Meta Launches Muse Wonder Models That Rival Leading Frontier AI Systems

Meta announced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full on Monday, the latest proprietary models from Meta Superintelligence Labs, led by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. Neither model ships with publicly downloadable weights. Independent benchmarker Artificial Analysis gave Wonder Full a score of 56 on its Intelligence Index, tying Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 5.5 and surpassing OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra at 53. Among the compared models, only Claude Opus 5.5 scored higher, at 58. The standard Wonder model costs $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens through Meta’s API, while Wonder Full is available only through Muse Code subscriptions priced at $50 and $200 per month.

Microsoft President Brad Smith Says UK Is Best Placed to Lead Global AI Rules

Microsoft president Brad Smith is calling for urgent regulation of artificial intelligence, arguing that milk and washing machines face more oversight than the companies building AI. On a BBC podcast, Smith called AI both a “weapon and a tool” and said the U.K., not the U.S. or European Union, is best placed to lead on global safety rules. Smith described a “morally binding” safety document that tech leaders signed at the White House as a “good step” that stops short of necessary regulation, because only the “good companies” will comply. He outlined rules he would like to see, including a legal obligation to alert organizations breached by rogue AI agents.

WindBorne Wins Air Force Contract Worth Up to $49 Million for Weather Balloon Data

The U.S. Air Force will buy data from WindBorne Systems’ fleet of autonomous weather balloons under a contract worth up to $49 million, TechCrunch reported Monday. The Redwood City, California, startup has about 700 balloons flying around the globe, collecting atmospheric sensor readings that it sells to customers and feeds into its own AI weather forecasting model. The Air Force pays only as it needs data and has ordered $1.7 million worth so far. Co-founder and CTO Andrey Sushko said the contract, awarded without competitive bidding, reflects a government determination that WindBorne was the only company able to provide the global data in the way required.

NASA Official Says Early Moon Base Construction Will Be About 99% Robotic

Building a permanent base on the moon will depend heavily on autonomous robots, according to an MIT Technology Review feature published Monday. NASA’s moon base program manager, Carlos García-Galán, said the buildup “in the first years, will pretty much 99% be robotic.” The article describes the robots likely needed: excavators to dig up lunar rock that could become concrete and bricks, and machines to dig trenches, pave landing pads and build berms against dust thrown up by launches. NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle can be driven by astronauts or piloted remotely. Because lunar nights last two weeks, the article says nuclear power is probably the only viable energy option.

Blueprints AI Says Its Software Produces Permit-Ready Construction Plans in Minutes

Blueprints AI, a bootstrapped Santa Monica startup, says its software produces code-compliant, permit-ready architectural construction blueprints in minutes from a 2D sketch or PDF. Co-founders Al Dram, who runs an architecture firm, and Coco Cao, a data scientist, trained the models on eight years of approved drawing sets from Dram’s design and construction business. The first-generation software costs $3,200 to $8,500 a month. A second version, being unveiled at TechCrunch Disrupt and due for public release this week, creates architecture, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and interior plans at once, checking every change against local building codes. Licensed professionals still review and seal the documents before permit submission.

Google Launches $179.99 Fitbit Edge Between Fitbit Air and Pixel Watch

Google expanded its Fitbit lineup Monday with the Fitbit Edge, a $179.99 wearable positioned between the Fitbit Air and Pixel Watch. It combines the Air’s slim band with an OLED display for map directions, notifications, weather and music controls. The Edge works with Google Health Coach, powered by Gemini, which requires a Google Health Premium subscription. Google says the device can automatically recognize and log up to 100 activities, its built-in GPS is 40% more accurate than the previous generation, and sleep-stage detection is 15% more accurate. The battery is rated for up to seven days. Preorders are open through the Google Store, with store availability set for October 27.

Ultrahuman and Abu Dhabi to Validate a Biological-Age Model for UAE Residents

Ultrahuman, the Bengaluru-based smart ring maker, announced Monday that it signed a two-year memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center to develop and validate a biological-age model. The model combines clinical biomarkers with wearable data to estimate how quickly a person is aging and identify factors, including sleep, activity, cardiovascular health and metabolism, that may be speeding or slowing that process. CEO Mohit Kumar said the model is designed to be wearable-agnostic and will not be trained on UAE data. The partners will spend two years on research and clinical validation, followed by a phased rollout for which Kumar gave no timeline.

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