🔥 The Week in AI News - September 29 - October 3

There was Sora 2’s viral video push & in-chat shopping, to Gemini smart homes, Claude’s new coding chops, Amazon Alexa-powered hardware, & fresh music licensing deals; making it one of the busiest weeks in the AI race yet.

OpenAI, Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, Adobe, Anthropic, Perplexity, Nothing, Opera, PayPal, Warner, Universal, & even the NBA all dropped AI moves this week.

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Here’s what happened this week:

▪️ Sora 2 launched, an incredible AI video creation toolOpenAI made huge strides to catch up with Google Veo 3. It was an impressive launch, it works great and the PR campaign was a win too.

▪️ A Sora 2 social app launched and went to No. 3 on the U.S. App StoreSora’s TikTok-style AI video app is climbing the charts fast, signaling that generative video is officially mainstream.

▪️ Nothing launched an AI tool for mini-appsNothing has a new platform lets you spin up lightweight apps using simple text prompts.

▪️ Perplexity’s Comet browser is now free with a new background AI assistantThe AI browser wars heat up as Comet drops its paywall & adds an agent that works behind the scenes while you browse.

▪️ Meta is planning ads based on your AI chatsMeta wants to monetize your private conversations with AI, raising new questions about data boundaries.

▪️ Google teased a Gemini-powered Home speaker for 2026Google wants the smart speaker era back, this time with Gemini running the conversation.

▪️ Warner & Universal inked AI music licensing dealsThe majors are cutting deals to get ahead of AI remixes, signaling a new phase of music industry pragmatism.

▪️ Google unveiled AI-powered Nest cameras & doorbellYour front door just got an upgrade: Google’s new Nest gear packs real-time AI scene analysis.

▪️ OpenAI launched in-chat shopping with “Buy It in ChatGPT”ChatGPT is officially a storefront now, letting you complete purchases without ever leaving the app.

▪️ Google lays out its Gemini smart home strategyFrom speakers to security, Google is weaving Gemini into every corner of the connected home.

▪️ Salesforce launched Agentforce Vibes for enterpriseSalesforce is betting that “vibe coding” can bring generative AI directly into the corporate workflow.

▪️ Anthropic debuted Claude Sonnet 4.5 for codingClaude’s latest model is tuned for developers, pushing Anthropic deeper into GitHub Copilot’s turf.

▪️ Granola added repeatable prompts for AI note-takingThe minimalist note app now lets you save prompt templates, turning AI into a reusable writing partner.

▪️ PayPal’s Honey integrated with ChatGPT for shopping helpHoney will soon work with ChatGPT & other AI assistants to find deals in real time.

▪️ Amazon debuted new Echo devices powered by Alexa AIThe next Echo lineup leans on conversational AI to make Alexa feel more like a personal agent.

▪️ Alexa is now in Fire TV with AI conversationsFire TV owners will be able to chat their way through shows, searches, & smart home commands.

▪️ Adobe launched Premiere on iPhonesAdobe’s new Premiere for iPhone packs Firefly AI features like auto-captions, noise cleanup, & generative effects to speed up edits on the go.

▪️ Opera launched Neon, an AI-centric browserThe company’s big bet is a browser built around AI agents, not tabs & bookmarks.

▪️ Google introduced Jules API for creative AI toolsJules opens up Google’s creative AI sandbox to developers, aiming to spark the next wave of agent apps.

▪️ Amazon AWS teamed up with NBA for AI sports statsAI-powered insights will drive new NBA fan experiences, from fantasy leagues to real-time highlights.

▪️ Microsoft 365 Premium added new AI pricing tierMicrosoft is carving out a high-end productivity plan with extra Copilot features for business users.

▪️ Google expanded AI Mode for visual search & shoppingAI Mode is coming to Lens & Shopping, blurring the line between browsing & buying.

▪️ Google added AI ransomware detection to DriveDocs & files get a new layer of protection with AI spotting ransomware before it spreads.

▪️ Amazon unveiled its fall 2025 hardware lineupEcho, Alexa, Kindle, & Ring all get refreshed with AI agents baked directly into the hardware.

▪️ OpenAI became the world’s most valuable private companyA private stock sale pushes OpenAI past $150B in valuation, making it the crown jewel of the AI boom.

▪️ OpenAI partnered with Samsung & SK Hynix for Stargate chipsThe race for AI hardware gets real as OpenAI locks in supply from the biggest memory makers on the planet.

The pace isn’t slowing down, and next week’s moves could be even bigger.

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