💸 Google lets AI agents pay

Good morning, AI enthusiasts. Google just introduced a new open protocol that lets AI agents handle money safely with secure digital contracts.

PLUS: How to use the world’s fastest open-source reasoning model

TODAY IN AI

💸 Google unveils Agent Payments Protocol (AP2)

Google introduced AP2, a new open protocol for AI-driven purchases, backed by 60+ merchants and financial institutions including Mastercard, American Express, and PayPal.

→ Enables AI agents to shop, negotiate, and complete transactions on behalf of users
→ Requires “intent mandate” + “cart mandate” for traceable and auditable purchases
→ Supports complex real-time agent-to-agent negotiations (e.g., travel, bundles)
→ Includes crypto integration via Coinbase, MetaMask, and Ethereum Foundation

Why is important: AP2 lays the groundwork for a future where AI agents autonomously book travel, shop, and bundle deals, reshaping e-commerce, payments, and everyday digital transactions.

🧠 Alibaba launches Tongyi DeepResearch

Alibaba unveiled Tongyi DeepResearch, the first fully open-source web agent achieving performance comparable to OpenAI’s Deep Research using just 30B (Activated 3B) parameters.

→ Scores 32.9 on Humanity’s Last Exam, 45.3 on BrowseComp, 75.0 on xbench-DeepSearch
→ Supports multi-step reasoning via ReAct Mode and complex research tasks via Heavy Mode
→ Real-world applications include Gaode Mate (navigation AI) and Tongyi FaRui (legal research AI)

Why is important: Tongyi DeepResearch demonstrates that high-performance, autonomous AI research agents can be built efficiently with smaller, open-source models, democratizing access to advanced AI reasoning and planning tools.

HOW TO AI

How to use the world’s fastest open-source reasoning model

UAE just dropped K2-Think, a 32B parameter AI that matches GPT-4 reasoning while being 20× smaller. It’s lightning fast (2,000 tokens/sec), crazy efficient, and completely open source.

🧰 Who is this for

• Developers who need reliable code & logic

• Students solving complex math problems

• Researchers working on proofs & reasoning

• Startups building fast AI agentsy

STEP 1: Access K2-Think

Go to K2-Think and create an account. Once done, you’ll land on a clean, chat-style dashboard that looks a lot like ChatGPT. In the middle of the screen there’s a text box that says “Ask anything to K2.” Here you can simply type what you want it to do and start using for any task.

STEP 2: Use K2 think

When you are ready, just click on the text box and describe your task in plain English. K2-Think answers in seconds and show a short plan of steps first, then the final result.

For example: "Generate an optimized Python function to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem using dynamic programming"

You’ll get a full answer in seconds, with the approach first, then the final code.

K2-Think stands out because it plans before it answers, it shows its step-by-step thinking and then gives the result, which makes its replies clearer and more trustworthy.

You can use it when you need step-by-step solutions (math, logic, proofs), quick reliable code snippets, or short research-style explanations.

Now you’re good to go, so dive in, try out a few prompts, and see what it can do for you.

ESSENTIAL BITES

• OpenAI is adding teen safety features to ChatGPT, including an age-prediction system, parental controls, and alerts for self-harm risks that can contact parents or authorities.

• OpenAI hired former xAI finance chief Mike Liberatore as its new business finance officer, a move that further escalates the rivalry between Sam Altman and Elon Musk.

• CodeRabbit just launched a CLI tool that lets developers review AI-generated code line by line in the terminal, flagging bugs, vulnerabilities, and missing tests before committing.

• Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, OpenAI, Salesforce, and CoreWeave just pledged over $40B in new AI investments in the U.K., led by Microsoft’s $30B supercomputer project.

• ChatGPT just updated its personalization page, combining personality settings, custom instructions, and memories in one place, with new sections for shopping and employee-only features.

⚙️ Hot AI Tools:

• ⚙️ GPT-5 Codex: OpenAI’s upgraded coding AI

• ⚡ Gamma 3.0: AI builds full pitch decks in 60s

• 🐇 CodeRabbit: CLI for reviewing AI code and catching bugs

• 🤝 Lumro: Deploy AI agents for top-notch customer experience.

That's it! See you tomorrow

- Dr. Alvaro Cintas