to supercharge AI agent workloads with a modern, serverless database platform.

Read more on TechCrunch

Granola Raises $43M to Expand Its AI Notetaking Tool Beyond Meetings and Into Team Collaboration

Granola, the AI-powered notetaking startup, is growing fast — and it’s not just taking notes anymore. The company just secured $43 million in Series B funding as it broadens its features to support team collaboration, riding a wave of organic growth from tech insiders.

Read more on TechCrunch

Google’s Gemini Now Integrates with GitHub — But Only for Paid Users

Google is stepping up its AI game. The company just rolled out GitHub integration for Gemini, its AI-powered chatbot — but there’s a catch. This new feature is available exclusively to subscribers of the $20/month Gemini Advanced plan.

Read more on TechCrunch

Google’s New AI Mode Might Replace “I’m Feeling Lucky” — Here’s What’s Happening

Google’s rolling out a small experiment with something it’s calling AI Mode, a search assistant powered by artificial intelligence. Only a handful of U.S. users are seeing it for now, but screenshots and posts are already making the rounds online.

Read more on The Verge

X