Wednesday, September 16, 2026 - 5 Minute AI News

Google releases Gemini 3.8 Live, Profound raises 180 million for AI optimization, Agility debuts a cageless humanoid robot, Evvy secures 40 million, and the Gates Foundation invests 1 billion.Google DeepMind releases Gemini 3.8 Live to undercut OpenAI pricing — Google launched Gemini 3.8 Live and Extended Thinking models with near-real-time reasoning. The models target OpenAI's market share by offering top-tier benchmark performance at 0.005 cents per million tokens.Marketing tech startup Profound secures $180 million Series D funding — Profound raised $180 million to help brands boost visibility within AI services. The investment highlights growing demand for AI Engine Optimization as companies adapt to consumer language models.Agility Robotics unveils cageless Digit 5 humanoid for factory environments — Agility Robotics introduced Digit 5, a humanoid robot featuring advanced spatial awareness and collision avoidance. This enables the robot to work alongside humans without requiring physical safety barriers.Women's health startup Evvy raises $40 million to scale AI diagnostics — Evvy secured $40 million in Series B funding to analyze vaginal microbiome data. The platform uses machine learning to address historical research and diagnostic gaps in women's health.Gates Foundation commits $1 billion to democratize global AI access — Bill Gates announced a $1 billion investment to expand AI tools in health, education, and agriculture. The initiative aims to combat data bias and ensure equitable access across global sectors.Five stories. Five minutes. Every weekday.