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Second cohort of Converge startups is launched by OpenAI Startup Fund

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Second cohort of Converge startups is launched by OpenAI Startup Fund

The PR team at OpenAI tells me that despite the intrigue surrounding the company’s palace, the AI startup and its co-branded accelerator programs are continuing to grow.

Converge-2 is the second cohort of the six-week Converge program for “exceptional engineers, designers, researchers, and product builders using AI to reimagine the world,” as described by the company in a blog post published this morning. To be clear, OpenAI Startup Fund does not count OpenAI as an investor; it is a very confusingly separate entity.

The ten to fifteen companies selected for Converge-2 will receive a $1 million equity investment from the OpenAI Startup Fund, the $100 million+ entrepreneurial tranche announced in May and supported by Microsoft and other OpenAI Startup Fund partners, just like the startups in the first Converge cohort. If you do the math, that represents an investment in the Converge-2 program of at least $10 million, which is not a small sum of money.

According to the blog post, Converge-2 participants will receive not only the capital but also access to office hours, tech talks, social events, and discussions with “leading practitioners” and the OpenAI Startup Fund’s “community of builders.” The OpenAI Startup Fund emphasizes that the program is “for anyone building or aspiring to build with AI,” which is significant, even though it is expected that the network effects will make OpenAI’s technologies incredibly alluring. Nevertheless, they won’t be compelled to build on top of the company’s APIs.

Founders with varying backgrounds, specializations, and levels of experience are welcome to apply to the OpenAI Startup Fund, even if they are located outside of the United States. It’s not necessary to have prior experience working with AI systems. However, the OpenAI Startup Fund will mandate that the startups chosen for the program commit a minimum of four to six hours per week from March 11 to April 19, with the first and last weeks of the program being held in San Francisco (travel expenses will be covered by the OpenAI Startup Fund).

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Microsoft Expands Copilot Voice and Think Deeper

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Microsoft Expands Copilot Voice and Think Deeper

Microsoft is taking a major step forward by offering unlimited access to Copilot Voice and Think Deeper, marking two years since the AI-powered Copilot was first integrated into Bing search. This update comes shortly after the tech giant revamped its Copilot Pro subscription and bundled advanced AI features into Microsoft 365.

What’s Changing?

Microsoft remains committed to its $20 per month Copilot Pro plan, ensuring that subscribers continue to enjoy premium benefits. According to the company, Copilot Pro users will receive:

  • Preferred access to the latest AI models during peak hours.
  • Early access to experimental AI features, with more updates expected soon.
  • Extended use of Copilot within popular Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The Impact on Users

This move signals Microsoft’s dedication to enhancing AI-driven productivity tools. By expanding access to Copilot’s powerful features, users can expect improved efficiency, smarter assistance, and seamless integration across Microsoft’s ecosystem.

As AI technology continues to evolve, Microsoft is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation, ensuring both casual users and professionals can leverage the best AI tools available.

Stay tuned for further updates as Microsoft rolls out more enhancements to its AI offerings.

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Google Launches Free AI Coding Tool for Individual Developers

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Google Launches Free AI Coding Tool for Individual Developers

Google has introduced a free version of Gemini Code Assistant, its AI-powered coding assistant, for solo developers worldwide. The tool, previously available only to enterprise users, is now in public preview, making advanced AI-assisted coding accessible to students, freelancers, hobbyists, and startups.

More Features, Fewer Limits

Unlike competing tools such as GitHub Copilot, which limits free users to 2,000 code completions per month, Google is offering up to 180,000 code completions—a significantly higher cap designed to accommodate even the most active developers.

“Now anyone can easily learn, generate code snippets, debug, and modify applications without switching between multiple windows,” said Ryan J. Salva, Google’s senior director of product management.

AI-Powered Coding Assistance

Gemini Code Assist for individuals is powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 AI model and offers:
Auto-completion of code while typing
Generation of entire code blocks based on prompts
Debugging assistance via an interactive chatbot

The tool integrates with popular developer environments like Visual Studio Code, GitHub, and JetBrains, supporting a wide range of programming languages. Developers can use natural language prompts, such as:
Create an HTML form with fields for name, email, and message, plus a submit button.”

With support for 38 programming languages and a 128,000-token memory for processing complex prompts, Gemini Code Assist provides a robust AI-driven coding experience.

Enterprise Features Still Require a Subscription

While the free tier is generous, advanced features like productivity analytics, Google Cloud integrations, and custom AI tuning remain exclusive to paid Standard and Enterprise plans.

With this move, Google aims to compete more aggressively in the AI coding assistant market, offering developers a powerful and unrestricted alternative to existing tools.

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Elon Musk Unveils Grok-3: A Game-Changing AI Chatbot to Rival ChatGPT

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Elon Musk Unveils Grok-3: A Game-Changing AI Chatbot to Rival ChatGPT

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has unveiled its latest chatbot, Grok-3, which aims to compete with leading AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and China’s DeepSeek. Grok-3 is now available to Premium+ subscribers on Musk’s social media platform x (formerly Twitter) and is also available through xAI’s mobile app and the new SuperGrok subscription tier on Grok.com.

Advanced capabilities and performance

Grok-3 has ten times the computing power of its predecessor, Grok-2. Initial tests show that Grok-3 outperforms models from OpenAI, Google, and DeepSeek, particularly in areas such as math, science, and coding. The chatbot features advanced reasoning features capable of decomposing complex questions into manageable tasks. Users can interact with Grok-3 in two different ways: “Think,” which performs step-by-step reasoning, and “Big Brain,” which is designed for more difficult tasks.

Strategic Investments and Infrastructure

To support the development of Grok-3, xAI has made major investments in its supercomputer cluster, Colossus, which is currently the largest globally. This infrastructure underscores the company’s commitment to advancing AI technology and maintaining a competitive edge in the industry.

New Offerings and Future Plans

Along with Grok-3, xAI has also introduced a logic-based chatbot called DeepSearch, designed to enhance research, brainstorming, and data analysis tasks. This tool aims to provide users with more insightful and relevant information. Looking to the future, xAI plans to release Grok-2 as an open-source model, encouraging community participation and further development. Additionally, upcoming improvements for Grok-3 include a synthesized voice feature, which aims to improve user interaction and accessibility.

Market position and competition

The launch of Grok-3 positions xAI as a major competitor in the AI ​​chatbot market, directly challenging established models from OpenAI and emerging competitors such as DeepSeek. While Grok-3’s performance claims are yet to be independently verified, early indications suggest it could have a significant impact on the AI ​​landscape. xAI is actively seeking $10 billion in investment from major companies, demonstrating its strong belief in their technological advancements and market potential.

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