Research & Development news

• Top Robots and Humanoids Trending Right Now

  20-01-2026 22:45 via eweek.com
  Humanoid robots used to feel like something you’d only see in lab demos or sci-fi movies. Now they’re walking factory floors, lifting boxes in warehouses, and showing up in places that matter. What’s changed isn’t just better hardware, but also smarter AI and serious investment behind it. Still, not every humanoid making headlines is ready for practical work. Some are still carefully polished concepts, while others are already being tested or deployed. Here&rsqu
  
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• AI Is Quietly Propping Up the Global Economy, IMF Says

  20-01-2026 18:04 via eweek.com
  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) just delivered an unexpected signal: the global economy may be stronger than feared in 2026.In its latest outlook, the IMF raised its growth forecast, pointing to sustained investment in artificial intelligence even as trade tensions and tariff risks continue to hover over the global economy. The message is cautiously optimistic… but narrowly so.A small revision with global implicationsThe IMF now forecasts global growth of 3.3% in 2026, a 0.2 percent
  
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• OpenAI Sets 2026 Timeline for Its First-Ever Hardware Reveal

  20-01-2026 17:23 via eweek.com
  The long-rumored collaboration between the creators of ChatGPT and the design genius behind the iPhone is moving out of the shadows and onto the calendar.OpenAI says it’s on track to unveil its first-ever device in the second half of 2026. The confirmation came from Chris Lehane, the company’s chief global affairs officer, speaking at Axios House Davos.Lehane said OpenAI is “looking at something in the latter part [of 2026],” while stressing that the timing is still not s
  
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• Anthropic Roll Outs Global AI Training Program for Teachers

  20-01-2026 16:39 via eweek.com
  Anthropic has partnered with Teach For All to roll out a global AI training initiative.
  This is designed to help educators in 63 countries build practical AI fluency and create classroom-ready tools using Claude. The collaboration, delivered through the AI Literacy & Creator Collective (LCC), is expected to reach more than 100,000 teachers and alumni across Teach For All’s network, which serves more than 1.5 million students worldwide.
  The initiative arrives at a moment when schools an
  
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• Why Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Think AI Is Bad for Storytelling

  20-01-2026 15:51 via eweek.com
  Hollywood’s most famous Boston duo isn’t buying the idea that AI can replace real storytelling.Ben Affleck and Matt Damon sat down with Joe Rogan this past week to promote their new Netflix thriller, “The Rip,” but the conversation quickly shifted to the future of creativity. The long-time friends offered a blunt, surprisingly deep look at how artificial intelligence and streaming algorithms are trying — and often failing — to replace the human touch in m
  
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• Emergent Raises $70M Series B for Vibe Coding Ambitions

  20-01-2026 15:00 via eweek.com
  Emergent, an AI software creation platform designed to help anyone build full-stack, production-ready web and mobile applications, has raised $70 million in Series B funding.
  The round was led by Khosla Ventures and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Prosus, Lightspeed, Together, and Y Combinator.
  The company said in the announcement that the new capital brings its total funding to $100 million within seven months of launching.
  The announcement comes as Emergent reports rapid early
  
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• Alibaba-Backed Moonshot AI Valuation Jumps to $4.8B

  20-01-2026 14:30 via eweek.com
  Alibaba-backed Moonshot AI has added $500 million to its valuation in just weeks, lifting the Chinese AI startup to about $4.8 billion as demand around its Kimi models continues to build inside China’s fast-moving AI market.The jump follows Moonshot’s most recent funding round late last year and comes as interest in domestic AI companies intensifies, with investors focusing on Chinese-built models as alternatives to Western chatbots that remain unavailable in mainland China, CNBC rep
  
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• Unbox Robotics Raises $28M for Warehouse Automation

  20-01-2026 12:26 via eweek.com
  Indian firm Unbox Robotics has raised $28 million in funding for its plans in warehouse automation.
  The round includes a mix of primary and secondary capital and was led by ICICI Ventures and Info Edge’s Redstart Labs, with participation from US-based F-Prime, 3one4 Capital, Navam Capital, Force Ventures, and other existing investors.
  This signals a maturing phase for the Pune-based startup, where long-term team retention and reward structures are increasingly becoming part of late-stage d
  
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• UBTech’s Humanoid Robots Step Into Airbus Factories in Global Manufacturing Push

  20-01-2026 10:42 via eweek.com
  Chinese robotics company UBTech is taking one of its biggest steps yet toward globalising humanoid robots, partnering with European aviation giant Airbus to deploy its Walker S2 robots in aircraft manufacturing. The deal puts UBTech’s Walker S2 robots into one of the world’s most complex and tightly regulated industrial environments, and highlights China’s accelerating push to lead the next phase of industrial automation.Under the agreement, Airbus has purchased UBTech&rsq
  
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• Anthropic Uncovers AI Personality Crisis as Models Secretly Switch Identities

  20-01-2026 09:31 via eweek.com
  AI chatbots are experiencing dramatic personality shifts that could fundamentally change how we interact with AI.
  Research published by Anthropic reveals that large language models possess a hidden “Assistant Axis” that controls their helpful behavior—and when it breaks down, the results can be interesting.
  Most AI models naturally adopt a helpful assistant identity through their training process, according to Anthropic. But this seemingly stable persona masks a complex interna
  
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• MND Diagnosis Leads UK Councillor to AI Voice Solution

  20-01-2026 08:36 via eweek.com
  There can be plenty of negative stories around AI, such as ‘slop’ and job cuts, but here’s a positive example.
  A UK councillor who struggles to speak after developing motor neurone disease (MND) is using AI technology to communicate using his own pre-recorded voice.
  Nick Varley was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder in November 2024 after beginning to have difficulty speaking. Now, through new AI voice-cloning technology, Varley is able to speak with a digital versio
  
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• Emergent Launches Vibe Coding Platform After $23M Raise

  20-01-2026 08:36 via eweek.com
  When a funding round has interest from Google and Thinking Machines, you may be thinking it’s a firm that has good vibes.
  Emergent has raised $23 million in Series A funding as it moves to expand a platform designed to make software creation accessible to people without technical backgrounds.
  The round was led by Lightspeed, with participation from YC, Together, Prosus, and a slate of prominent AI angel investors. Among those named were Jeff Dean (Google), Devendra Chaplot (Thinking Machin
  
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