Tech News — Jul 20, 2026

Tech News — Jul 20, 2026 | Trace

The day in brief

What connected the day

9 topics

01
2 sources · 2 updates
Microsoft Chooses AMD's Helios for AI Cloud Services
Microsoft has announced a partnership with AMD to utilize its Helios AI system in Azure cloud services, marking a significant shift away from Nvidia. The Helios system, which will support advanced AI applications, is expected to ship later this year and is estimated to cost between $5 million and $5.5 million.
- AMD's Helios system features four customizable configurations and aims to rival Nvidia's GPU systems.
02
2 sources · 2 updates
Infinity Secures $15M to Compete with Nvidia
AI infrastructure startup Infinity has raised $15 million in funding from investors including Touring Capital and researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic. The company aims to challenge Nvidia's dominance by developing software that replicates CUDA capabilities, enabling AI models to operate on various chip types.
- Infinity achieved a valuation of $100 million with this funding round.
- The company employs 26 people across various roles.
03
2 sources · 2 updates
Avengers: Doomsday trailer debuts ahead of Comic-Con
Marvel Studios has unveiled the first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, the highly anticipated penultimate film in the MCU's Phase Six. The trailer highlights chaos unleashed by Doctor Doom, with Thor, portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, emerging as the key figure advocating for unity among heroes from multiple universes against this new threat.
- The film features cameos from Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter, along with characters from the Fantastic Four and X-Men universes.
- The Russo brothers, known for directing four previous MCU films, are returning to helm this project.
04
2 sources · 2 updates
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K3, Largest Open-Weight Model Yet
Moonshot AI has launched the Kimi K3, the largest open-weight AI model to date, featuring an impressive 2.8 trillion parameters. This model employs a unique mixture-of-experts technique, activating only 16 out of 896 specialized sections at a time to optimize performance while addressing China's memory constraints amid chip export controls.
- K3's weights will be available for download on July 27, 2026, with a size of approximately 1.4TB.
- Pricing for K3 starts at $3 per million input tokens, significantly higher than some competitors.
05
1 sources · 1 updates
Google Stock: Alphabet Readies AI Chip With Built-In Gemini Brains
Alphabet is advancing its competitive stance against Nvidia and AMD by developing a new artificial intelligence accelerator specifically designed for specialized servers in cloud computing. This AI chip will directly integrate the software architecture of Google's Gemini AI model, enhancing its capabilities in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Following this announcement, Google stock experienced a rise, contrasting with a decline in the Nasdaq composite index, indicating investor optimism about the company's strategic direction.
- This development intensifies competition with Nvidia and AMD in the AI hardware market.
06
1 sources · 1 updates
Apple’s Sports app expands soccer features, here’s what’s new
Apple's Sports app has been updated to version 4.2, significantly enhancing its soccer features by adding support for seven new leagues, including the Belgian Pro League and the Dutch Eredivisie. This update comes after the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup, as soccer fans can look forward to ongoing matches in the US and internationally. Additionally, the app will now display formations for most soccer leagues, allowing users to visualize starting lineups more effectively.
- The update to version 4.2 is now available on the App Store.
07
1 sources · 1 updates
AI fakes a growing problem on Apple Books, some ‘written’ in a few hours
Joanna Stern reported finding 10 fake versions of her book, I Am Not a Robot, on Apple Books just days after its release, with new fakes appearing rapidly even after she had them removed. These AI-generated copies often feature misleading authors and publishers, with covers designed to mimic the original. Similarly, journalist Kashmir Hill discovered a fake biography of herself among thousands of AI-written biographies available on Amazon, highlighting a significant issue for authors as these counterfeits proliferate. The ease of creating such content, with one creator claiming he could generate a biography in just a few hours using ChatGPT, raises concerns about the integrity of digital publishing platforms.
- Some AI-generated books are priced between $9.99 and $20.99, mimicking bestsellers.
08
1 sources · 1 updates
Do you prefer Google’s 3D emoji or the classic style? [Poll]
Google is set to replace its classic emoji designs with the new 'Noto 3D' collection, which completely redesigns 3,977 characters. First previewed at The Android Show, the new collection shifts from a flat, cartoonish style to a more three-dimensional look, aligning closer to emojis used on iOS and Samsung devices. This change aims to enhance cross-platform communication, although it may dilute Google's unique software identity. The new emojis will debut on Pixel phones with the upcoming Android 17 update before rolling out across other Google products.
- Google's Emoji Kitchen feature is expected to remain available despite the redesign.
09
1 sources · 1 updates
Bezos backs CuspAI as startup teams up with Nvidia to hunt for chipmaking materials
Jeff Bezos has invested in CuspAI, a British startup that recently announced a partnership with Nvidia and other industry leaders to discover new materials for semiconductors and clean energy. The startup raised $450 million in a funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and NEA, valuing it at $2.6 billion. CuspAI employs artificial intelligence to simulate material performance, significantly reducing the number of candidates for laboratory testing. The company is also expanding globally, opening an office in Singapore and growing teams across several countries.
- Nvidia is one of 45 organizations providing compute infrastructure for CuspAI's AI Materials Foundry.

