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Apple & Google’s $1B Deal + DeepSeek V4

PLUS: Anthropic wants to automate your desktop work

Author

Barsee
13 Jan

Together with

Howdy, it’s Barsee.

Happy Tuesday, AI family, and welcome to another AI Valley edition.

Today’s climb through the Valley reveals:

  • Anthropic wants to automate your desktop work

  • DeepSeek is readying another industry disruption

  • Apple signs multi-year deal for a "Gemini-Powered" Siri

  • OpenAI test ChatGPT Jobs to help with your next career change

  • Google unveils Universal Commerce Protocol for AI shopping agents

  • Plus trending AI tools, posts, and resources

Let’s dive into the Valley of AI…

WISPR FLOW

Courtesy: Flow

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THROUGH THE VALLEY

Courtesy: Anthropic

Anthropic has launched Claude Cowork, a new research preview inside the Claude Desktop app for macOS. It’s available only to Claude Max subscribers and is described as “Claude Code for the rest of your work.” Cowork lets users give Claude access to selected folders so it can run tasks like organizing files, checking drafts, searching the web, and creating reports. It works through a simple interface instead of a terminal and runs inside a sandboxed environment for safety. The goal is to bring Claude’s powerful agent abilities to non-developers without exposing system-level access.

Chinese AI lab DeepSeek is reportedly preparing to launch its next model, V4, which could outperform rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic on code generation, according to The Information. It is expected to launch in mid-February 2026. However, the exact date has not been officially confirmed, and sources caution that the timeline could still shift. The release would further strengthen the open-source AI ecosystem as open models continue to narrow the gap with closed systems. Momentum is building across the space: Mozilla recently announced plans for a modular open-source AI framework, and open models featured heavily at CES. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said open models still trail frontier systems but are improving fast.

Apple has signed a multiyear deal with Google to use Gemini models and cloud infrastructure to power a more personalized version of Siri starting in 2026. Apple said Google’s technology offers the strongest foundation for its Apple Foundation Models, while Google confirmed Gemini will also support future Apple Intelligence features. The agreement could cost Apple around $1 billion per year, though details were not confirmed. It is still unclear how this affects Apple’s existing ChatGPT integration. Markets reacted mildly, with Apple shares up 0.3% and Alphabet shares rising 1%.

OpenAI is working on a new vertical assistant called ChatGPT Jobs, expanding its push into domain-specific GPT tools after launching ChatGPT Health. The Jobs agent, currently marked as internal, is designed to act as a career assistant that helps users explore roles, improve resumes, understand which jobs fit their background, and get advice on standing out in hiring processes. It would bring job search, resume feedback, and career planning into one place inside ChatGPT. The move follows similar efforts from Microsoft with Copilot’s Career Coach and signals OpenAI’s plan to embed AI more deeply into professional decision-making.

Google has launched the Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard that lets AI shopping agents handle product search, checkout, and post-purchase support. Built with partners like Shopify, Walmart, and Target, UCP works across multiple stages of buying and connects with other agent protocols. Google plans to use it inside AI Mode and Gemini, including personalized ads and direct purchases. Walmart will allow shopping directly through Gemini and expand drone delivery to over 270 locations. Google is also rolling out AI-powered business agents for retailers, as it competes more directly with OpenAI, Amazon, and Perplexity in AI-driven commerce.

TRENDING TOOLS

  • Sekai is the best social platform to create, remix, and share personal software, now #3 in the iOS App Store Developer Tool

  • Cowork > A Claude Code alternative built to handle the rest of your work beyond coding

  • Google Veo Avatars > Create AI avatars in Google Vids with realistic lip-syncing and natural facial expressions

  • Gmail in the Gemini Era > Ask your inbox questions to get instant summaries, drafted replies, and smart actions

  • Wingman > A browser game that gamifies workouts using MediaPipe vision. Do chin-ups to save falling cats and dogs while your reps are tracked in real time

  • Atlas.new > An AI agent designed for maps, geospatial analysis, and spatial data workflows

  • Scribe v2 > ElevenLabs’ new transcription model, optimized for accuracy, low latency, and agent-based systems

  • Repo Prompt > A macOS-native AI context engine that finds, compresses, and syncs the right code for your agents. It cuts token usage, improves accuracy, and works with Claude, Codex, Cursor, and more

  • Pane > The first agentic-native spreadsheet that manipulates cells and grids with the precision of a human expert

THINK PIECES / BRAIN BOOST

THE VALLEY GEMS

What’s trending on social today:

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY

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