Today in AI — 13 May 2026

Google owned the news cycle today. New OS, new laptops, orbital data centres, a maths breakthrough, and a $2.1 billion raise for its drug discovery spin-off. Google is trying to make Gemini the default intelligence layer before Apple's AI reboot.

Google's platform offensive

Android becomes an AI-first platform, new Googlebook laptops bring AI-native hardware, and Google is racing to lock this in before Apple unveils its own AI plans in June.

• Google unveils Gemini Intelligence, turning Android into an AI-first platform — Google Blog
• Google announces Googlebook, a new line of AI-native laptops — TechCrunch
• Google races to embed Gemini at the centre of Android before Apple's AI reboot — CNBC

Research and the long bets

DeepMind's AI Co-Mathematician cracked a 60-year-old open problem. Isomorphic Labs raised $2.1 billion to scale its AI drug discovery engine. Google and SpaceX are even in early talks about orbital data centres. Decade-horizon bets, all signalling where Google thinks the returns compound.

• DeepMind's AI Co-Mathematician cracks a 60-year-old open problem — Google Blog
• Isomorphic Labs raises $2.1 billion to scale AI drug discovery engine — Isomorphic Labs
• Google and SpaceX in talks to put AI data centres into orbit — TechCrunch

Enterprise agents go autonomous

SAP unveiled Autonomous Enterprise with 200+ AI agents at Sapphire 2026. Writer launched autonomous AI agents that act without prompts. Enterprise AI is moving towards more autonomous tooling.

• SAP unveils Autonomous Enterprise with 200+ AI agents at Sapphire 2026 — The Next Web
• Writer launches autonomous AI agents that act without prompts — VentureBeat

The replacement paradox

GM cut 600 IT workers and immediately posted AI-native roles. GitLab cut 7% of its workforce for the 'agentic era'. Yet a landmark Gartner study found that AI-driven layoffs are failing to generate the returns companies expected. The layoff-first strategy is losing on its own terms.

• GM lays off 600 IT workers and immediately hires AI-skilled replacements — CNBC
• GitLab cuts 7% of workforce and restructures for the 'agentic era' — The Next Web
• AI-driven layoffs are failing to generate returns, landmark Gartner study finds — Fortune

Markets price the narrative

The AI rally has spread beyond tech, pushing traditional industrial companies to valuations typically reserved for chip stocks.

• AI mania pushes old-school industrial stocks to tech-like valuations — Bloomberg

Google is building the full stack from silicon to orbit; the question for everyone else is whether to build on that stack or race to match it.

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