Videos that think?

Together with

Good morning, AI enthusiasts. Luma AI dropped something wild - Ray 3 is the first video generator that stops to think about what you actually want before jumping into creation, complete with Draft Mode for rapid experimentation.

Could this "pause and think" approach be the missing piece that makes AI tools truly collaborative partners?

In today's recap:

• Video AI learns to think before creating content

• Scientists use AI to build living virus genomes

• Retail giant upskills workers with AI interview practice

LUMA AI

AI videos now think before creating

Recaply: Luma AI just dropped Ray 3, and this video generator literally thinks before it creates. Unlike other AI tools that jump straight into making content, Ray 3 stops to reason about what you want first. Think of it as the difference between a hasty sketch and a thoughtful painting.

Key notes:

• Ray 3 becomes the world's first reasoning video model that evaluates ideas before generating content.

• New Draft Mode lets creators explore concepts 5x faster and 5x cheaper than before.

• Professional studios get native 16-bit HDR video generation for the first time in AI.

• Advanced physics and character consistency make scenes look incredibly realistic.

• Visual annotation tools let users precisely control layout and motion like working with a creative partner.

Impact: This breakthrough shifts video AI from simple prompt-following to intelligent collaboration. Creators can now iterate rapidly without burning through credits, while professionals get studio-grade output. Ray 3 signals AI video tools maturing from novelty to serious creative instruments.

TOGETHER WITH MAVEN AGI

Discover the measurable impacts of AI agents for customer support

How Did Papaya Slash Support Costs Without Adding Headcount?

When Papaya saw support tickets surge, they faced a tough choice: hire more agents or risk slower service. Instead, they found a third option—one that scaled their support without scaling their team.

The secret? An AI-powered support agent from Maven AGI that started resolving customer inquiries on day one.

With Maven AGI, Papaya now handles 90% of inquiries automatically - cutting costs in half while improving response times and customer satisfaction. No more rigid decision trees. No more endless manual upkeep. Just fast, accurate answers at scale.

The best part? Their human team is free to focus on the complex, high-value issues that matter most.

👉 Curious how they did it? Read the full case study to learn how Papaya transformed their customer support

WALMART

Walmart AI coach trains 50K workers

Recaply: Walmart launched an AI Interview Coach that lets workers practice job interviews virtually. The retail giant is training 50,000 employees for tech roles instead of hiring externally.

Key notes:

• AI Interview Coach simulates realistic job interviews for current employees.

• Company upskilling 50,000 workers for automation and tech positions.

• Partnership with OpenAI to certify millions in AI skills by 2030.

• New AI tools streamline workflows for 1.5 million associates.

• Internal hiring saves costs while building employee loyalty.

Impact: This approach shows how retailers can develop talent from within rather than compete for scarce tech workers. The strategy could reshape workforce development across industries.

AI RESEARCH

AI creates first living virus genomes

Recaply: Stanford and Arc Institute researchers just made history by creating the first functional genomes using AI. Their computers designed 16 working viruses that successfully kill bacteria in lab tests.

Key notes:

• Scientists used Evo AI models trained on 2 million virus genomes to design new genetic codes.

• 16 out of 302 AI-created designs actually worked when tested in real bacteria.

• The viruses target harmful bacteria and could replace antibiotics in some treatments.

• Some AI-designed viruses perform better than natural ones at killing bacteria.

• This marks the first time AI has created complete, working genetic blueprints for life.

Impact: This breakthrough opens doors to custom-designed treatments for drug-resistant infections. As bacteria evolve to resist antibiotics, AI could rapidly generate new therapeutic viruses tailored to specific diseases.

NEWS

📰 What matters in AI right now?

• Alibaba launched Wan2.2-Animate, an upgraded video generation model with MoE architecture supporting 720P video at 24fps and capable of running on consumer GPUs like RTX 4090.

• Gamma released Gamma 3.0 featuring Gamma Agent, the world's first AI design partner for presentations that researches topics online and makes sweeping edits with simple prompts.

• xAI introduced Grok 4 Fast, delivering similar performance to Grok 4 while using 40% fewer thinking tokens and claiming 98% price reduction for equivalent performance.

• Oracle is negotiating a $20 billion multiyear cloud computing deal with Meta to provide computing power for training and deploying AI models.

• OpenAI signed a deal with Apple supplier Luxshare to manufacture a pocket-sized consumer AI device designed to work closely with ChatGPT models.

• Nvidia invested $5 billion in Intel for a 4% stake to co-develop chips for PCs and data centers, sending Intel shares up 23% in their best day since 1987.

• Xiaomi released MiMo-Audio, a 7-billion-parameter open-source audio model trained on 100+ million hours of data with few-shot learning capabilities for speech tasks.

OUR TOP PICKS

🧰 AI Tools to Check Out

• 🏗️ PromeAI: Turn design sketches into realistic architectural renderings

• 🌍 Rask: Dub and translate videos using AI voice cloning

• 🎭 Akool: Make face-swapped videos, talking photos, and voiceovers

• 🎞️ VideoGen: Instantly turn text into short, catchy videos with AI

• 🔒 Komo: Private AI search engine with chat features

• 🎼 Soundraw: Generate royalty‑free music tracks using AI prompts

• 🧰 Monica: AI assistant browser extension with multiple models

• 🧱 Durable: Build SEO‑optimized business websites in seconds, plus marketing, blog, and CRM tools

* Some links in this newsletter may be from sponsors or affiliates. We may get paid if you buy something through these links.

PROMPTS

🤖 Automate Business Processes

#CONTEXT:
You are an expert in business process automation tasked with helping a user identify processes that could be automated for their specific business type and suggest appropriate automation tools or methods for each process.

#ROLE:
Expert in business process automation with broad knowledge of tools, methods and best practices across various industries.

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EVENTS

• RecSys 2025: Sep 22 – Sep 26, 2025 · Prague, Czech Republic

• MLCon 2025: Sep 29 – Oct 02, 2025 · New York, USA (hybrid)

• AI & Big Data Expo Europe 2025: Sep 24 – Sep 25, 2025 · Amsterdam, Netherlands

• GovAI Summit 2025: Oct 27 – Oct 29, 2025 · Arlington, Virginia, USA

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Cheers, Jason

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