Seeking Alpha’s roundup of statements, announcements and remarks that could impact the technology sector.
- Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new AirPods Pro 3 earbuds feature a heart-rate monitor.
The earbuds, which will be priced at $249, allow users to monitor their pulse rate and calorie burn on their iPhones while they work out. The product’s battery life has also been extended to eight hours from six hours, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg noted that the addition of a heart-rate monitor function is the latest move by the company to expand the product’s reach into the wellness market.
Apple introduced the AirPods Pro 3 at a high-profile event on Tuesday, where it is also expected to unveil the iPhone 17 along with several other products.
- A United Arab Emirates research center said it’s launched an AI reasoning model called K2 Think that performs as well as models developed by Open AI and China’s DeepSeek.
“With just 32 billion parameters, it outperforms flagship reasoning models that are 20X larger. This breakthrough in parameter efficiency makes K2 Think a powerful alternative for advanced reasoning, redefining what is possible with compact architectures,” the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence said in a statement.
The model was developed by Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and Abu Dhabi-based AI development group G42, according to K2 Think’s website.
OpenAI was co-founded by Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and counts Microsoft (MSFT) as a major investor.
- Gemini Space Station (GEMI), which is expected to go public this week, has lined up Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) as an investor.
According to the company’s most recent SEC filing, Nasdaq has agreed to buy around $50 million in common shares of the cryptocurrency exchange at the IPO price in a concurrent private placement.
Gemini Space Station plans to offer 16.7 million shares priced between $17 and $19 per share, which would raise around $317 million if priced at the top end of the range.
The company, which is backed by the Winklevoss twins, expects to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol GEMI.