Google’s Gemini AI has introduced a photo-to-video feature that allows users to transform still photos into dynamic, eight-second video clips complete with synchronized audio, including dialogue, sound effects, and ambient noise. This capability is powered by Google’s latest video generation model, Veo 3.

Let’s look at How it works:

• Users select the “Videos” option from the tool menu in the Gemini app or web interface.
• Upload a photo and provide a text description of the desired movement and audio instructions.
• Gemini generates an 8-second video in MP4 format, 720p resolution, and 16:9 aspect ratio.
• The videos include a visible watermark indicating AI generation and an invisible SynthID digital watermark to prevent tampering.

Availability:
The feature is rolling out to Google AI Pro ($19.99/month) and Ultra ($249.99/month) subscribers in select countries.
Initially available on the Gemini web platform, with mobile app support coming shortly.
Not available in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom yet.

Use case samples:
Animate everyday objects, illustrations, artworks, or nature scenes.
Add creative audio layers such as spoken dialogue or environmental sounds to bring photos to life.

Safety and quality:
Google employs extensive red teaming and policy enforcement to prevent misuse and unsafe content.
User feedback via thumbs up/down buttons helps improve the experience.
All videos are clearly marked as AI-generated for transparency.

This feature builds on Google’s existing Flow AI filmmaking tool, integrating video generation directly into Gemini for a more seamless user experience. Gemini’s photo-to-video feature offers a powerful, creative tool for turning static images into vivid, short videos with sound, accessible to paying subscribers in many countries worldwide.

Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy are advanced AI models developed by Elon Musk’s company, xAI, launched in July 2025. Both represent significant leaps in AI capabilities, with Grok 4 touted as having intelligence exceeding PhD-level expertise across all subjects, and Grok 4 Heavy being a more powerful multi-agent version designed for complex problem-solving.

• Grok 4 Heavy simulates a “study group” approach by having several AI agents “compare notes” to yield better answers, improving reasoning and reducing errors.

• Both models are part of Elon Musk’s vision to compete seriously with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude.

• Grok 4 integrates live information from social media platform X, keeping it updated with real-time events.

• Despite technical prowess, Grok models have faced controversies related to politically charged or offensive outputs in earlier versions, which the company claims to be addressing.

Grok 4 serves as a high-level, single-agent AI with broad capabilities, while Grok 4 Heavy is a premium, multi-agent system designed for more demanding, enterprise-level tasks with superior performance and accuracy

Los Angeles-based AI startup Moonvalley has publicly released Marey, a production-grade AI video generation model designed specifically for professional filmmakers and studios. Marey is notable for being the first fully licensed, commercially safe AI video tool that offers precise creative control and legal assurance for commercial use, addressing key industry concerns about copyright and ethical AI use.

Let’s have a look at the key features and details about Marey:

• Marey generates 1080p video clips up to five seconds long at 24 frames per second, with consistent quality across multiple aspect ratios.

• It provides filmmakers with fine-grained controls such as Camera Control (creating cinematic camera moves from a single image), Motion Direction, Motion Transfer, Pose Control, Trajectory Control, and Inpainting for element-specific edits.

• The model was trained exclusively on licensed, high-definition footage from Moonvalley’s in-house studio Asteria (formerly XTR), avoiding the use of unlicensed or user-generated content to mitigate legal risks.

• Marey supports complex VFX sequences and allows directors to maintain full creative authority over their projects, unlike many existing AI video tools that offer limited control.

• The tool is available to the public via a subscription model with tiers at $14.99, $34.99, and $149.99 per month, based on credits for video generation.

• Moonvalley developed Marey in close collaboration with filmmakers, including a six-month research phase and three months of alpha testing with external partners.

• The company emphasizes that Marey democratizes access to high-end AI storytelling tools, making filmmaking more accessible to independent creators and underrepresented voices.

• Independent filmmakers like Ángel Manuel Soto have praised Marey for enabling storytelling without the traditional financial and logistical barriers of filmmaking.

Moonvalley’s CEO Naeem Talukdar highlighted that Marey was created in response to industry feedback that current AI video tools are inadequate for serious production, providing both creative precision and legal confidence for commercial applications.

Marey represents a significant advancement in ethical, professional-grade AI video generation, offering filmmakers a powerful, legally safe tool to enhance creativity and production quality without exploiting copyrighted material.

Perplexity AI has launched its first AI-powered web browser called Comet on July 9, 2025. Comet is designed to integrate advanced artificial intelligence capabilities directly into the browsing experience, allowing users to interact with enterprise applications like Slack and ask complex questions via voice or text. The browser features Perplexity’s AI search engine, which provides instant answers, real-time summaries with sources, and can assist with tasks such as summarizing emails, organizing tabs, and managing calendars.

Currently, Comet is available exclusively to Perplexity Max subscribers, who pay $200 per month, with access initially limited to invite-only users and a waitlist. Perplexity plans to gradually expand access over the summer of 2025. The company emphasizes continuous feature development and improvements based on user feedback, aiming to create a smarter alternative to traditional browsers like Chrome and Safari by offering an AI assistant that actively helps users rather than just searching.

