This Week in AI & Data: Top stories

From robots that walk like us to bikes that ride like pros, the world of AI continues to blur the line between fiction and reality. Rescue robots are now ready for action, wearable tech is turning invisible, and Gen-4 video models are crafting coherent scenes like seasoned filmmakers.

In the business arena, xAI and X just sealed a $113B all-stock deal, while OpenAI grabbed Billions to chase AGI dreams. Claude is heading to college, PaperBench says AI still has homework, and MoCha is giving characters the gift of conversation.

Whether it’s Convergence’s parallel agents, a cinematic super agent called Genspark, or a tattoo that tracks your health, it’s clear: the future isn’t waiting. Catch up on all the highlights below. If you missed any, now’s your chance to plug back in.

1. Figure Achieved Natural Humanoid Walking with Reinforcement Learning
2. Meet the World’s First Rescue and Transport Robots: A New Step Forward in Emergency Rescue
3. xAI and X Merge in All-Stock Deal, Valuing Combined Entity at $113 Billion
4. The Future of Wearables: How Electronic Tattoos Are Quietly Transforming Health Monitoring
5. Runway Gen-4 Is Here: Introducing Coherent Characters, and Scenes
6. OpenAI Secures $40B in Funding to Accelerate AGI Development
7. MoCha: Bringing Cinematic Conversations to AI-Generated Character
8. UMV: The Autonomous Bicycle That Rides, Jumps, and Wheelies Like a Pro
9. If Manus Was the Spark, Genspark Super Agent Might Be the First Real Flame
10. Claude Introduces Claude for Education: Empowering Higher Education with Responsible AI
11. OpenAI’s PaperBench Reveals AI Agents Still Lag Behind Humans in Research Replication
12. Convergence AI Launches Parallel Agents and Convergence 2.0 for Enhanced Task Processing and User Experience