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Welcome to The Prompt by Kuro House, your daily AI update. Today, we’re diving into some exciting developments across AI coaching, wearable tech, legal moves, and AI shopping. Let’s get right into it.
First up, a Meta-backed startup called Hupo is making waves after pivoting from mental wellness to AI-powered sales coaching. According to TechCrunch, Hupo now serves major banking and insurance clients like Prudential, HSBC, and AXA, delivering real-time coaching during sales conversations. The startup raised $10 million in Series A funding led by DST Global Partners and plans to expand into the US market soon. Founder Justin Kim emphasizes that their AI fits into daily workflows without replacing human judgment, helping scale consistent coaching in complex, regulated industries. With total funding now at $15 million, Hupo aims to broaden its product and support tens of thousands of employees with clear insights and guidance.
Next, Amazon’s latest AI wearable, Bee, is designed to record and summarize your conversations in real time. TechCrunch’s hands-on review highlights that Bee segments audio into colored sections with summaries, making it easy to review discussions like interviews or meetings. Unlike some rivals, Bee discards audio after transcription, focusing on privacy but limiting playback for accuracy checks. Amazon envisions Bee as a daily companion that can link conversations to tasks, like suggesting LinkedIn connections after networking. The device has a green light to alert when recording, addressing privacy concerns, though the wristband’s durability needs improvement.
In the UK, lawmakers are moving quickly to criminalize nonconsensual deepfake nudes, a response to misuse seen with the Grok AI chatbot on X. The Verge reports that the new law, part of the Data Act, makes creating or requesting such images a criminal offense and prioritizes it under the Online Safety Act. Ofcom is already investigating X’s role in hosting this content, with potential fines up to 18 million pounds or 10% of global revenue. The government insists on swift action to protect victims and expects platforms to proactively block this harmful content. Meanwhile, X has limited Grok’s image generation features to paying subscribers, but free workarounds still exist.
Anthropic is expanding Claude’s AI agent capabilities with a new feature called Claude Cowork, aimed at making AI assistance more approachable for everyday tasks. The Verge explains that Cowork lets users grant Claude access to folders on their Mac to read, edit, and create files, streamlining tasks like organizing downloads or drafting reports. Available now for Claude Max subscribers, Cowork supports parallel task queues and integrates with tools like Asana and Notion. Anthropic warns users about safety risks, such as accidental file deletion or prompt injection attacks, and continues developing safeguards. This move signals ongoing efforts to make AI agents genuinely useful beyond coding and tech-savvy users.
Finally, Google is stepping up its AI shopping game by turning Gemini into a merchant and launching an open-source Universal Commerce Protocol. The Verge reports that this protocol, built with retailers like Walmart, Target, and Shopify, aims to standardize communication between AI agents and ecommerce platforms. This will enable users to buy products directly through AI on Search and Gemini without switching apps, competing with Microsoft’s Copilot and OpenAI’s ChatGPT shopping features. Google also announced a business agent allowing shoppers to chat directly with brands on Search, with early adopters including Lowe’s and Reebok. CEO Sundar Pichai calls this groundwork for “agentic shopping,” which could reshape how we buy in the near future.
That’s a wrap on today’s top AI stories. From AI coaching to wearable assistants, legal safeguards, smarter agents, and seamless shopping, the landscape is evolving fast. Thanks for tuning into The Prompt by Kuro House. Catch you tomorrow for more AI insights.
