For the last week, I found myself reading the AlphaEvolve paper again and again, every time finding new fascinating details. Without exageration, I think AlphaEvolve might be one of the most important AI breakthroughs of the last year. The path to AGI might take many forms but one of those could be AI discovering new AIs which means discovering new algorithms. This is what AlphaEvolve does. How' Let's dive in. The convergence of evolutionary algorithms and large language models (LLMs) is unlocking unprecedented advances in scientific and algorithmic discovery. In their recent white paper, AlphaEvolve: A Coding Agent for Scientific and Algorithmic Discovery, DeepMind introduces a novel agent that orchestrates LLMs within an evolutionary framework to autonomously generate and refine algorithms. By integrating test-time feedback loops and leveraging frontier LLMs, AlphaEvolve not only produces mathematically significant results but also delivers practical improvements to Google's production infrastructure. This essay unpacks the system's architecture, major breakthroughs, and broader implications for the future of AI-driven software engineering....

After the Klarna CEO's AI avatar appeared on an investor call earlier this week, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan followed suit, also using his avatar for initial comments. Yuan deployed his custom avatar via Zoom Clips, the company's asynchronous video creation tool. 'I am proud to be among the first CEOs to use an avatar in an earnings call,' he ' or rather his avatar ' said. 'It is just one example of how Zoom is pushing the boundaries of communication and collaboration. At the same time, we know trust and security are essential. We take AI-generated content seriously and have built in strong safeguards to prevent misuse, protect user identity, and ensure avatars are used responsibly.' Yuan has long advocated for using avatars in meetings and has previously said that the company aims to create digital twins of users. He's not alone in this vision; the CEO of AI-powered transcription service Otter is reportedly training his own avatar to share the workload. LIMITED TIME: Save $300+ on your ticket, plus an additional 50% on a second for a full immersive day of AI! Hear from AI pioneers from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, and more on the main stage and in breakouts, and network like never before....

Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to make changes to or veto a newly passed law in the state that would require the company to verify the ages of device owners, according to The Wall Street Journal. Abbott has yet to sign the bill. But Apple, alongside Google, has been working with interest groups to fight the legislation. Apple in particular argues that the implementation of the Texas bill could pose a threat to user privacy. 'If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it's an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,' an Apple spokesperson told the WSJ. LIMITED TIME: Save $300+ on your ticket, plus an additional 50% on a second for a full immersive day of AI! Hear from AI pioneers from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, and more on the main stage and in breakouts, and network like never before....

The pace of large-scale startup fundraising slowed a bit this week, with no giant late-stage rounds for GenAI unicorns. However, we did see a good bit of funding activity in the fintech area, led by business payments platform Airwallex, along with some healthcare- and AI-related dealmaking. 1. Airwallex, $300M, fintech: Business payments platform Airwallex closed on $300 million at a $6.2 billion valuation. The financing includes $150 million in Series F funding and another $150 million for secondary share purchases for the San Francisco-headquartered company, which was founded in 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. 2. Awardco, $165M, HR tech: Awardco, a platform for employee rewards and recognition, raised $165 million in a Series B round backed by Sixth Street and Spectrum Equity. The financing set a valuation of over $1 billion for the Salt Lake City-based company, which was founded in 2012. 3. LMArena, $100M, AI: San Francisco-based LMArena, which describes itself as an open community platform for evaluating AI models, secured $100 million in seed funding. Andreessen Horowitz and UC Investments led the financing....