#229 - Gemini 3 Flash, ChatGPT Apps, Nemotron 3
Last Week in AI
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Budget-aware agents improve tool efficiency
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Episode notes
Our 229th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!
Recorded on 12/19/2025
Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov and Jeremie Harris
Feel free to email us your questions and feedback at contact@lastweekinai.com and/or hello@gladstone.ai
Read out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/
In this episode:
- Notable releases include OpenAI's GPT-5.2 Codex for advanced coding and Google's Gemini Free Flash for competitive AI application performance. Nvidia's new open-source Trion-3 models also showcase impressive benchmarks.
- Funding updates highlight Lovable's $330M Series B, valuing the AI coding startup at $6.6B, and Faya's $140M Series D for AI model hosting, valued at $4.5B.
- China makes significant strides in semiconductor technology with advances in EUV lithography machines, led by Huawei and SMIC, potentially disrupting global chip manufacturing dominance.
- Key safety and policy updates include OpenAI's GPT-5.2 system card focusing on biosecurity and cybersecurity risks, while Google partners with the US military to power a new AI platform with Gemini models.
Timestamps:
- (00:00:10) Intro / Banter
- (00:02:09) News Preview
- Tools & Apps
- (00:02:56) Google launches Gemini 3 Flash, makes it the default model in the Gemini app | TechCrunch
- (00:10:13) ChatGPT launches an app store, lets developers know it's open for business | TechCrunch
- (00:13:35) Introducing GPT-5.2-Codex | OpenAI
- (00:19:23) Story about OpenAI release - GPT image 1.5
- (00:22:27) Meta partners with ElevenLabs to power AI audio across Instagram, Horizon - The Economic Times
- Applications & Business
- (00:23:16) OpenAI to End Equity Vesting Period for Employees, WSJ Says
- (00:28:20) How China built its ‘Manhattan Project’ to rival the West in AI chips
- (00:36:47) China’s Huawei, SMIC Make Progress With Chips, Report Finds
- (00:41:03) OpenAI in Talks to Raise At Least $10 Billion From Amazon and Use Its AI Chips
- (00:43:32) Amazon has a new leader for its ‘AGI’ group as it plays catch-up on AI | The Verge
- (00:47:27) Broadcom reveals its mystery $10 billion customer is Anthropic
- (00:49:12) Vibe-coding startup Lovable raises $330M at a $6.6B valuation | TechCrunch
- (00:50:38) Fal nabs $140M in fresh funding led by Sequoia, tripling valuation to $4.5B | TechCrunch
- Projects & Open Source
- (00:51:10) Nvidia Becomes a Major Model Maker With Nemotron 3 | WIRED
- (00:59:24) Meta introduces new SAM AI able to isolate and edit audio • The Register
- (00:59:54) [2512.14856] T5Gemma 2: Seeing, Reading, and Understanding Longer
- (01:03:10) Anthropic makes agent Skills an open standard - SiliconANGLE
- Research & Advancements
- (01:03:47) Budget-Aware Tool-Use Enables Effective Agent Scaling
- (01:08:21) Rethinking Thinking Tokens: LLMs as Improvement Operators
- (01:10:50) What if AI capabilities suddenly accelerated in 2027? How would the world know?
- Policy & Safety
- (01:12:58) Update to GPdfT-5 System Card: GPT-5.2
- (01:18:04) Neural Chameleons: Language Models Can Learn to Hide Their Thoughts from Unseen Activation Monitors
- (01:20:47) Async Control: Stress-testing Asynchronous Control Measures for LLM Agents
- (01:24:37) Google is powering a new US military AI platform | The Verge
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