Opera’s iOS browser gets new AI companion, Microsoft’s special event and more

Our daily TLDR of important AI stories you must know about.

Opera’s iOS web browser now has an AI companion

Opera is updating its web browser for iOS with enhanced AI functionality.

• The browser will now include the company’s AI assistant Aria, integrated into the browser.
• The assistant built in collaboration with OpenAI already has a million users on the desktop and Android versions of the browser.

Microsoft announces a ‘special event’ for September 21

Microsoft has started sending out invites for a ‘special event’ in New York, United States, scheduled for September 21.

• Given the company’s recent history with Artificial Intelligence (AI), it wouldn’t be wild to expect more AI-related announcements. Microsoft has already been testing the AI-based Co-pilot with Windows 11 Insiders in Beta.
  
• Rumors online suggest that Microsoft could introduce a variant of the Surface laptop with 64GB RAM. The Surface Studio 2 will likely be updated to use the new Intel processors and Nvidia’s RTX 40-series mobile GPUs.
• There are also rumours that Microsoft may show off AMD variants of the Surface laptops.

Norwegian wealth fund mops up $143 billion profit as AI drives tech stocks

Norway’s $1.4-trillion sovereign wealth fund received a massive boost with artificial intelligence driving the tech industry and consequently bringing back technology stocks on track in the first six months of the year.

• The Norwegian fund’s holdings in tech companies spiked nearly 39 percent in this period with Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia contributing the most to drive the fund’s 10 percent overall return.
• Norway’s sovereign wealth fund mentioned in a separate statement that they support the development of a comprehensive and cohesive regulatory framework for A.I. that facilitates safe innovation and mitigation of adverse impacts. ​