The archive

What moved

Yahoo Finance Tech

AMC stock surges after record revenue as CEO pushes back against 'prognosticators of doom'

AMC stock rises over 20% after record earnings report.

Read source

The Verge

Adobe’s ‘natural look’ camera app embraces generative AI

Adobe's Indigo app adds generative AI features.

Read source

Tech news digest for Monday, July 20, 2026

The tech day has moved on.

What connected the day

Microsoft Chooses AMD's Helios for AI Cloud Services

Infinity Secures $15M to Compete with Nvidia

Avengers: Doomsday trailer debuts ahead of Comic-Con

Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K3, Largest Open-Weight Model Yet

Google Stock: Alphabet Readies AI Chip With Built-In Gemini Brains

Apple’s Sports app expands soccer features, here’s what’s new

AI fakes a growing problem on Apple Books, some ‘written’ in a few hours

Do you prefer Google’s 3D emoji or the classic style? [Poll]

Bezos backs CuspAI as startup teams up with Nvidia to hunt for chipmaking materials

What moved

AMC stock surges after record revenue as CEO pushes back against 'prognosticators of doom'

Adobe’s ‘natural look’ camera app embraces generative AI

You've seen the record. See the live version.

Terra Innovatum, Waiken ILW Will Deploy Microreactors for Data Center Infrastructure

You've seen the record. See the live version.

Adobe camera app’s new feature will critique your photos using AI

Nvidia's grip on AI chips weakens as Microsoft turns to AMD and Anthropic may follow

YouTube clarifies policies around AI slop and upsetting videos

Inference startup Infinity raises $15M from Touring Capital, OpenAI and Anthropic researchers

Dr. Jill Lepore on why AI backlash is vital for the future

JetBlue wins Spirit slots at LaGuardia Airport, eyes move to Marine Air Terminal as airlines fight for space

United Imaging Intelligence not undertaking an "extreme" AI rollout, says co-CEO

Chinese AI Sensation Moonshot’s Gamble on Big Models Pays Off

AMD launches Helios, its first rack AI system to rival Nvidia, adding Microsoft as newest buyer

Electric air taxis go to war

Alphabet stock pops on report it's developing a more efficient AI chip

Trump administration reportedly builds a slow-motion ban on Chinese AI models through sanctions and soft pressure

Moonshot’s Kimi AI Model Sets Off Anxiety in the US

Adobe’s Project Indigo camera app gains experimental AI photo editing tools

Hugging Face says an AI agent hacked its infrastructure, and it used AI to fight back

AliExpress hit with record $625M fine after failing to make EU-ordered fixes

Influencers Are Being Paid to Spread the Mormon Church's Gospel

The latest and biggest Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 image leak comes two days before launch

DoorDash Uses Envoy and Valkey for a 1.5M RPS Proxy Cache with 99.99999% Availability

AI is more likely than humans to form biases when hiring

US public health agencies to test OpenAI and Anthropic AI models