Hugging Face releases a free AI agent that can control computers

Welcome to this edition of Loop!

To kick off your week, I’ve rounded-up the most important technology and AI updates that you should know about.

‏‏‎ ‎ HIGHLIGHTS ‏‏‎ ‎

• Apple’s latest work on smart glasses that compete with Meta

• Posha’s robot that can automatically cook meals for you

• FutureHouse’s new AI tool to boost scientific discovery

• … and much more

Let's jump in!

1. Apple is working on new chips for smart glasses

The company is reportedly developing new chips for various products, including smart glasses, more powerful Macs, and AI servers.

One of the chips, inspired by the low-power processor used in the Apple Watch, is aimed at creating smart glasses that are similar to the Meta Ray Bans.

Since the form factor is critical for smart glasses to be commercially viable, Apple desperately needs a processor that’s efficient and doesn’t require heavy batteries.

Meta’s smart glasses have proven to be a hit with consumers, as they’ve sold over 2 million pairs since 2023 and demonstrated that there’s a real demand for the technology.

However, the device has been used to discreetly record other people - without them knowing. This raises some genuine concerns about privacy, but it could also change how we interact with each other.

If you think that you’re constantly being recorded and could suddenly be in a video that goes viral, you will naturally become a lot more guarded in public. It sounds like something you’d see in an episode of Black Mirror.

Apple will be acutely aware of these risks and how it could damage their brand, so I hope they come up with good ideas to prevent this from happening.

The company will start mass production of the low-powered chips by the end of 2026, so we’ll have to wait a while yet.

2. Anduril is implementing edge computing for the US military

The defence startup has recently acquired Klas, which manufactures edge computing equipment that can be used by the military.

Alongside the acquisition, Anduril has also unveiled a new product called Menace-T. This is a portable command center that can be set up by one person in minutes and is specially designed for off-the-grid environments.

The acquisition is important for Anduril, as they hope that Klas’ technology can be used to support VR headsets for the US military.

That project was initially awarded to Microsoft, but has since been taken over by Anduril after it faced technical issues.

Anduril believes that both the Menace-T and Klas’ technology can solve some of those technical issues - such as reliable data processing - and expects to become more involved in the government project.

3. OpenAI reverses its decision to become a for-profit company

The company’s non-profit division will remain in control of its for-profit business, which will now become a public benefit corporation (PBC).

The decision was made after OpenAI leaders met with the Attorneys Generals of California and Delaware.

OpenAI had originally started as a non-profit research lab to “benefit humanity”. The company was setup by several key figures in the AI industry, including Sam Altman and Elon Musk.

But since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2023, the company has quickly become one of the world’s leading tech companies and now has a market value of $300 billion.

Elon Musk, who left the company several years ago, quickly filed a lawsuit to prevent the change into a for-profit company.

He claimed that OpenAI was abandoning its original mission to ensure its AI research benefits all of humanity - but it’s worth noting that he now has his own company that’s competing with OpenAI, called xAI.

4. FutureHouse reveals an AI tool for 'data-driven' biology discovery

The non-profit, which is backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, plans to release a new tool called Finch.

It can be used to support "data-driven discovery" in biology, by analysing research papers and then generating figures based on the prompts.

FutureHouse's goal, like many other startups and tech giants, is to automate steps in the scientific process using AI tools.

However, we haven’t seen any examples of AI systems that can make big scientific discoveries - which is what the big tech companies are claiming is possible.

Instead, we have just seen that tiny parts of the process can be improved. There’s a gap there between the claims being made by tech companies, as they seek billions in new funding, and the results in reality.

In fact, several companies that used AI for drug discovery have seen failures at the clinical trial stage - as seen with Exscientia and BenevolentAI.

Google DeepMind's AlphaFold 3 is widely seen as a leading AI system for drug discovery, but even its own results can vary significantly.

That doesn’t mean it won’t happen eventually, but it’s clear there is a lot of hype in this sector and not enough results.

5. This robot uses computer vision to cook your meals

Posha builds countertop robots that use computer vision to create these meals. It looks very similar to a printer, except it has room inside for a saucepan and several beakers to add your ingredients.

These are all controlled by the Posha, which will add them when needed and can stir the pot automatically.

All you have to do is scroll through the list of recipes, pick one, add the proper amounts of ingredients, and then let the machine take over from there.

The company originally developed a robotic arm, but they then changed the design as consumers wanted a robot that’s easy to clean and is stationary in their kitchen.

They’ve mainly relied on word-of-mouth marketing for its $1,750 robot and have just raised $8 million in Series A funding.

