DeepMind’s red flag 🚩

Claude targets academia

April 04, 2025

Welcome back! ChatGPT just hit 20 million paying subscribers—pulling in an estimated $415 million per month, according to The Information. With projections to hit $12.7 billion in revenue this year, OpenAI’s growth looks good.

P.S. Don’t forget to vote for The Next Wave, which has been nominated for a Webby in the business category! We’re up against some of the greats in podcasting, and we’d really appreciate your support.

Anthropic eyes the college crowd

Northeastern Global News

On Wednesday, Anthropic rolled out Claude for Education, a special AI chatbot plan targeting colleges and universities​. It’s inspired by OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu plan but with a key differentiator: Learning Mode—a feature designed to enhance critical thinking rather than just deliver answers.

What makes Learning Mode different? Most AI tools excel at quick Q&A. Claude’s Learning Mode takes a different approach by guiding students through the learning process. It asks probing questions, breaks down core principles, and offers templates for essays, research papers, and study guides. The focus? Building critical thinking skills and encouraging deeper comprehension.

Why target colleges?

  • Different use cases: Students are using AI for creative projects, research, and complex problem-solving—not just Q&A.

  • Offer AI as a legit learning tool: Colleges increasingly see AI as essential, not optional. Anthropic wants in.

Bigger picture: AI is changing the course of education. And it’s clear that both Anthropic and OpenAI want their tools to become synonymous with learning—and key elements of the workflow for a young audience.

DeepMind’s 145-page AGI manifesto

DeepMind dropped a monster 145-page paper on AGI safety this week, and it’s raising eyebrows​. Co-authored by DeepMind co-founder Shane Legg, the report warns that AGI could emerge by 2030 and lead to “severe harm,” from bad actors to poorly designed systems spiraling out of control.

Key concern: DeepMind’s stance on AGI risk mitigation is way more cautious than that of OpenAI or Anthropic, both of which it criticizes for lacking robust safeguards. DeepMind emphasized the need for monitoring, security, and hardened AI environments.

What’s at stake: While OpenAI and Anthropic are focused on building faster, smarter models, DeepMind is hitting the brakes—at least rhetorically. But critics say the report is heavy on doomsday scenarios and light on practical solutions. The big question: Can anyone actually control AGI once it’s unleashed?

Fundraising roundup: AI innovation keeps cash flowing

Two major fundraises for startups to watch in AI this week →

  • Actively AI raised $22.5 million to double down on sales “superintelligence,” claiming traditional AI SDRs have flopped​. Actively’s approach? Reasoning-driven models designed to mimic top human sales reps’ work.

  • Isomorphic Labs secured a massive $600 million round to power AI-driven drug discovery​. Built on the foundation of DeepMind’s AlphaFold, Isomorphic’s ambitious goal is to cure illnesses like cancer and autoimmune diseases with AI.

The takeaway? More than 70% of US venture capital went toward AI investments during the first quarter of this year. The market’s still hot for AI innovation, especially when it promises to solve big problems—or at least make things a little less tedious.

One App. All Your Collaborators. Zero Cost.

Why pay for multiple tools when you can get everything in one place for free? Microsoft Teams Free keeps your team connected, organized, and productive—without the price tag.

Microsoft Teams’ zero-cost premium features let you:

  • Meet for longer—enjoy 60-minute meetings—don’t get cut off at 40.

  • Unlimited chat history—no 90-day limits here. Keep all your conversation history for future reference.

  • Built-in file sharing—keep your files easily accessible and shareable with 5GB of OneDrive storage for free.

Ready to start collaborating for free?

Visual note-taking with AI precision

Noteey

Noteey helps you organize, connect, and share your ideas using a visual note-taking system with support for text, images, PDFs, videos, mind mapping, and more. How do I see this coming in handy? When you’re taking timestamped video notes, sketching diagrams, or building flowcharts, Noteey can keep your creative process streamlined and connected.

How you can use it:

  • Organize complex projects: Build detailed mind maps and flowcharts to visualize your workflow

  • Search smarter: Use AI to find related notes, even across different formats

  • Collaborate effortlessly: Share your canvas and work in real-time with your team

Pricing: Freemium with paid plans available

Turn your creativity into something real

Flora

Flora offers an AI-powered canvas that helps you sketch, iterate, and refine ideas effortlessly—perfect for designers, content creators, and artists who need a powerful brainstorming tool.

How you can use it:

  • Brainstorm without boundaries: Use Flora’s infinite canvas to explore concepts from every angle

  • Collaborate in real-time: Share your creative process with others and build on their feedback

  • Visualize your thoughts: Turn rough ideas into polished visuals with AI assistance

Pricing: Freemium with paid plans available

Jobs, announcements, and big ideas

  • Meta’s VP of AI research, Joelle Pineau, is leaving the company.

  • Alibaba readies its flagship AI model for release.

  • Join Navier AI as an ML Engineer to experiment with novel ML models for physics simulations.

  • Adobe Premiere Pro’s generative AI tools are now available.

  • Google NotebookLM rolls out AI audio summaries and smarter source discovery.

  • Open AI says ChatGPT users have cranked out 700 million images in one week.

Here’s 50+ ways I’ve been using ChatGPT-4’s ImageGen.

I turned myself into a game character. Enough said.

That’s a wrap! See you next week.

—Matt (FutureTools.io)

P.S. This newsletter is 100% written by a human. Okay, maybe 96%.