Howdy. It’s Barsee again.

Happy Monday, AI family, and welcome back to AI Valley.

In today’s edition:

• China’s next Deepseek Moment

• DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model: R2

• AI and the uncertain future of work

• Plus trending AI tools, posts, and resources

Ready, set, go…

MANUS AI

China’s next Deepseek Moment

Just weeks after DeepSeek’s launch, a Chinese startup Monica has unveiled Manus, a groundbreaking "agentic" AI platform that can autonomously think, plan, and execute tasks without human intervention. Touted by many as the most advanced AI tool to date. The demand is so high that invite codes are reportedly being resold for thousands of dollars.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Manus is designed to handle entire workflows independently with just a single user prompt. Early demonstrations showcase its ability to perform a wide range of tasks, including building websites, games, analyzing stocks, planning trips, writing reports, data visualizations, comparing insurance policies, etc.

• Manus uses a multi-agent architecture and runs in swarms of thousands, collaborating seamlessly with thousands of AI agents to tackle massive-scale problems and the processing speed becomes 10x faster.

• Manus can also access platforms like X, Youtube, Reddit, and Telegram to collect and process data, even managing multiple screens simultaneously.

• In a demo video released by Monica, Manus was shown automating approximately 50 tasks simultaneously. It interacted with the internet, gathered data, and executed complex operations in real time.

• One user even reported that Manus created its own open-source alternative from scratch in just 25 minutes.

• It has outperformed OpenAI’s DeepResearch in GAIA benchmark tests, which evaluate AI agents on real-world problem-solving. It achieved state-of-the-art (SOTA) performance across all difficulty levels, though independent verification remains limited.

• The system is currently in an early testing phase and is available only to a limited group of users through an invitation-only preview.

Why it matters:

This trajectory suggests that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is no longer a distant dream, it’s rapidly approaching. The pace of progress is accelerating with so many new AI breakthroughs in such short time. New AI models like Manus AI has the potential to transform industries by reducing human workload and optimizing workflows. If it delivers on its promises, Manus could set a new standard for AI autonomy.

TOGETHER WITH INTERCOM

Your customers are calling — Intercom's AI agent is answering

AI continues to disrupt the customer service industry, changing how (and how fast) businesses can support their customers.

Intercom is about to introduce another new AI advancement that's going to change the game with Fin Voice—an AI-powered phone support system that delivers human-quality interactions and is available to answer customer calls 24/7.

Mark your calendars for March 19th and join Intercom's Built For You Spring '25 broadcast to discover more about this exciting addition to their AI agent, Fin, as well as other cutting-edge capabilities. Don’t miss out on the future of customer support.

SIDE UPDATES

🐳 DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model: R2

Deepseek had planned to release R2 in early May but now wants it out as early as possible. The model aims to improve reasoning, coding, and multilingual support while maintaining cost efficiency. DeepSeek R2 is said to outperform R1 in logic-based tasks and programming by leveraging improved training methods and long-context understanding. It promises higher accuracy, better problem-solving, and stronger AI-assisted coding capabilities, making it a competitive option for complex reasoning tasks.

🤖 Google co-founder Larry Page has a new AI startup

Larry Page has launched Dynatomics, a new AI startup aimed at transforming product manufacturing. The company plans to use AI to generate design renderings for factories, which could make production more efficient, cut costs, and speed up how quickly products hit the market. By automating the design process, Dynatomics seeks to uncover innovations that human designers might overlook, potentially unlocking new product categories and functionalities. The startup is currently in stealth mode, operating with a small team of specialized AI engineers and developers.

📄 Mistral revolutionizes document processing with new OCR API

Mistral has launched a new OCR API that converts PDFs into AI-friendly formats like Markdown and raw text. Designed for seamless integration into AI workflows, it accurately processes text, images, tables, equations, and handwritten notes. The API supports multiple languages, including complex scripts like Hindi, Arabic, and Chinese. It also delivers high-speed processing, handling up to 2,000 pages per minute, outperforming Google Document AI and Microsoft Azure OCR.

🍟 McDonald's gives its restaurants an AI makeover 

McDonald's is rolling out AI-driven upgrades across its 43K global locations to improve efficiency and customer experience. The company is adding internet-connected kitchen equipment with sensors to monitor performance and prevent breakdowns. Drive-throughs are also getting an upgrade with automated voice ordering to reduce wait times and improve accuracy. These advancements are part of McDonald's plan to boost sales and expand its customer base to 250 million by 2027.

⚔️ Microsoft builds its own AI to compete with OpenAI

Microsoft is working on its own AI reasoning models, called "MAI," to reduce reliance on OpenAI. These models are designed for complex reasoning tasks and reportedly perform at a level comparable to OpenAI and Anthropic’s top systems. Microsoft is testing MAI for use in its Copilot AI assistants and evaluating models from xAI, Meta, and DeepSeek as potential alternative. Microsoft may offer these models as APIs for developers later this year. The company may also offer MAI as an API for developers later this year.

TRENDING TOOLS

• AI Build Games > Explore a curated collection of innovative games built with artificial intelligence, generated by simply prompting (vibe coded) LLMs like Grok, Claude, or GPT.

• Google Search AI Mode > Go beyond the search.

• OpenManus > An open-source alternative of Manus AI.

• Magicam > Swap faces and change voices in real time for streams and meetings.

• Windsurf Wave 4 > Build apps faster with live previews, automation, and smart suggestions.

THINK PIECES / RESOURCES

• AI and the uncertain future of work.

• OpenAI is gaining real ground on Google. ChatGPT now refers 4.8% of new vercel signups and it's growing very fast. It was less than 1% 6 months ago.

• ChatGPT doubled its weekly active users in under 6 months, thanks to new releases.

• Coding expertise has never been more important. 25% of companies are using AI to generate 95% of their code bases. 

• How to build & deploy agents, according to OpenAI.

• Why the CAPTCHA may be the ultimate battleground between AI and humans.

• AI doesn’t really ‘learn’ – and knowing why will help you use it more responsibly.

• So how well is Claude playing Pokémon?

• Chatbots are cheating on their benchmark tests.

CONTENT CORNER

1/ 9 new examples and use-cases of Manus AI.

2/ A compilation of Chinese AI start ups with working demos.

3/ EngineAI's Humanoid robot not only runs like human but are fast aswell. It feels good to see robots evolving at this place.

4/ A fully working 3d game build with AI and Three.js.

5/ Every year, AI (at least) doubles in quality.

6/ AI manages calendar better than a $3,000 per month human assistant.

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY

That’s all for today’s issue, folks.

💡 Help me get better and suggest new ideas at [email protected] or @heyBarsee

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