Doubao LLM 2.1 Pro Officially Released
On June 23, at the 2026 Volcano Engine Force Conference, the latest flagship version of the Doubao large model, Doubao-Seed-2.1 Pro, was officially launched. It performed close to GPT-5.5, Claude Opus 4.7, and Gemini 3.1 Pro in several benchmark tests. According to Tan Dai, president of Volcano Engine, the model has reached a “production-grade inflection point” in four dimensions: code delivery, long-horizon agent tasks, multimodal understanding, and enterprise-level stable operation, boasting stronger demand comprehension, long-term planning, and engineering delivery capabilities.
Doubao Daily Token Usage Hits 180 Trillion
On June 23, at the 2026 Volcano Engine Force Conference, President Tan Dai stated that as of June 2026, the Doubao model’s average daily token call volume reached 180 trillion, a more than 1,500-fold increase from the product’s launch, with an overall rise of more than ten times over the past year.
Meta Launches $299 Smart Glasses Under New Meta Series
On June 23, Meta announced a collaboration with EssilorLuxottica to launch the all-new “Meta Glasses” series. The line features a fresh design, includes three frame styles, and starts at $299—at least $80 cheaper than the company’s second-generation entry-level Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Oracle Laid Off About 21,000 Employees Last Fiscal Year, Some Roles Replaced by AI
On June 23, reports revealed that Oracle laid off roughly 21,000 employees last fiscal year, a larger reduction than previously known, including positions eliminated due to the adoption of artificial intelligence. In its annual financial regulatory filing, Oracle stated, “Our adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our business has resulted, and may continue to result, in workforce reductions.” The company said its global full-time headcount dropped from 162,000 to 141,000 in the fiscal year ending May 31, incurring approximately $1.8 billion in restructuring costs.
Qualcomm Reportedly Close to Acquiring AI Chip Startup Modular
On June 23, reports indicated that Qualcomm is in advanced talks to acquire artificial intelligence chip startup Modular, with a potential deal valuing the company at about $4 billion. No final agreement has been reached, negotiations could still fall through, and deal details may change.
SpaceX and AI Startup Reflection Ink Multi-Billion-Dollar Compute Deal
Reflection announced on Monday that it will pay SpaceX’s AI division $150 million per month from July this year through 2029 to use the hardware of SpaceX’s Colossus 2 data center in Memphis, Tennessee.
