AI News Roundup — March 31, 2026
Meta reportedly begins licensing Google's Gemini technology, Apple hires a Google VP for AI marketing, xAI loses its last co-founder, and a $100M political operation backs AI deregulation in the 2026 midterms.
Meta Reportedly Licensing Google's Gemini Technology
Meta's AI leadership reportedly discussed temporarily licensing Google's Gemini technology, with some requests within Meta AI already being routed through Gemini models. The move signals that Meta may be struggling to keep pace with competitors using its own LLaMA models alone.
Apple Hires Google VP to Lead AI Product Marketing
Apple hired a veteran Google VP to lead AI product marketing, signaling a major push to better position its AI offerings in a crowded market. This follows last week's announcement that Apple plans to open Siri to rival AI assistants in iOS 27.
xAI Faces Leadership Shakeup as Last Co-Founder Departs
Elon Musk's xAI is facing internal turmoil with the departure of its last remaining co-founder, marking a pivotal moment for the AI company behind Grok. The exit raises questions about the company's direction and long-term stability as it competes in a rapidly intensifying AI race.
Mistral Expands European AI Sovereignty Push
Following its $830 million debt raise, Mistral is expanding beyond its Paris data center with plans for a Swedish facility, targeting 200 megawatts of compute across Europe by the end of 2027. The company is positioning itself as the champion of European AI independence from US and Chinese tech giants.
Anthropic's Mythos Found in Unsecured Public Data Lake
More details emerged on the Mythos leak: cybersecurity researchers found the materials in an unsecured, public data lake. The model scores dramatically higher than Claude Opus 4.6 on software coding, academic reasoning, and cybersecurity benchmarks, but remains too compute-intensive for general release.
$100M Political Operation Backing AI Deregulation in 2026 Midterms
Innovation Council Action is preparing to spend over $100 million in the 2026 midterms to back candidates aligned with a deregulatory AI agenda, with the blessing of AI czar David Sacks. The spending signals big tech's growing political ambitions around shaping AI policy in the United States.
New Research Shows AI Can Help the Creative Process
New research suggests AI tools can be genuinely helpful during creative work, sparking fresh discussions about the evolving relationship between AI and creative professionals across art, music, and writing. The findings counter narratives that AI only threatens creative industries.