"The Name's Jules, Google's Jules" 💻😎

For those that are new around here, this is an extension of my weekly newsletter where I highlight new and innovative AI products that are worth exploring.

Hey hey!

Happy Wednesday!

Here’s your news in newsletter!

In this Issue:

• Your Weekly Industry News Recap

• The Raise Recap

FYI: The AI Product Report is taking a week off for the Holidays! Starting December 23rd, things will stay pretty quiet until the end of 2024!

Headliner: A New Dev Enters The Scene: Google’s Jules AI

Google's latest coding assistant, Jules, is something we’ll have to try for ourselves! With claims of an assistant who never sleeps, it’s clear that the way paved by some startups & a noted competitor did not go unnoticed. Designed to squash bugs autonomously and speed up development cycles, only time will tell if this approach to saving devs loads of headaches will pay off. With deep integration into the Gemini ecosystem, Jules does position itself well enough to collaborate more smoothly with other parts of the AI-enabled Google ecosystem. 💻🚀 Extra sources 

Your Weekly Industry News Recap

Some other notable news and product launches from this week

• Google’s Gemini AI Model: Google’s latest upgrade, the Gemini AI model, promises faster processing and more advanced capabilities, empowering its AI ecosystem. Whether it's search, assistant, or development tools, Gemini is set to deliver the next step in Google’s market position. ⚡🤖 Read More: Link

• AI Hardware Is On The Come Up:

  1. First, we’ve got Google’s Trillium AI chip powers Gemini 2.0 with performance that’s four times faster than predecessors. It’s designed to handle complex AI tasks efficiently, reducing energy usage and boosting productivity across applications. 🖥️💨 Read More: Link

  2. Next we have something fresh off the press from NVIDIA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9L2WGf1KrM&ab_channel=NVIDIA 

     Nvidia has shiny new hardware! This next-gen hardware the Jetson Modules, are small, just about handleld, have got dedicated AI-First acrhictecture in its processors, and showcases just how much progress we’ve got still to make on shrinking the energy footprint of our beloved tech.

• Patra’s Insurance Automation: Patra is tackling inefficiencies in the insurance industry with a suite of AI-powered tools. From claims processing to client management, these tools aim to automate tedious tasks and boost productivity. The innovation signals a major shift towards digital transformation in insurance services. 📜🤝 Read More: Link

• MoodMon AI: A Polish startup is addressing mental health through its AI-powered tool, MoodMon, which helps users monitor and manage their emotional well-being. By analyzing mood patterns and providing actionable insights, it aims to improve mental health outcomes. This highlights AI's role in tackling deeply personal and societal issues. 🧠💚 Read More: Link

• Ambient’s Coin-Cell AI Module: Ambient Scientific has launched a groundbreaking AI module that runs on a tiny coin-cell battery. This innovation allows AI to function in compact devices, enabling smarter IoT solutions without sacrificing energy efficiency. The future of wearable tech and portable AI just got brighter. ⚡ Read More: Link

• Human-Sourced Data for AI: Synthetic data is often a key resource in training AI, but it has its limits. Experts are now highlighting the importance of human-sourced data to keep AI models robust and prevent performance collapse. Real-world data remains crucial to ensuring the longevity and reliability of AI systems. 🌍🧠 Read More: Link

The Raise Recap 📈💰 

• Stigg Raises $17.5M: Stigg's on a mission to modernize software monetization, making SaaS pricing AI-smart! This funding gives them the boost to redefine the game. 💼🔮 Read More: Link

• Ecomtent Scores $14M: Founded by a former Amazon exec, Ecomtent is all about gen AI for retail—making e-commerce smarter and slicker. 🛍️🤖 Read More: Link

• Liquid AI Gets $250M: Liquid AI is pushing the boundaries of AI efficiency with a colossal funding round—big ideas, big money. 💧💻 Read More: Link

• Vapi’s $20M Series A: Voice AI takes center stage as Vapi secures funding to up its developer platform game. 🗣️⚙️Read More: Link

• Askable Closes AU$22M: User research gets a major boost with this funding round—empowering developers to build smarter, user-centric solutions. 🌟🧠

  Read More: Link

• Ask Sage Nabs $17M: Building generative AI platforms for governments and businesses, Ask Sage is gearing up to transform the way we work. 🏢✨Read More: Link

• Aampe Scores $18M: Personalization gets a serious boost with Aampe's Series A, enabling AI agents to connect in more human ways. 🧑‍💻🤝 Read More: Link

• Zest AI’s $200M Growth Fund: Credit underwriting goes next-gen with this infusion—AI at the core of smarter financial decisions. 💳🧠 Read More: Link

How Far Can We Push Progress In Automation? The Next Big Step is indeed Agentic

TLDR of the article above: RPA used to be the gold standard for handling boring, repetitive tasks, but AI agents are taking things to a whole new level. These smart tools don’t just follow instructions—they actually learn, adapt, and make decisions on their own. They’re shaking things up in everything from customer support to logistics, making industries faster and smarter.

Stay well, and see you next week!

-✌🏽 Sam