Hey Niuralogists!

We hope you've had a great week. It's time to catch up on the latest AI news. We have sifted through all the updates to bring you the most important ones. In this edition, we'll talk about how Coca-Cola is using AI for a mysterious new flavor, Walmart's adventures in the virtual world, Apple's quiet use of AI, Helsing raising a lot of money for defense AI, and Google making its AI work with more apps.

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Coca-Cola's AI-Infused Mystery Flavor and Design Creation

 Coca-Cola has unveiled Y3000, a limited-edition mystery beverage that blends artificial intelligence with flavor innovation and futuristic design. Y3000 is part of Coca-Cola's Creations platform, catering to a younger audience with a range of exclusive flavored drinks. To craft its enigmatic flavor, Coca-Cola gathered insights associated with 'the future' and employed AI to generate unique flavor combinations. Even the can's design is a product of AI creativity, as the company supplied AI with mood board images inspired by the futuristic theme, resulting in a captivating beverage experience.

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Walmart's Metaverse Retail Revolution

Walmart is diving headfirst into the metaverse, the digital realm where avatars roam, social interactions thrive, and experiences abound. As the world's largest retailer, Walmart is reimagining retail by seamlessly connecting physical and virtual shopping. In this metaverse-driven endeavor, customers can now buy items for their physical and virtual homes through House Flip, a mobile game, and explore Walmart's fashion brand, Scoop, within Zepeto's virtual world. Walmart's metaverse strategy promises to reshape the future of shopping, bridging the gap between the physical and digital retail experience.

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Apple's Subtle Integration of AI

Apple's approach to AI remains understated compared to its tech counterparts. While other giants tout grand AI ambitions, Apple discreetly integrates AI technology into the core functionalities of its latest devices, as demonstrated at the recent Wonderlust event. Notably, Apple refrained from explicitly mentioning "AI'' in its announcements, setting it apart from competitors like Microsoft and Google who emphasize their ambitious AI endeavors. The unveiling of the iPhone 15 showcased AI-driven enhancements for noise cancellation, portrait background blurring, and predictive text input. Additionally, the new Series 9 Watch introduces a four-core "Neural Engine" dedicated to machine learning tasks, which is anticipated to bolster Siri's accuracy by up to 25%.

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Helsing Raises $223M to Lead European Defense AI

Helsing, a European defense AI startup, has secured a remarkable $223 million in its Series B funding round, spearheaded by General Catalyst. This substantial funding not only propels Helsing's valuation to approximately $1.7 billion but also positions it as a leading AI unicorn in Europe. Noteworthy is Helsing's previous support from Spotify founder Daniel Ek. The core mission of Helsing's AI platform is to enhance defense and security measures for democratic nations, focusing on the expansion of real-time data applications. This successful funding round sets Helsing on the path to becoming Europe's largest AI company, potentially surpassing the recent funding achieved by Mistral AI, a French-based AI firm.

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Google's Bard AI Boosts Productivity with Expanded App Integration

Google unveiled a significant enhancement to its Bard conversational AI system, broadening its integration with Google's top productivity apps and services. These upgrades aim to enhance Bard's practicality in everyday tasks and improve its accuracy. With this update, Bard gains the ability to directly access data from apps such as Gmail, Docs, Maps, Flights, and YouTube, enabling more comprehensive and personalized responses during conversations.

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