tech

Jon Keegan4/29/25

Meta launches stand-alone AI app

If you want to use Meta AI today, you can find it tucked into a zillion weird places across all of Meta’s apps.

Like when you’re searching on Facebook, making a post in Instagram, writing a message in WhatsApp, or... talking with your Meta AI glasses.

But if you’re tired of looking everywhere for that sweet, sweet Meta AI (powered by Meta’s latest Llama 4 open-source model), now you can use a stand-alone app or access it on the web.

The Meta AI app is free to use and includes a “voice demo built with full-duplex speech technology” so you can test out a more conversational voice chat feature.

Meta is sort of achieving AI app feature parity with this release; you can generate images, search the web, and get recommendations for things. The app also remembers your history, which will definitely be useful when Meta eventually incorporates ads (how Meta makes 98% of its revenue).

But Meta does have something that OpenAI and other startups lack: a massive social graph of users and their friends. So, Meta is rolling out a “Discover” feed, “a place to share and explore how others are using AI. You can see the best prompts people are sharing, or remix them to make them your own.”

Introducing the Meta AI App: A New Way to Access Your AI Assistant | Meta

Introducing the Meta AI App: A New Way to Access Your AI Assistant | Meta

The Meta AI app is free to use and includes a “voice demo built with full-duplex speech technology” so you can test out a more conversational voice chat feature.

Meta is sort of achieving AI app feature parity with this release; you can generate images, search the web, and get recommendations for things. The app also remembers your history, which will definitely be useful when Meta eventually incorporates ads (how Meta makes 98% of its revenue).

But Meta does have something that OpenAI and other startups lack: a massive social graph of users and their friends. So, Meta is rolling out a “Discover” feed, “a place to share and explore how others are using AI. You can see the best prompts people are sharing, or remix them to make them your own.”

More Tech

tech

Jon Keegan2/13/26

Ahead of IPO, Anthropic adds veteran executive and former Trump administration official to board

Anthropic is moving to put the pieces in place for a successful IPO this year.

Today, the company announced that Chris Liddel would join its board of directors.

Liddel is an seasoned executive who previously served as CFO for Microsoft, GM, and International Paper.

Liddel also comes with experience in government, having served as the deputy White House chief of staff during the first Trump administration.

Ties to the Trump world could be helpful for Anthropic as it pushes to enter the public market. It’s reportedly not on the greatest terms with the current administration, as the startup has pushed back on using its Claude AI for surveillance applications.

Exclusive | Anthropic Adds New Board Member as It Eyes IPO

Exclusive | Anthropic Adds New Board Member as It Eyes IPO

Liddel is an seasoned executive who previously served as CFO for Microsoft, GM, and International Paper.

Liddel also comes with experience in government, having served as the deputy White House chief of staff during the first Trump administration.

Ties to the Trump world could be helpful for Anthropic as it pushes to enter the public market. It’s reportedly not on the greatest terms with the current administration, as the startup has pushed back on using its Claude AI for surveillance applications.

tech

Rani Molla2/13/26

Meta is bringing back facial recognition for its smart glasses

Meta is reviving its highly controversial facial recognition efforts, with plans to incorporate the tech into its smart glasses as soon as this year, The New York Times reports.

In 2021, around the time Facebook rebranded as Meta, the company shut down the facial recognition software it had used to tag people in photos, saying it needed to “find the right balance.”

Now, according to an internal memo reviewed by the Times, Meta seems to feel that it’s at least found the right moment, noting that the fraught and crowded political climate could allow the feature to attract less scrutiny.

“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” the document reads.

The tech, called “Name Tag” internally, would let smart glass wearers identify and surface information about people they see with the glasses by using Meta’s artificial intelligence assistant.

Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses

Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses

Now, according to an internal memo reviewed by the Times, Meta seems to feel that it’s at least found the right moment, noting that the fraught and crowded political climate could allow the feature to attract less scrutiny.

“We will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns,” the document reads.

The tech, called “Name Tag” internally, would let smart glass wearers identify and surface information about people they see with the glasses by using Meta’s artificial intelligence assistant.

the elder scrolls

Older Americans are spending more time on their phones than younger cohorts, per new data

Some members of the TikTok generation are (very slightly) less glued to their phones than other adults, it turns out.

A man, a woman and a child with a phone instead of a head

Apple doesn’t have an AI spending problem. It has an AI execution problem.

Apple isn’t falling far from the AI tree.

Super Bowl LX: New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks

tech

Jon Keegan2/12/26

Anthropic raises $30 billion, now valued at $380 billion

Anthropic is now valued at $380 billion, after closing on its latest round of fundraising, taking in $30 billion from a wide range of investors. The Series G round was co-led by D. E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, ICONIQ, and the UAE’s investment arm, MGX.

Some other investors include: Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, JPMorgan Chase, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

Anthropic offered a few details on the current state of its business:

Anthropic said that its annual run-rate revenue has reached $14 billion, seeing 10x growth each of the past three years.
“The number of customers spending over $100,000 annually on Claude (as represented by run-rate revenue) has grown 7x in the past year.”
“Claude Code’s run-rate revenue has grown to over $2.5 billion; this figure has more than doubled since the beginning of 2026.”
Business subscriptions to Claude Code have quadrupled since the start of 2026.

In a blog post announcing the round, the company said:

“We train and run Claude on a diversified range of AI hardware — AWS Trainium, Google TPUs, and NVIDIA GPUs — which means we can match workloads to the chips best suited for them. This diversity of platforms translates to better performance and greater resilience for the enterprise customers that depend on Claude for critical work.”

Anthropic raises $30 billion in Series G funding at $380 billion post-money valuation

Anthropic raises $30 billion in Series G funding at $380 billion post-money valuation

Anthropic offered a few details on the current state of its business:

Anthropic said that its annual run-rate revenue has reached $14 billion, seeing 10x growth each of the past three years.
“The number of customers spending over $100,000 annually on Claude (as represented by run-rate revenue) has grown 7x in the past year.”
“Claude Code’s run-rate revenue has grown to over $2.5 billion; this figure has more than doubled since the beginning of 2026.”
Business subscriptions to Claude Code have quadrupled since the start of 2026.

In a blog post announcing the round, the company said:

“We train and run Claude on a diversified range of AI hardware — AWS Trainium, Google TPUs, and NVIDIA GPUs — which means we can match workloads to the chips best suited for them. This diversity of platforms translates to better performance and greater resilience for the enterprise customers that depend on Claude for critical work.”

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