On January 22, 2025, Shanghai Step-Video Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. announced the official upgrade of its video generation model Step-Video to version V2. This upgrade brings significant technological breakthroughs and enhancements, making it even more powerful in simulating the real world.

Recently, according to intellectual property information from Tianyancha, Beijing Zijiao Network Technology Co., Ltd. has applied for multiple trademarks related to 'Aily', including 'Aily', 'Classmate Aili', and 'Feishu Aily'. This trademark application involves various fields in international classification including scientific instruments, website services, and communication services. Currently, the status of these trademarks is pending substantial review. Zijiao Network Technology Co., Ltd. was established in October 2018, with Li Ying as the legal representative and a registered capital of up to $100 million, fully owned by Douyin.

Apple plans to automatically enable its artificial intelligence (AI) feature, Apple Intelligence, for eligible users in the upcoming updates for iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS 15.3. According to release notes discovered by 9to5Mac, both new users and those upgrading to the latest operating system will automatically experience the powerful capabilities of Apple Intelligence. Image source note: Image generated by AI.

Amid the wave of artificial intelligence, many young people are achieving financial freedom through innovative means. 18-year-old Zach Yadegari and 23-year-old Blake Anderson are among the standout examples, having successfully launched a calorie tracking app called Cal AI, utilizing ChatGPT's no-code development capabilities, and generating an astonishing $56 million in revenue in just one year. The core feature of Cal AI is its ability to identify food calories through photo recognition, making it easy to use.

On January 22, 2025, NetEase Youdao officially released the first inference model in China that supports step-by-step explanations, 'ZiYue - o1'. This model features a design with 14 billion parameters, enabling efficient deployment on standard consumer-grade graphics cards, marking a significant advancement in the application of artificial intelligence technologies in the domestic education sector. 'ZiYue - o1' utilizes Thinking Chain technology and incorporates self-dialogue and error-correction mechanisms, allowing it to output detailed thinking processes when solving problems. This way, students not only receive answers but also understand the logic behind problem-solving.

On January 22, 2025, Volcano Engine, a subsidiary of ByteDance, officially announced the release of Doubao Large Model 1.5, which is now fully available on the Volcano Ark platform. The newly released Doubao Large Model 1.5 has achieved significant performance improvements across multiple domains, reaching a globally leading level of comprehensive capabilities, marking another important breakthrough for ByteDance in the field of artificial intelligence.

According to Bloomberg, developer tool company StackBlitz Inc. is in discussions with investors and plans to raise funds at a valuation of $700 million. The company's CEO Eric Simons stated that the deal will be led by Emergence Capital and GV (formerly Google Ventures), with StackBlitz expecting to raise $83.5 million. The funding will also involve Madrona Venture Group, Con.

"Ziyue-o1" is a lightweight 14B single model specifically designed for consumer-grade graphics cards, capable of stable operation on devices with low VRAM. The model utilizes chain-of-thought techniques to provide detailed problem-solving processes and logical reasoning, aligning its operational methodology more closely with human thought processes. Through self-talk and self-correction, the model can generate step-by-step problem-solving processes, aiding users in better understanding and mastering knowledge.

Recently, SenseTime announced the official launch of its brand new app 'Instant Photo Fun', bringing users a creative and fun AI imaging experience. This app is launched in time for the Lunar New Year, aiming to use AI technology to create personalized New Year portraits for users and foster a rich festival atmosphere.

At the latest JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in 2025, NVIDIA and Innophore announced an exciting collaboration to launch an AI-driven drug safety screening platform named CavitOmiX by the end of January 2025. This platform aims to improve the efficiency and accuracy of drug design through the analysis of protein binding sites, marking a revolutionary transformation in the field of drug development. Christian Gruber, CEO of Innophore.

In today's development of artificial intelligence (AI), the speed of data transmission has become a significant bottleneck hindering its progress. To break through this barrier, a research team led by the University of Michigan (U-M) is developing a brand new chip connection system that uses optical waves instead of traditional cables for data transmission. This innovation is expected to address the 'memory wall' problem that limits computational speed and promote further growth of AI models. The project has received a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation's Future Semiconductor program, with participation from the University of Washington and Penn State.

In today's digital world, the use of short text has become central to online communication. However, these texts often lack common vocabulary or context, posing numerous challenges for Artificial Intelligence (AI) during analysis. In response, Justin Miller, an English Literature graduate student and data scientist from the University of Sydney, proposed a novel approach that utilizes Large Language Models (LLMs) to gain deeper understanding and analysis of short texts. Miller's research focuses on how to analyze a vast array of short texts, such as social media profiles,

As artificial intelligence technology continues to evolve, more people are starting to pay attention to the depictions of teenagers by AI systems. Robert Wolf, a PhD student at the University of Washington, conducted an experiment where he had the AI system complete the sentence 'This teenager is _____ at school.' He originally expected answers like 'studying' or 'playing', but was unexpectedly given the shocking response 'dying'. This discovery prompted Wolf and his team to delve deeper into how AI portrays teenagers. Image source note: Image generated by AI, image licensed from service provider Midjourney.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of the renowned French AI startup Mistral, stated that the company is fully committed to achieving its goal of an initial public offering (IPO). Founded in 2023 by researchers from tech giants like Google DeepMind and Meta, Mistral has rapidly risen in just two years, releasing a series of open-source AI models and launching chatbot-like technology.

Globally, various enterprises are striving to understand generative AI and explore the potential value it may bring. According to Deloitte's recent report on the state of generative AI, most organizations are performing well in achieving returns on their investments. This report is based on a survey of 2,773 leaders and covers the business conditions of companies in 14 countries, revealing the progress and challenges faced by organizations in the application of generative AI. Image source note: The image is generated by AI and authorized by Midjourney.

A significant shift has occurred in the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI. With OpenAI announcing the signing of a Stargate agreement with companies like SoftBank and Oracle, Microsoft is no longer the exclusive data center infrastructure provider for OpenAI. According to the new agreement, Microsoft has been granted a 'right of first refusal' on new cloud computing capacity from OpenAI, meaning that if Microsoft cannot meet demand, OpenAI can seek support from other cloud service providers. Microsoft confirmed this change in a blog post, stating that OpenAI has turned to Azure.