Meta is developing new AI models for images, videos, and text under the codenames "Mango" and "Avocado." The release is planned for the first half of 2026, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal citing internal statements by Meta's head of AI Alexandr Wang. During an internal Q&A with Head of Product Chris Cox, Wang explained that "Mango" focuses on visual content, while the "Avocado" language model is designed to excel at programming tasks. Meta is also researching "world models" capable of visually capturing their environment.
European AI startup Lovable has raised $330 million in a Series B financing round, bringing its valuation to $6.6 billion. Google led the round, with additional backing from Nvidia, HubSpot, and Deutsche Telekom.Lovable, which allows users to build web applications through simple text prompts, has quickly become one of the fastest-growing startups in the world. The company says its Sweden-based team of 120 employees hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after reaching its first million. This follows a massive summer for the company, where it secured one of the largest European Series A rounds on record - raising $200 million at a $1.8 billion valuation.
Lovable calls its mission the "Age of the Builder" - a time when people without coding experience, such as teachers, marketers, or founders, can turn their ideas into working software on their own. Despite its rapid growth, Lovable still trails market leaders like ChatGPT in total user numbers. The space is also becoming increasingly competitive: US rival Cursor recently raised $2.3 billion, highlighting both the intense competition in AI-assisted software development, but also the difference in investment volume.
Mistral AI has released Mistral OCR 3, an updated version of its document analysis model. The system goes beyond basic extraction—it can interpret cursive handwriting, dense form layouts, and complex table structures, including linked cells. According to the company, this third version outperforms its predecessor in 74 percent of cases, showing particular strength in handling handwriting, scanned forms, and complex tables. OCR 3 also stacks up well against Deepseek's specialized character recognition model.
OpenAI is launching a new learning platform for journalists and publishers called the "Academy for News Organizations." Developed in collaboration with the American Journalism Project and the Lenfest Institute, the initiative aims to teach media organizations how to effectively use artificial intelligence. The program offers on-demand training, practical examples for research and translation, and guidance on establishing internal AI guidelines. OpenAI says the goal is to help editorial teams work more efficiently, freeing up time for core journalistic work.
According to OpenAI, the Academy was developed with critical industry issues in mind, including concerns about job displacement and the reliability of AI-generated content. The platform builds on existing partnerships with major publishers like News Corp and Hearst, with plans to expand the offering next year. These educational initiatives might also be an attempt to smooth over tensions in the industry - while OpenAI courts publishers with tools and training, it is simultaneously battling copyright lawsuits from major media companies like the New York Times and Ziff Davis.
OpenAI has started accepting submissions for ChatGPT apps, which will populate a new directory following a review process. These applications allow users to perform specific actions directly within conversations, such as ordering food. The directory is located in the Tools menu, and users can launch specific apps simply by using the "@" command. While a software development kit (SDK) is currently available in beta, the first batch of tested applications is scheduled to launch in early 2026.
On the security front, OpenAI requires that apps remain suitable for general audiences and request only essential user information. At this stage, developers can link from their ChatGPT apps to external websites or native apps to complete transactions for physical goods. However, the company is exploring additional monetization options—including for digital goods—and notes that it has been collaborating with PayPal for several months. This rollout follows October's Dev Day, where OpenAI introduced the Apps SDK alongside its AgentKit for autonomous AI agents.
Google is linking its NotebookLM research tool directly to the Gemini chatbot. This integration lets users select specific notebooks as context for their Gemini queries, effectively expanding the chatbot's knowledge base beyond its initial training data and standard web results. While NotebookLM already includes a built-in chat function powered by a Gemini model, it remains quite limited—it doesn't even save chat histories. The new feature addresses this by allowing users to leverage multiple notebooks simultaneously within the main Gemini interface. It also supports integration with "Gems," the personalized versions of the chatbot. The rollout appears to be gradual, starting with browser users, though app support will likely follow soon.
NotebookLM started as an experimental tool in 2023. It has since established itself as a software with exemplary AI integration, particularly in the education sector. The tool makes it easy to set up RAG environments and thus make large document collections analyzable and searchable. Google regularly adds new functions to NotebookLM, most recently including one for deep research.
