Google launches test satellite carrying four TPUs into orbit under Project Suncatcher
Google has launched its first Project Suncatcher test satellite carrying four TPUs into orbit to determine whether its AI hardware can operate in space.
Google unveils Playground for creating and sharing video games via AI prompts
Playground enables users to create and share video games directly using AI prompts.
Google expands SynthID Detector globally with OpenAI, NVIDIA, Kakao, and Apple
Google is expanding its SynthID Detector in partnership with OpenAI, NVIDIA, Kakao, and soon Apple. The verification portal is now available globally in English to let users check if media was created using AI.
Google and MIT introduce Coco agent platform for hardware and ML model co-design
Researchers from Google and MIT have introduced Coco, an agent platform designed for TPU architects to co-design machine learning models and accelerators using relational database simulation sweeps and typed tools.
WHOAFRO uses Google Earth AI agent prototype to map Ebola risk in DRC
WHOAFRO deployed Google Earth AI's Geospatial Reasoning agent prototype during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, identifying 48 exposed settlements and over 45,500 at-risk people in minutes.
Google's Nano Banana 2.1 joins Arena.ai image generation and editing leaderboards
Arena.ai has added Google's Nano Banana 2.1 to its Text-to-Image, Image Edit, and Multi-Image Edit arenas, where the model placed fourth in Multi-Image Edit, fifth in Text-to-Image, and sixth in Image Edit.
EmbeddingGemma 2 operates on 191MB to 567MB of RAM with an 8K context window
Google detailed operational specifications for EmbeddingGemma 2, stating the 740M model uses between ~191MB and 567MB of active RAM, expands its context window to 8K, and processes up to 5.5 minutes of audio, 29 images, or 58 video frames per pass.
Google for Developers details offline execution and modular deployment for EmbeddingGemma 2
EmbeddingGemma 2 runs multimodal workloads entirely offline with zero server calls. The model features a modular design that lets developers drop unused vision or audio components to save memory, offers flexible dimension sizes that reduce local database storage by up to 6x, and pairs with Gemma 4 for efficient on-device RAG pipelines.
Google begins rolling out Nano Banana 2.1 across GeminiApp, Search, and developer platforms
Google has started rolling out Nano Banana 2.1 across multiple surfaces, including GeminiApp, AI Mode in Search, GoogleAIStudio, FlowByGoogle, StitchByGoogle, Google Ads, and Gemini Enterprise Platform.
Google introduces Nano Banana 2.1 image generation and editing model
Google has announced Nano Banana 2.1, an upgraded image generation and editing model that reports improvements in visual design, mask-based editing, and subject consistency.
VeriHarness turns a base model into a verifier for long-horizon agent tasks
A Google paper, VeriHarness, uses the same base model to check both disputed and unanimous agent claims. With evidence-backed revision, it reports gains of 6.2 points with Gemini 3.5 Flash and 6.4 points with Claude Opus 4.8 over a single rollout.
Polymarket says OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and Google executives will testify before the NYC Council
Polymarket says executives from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, and Google are set to testify before the NYC Council next week amid growing AI safety concerns.
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS supports scripted vocal bursts and backchanneling
Google says Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS can control tone, pacing, and expressive nuance with scripted non-verbal cues, including vocal bursts and short listening interjections.
Google to test whether TPUs can operate in space
Sundar Pichai says Project Suncatcher will fly a prototype satellite on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission, in partnership with Planet, to test whether Google’s TPUs can survive and operate in space.
Harness-Zero raises macro task success to 44.3% without the specialized harness
A paper from Google and colleagues describes Harness-Zero, which uses an optimized agent harness only during training. After that harness is removed, macro task success rises from 23.3% to 44.3%, above the 41.7% reached by the base model with the harness attached.
Google Vids adds Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash, free for Google accounts
News from Google says Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash and a new suite of creative controls are now in Google Vids. Anyone with a Google account can create videos there for free, without professional editing skills.
MedGemma downloads exceed 10 million worldwide
News from Google says the open-weight, Gemma-based models for medical text and images have been downloaded more than 10 million times since release. It describes them as a foundation for developers, researchers, and public health organizations building tools for triage, diagnostic screenings, and other uses.
Gemini can now connect with 13 new apps
The new connections include adobe, squarespace, and onepeloton. Google Gemini says people can grow a business, design assets, and plan workouts in Gemini instead of switching between tabs.
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS ranks first on the Artificial Analysis Pronunciation Robustness Benchmark
Artificial Analysis says Google has released Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS, Google DeepMind text-to-speech models with preset voices and voice replication. On its tests, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS scores 89.5% in pronunciation robustness and an Elo of 1,263 on the Provider Voice Arena.
Gemini 3.8 Flash and Flash-Lite text-to-speech models are available in the Gemini API
Google for Developers is offering Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS for natural-language voice direction and Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS for high-volume audio, both through the Gemini API in Google AI Studio.