MIT startup demos AI controlled by neuromuscular signals

Welcome back, Superhuman. Google’s new ‘Nano Banana’ image model is a fan favorite. The Gemini app has added 13M new users and 300M images in the last 4 days, thanks to the new model. But the flood of new AI content might be affecting us in ways we don’t even realize yet — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman thinks his social media feeds look increasingly fake because “real people have picked up quirks of LLM-speak.“

Today: A new wearable claims to read your mind (sort of), learn how to branch conversations in ChatGPT, and get the latest prompts and trending social posts.

TODAY IN AI

1. Startup unveils wearable that claims to read brain signals: MIT spinout Alterego demoed a wearable that reads neuromuscular signals, letting users type, search, and use apps silently. CEO Arnav Kapur showed how the device can take notes and hold silent conversations with AI without speaking a word. Beyond boosting productivity in noisy or public settings, it could give a voice to people with ALS and other speaking conditions. You can see it in action here.

2. Cognition AI hits $10.2B valuation: The coding assistant startup has secured $400M in new funding, led by Founders Fund. The news follows its recent acquisition of rival AI coding platform Windsurf. Cognition’s AI coding agent Devin (which helps developers write, debug, and optimize code faster) has surged to $73M in revenue as of June, up from $1M in September 2024.

3. Microsoft locks down $19B in AI cloud capacity: The company has inked a massive deal worth up to $19.4B with Nebius Group. The agreement gives Microsoft access to dedicated AI computing capacity from a new data center in Vineland, NJ, starting later this year. The move comes as the company faces persistent "capacity constrained" conditions. CFO Amy Hood noted ongoing challenges in meeting demand for both internal AI products and Azure services for customers.

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FROM THE FRONTIER

AI wearable Plaud quietly gains traction, as major hardware players stumble

While wearables like Rabbit R1 and Humane grabbed headlines but ultimately fell short of their hype, Chinese startup Plaud has quietly gained ground with users — selling 1 million+ units of its NotePin product since 2023, and hitting $250M in annual revenue run rate.

Playing a different game. Instead of targeting a broad audience, the company has focused on offering a narrow set of features to the productivity segment. Plaud’s devices turn conversations into searchable transcripts and summaries. The new Note Pro, launching this year, adds a tiny display, a press-to-highlight button, 64GB of storage, and 30–50 hours of battery life.

Plaud found its audience among overworked professionals. The company’s products and services are focused on workers who need accurate, multi-platform notes without juggling phones or apps. Doctors, lawyers, and sales teams pay $159 for their device plus $99 a year for transcription services.

While wearable startups like Rabbit and Humane burned through millions trying to build a more general device for the broader market, Plaud’s singular focus has served the company well. Co-founders Nathan Xu and Charles Liu bootstrapped the business, pooling savings and running a $1M crowdfunding campaign. They reportedly still own the majority of the company, and have not raised venture capital.

THE AI ACADEMY

How to branch conversations in ChatGPT

• Go to ChatGPT and open the conversation you want to branch from.

• Scroll to the specific message (your own prompt or ChatGPT’s reply) where you want to start a new conversation.

• Move your cursor over the message and select ‘More actions‘ at the bottom.

• Select ‘Branch in new chat’. A new conversation will open starting from that exact message.

• In this new thread, you can ask follow-up questions, test variations, or change direction entirely.

• The original chat stays intact, and you can switch between branches anytime.

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IN THE KNOW

What’s trending on socials and headlines today

📝 Learn Smarter: NotebookLM users can now create custom reports in 80+ languages, get topic suggestions, generate blogs, watch multilingual video overviews, and make flashcards and quizzes. See the new features in action here.

🤖 Bot Banter: A user claims they asked ChatGPT if they’re a bad person for calling it dumb, and gets a clever reply from the chatbot.

🎙️Auto Podcast: ElevenLabs launched an AI tool that generates multi-speaker podcasts from text scripts that sound like a real human. See it in action here.

Motion, the YC-backed AI startup building a “Microsoft Office for agents,” has raised $38M in its latest Series C funding.

Google is expanding its AI-powered search “AI Mode” to five new languages — Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese, after months of being English-only. The update comes alongside other upgrades like audio file uploads in the Gemini app

ElevenLabs is letting employees sell up to $100M in stock at a $6.6B valuation — double its last valuation.

PRODUCTIVITY

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• 🤝 Meeting.ai: Turns your meetings into diagrams and visual summaries.

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PROMPT STATION

Meeting Prep Framework

Prompt: You are my executive assistant. Never let me walk into a meeting blindsided.

Task: Review the email I selected for you [share email].

Context: Prepare me for the next meeting about [share context].

Reference: Use insights from all past manager and team discussions connected to this meeting series [share summaries, notes, or prior context].

Deliverables:

Summary of the selected email (clear, concise).

Meeting prep notes: Key points, open threads, and issues I should raise.

Action items: What’s expected of me, what I owe others, and deadlines.

Team/Manager alignment: Remind me of prior agreements, decisions, and dynamics I must keep in mind.

Red flags: Any risks, tensions, or gaps I should be ready to address.

Keep the tone direct, practical, and anticipatory. Write like a chief of staff who wants me fully equipped to contribute and not be blindsided.

Pop Mart Figures

ChatGPT Prompt: Create a realistic 3D blind box collectible figure designed in the hidden edition style of Pop Mart. The figure should feature a cute, chibi-like proportion, with a large head and small body. Base the figure’s appearance directly on [CELEBRITY NAME], preserving their essential style and signature features such as [DISTINCT FACIAL FEATURES, HAIR, MAKEUP, CLOTHING STYLE], without altering them.

Place the figure inside a premium transparent blind box featuring a pink and rose gold color scheme. Include inside the box additional fashion or lifestyle accessories such as [ACCESSORIES RELEVANT TO CELEBRITY].

On the side of the box, add a stylized illustrated portrait of the [CELEBRITY NAME]–inspired figure, and place the name "[CELEBRITY NAME]" in stylish gold script at both the top right and bottom front of the box.

Display the boxed figure on a clean white tabletop, with a softly blurred modern boutique shelf environment in the background. Use soft, polished, and realistic lighting, mimicking a professional commercial product photoshoot to highlight the figure and its packaging elegantly.

Whenever you’re ready to take the next step

• Check out our Top 125 AI Tools

• Get better at prompting with our Top 1,000 Prompts

• Learn how to use AI at work and get certified with our free course

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Until next time — Zain & the Superhuman AI team