(Google)

Google releases Gemini 3 AI model

The major update to Google’s flagship model features better reasoning, multistep agentic tasks, and stronger “vibe coding.”

Jon Keegan

11/18/25 12:22PM

Today Google released Gemini 3, a major update to its flagship AI model. The new model comes with a number of new features that aim to leap ahead of competitors OpenAI and Anthropic. The release also features significant improvements to reasoning, agentic tasks, and “vibe coding.” Google says when using Gemini 3, “you’ll notice the responses are more helpful, better formatted and more concise.”

Google says that Gemini’s interface has also been refreshed, and the shopping experience has “radically” improved.

Gemini 3 has a new feature called Generative Interfaces, which can turn responses into magazine-style layouts or build interactive presentations as a response to queries, though both of these examples were listed as “experiments.”

Another experiment is Gemini Agent, which can handle complex, multistep tasks across Google’s apps all within Gemini.

Google hopes to leverage its massive reach so Gemini becomes the AI chatbot of choice. The company posted results that show Gemini bested GPT-5.1 and Claude Sonnet 4.5 in many widely used benchmarks. Gemini 3 leapt to the top spot on the popular LMArena leaderboard.

Rani Molla3h

Uber jumps after unveiling Lucid robotaxi at CES

Uber shares jumped more than 5% after the company unveiled a production-intent robotaxi developed in partnership with Lucid and Nuro at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday. The autonomous vehicle runs on Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computer. Nvidia itself announced a slate of autonomous hardware and software announcements at CES.

The companies said this fall that the San Francisco Bay Area will be the first market for the joint effort. The robotaxi is already being tested on public roads, with a commercial launch planned for later this year.

Uber + Lucid + Nvidia is just another example of the tangled web of partnerships in the autonomous driving space, where Nvidia is now becoming more and more prominent.

This is Uber's new robotaxi from Lucid and Nuro | TechCrunch

Uber + Lucid + Nvidia is just another example of the tangled web of partnerships in the autonomous driving space, where Nvidia is now becoming more and more prominent.

Rani Molla4h

Meta delays international Ray-Ban Display expansion thanks to “unprecedented demand” and “extremely limited inventory”

Meta said today that it’s delaying the early 2026 international expansion of its Ray-Ban Display glasses because of “extremely limited inventory” and “unprecedented demand.” The company didn’t specify whether the issue was more supply or demand, but has previously insisted its smart glasses are a hit.

Waitlists for the smart glasses, which are controlled with a band you wear on your wrist, extend “well into 2026.”

“We’ll continue to focus on fulfilling orders in the US while we re-evaluate our approach to international availability,” the company wrote. Expansion had been planned for the UK, France, Italy, and Canada.

In order to buy the smart glasses, consumers must do an in-person product demo to ensure the tech is “properly fitted to you,” according to Meta. Demos in New York City are unavailable for the next few weeks, the company’s scheduling website shows. It also notes that “that due to high demand, the product may be sold out and unavailable for purchase after your demo.”

Nvidia’s autonomous tech gives other automakers a chance to take on Tesla

Nvidia made a number of autonomous vehicle announcements at CES yesterday that should have Tesla worried.

Rani Molla5h

Jon Keegan22h

Report: Returns on Nvidia’s Omniverse business are underwhelming

Today in Las Vegas, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang will be taking the stage at the CES conference to show off his company’s latest innovations. If you’ve watched any of Huang’s impressive jargon-filled keynote speeches, you’ll notice that he gets extra animated when talking about “digital twins.”

Nvidia’s “Omniverse” platform allows companies to use Nvidia software and hardware to run large-scale simulations of factories and assembly lines.

The idea is that you can train your robots in Nvidia’s simulated environment, saving huge amounts of time and money. Huang is making a huge bet on this nascent product, and according to a new report, it isn’t exactly taking off.

The Information reports that much to Huang’s anger and frustration, the Omniverse offerings have yet to generate significant revenue.

According to the report, despite a long list of customers who Nvidia says are using Omniverse, some say the software is hard to use and fails to allow for simulating robot interactions with complex objects. The report also says Nvidia shuttered its Omniverse Cloud service in August of last year due to a lack of demand.

Nvidia has certainly successfully blazed trails into new categories before, but considering Huang’s enthusiasm for the Omniverse offerings, it is a rare stumble for the chip juggernaut.

Nvidia’s Big Ambitions to Solve Manufacturing Shows Slow Returns So Far

The Information reports that much to Huang’s anger and frustration, the Omniverse offerings have yet to generate significant revenue.

Nvidia has certainly successfully blazed trails into new categories before, but considering Huang’s enthusiasm for the Omniverse offerings, it is a rare stumble for the chip juggernaut.

Rani Molla1/5/26

Amazon brings its ChatGPT-style assistant online

Today, Amazon expanded access to its ChatGPT-style AI assistant, Alexa+, making it available on the web via Alexa.com.

Previously, Alexa+, which launched early last year, had mostly been accessible through Amazon devices like Echo smart speakers, but the site allows a broader audience to use the assistant, much like rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

In a press release, Amazon said that to “truly serve as a personal assistant, Alexa+ needs to be available wherever they are — at home, on their phone, and now on the web.”

The stock is up more than 2% in early trading.

Introducing Alexa.com, a completely new way to interact with Alexa+