After Posha launched its robots in January, it quickly sold out of its first batch of stock.

It’s a pretty interesting idea and seems a much more realistic option for ordinary people, compared to the robotic arms that I’ve seen before - which are a long time away from becoming commercially viable.

Hugging Face releases a free AI agent that controls computers

The Hugging Face team has introduced an open-source, cloud-based AI agent called Open Computer Agent.

It can interact with a virtual machine and the applications that you’ve pre-installed, such as Firefox.

Once it’s ready, you can prompt the agent to complete tasks - such as finding the Hugging Face headquarters using Google Maps - and the agent will figure out how to complete that task and then open the necessary apps.

While Open Computer Agent can handle simple tasks, it starts to struggle with more complex ones - like searching for flights.

OpenAI and Anthropic have also developed similar tools, but their products can quickly rack up bills and become counter-productive.

Regardless, this sector will only grow as the AI models become more advanced. Markets and Markets is projecting that the AI agents segment will quickly grow from $7.84 billion in 2025 to $52.62 billion by 2030.

Amazon’s warehouse robot has a sense of ‘touch’

The retail giant has developed a new warehouse robot named Vulcan, which is capable of "feeling" some of the items it touches.

The two-armed robot uses force sensors to detect when it makes contact with an object. Once it’s reached the item it needs, which can vary a lot in shape and size, it will re-arrange the item so that a second arm can grab it.

Vulcan was trained on physical data - such as force and touch feedback - which allows it to pick around 75% of Amazon's stock.

But the important thing is that the robot can learn over time and improve its skills.

So far, the robot has processed half a million orders across 2 warehouses in Washington state and Germany.

Amazon has been investing in robots for many years now and has automated a lot of the “item picking” within their warehouses.

Ultimately, this is a reminder that while the US and other countries are pushing for manual labour jobs to return again - they are facing a future where most of those jobs are quickly being automated by large companies.

Unfortunately, those jobs may not exist by the time those infrastructure projects are complete.

🚗 Uber partners with Chinese startup Momenta to create autonomous vehicles

💻 Apple and Anthropic are working on an AI coding platform

⚠️ One of Google's recent Gemini AI models scores worse on safety

👋 Warren Buffett will step down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO

🏙️ SpaceX's Starbase launch site will become an official city

💸 Layoffs hit General Fusion as the fusion power startup runs short on cash

🩺 Oxford study finds that people are struggling to get useful health advice from chatbots

💳 Stripe unveils an AI foundation model for payments

💰 OpenAI plans to share less revenue with Microsoft

🤝 Microsoft adopts Google's standard for linking up AI agents

⚛️ Google signs a deal to develop 1.8 GW of advanced nuclear power

📈 CoreWeave is looking to raise $1.5 billion in debt, following disappointing IPO

Rippling

Founded in 2016, this startup is based in San Francisco and has quickly become the HR tool of choice for other startups in Silicon Valley.

It already works with over 15,000 startups and offers the first six months for free. Overall, it now has 20,000 customers and has grown to 4,000 employees.

Their revenue growth has also been pretty strong and recently reached $570 million annually.

Rippling has just secured a $450 million Series G, which values it at $16.8 billion - a significant increase from its $13.4 billion valuation in 2024.

You might have heard about the company in the news recently, after they filed a lawsuit against rival Deel.

Rippling has accused Deel of hiring an employee to spy on them and steal confidential information. Deel has since countersued and denies the accusations.

At a time when Rippling is growing rapidly, their rival Workday is at the other end and quickly reaching saturation - with focus shifting away from large companies to small-medium sized businesses instead.

By raising $450 million in new funding, Rippling plans to expand their product line-up and accelerate their growth even more.

This Week’s Art

We’ve covered quite a bit this week, including:

• Apple’s work on smart glasses to compete with Meta

• How Anduril are using edge computing with the US military

• OpenAI’s decision to remain a non-profit company

• FutureHouse’s new AI tool to accelerate scientific discovery

• Posha’s robot that can cook meals in your kitchen

• Hugging Face’s free AI agent that can control your computer

• Amazon’s warehouse robot has a sense of 'touch’

• And how Rippling has quickly become the HR system for Silicon Valley’s startups

If you found something interesting in this week’s edition, please feel free to share this newsletter with your colleagues.

Have a good week!

Liam

Share with Others

If you found something interesting in this week’s edition, feel free to share this newsletter with your colleagues.

About the Author

Liam McCormick is a Senior AI Engineer and works within Kainos' Innovation team. He identifies business value in emerging technologies, implements them, and then shares these insights with others.