Grok-3 Takes the Throne and xAI Dominates Chatbot Arena!

Meta’s Bold Move into AI-Powered Robotics, Perplexity Challenges OpenAI, & more..

February 19, 2025

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The AI race is heating up! xAI’s Grok-3 claims the title of the smartest AI, Meta dives into robotics, and Perplexity challenges OpenAI with a free research tool. Even The New York Times is embracing AI to reshape journalism.

Let’s dive in!

Trending this week in AI:

  • Grok-3: xAI’s AI Breakthrough

  • Meta’s Bold Move into AI-Powered Robotics

  • Perplexity Challenges OpenAI with Free AI Research Tool

  • NYT Embraces AI for Newsroom Efficiency

Elon Musk’s xAI has launched Grok-3, claiming it as "the smartest AI on Earth" after outperforming GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Gemini-2 Pro in key benchmarks. Trained with 10 times more compute using xAI’s Colossus supercomputer, it excels in math, science, and coding, ranking #1 on Chatbot Arena. A smaller Grok-3 Mini offers faster responses.

With advanced reasoning capabilities, Grok-3 positions xAI at the forefront of AI innovation. However, competition is heating up as OpenAI preps GPT-4.5 and GPT-5, while Anthropic, DeepMind, and Chinese tech giants push forward. Its dominance may be short-lived.

Image source: xAI

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Meta is developing AI, hardware, and software platforms for humanoid robots, aiming to be the industry's foundational tech provider rather than a manufacturer. Led by former Cruise CEO Marc Whitten, a new Reality Labs team will leverage Meta’s AR/VR sensor tech to create a universal robotics software platform.

Unlike Apple and OpenAI, which may build their own robots, Meta plans to partner with companies like Unitree and Figure AI. Its strategy to power the robotics industry, rather than compete in hardware, could position it as a key player in the future of AI-driven automation.

Image source: Mashable

Perplexity has launched Deep Research, an AI-powered agent that generates structured reports in minutes, competing directly with OpenAI and Google. The tool autonomously scans hundreds of sources and outperformed several rivals on Humanity’s Last Exam, though it trailed OpenAI’s version.

Unlike OpenAI’s $200/month paywall, Perplexity offers five free reports daily, with more for Pro users. CEO Aravind Srinivas even took a jab at OpenAI’s Sam Altman on X. As AI-driven research tools rapidly evolve, the race isn’t just about innovation—it’s about who makes it accessible first.

Image source: Perplexity

The New York Times is integrating AI tools to enhance SEO, editing, summaries, and product development while maintaining strict rules against AI-written articles and image generation. Approved tools include GitHub Copilot, Google’s Vertex AI, and NYT’s in-house summarization tool, Echo.

This shift highlights the growing role of AI in journalism, despite NYT’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI over alleged misuse of its content. As AI adoption accelerates, other major publishers like Financial Times and Vox Media are also refining their strategies to balance innovation with editorial integrity.

Image source: Insider’s Edge via Ideogram

In Other News

The S&P 500 closed at its second record high of 2025, though markets remained directionless, with the Dow edging up 10 points and the Nasdaq adding less than 0.1%. Investors remain wary of risks like inflation, trade tensions, and DeepSeek’s challenge to U.S. AI dominance, leading to growing bearish sentiment among amateur traders.

Meanwhile, Intel shares surged after reports of potential Broadcom and TSMC deals, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway boosted Constellation Brands with a new stake. Global markets showed strength, with European indexes hitting records and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rising after top tech executives met with China’s President Xi Jinping.

Image source: WSJ

Tools to Check Out this Week

Stablecog - Generate vaious diffusion like Luna, Stable, Waifu, & more.

Visla - Generate & edit videos using AI within minutes

Botsheets - Automate data collection & responses to customer conversations

Assisterr - Better decisions & faster collaboration with this AI-powered web3 tool

This Week’s Jobs On insidersedge.io 

Business Development Associate - Wintermute 

Marketing Manager - AI Arena

Artist Acquisition Representative Asia - Audius

EMEA Head AI Fintech - Prospexis.io

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