This launch positions Perplexity as a notable player competing with major tech companies in the consumer internet and AI space, leveraging its expertise in AI-powered search and productivity tools to enhance web browsing

Starting July 15, 2025, YouTube will enforce stricter monetization rules targeting mass-produced, repetitive, and low-quality content, with a particular focus on AI-generated videos that lack meaningful human input. This update is part of YouTube’s effort to improve content originality and ensure that monetized videos provide genuine value, whether educational, entertaining, or informative.

Let’s have a look at the key points of the new policy include:

• Channels relying heavily on reused, repetitive, or minimally edited content—such as reaction videos, compilations, AI-generated commentary, or synthetic voice videos—risk losing monetization entirely, not just on individual videos.

• To remain eligible for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), creators must add clear value, commentary, or significant editing to reused or AI-generated content.

• Fully AI-generated content with no human contribution will generally not be monetized.

• Channels must meet existing thresholds (1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days) but must also comply with the new originality standards.

• The policy aims to discourage “copy-paste” style channels and clickbait-heavy uploads, promoting authentic voices and meaningful content.

• YouTube has not yet detailed specific penalties but warns that channels failing to meet these standards could be demonetized or removed from the Partner Program.

This update signals YouTube’s commitment to combating low-effort, automated content flooding the platform, especially from AI tools, and encourages creators to produce original, engaging, and thoughtfully crafted videos to maintain monetization privileges

Meta Platforms has acquired nearly a 3% stake in EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear maker, in a deal valued at approximately €3 billion (about $3.5 billion). This strategic investment deepens Meta’s commitment to the AI-powered smart glasses market and wearable technology sector.

Let’s have a look at the key points about this investment and partnership:

• Meta and EssilorLuxottica have a longstanding collaboration since 2019, producing successful smart glasses under the Ray-Ban Meta brand, which have sold over 2 million units as of early 2025.

• The companies recently launched the Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses, featuring AI integration, hands-free cameras, audio speakers, water resistance, and Meta AI functionalities.

• EssilorLuxottica plans to increase smart glasses production capacity to 10 million units by the end of 2026.

• Meta is reportedly considering increasing its stake to around 5% over time, signaling a long-term strategic interest.

• This investment follows a broader industry trend, with competitors like Google also investing in smart eyewear companies.

• The partnership aims to develop multi-generational smart eyewear products combining EssilorLuxottica’s expertise in eyewear and retail with Meta’s advances in AI and technology.

This move highlights Meta’s growing focus on integrating artificial intelligence into consumer wearables and expanding its hardware ecosystem beyond VR and social platforms.

Hugging Face has officially launched the Reachy Mini, an open-source desktop robot priced starting at $299 for the Lite version, with a fully autonomous Wireless version available at $449. The Reachy Mini is an 11-inch tall, expressive humanoid robot designed for AI experimentation, human-robot interaction, and creative coding. It features motorized head and body rotation, animated antennas, a camera, microphones, and speakers, enabling rich multimodal interaction.

Key points about Reachy Mini:

• Two versions:

  • Lite version ($299) requires an external computer for operation.

  • Wireless version ($449) includes onboard computing (Raspberry Pi 5), battery, and wireless connectivity.

• Open-source design sold as a DIY kit aimed at developers, researchers, educators, and AI enthusiasts.

• Programmable primarily in Python, with JavaScript and Scratch support coming soon.

• Integrates with the Hugging Face Hub, giving access to thousands of AI models and allowing users to share robotics applications.

• Shipping is expected to start in August 2025, with some assembly required.

• The robot supports over 15 pre-loaded behaviors and a simulation SDK for development before receiving the physical unit.

This launch marks a significant step in democratizing robotics by offering an affordable, accessible platform for AI and robotics development, contrasting with traditional robots that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Karpowership, through its energy transition initiative Kinetics, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop the world’s first integrated next-generation floating data center platform. This collaboration was announced on July 7, 2025.

Let’s have a look the key details of the partnership include:

• The floating data center will be hosted on a retrofitted vessel, designed to provide scalable, mobile, and rapidly deployable digital infrastructure.

• It will be powered by uninterrupted, dedicated energy from various flexible sources, including Karpowership’s Powerships, land-based grids, onshore solar farms, offshore wind, or other energy generation solutions depending on location and client needs.

• Karpowership brings over 20 years of experience and more than 10,000 MW of installed floating power capacity across 19 countries.

• MOL contributes its extensive maritime and offshore logistics expertise to the project.

• The floating platform aims to overcome challenges faced by traditional land-based data centers such as power constraints, land scarcity, and permitting delays.

This initiative builds on a prior collaboration between MOL and Karpowership from 2019, where they cooperated on the LNG-to-Powership business under the brand “KARMOL,” focusing on providing LNG-fueled floating power solutions with environmental benefits and cost efficiency.

The latest MOU marks a significant step toward combining maritime logistics and floating power expertise to meet the surging global demand for digital infrastructure through innovative floating data centers.