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xAI’s Grok 3 just set a new benchmark in AI performance, surpassing all other models in public leaderboards. With a 200,000-GPU training powerhouse and upcoming voice capabilities, xAI is proving that small, focused teams can obtain state-of-the-art results, as DeepSeek also recently demonstrated. This could accelerate the upcoming releases from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. Let’s unpack…

Today’s Summary:

• 🚀 xAI's Grok 3 dominates AI rankings

• 📚 Perplexity launches free research tool

• 💡 Anthropic teases its most advanced AI model

• 📝 LLaDA: First diffusion model for text generation

• 📽️ Step-Video-T2V: New open-source video AI

• 📂 OpenAI adds file & image uploads to ChatGPT

• 🛠️ 2 new tools

TOP STORY

xAI's Grok 3 Tops AI Performance Charts

The Summary: xAI has released Grok 3, marking a major leap in AI model performance. Trained using a massive 200,000 GPU data center in Memphis, the new model family includes specialized versions for quick responses and reasoning. Early tests show Grok 3 securing the top spot in public benchmarks.

Key details:

• Grok 3 topped the Arena leaderboard with a 1400+ score, becoming the first model to reach this milestone

• Independent testing by Andrej Karpathy confirms strong performance in complex tasks like board game logic and mathematical calculations

• Voice mode coming next week, API access in the coming weeks

• Available for X Premium+ subscribers ($22/month), with SuperGrok tier ($30/month) unlocking advanced features

• xAI plans to open-source previous Grok 2 model once Grok 3 stabilizes

Why it matters: The speed at which xAI reached state-of-the-art performance - just one year after starting from scratch - sets a new precedent in AI development. This acceleration is likely to push OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic to ramp up their upcoming releases, driving even more ambitious advancements in the field.

PERPLEXITY AI

Perplexity challenges OpenAI with free research tool

The Summary: Perplexity has launched Deep Research, an AI tool that conducts deep research, scanning hundreds of sources to generate reports in minutes. Unlike competitors OpenAI and Google, Perplexity offers free access to all users, with unlimited queries for Pro subscribers at $20/month. The tool dynamically searches, reads, and refines its research approach.

Key details:

• Free users get limited daily queries, while Pro subscribers ($20/month) get 500 queries daily - compared to OpenAI's $200/month and Google's $19.99/month

• Scores 21.1% on Humanity's Last Exam benchmark, second only to OpenAI's 26.6%, and ahead of Gemini 7.2%

• Completes most research tasks in under 3 minutes vs 5-30 minutes for OpenAI's Deep Research

• Uses DeepSeek-R1 model to achieve cost efficiency, enabling 10-100x lower pricing than competitors

Why it matters: Perplexity is positioning itself as an accessible alternative to costly AI research tools, offering fast, in-depth analysis at a fraction of the price.

ANTHROPIC

Anthropic's biggest model update nears release

The Summary: Anthropic plans to launch its new AI model soon, combining quick responses and complex reasoning in a single system. The model will feature an adjustable control, allowing developers to balance speed, cost, and processing depth. Early tests show it beats OpenAI's o3-mini-high.

Key details:

• Model uses a "sliding scale" to control computing costs and reasoning

• Amodei draws a parallel to human cognition: "you don't have two brains”

• Reduced clinical study report writing from 12 weeks to 3 days

• AI progress is "a race between making models more powerful and understanding them"

Why it matters: This approach could end the artificial divide between "chat" AI models and "reasoning" AI models. The sliding scale feature gives developers control over AI resource allocation while maintaining consistent model behavior.

QUICK NEWS

Quick news

• LLaDA is the first diffusion model able to generate text

• Step-Video-T2V is a state-of-the-art open source video AI

• OpenAI o1 and o3-mini now supports file & image uploads in ChatGPT

TOOLS

🥇 New tools

• Caspa - Generate realistic product photos and infographics

• Beatoven - AI composer for crafting the perfect background music