Liquid Foundation Models: A New Transformers alternative + AINews Pod 2

**Liquid.ai** emerged from stealth with three subquadratic foundation models demonstrating superior efficiency compared to state space models and Apple’s on-device and server models, backed by a $37M seed round. **Meta AI** announced **Llama 3.2** with multimodal vision-enabled models and lightweight text-only variants for mobile. **Google DeepMind** introduced production-ready **Gemini-1.5-Pro-002** and **Gemini-1.5-Flash-002** models with improved pricing and rate limits, alongside **AlphaChip**, an AI-driven chip design system using reinforcement learning for rapid superhuman layouts. **OpenAI** enhanced ChatGPT Plus and Teams with Advanced Voice Mode featuring Custom Instructions, Memory, and new nature-inspired voices. California Governor vetoed SB-1047 AI regulation bill, celebrated by AI community figures like **ylecun** and **svpino** as a win for open-source AI. Google upgraded **NotebookLM** with audio overviews supporting YouTube and audio files, turning documents into AI-generated podcasts. *"Open source in AI is thriving,"* noted **ylecun**, highlighting 1 million models on Github and HuggingFace.