The Journey of Life.....: 🤖 AI Tools and Technologies [12-Jan-2026]

AI Tools & Technologies

Anthropic Raises $10 Billion at $350 Billion Valuation — Anthropic secured an additional $10 billion in funding in early 2026, achieving a $350 billion valuation, making it the second-most valued AI company after OpenAI. Source: Medium
LG AI Research Discloses K-Exaone Details — LG AI Research announced details of K-Exaone, developed as part of South Korea's 'homegrown AI foundation model' initiative. This represents Korea's effort to develop indigenous large language model capabilities. Source: Korea JoongAng Daily
Beyond Python: LLMs Need More Stable, Open Source Code — Analysis shows that LLMs have a strong bias for Python but the future of AI-generated code depends on stable, open source languages like Rust and Go for better maintainability and security. Source: The New Stack
Build Cheaper, Safer, Auditable AI with SLMs and RAG — Article explores how combining Small Language Models with Retrieval-Augmented Generation provides an alternative to high-cost LLMs with greater visibility and auditability for enterprise implementations. Source: The New Stack

Google Drops Code Wiki AI Tool — Google released Code Wiki, powered by Gemini AI, which transforms any GitHub repository into automatically updated documentation. Eliminates stale READMEs and reduces documentation overhead. Source: Google

Pane: AI Assistant for Spreadsheets — Pane is an AI tool that works directly in spreadsheet grids, bringing artificial intelligence capabilities to everyday spreadsheet work without requiring context switching. Source: Product Hunt
GitHub Expands AI Suite with Multi-Model Copilot — GitHub marked a significant evolution in developer tools with a multi-model upgrade to GitHub Copilot and introduction of Spark for web development, enabling developers to use multiple AI models. Source: OpenEXO
TinyCode: Single-File AI Coding Assistant — TinyCode is a single-file AI coding assistant built with Bun runtime, Claude AI from Anthropic, and TypeScript. Enhanced version released in January 2026 for lightweight AI-assisted development. Source: GitHub

AI Insiders Seek to Poison Training Data — Industry insiders launched 'Poison Fountain' initiative asking website operators to add links feeding poisoned training data to AI crawlers. Reflects growing concern about data ethics and AI model training practices. Source: The Register
EU AI Act Full Enforcement Begins in 2026 — Legal requirements surrounding AI agents became mandatory for businesses in 2026. The EU AI Act is fully enforced with hefty fines for violations, establishing comprehensive AI governance framework. Source: Xpert Digital

Elser AI: Full Anime Short Video Generation — Elser AI helps creators turn ideas into full anime story videos with consistent characters. Users can generate long-form videos from text prompts, revolutionizing anime production workflow. Source: Product Hunt
Tool Video: All-in-One AI Video Toolkit — Tool Video is an all-in-one AI video toolkit featuring Sora 2, AI image generation, music generation, and video utilities. Launched January 11, 2026, consolidating multiple AI creative tools. Source: Toolify

Claude Skills and Agents Feature — Anthropic released Claude Skills feature to tackle extensibility challenges. Skills, slash commands, and agents enable advanced capabilities while remaining user-friendly for building AI-powered workflows. Source: Medium
The Dawn of Agentic AI: From Chatbots to Co-workers — As of 2026, the transition from assistive AI to agentic AI has become the defining technology shift. The biggest names in tech are moving beyond chatbots to autonomous AI agents that can work independently. Source: Pixel Mojo

Claude File Creation for Spreadsheets and Slides — Anthropic introduced a new feature for Claude that can create files including spreadsheets, PowerPoints, and PDFs. Users can now generate complete presentations and documents through natural conversation. Source: Mashable
Karaf: AI-Powered Presentation Generator — Karaf transforms ideas into professional slides in seconds using AI. Works with Slack and ChatGPT, offering free tier and professional presentation generation capabilities. Source: Karaf

Google Releases Free AI Courses for 2026 — Google dropped a comprehensive collection of free AI courses designed for both beginners and advanced learners, providing 100% free access to top-rated AI and machine learning education. Source: Google
Microsoft Free AI Agents Building Course — Microsoft released a free 1-hour course on building AI agents for complete beginners, making advanced AI development concepts accessible to entry-level learners. Source: Microsoft