1. Twitch Defaults Streamers Into Letting Amazon Train Generative AI on Their Content, Requiring an Opt-Out Twitch, the Amazon-owned livestreaming platform, announced on Wednesday that streamers can now opt out of having their channel content used to train Amazon’s generative AI models.

2. Google Brings American Sign Language Input to Pixel 11, Starting With Gboard and Live Transcribe Google has released SL2T 1.0, a technology developed jointly by Google DeepMind and Android to bring American Sign Language input to phones.

3. Google reveals Gemini usage patterns: 63% of active users use voice, while 20% of Gemini Live users share a camera or screen Google says Gemini has reached 1 billion monthly active users faster than any of its other products, and it is now detailing how those people interact with the chatbot.

In Brief

• SpaceXAI Launches Grok Bot as an Always-On Workplace Agent Grok Bot can use a shared cloud computer to sign into services and complete multistep assignments, escalating when approval is required. The beta is available to select SuperGrok Heavy, Cursor Ultra, and Cursor Teams Premium subscribers.

• OpenAI Executive Brad Lightcap Announces Departure Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s special projects lead and former chief operating officer, is leaving after eight years and said he plans to start “something new.” He expects to remain at the company for several more weeks.

• Thrive Holdings Raises $2 Billion to Deploy AI Across Traditional Businesses OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings raised $2 billion at a $12 billion valuation to expand its model of acquiring businesses and introducing AI into their workflows. The company, which currently focuses on accounting and IT, plans a third platform for regulatory work involving physical infrastructure.

• Lovable Raises $400 Million at a $13.3 Billion Valuation Lovable, a startup whose AI tools let users build software through natural-language prompting, raised a Series C led by Menlo Ventures and the Scaleup Europe Fund. The company said it reached $500 million in annualized revenue in June and now hosts 60 million projects.

• Cognition Reportedly Seeks a Valuation of at Least $40 Billion Cognition, maker of the Devin coding agent, is reportedly discussing another funding round only three months after raising $1 billion at a $26 billion valuation. Bloomberg’s sources said the new valuation would depend on the company reaching $1 billion in annualized revenue.

• Needle 2 Targets Offline Tool Calling on Low-Cost Devices Cactus Compute introduced Needle 2, a 45-million-parameter model designed to translate user requests into function calls and structured outputs on phones, wearables, and other constrained hardware. The company says its 2-bit model occupies 14MB, uses 28MB of session memory, and already runs locally in Pebble’s Index 01 app.

• Pixel Watch 5 Adds Offline Gemini and AI-Based Health Trends Google’s $399 Pixel Watch 5 can run simple Gemini commands offline and proactively surface relevant actions and information. New blood-pressure and insulin-resistance trend features are scheduled for September and are described as nondiagnostic, while Breathing Emergency Detection remains pending FDA clearance in the US.

• OpenAI’s Head of Ethics Leaves Within a Year of Joining OpenAI’s head of ethics has departed less than a year after joining the company.

• D’Addario Admits Suno Was Used to Regenerate Promotional Music Guitar-accessories company D’Addario acknowledged that Suno Studio was used to regenerate a track in a product video after initially denying generative AI involvement. The company apologized and said employees and creative partners will have to disclose future generative AI use.

• AI-Assisted Canine Cancer Project Becomes a Y Combinator Startup Entrepreneur Paul Conyngham launched Gamgee to develop personalized mRNA cancer vaccines for dogs, with recruitment underway for initial clinical trials in Australia. The company’s pitch stems from one dog treated with the vaccine alongside another therapy, making it impossible to attribute the reported tumor reduction specifically to the vaccine.

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