Today's spotlights:
A million $ business: Training robots to do things
The Plaud NotePin transcribes every meeting. In 112 languages
Pinterest’s shopping app ‘Ask Pinterest’
Android 17 is here and it's Google's biggest AI Flex yet.
Samsung's AI can now spot your pet's health issues from a photo
Read time: 5 minutes
Tech Stories This Week
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The Startup doing AI's dirty work: Teaching Robots
Robots can't learn from text scraped off the web they need physical interaction data, which barely exists
YouTube clips and gig worker footage don't cut it, too low quality, too disconnected from the real world
XDOF builds the pipelines, tools, and annotation systems to collect that data at scale
Founded by UC Berkeley PhD researchers who hit this wall themselves during their own robotics research
Raised $70M from a16z, Thrive Capital, Spark Capital, Lux and WndrCo
Already serving 20 customers, including top AI labs that won't let their names be used
Released ABC, the largest ever robot training dataset, with 130K manipulation trajectories
Plans to deploy human teleoperators globally to keep the data engine running
Bottom line: The robotics race needs data before it needs better models. XDOF is betting it can own that layer and the big labs are already paying for it.
My take: Everyone's racing to build humanoid robots. Nobody wants to talk about the unglamorous part, someone has to actually collect the training data. XDOF spotted that gap and turned it into a $70M business.
Gadgets update
image source: plaud.ai
The Plaud NotePin is a lightweight AI recorder you can wear all day as a pin, clip, necklace or wristband and forget it's even there.
AI transcription in 112 languages with speaker labels and custom vocabulary
Turns recordings into role-specific summaries, action items for sales, insights for managers, overviews for leadership, using 10,000+ templates
Add text, images and highlights inside the app for richer context
Records online and in-person meetings via Plaud Desktop
20 hours continuous recording, 64GB local storage, weighs just 0.59 oz
Built for enterprise-grade privacy; HIPAA, GDPR, SOC II, ISO 27001 compliant
Comes with magnetic pin, clip, charging dock, and USB-C cable
300 free transcription minutes/month on the starter plan; Pro and Unlimited tiers available
My Take: If you're tired of taking notes or missing details in meetings, NotePin handles it quietly, on your lapel, all day long.
App updates
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Pinterest goes conversational with AI Shopping app called Ask Pinterest.
A chatbot-style app where you ask questions in plain language and get personalised shopping recommendations. It has limited access for now.
AI chatbots are eating into traditional search, Google, ChatGPT, Meta, Shopify all are chasing AI shopping
Pinterest is betting on its own data rather than licensing it out to rivals
Insights from Ask Pinterest will eventually feed back into the main app
AI tool that picks the best-performing ad creative in real time, now rolling out globally.
My take: Pinterest is testing whether conversational AI can do what its visual search couldn't and keeping it separate is the smart move.
What's New in Android 17
Gemini Omni: edit videos directly inside a conversation, multimodal and hands-on
Lyria 3: create music tracks using text prompts or images, right inside the Gemini app
AudioLM (Pixel 10a): real-time speech-to-speech translation gets a serious upgrade
Personalized voicemail messages you can record.
"Take a Message" feature expanding to more global markets
Bubble Bar: recent apps appear as moveable bubbles at the bottom of your screen for faster switching and multi-app workflows
Screen + selfie recording: record your face and screen simultaneously for reaction videos; ready for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram out of the box
Foldable gaming mode: 50/50 split layout with a dynamic gamepad built in.
My Take: While Apple scrambles to fix Siri in time for iOS 27, Google just shipped Android 17 loaded with live AI models, Gemini everywhere, and multitasking tools that actually make sense. This isn't just an OS update, it's Google showing off what an AI-first platform looks like in 2026.
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Pet Care Features
Snap a photo of your pet → AI analyses it for potential health issues
Detects dental problems, patellar luxation (knee joint issues) and cataracts.
Claims 97% accuracy in identifying these conditions
Available via SmartThings app + Pet Care service on Galaxy devices
How It Works
Lifet already offers this on its own website. Samsung is now bringing it natively into the Galaxy ecosystem
Part of Samsung's larger push to shift healthcare from reactive treatment → proactive daily monitoring
Samsung Health expanding across sleep, nutrition, mental health, activity and vital signs
New features: Heart Health Score, Vitals Tracking, improved workout metrics
Collaboration with Xealth lets Galaxy devices connect with healthcare providers, doctors can monitor patient health data outside clinical settings
My Take: Samsung keeps proving that AI on smartphones isn't just about better selfies or faster typing, it's quietly becoming a health tool for everything in your home, including your pets. A 97% accuracy rate on detecting cataracts and joint issues from a photo is genuinely impressive, and it hints at where AI-powered preventive care is headed.