Butterfly Effect, the startup behind AI agent Manus, has shut down its entire China team to reduce geopolitical risks, reports The Information. In May, the founders Red Xiao, Peak Ji, and Tao Zhang reportedly moved to Singapore, where the company is now building its new headquarters. It is also hiring in Singapore, the U.S., and Japan, and has opened offices in San Mateo and Tokyo. Until last week, several dozen employees were still based in China, but many have since left. Manus targets the U.S. market, where Chinese connections are increasingly seen as a risk.
Mistral AI and All Hands AI have introduced two new models designed for AI-powered programming agents: Devstral Small 1.1 and Devstral Medium. Devstral Small 1.1 2507 is open source and can run locally on an RTX 4090 or a Mac with 32 GB of RAM. It achieved a 53.6% score on the SWE-Bench Verified benchmark and supports XML along with other formats.
Image: Mistral
Devstral Medium scored 61.6% on the same benchmark. According to Mistral, it offers more power and a lower price than Gemini 2.5 Pro and GPT-4.1. The model is available via API, supports fine-tuning, and will soon be integrated into Mistral Code.
Google is adding three new AI modes to Firebase Studio. The update introduces "Agent" modes powered by Gemini 2.5: a conversational "Ask" mode, a guided "Agent" mode that acts with user approval, and a fully autonomous "Agent Auto-run" mode that can write and update code on its own. Google says all three modes respect project-specific rules and require user approval for any security-sensitive actions.
Google says that in Agent Auto-run mode, Firebase Studio can generate entire apps or add new features to existing projects with minimal user input. | Video: Google
Firebase Studio now also supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), making it easier to connect external data sources. Developers can access the Gemini command line (CLI) directly in the terminal for tasks like debugging and code management.
Amazon has secured multi-year licensing deals with Condé Nast and Hearst. Content from magazines like Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, and Harper's Bazaar will be added to its AI shopping assistant Rufus, Digiday reports. The move expands Rufus's offerings with trusted editorial content to help shoppers make informed decisions. Condé Nast confirmed the new partnership, following a similar agreement Amazon reached with The New York Times in May, which includes material from NYT Cooking and The Athletic. Financial terms were not disclosed. The first content from these publishers is set to appear in Rufus this summer. Rufus uses Amazon's product catalog and web data to help shoppers make purchasing decisions with AI.
Google is rolling out Gemini to smartwatches running Wear OS 4 or later, including devices from Pixel, Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus, and Xiaomi. Users can launch the AI assistant with a voice command, side button, or app icon to get answers right on their wrist - from checking the weather and calendar appointments to reading emails. If permissions are granted, Gemini pulls information from Google services like Gmail, Calendar, and Maps. Voice controls also let users manage reminders and messages.
The feature will be available globally over the next few weeks, with partial support for manufacturer-specific apps coming later with Wear OS 6.
Anthropic is rolling out new integrations for its Claude AI chatbot, connecting it with the Canvas learning platform, Panopto, and Wiley. Students can access lecture recordings, academic literature, and other course materials directly in Claude. Wiley supplies scientific resources, while Panopto provides lecture transcripts. The integration uses Anthropic's own Model Context Protocol (MCP), and the connection with Canvas is based on the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standard.
Anthropic says all conversations are private by default and aren't used for training. Partners include the University of San Francisco School of Law and Northumbria University.
Perplexity has introduced "Comet," an AI-powered browser designed to replace traditional tabs with an interface that uses LLMs to help users navigate the web. With Comet, users can write emails, plan meetings, compare products, ask questions, or highlight text to get instant explanations. Perplexity says the goal is to make browsing simpler and give people better access to information. Comet will launch first for Perplexity Max subscribers at $200 per month, with access managed through a waitlist and invitation system starting this summer.
