Anysphere Raises $900M for Cursor, Amazon Enhances Q Business, and Akamai's AI Firewall Debuts - AI Programming Weekly #1

May 05, 2025 - AI Programming Weekly

Hi there,

Welcome to this week's edition of AI Programming Weekly.

This week, we're diving into some exciting developments in AI-based coding and software development tools. Amazon has updated its Q Business AI assistant, enabling companies to create public-facing chatbots that support anonymous user access, which could streamline customer interactions on websites and support portals. Meanwhile, Cast AI has secured $108 million to enhance AI and Kubernetes workload optimization, aiming to expand its operations across the U.S. and Europe.

In other news, BigID has introduced a new data labeling capability for vector databases, enhancing AI security and governance. Dataminr has revealed its Agentic AI roadmap with Intel Agents to improve real-time decision-making. Additionally, Akamai has launched an AI Firewall to protect AI applications from cyber threats, and Anysphere has raised a staggering $900 million for its AI-powered coding tool, Cursor. Stay tuned for more updates on these and other stories in the world of AI programming.

Amazon Updates Q Business for Public Chatbots
Amazon has updated its Q Business AI assistant, enabling companies to create public-facing chatbots that allow anonymous user access, facilitating customer support on websites and portals. Read more
Cast AI Secures $108 Million for AI and Kubernetes Optimization
Cast AI has raised $108 million in a Series C funding round to enhance resource efficiency for AI and Kubernetes workloads. The company plans to use the funds for research and development and to expand its operations in the U.S. and Europe. Read more
BigID Introduces Data Labeling for Vector Databases
BigID has announced a new capability to label data within vector databases, enhancing AI security and governance. This innovation allows organizations to classify and protect sensitive data used in AI applications, ensuring compliance with global privacy regulations and improving AI model integrity. Read more
Dataminr Introduces Agentic AI Roadmap
Dataminr has announced its Agentic AI roadmap, featuring Intel Agents that autonomously generate critical context for real-time events, threats, and risks. This aims to improve decision-making by providing tailored real-time information. Read more
Akamai Launches AI Firewall for Enhanced Security
Akamai Technologies, Inc. has introduced a new Firewall for AI, aimed at safeguarding AI applications from cyber threats like unauthorized queries and data scraping. The solution includes multilayered protection and real-time threat detection. Read more
Anysphere Raises $900 Million for AI Tool Cursor
Anysphere, the company behind the AI-powered coding tool Cursor, has secured $900 million in a funding round, valuing the company at $9 billion. Read more
Blacksmith Secures $3.5M for AI CI Cloud Development
Blacksmith, a startup by former Cockroach Labs engineers, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by GV and Y Combinator. The funding will support the development of a high-performance CI cloud platform for AI-driven workflows. Read more
E8 Angels Opens Applications for 2025 Decarbon8-US Fund
E8 Angels has begun accepting applications for its 2025 Decarbon8-US Impact Fund, targeting early-stage companies creating software and AI solutions for climate change. The deadline for applications is June 20, 2025. Read more
JetBrains Releases Mellum AI Model on Hugging Face
JetBrains has launched Mellum, an open AI coding model for software development, available on the Hugging Face platform. The model is designed for code completion and requires fine-tuning before use. Read more
Thesys Launches C1, First Generative UI API
Thesys has introduced C1, the first API designed for Generative User Interface, enabling developers to create dynamic applications from LLM outputs in real time. Read more
Versa Launches MCP Server for AI Integration
Versa has introduced its Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server to enhance AI integration in network and security operations, allowing AI tools to securely access Versa systems. Read more
Apple and Anthropic Collaborate on AI Coding Platform
Apple has teamed up with Anthropic to develop an AI-driven coding platform called 'vibe coding'. This platform aims to automate various coding tasks and is currently being tested internally. Read more
Meta CEO Predicts AI to Handle Half of Coding by 2026
At the LlamaCon AI developer conference, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his expectation that AI will manage half of the company's coding tasks by next year, reflecting the increasing integration of AI in software development. Read more
Meta Previews Llama API for AI Models
At the LlamaCon AI developer conference, Meta announced a limited preview of the Llama API, enabling developers to create applications using its Llama AI models. The API includes tools for fine-tuning and evaluating model performance. Read more
Cloudflare and Anthropic Partner for Secure AI Integrations
Cloudflare has partnered with Anthropic to enable secure integrations between Anthropic's AI assistant Claude and various SaaS platforms, using Cloudflare's Managed Connection Proxy toolkit. Read more
Lightrun Raises $70M for AI Code Debugging
Israeli startup Lightrun has secured $70 million in Series B funding to enhance its AI-driven platform for debugging code in production environments. Read more
NetRise Unveils AI Cybersecurity Tool ZeroLens
NetRise has launched NetRise ZeroLens, an AI-powered tool aimed at detecting undisclosed software vulnerabilities. The platform helps enterprises and device manufacturers manage zero-day risks by analyzing compiled code and offering remediation insights. Read more
Databahn.ai Unveils 'Data Reef' for AI Security Insights
Databahn.ai has launched 'Data Reef', a new solution that transforms large-scale security telemetry into actionable intelligence using its Model Context Protocol and autonomous agent Cruz, aiming to improve security team efficiency with real-time insights. Read more
Meta and Groq Collaborate on Llama API Inference Speed
On April 29, 2025, Groq announced a partnership with Meta to enhance inference speed for the official Llama API using Groq's LPU chip. Read more

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