Meta this week published Glimmer, an open-weight AI model that users can download and run on their own hardware, while keeping the more capable Muse Spark model accessible only through company APIs. The release arrived alongside a 6,500-word manifesto from Mark Zuckerberg arguing that AI should be “for everyone” rather than concentrated in a few labs.
Podcast hosts flag caveats and industry stories
On the Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Rebecca Bellan examined Glimmer and Zuckerberg’s letter, but noted the company’s openness comes with caveats. The hosts also discussed several items from the week’s headlines, attributing analysis and reactions to the episode.
Anthropic’s plan to add watermarks to generated text was highlighted as a point of user frustration, and the episode covered debate over the real energy costs of the AI industry.
Deals, funding and infrastructure
The hosts reviewed a string of infrastructure and hardware stories: Form Energy’s $750M raise for 100-hour batteries; Reservoir’s $8M funding round for smarter water heaters; and Discovered Materials’ efforts to find cooler chip designs. Amazon’s proposed data center in Texas and the startups racing to relieve grid strain were also discussed.
Corporate deals and acquisitions appeared frequently in the episode. Joby Aviation’s $500M purchase of a defense contractor was compared to its earlier Blade transaction and discussed in the context of the 2028 LA Olympics.
One detailed segment focused on a $250M acquisition that collapsed. According to the hosts, a proposed deal between video-clipping startup VideoVerse and sports publisher Minute Media unraveled amid allegations of forged documents, multiple lawsuits and a CEO who could not be reached.
The episode also touched on lighter and niche items, including who might buy a $300 cocktail robot. The podcast episode aired Aug 14, 2026 and presented these developments with attribution to the show’s hosts and their cited sources.
Original source: TechCrunch AI