Simile, a startup developing AI-powered digital replicas of real consumers for market research, has secured $200 million in funding at a $2 billion valuation in a round led by Greenoaks. The company's 'agentic twins' allow businesses to survey AI stand-ins instead of actual people.
Dentsu Group's R&D organization, Dentsu Innovation Initiative, will develop and demonstrate a Self-Sovereign Information Environment (SSIE) in collaboration with Yoichi Ochiai, enabling students to co-create with multiple AI systems through AI avatar agents at the 2026 summer school.Students will use QR-code-enabled business cards connected to a Web3 personal page and a hardware wallet supported by Sony Corporation.
British AI startup Synthesia has launched Roleplay Sessions, an interactive training platform that allows employees to practice workplace conversations with AI avatars that provide real-time feedback, scoring, and analytics. The product marks the company's expansion beyond its core AI video creation business into live coaching.
Hundreds of AI-generated avatars are flooding TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube with pro-Trump messaging, with some accounts gaining over 35,000 followers and millions of views, and Trump himself sharing the content.
