[DVYio Newsletter](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/F529qxiA) [Google's world-generating AI (Project Genie) is now live for Ultra subscribers](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/Bp9Y27hm) [Google's world-generating AI (Project Genie) is now live for Ultra subscribers](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/Bp9Y27hm) Think infinite, procedurally-generated environments you can wander through — like stepping into a game world that builds itself around you as you move. You design your world and character using text and image prompts. Nano Banana Pro generates a preview you can tweak, then Genie 3 renders the environment in real-time as you navigate. There's also a gallery for remixing other people's creations or discovering new ones. Now available for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US as a research prototype. Google's using it to learn more about immersive experiences and where world models might go next. Keep reading to the end of this issue to see a fun example. [Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) doubles down on AI with $135bn budget for 2026](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/Wr89E7xZ) [Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) doubles down on AI with $135bn budget for 2026](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/Wr89E7xZ) Meta's AI budget for 2026 is 135 BILLION DOLLARS — nearly double last year's $72 billion. That's a staggering sum, even by Big Tech standards. To put that in perspective, it's roughly what the company has spent on AI over the previous three years combined. Zuckerberg's betting that AI will "dramatically change the way we work" this year, with tools that let "a single, very talented person" accomplish what used to require entire teams. [Apple reports best-ever iPhone sales](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/bhD4bwWH) [Apple reports best-ever iPhone sales](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/bhD4bwWH) The iPhone 17 launch pushed Apple to its strongest growth since 2021, with quarterly revenue hitting $144 billion (up 16%). China, India, and Europe all drove the surge. In fact, demand was so high that Cook says they're now in "supply chase mode" trying to keep up. However, Mac sales dropped 7%, and wearables (Watch, AirPods) dropped 3%. [OpenAI (ChatGPT) launches Prism, a workspace for scientific collaboration](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/mUWgFrTn) [OpenAI (ChatGPT) launches Prism, a workspace for scientific collaboration](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/mUWgFrTn) Prism attempts to fix the fragmented mess of scientific writing. Currently, researchers bounce between LaTeX editors, PDF viewers, reference managers, and AI chat windows, losing context with every switch. Prism pulls all of this into one cloud-based environment, with GPT-5.2 embedded directly into the workflow rather than sitting alongside it. The AI has access to your paper's structure, equations, and references, so it can actually help with drafting and revision in context. Free now for ChatGPT personal accounts. Business, Enterprise, and Education plans coming soon. Your phone is usually on… Loud Vibrate Silent Do Not Disturb Last Week's Poll Results for: When do you do your best deep work? Early morning 20% Middle of the day 31% Evening/night 49% [LEGO Crocs. They're real.](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/xW68uXBa) [LEGO Crocs. They're real.](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/xW68uXBa) LEGO and Crocs are teaming up for a multi-year collaboration. The first product is the LEGO Brick Clog, arriving February 16, 2026 for $149.99. The clogs are designed to look like oversized LEGO bricks, complete with four logo-stamped studs on top and a faux anti-stud pattern on the sole. Each pair comes with a LEGO minifigure that has its own tiny Crocs to match. More drops planned throughout 2026. (And remember, the plural is LEGO, not LEGOs. I'm looking at you, Americans.) [Tap to drop a raindrop anywhere on Earth and trace its journey to the sea](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/iznTTY5i) [Tap to drop a raindrop anywhere on Earth and trace its journey to the sea](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/iznTTY5i) Tap anywhere on the globe and watch a virtual raindrop trace its path to the sea. River Runner Global visualises the complete journey — through streams, rivers, and watersheds — revealing how water systems connect across continents. A surprisingly meditative way to grasp just how interconnected our planet's hydrology really is. [Graphene circuits shrunk below 5 micrometres without the usual mess](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wmCYarab) [Graphene circuits shrunk below 5 micrometres without the usual mess](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wmCYarab) Graphene is brilliant on paper: ultra-thin, super-conductive, flexible. The reality is that it's notoriously fragile to work with. Traditional patterning methods (photolithography) tend to tear or contaminate it, especially at small scales. This new technique sidesteps the problem entirely: instead of cutting away the graphene you don't want, it chemically "switches off" those regions by converting the carbon bonds into an insulating oxide. The result? Clean 5-micron channels that actually conduct electricity, where conventional methods produce near-dead circuits. It's not a graphene breakthrough — it's a "stop breaking graphene" breakthrough. This Week I Learnt [Japan's flag was 1% lopsided to the left until 1999](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/yTy6rCYu) [Japan's flag was 1% lopsided to the left until 1999](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/yTy6rCYu) [— The sun disc was originally set at three-fifths of the flag's hoist width, and while the law specifies it should be centred, it was traditionally placed one-hundredth towards the hoist. This optical trick makes the disc appear centred when the flag is flying — the same technique used in the flags of Bangladesh and Palau. The 1999 law is oddly vague on the exact shades: it specifies a white background and a red circle (紅色, beni iro), but the only guidance on the red is that it should be "deep".](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/yTy6rCYu) [Image](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wcHWXB6y) [Image](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wcHWXB6y) [Image](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wcHWXB6y) [Image](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wcHWXB6y) [Image](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wcHWXB6y) [Image](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wcHWXB6y) [Villa, Oslo](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wcHWXB6y) [— Designed by Paulsen & Nilsen](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/wcHWXB6y) [If you pay for Gemini, you get free Google Cloud credits](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/Zci5w4Kz) [If you pay for Gemini, you get free Google Cloud credits](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/Zci5w4Kz) [— Buried in the Gemini AI Pro subscription is a perk I'd completely missed: $10/month in Google Cloud credits (or $100/month if you're on Ultra). You have to manually redeem them via the Google Developer Program dashboard. I've linked that here. Whether this matters to you depends entirely on what you're building. If you're not touching Google Cloud, it's a nice-to-have that'll sit unused. But if you are, it's a surprisingly good deal hiding in plain sight. You could even just use them for Nano Banana Pro.](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/Zci5w4Kz) [Project Genie: Dynamically-generated world of Hamlet, as seen from the perspective of the poison](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/LKGnvDK8) [Project Genie: Dynamically-generated world of Hamlet, as seen from the perspective of the poison](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/LKGnvDK8) [“Action produces information. If you’re unsure of what to do, just do anything, even if it’s the wrong thing. This will give you information about what you should actually be doing.”](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/YEa3NBES) [@brian_armstrong](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/YEa3NBES) [Web](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/oedkeT8a) · [Twitter](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/ph2umT7z) · [LinkedIn](https://newsletter.dvy.io/visit/MCNAcgkq)