Google DeepMind launches an enhanced Gemini Deep Research agent accessible to developers via its new Interactions API, along with a new DeepSearchQA benchmark (The Keyword)
Rivian says it is building its own 5nm AI chip called the Rivian Autonomy Processor and a foundational "Large Driving Model", to enable fully autonomous driving (Andrew J. Hawkins/The Verge)
Runway launches GWM-1, its first world model, which uses frame-by-frame prediction to simulate physics, and updates Gen 4.5 to add native audio and more (TechCrunch)
The OpenAI deal gives Disney a fair amount of oversight and control over how its IP is used, including a joint steering committee to monitor user creations (Axios) https://www.axios.com/2025/12/11/openai-disney-sora
Palantir expands its Percepta lawsuit, accusing its CEO and two co-founders of poaching staff, and another employee of stealing confidential documents (Victoria Albert/Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/business/palantir-sues-ceo-of-rival-ai-firm-alleges-widespread-effort-to-poach-employees-9c297986?st=sERTvb&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Worktrace AI, founded by ex-OpenAI product lead Angela Jiang and researcher Deepak Vasisht, launches with a $9.3M seed, and unveils a workflow automation agent (Alex Konrad/Upstarts Media)
Cursor launches Visual Editor, a vibe-coding product for designers that integrates professional design controls with natural language editing (Maxwell Zeff/Wired)
LI.FI, which provides businesses with price comparisons of crypto exchange rates and bridging fees, raised $29M, bringing its total funding to ~$52M (Carlos Garcia/Fortune)
AT&T launches Connected Life, a smart home security system with hardware from Google and Abode, designed to keep working during power or internet outages (Jess Weatherbed/The Verge)
Disney sends Google a cease-and-desist, accusing Google of copyright infringement on a "massive scale" and using AI to "exploit and distribute" the content (Todd Spangler/Variety)