Model Releases & Breakthroughs OpenAI's GPT-5.2 launched mid-December, focusing on enhanced reasoning and professional use; includes variants like Instant, Thinking, and Pro. Google's Gemini Deep Research agent upgraded on Gemini 3 Pro, with new Interactions API for third-party integration; timed competitively against OpenAI. Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.5 (late Nov/early Dec) excels in coding/engineering, outperforming humans in internal tests. DeepSeek (China) released high-parameter models rivaling top benchmarks in math/coding, using efficient Sparse Attention. Emerging trends: Agentic AI advancements (e.g., Microsoft Ignite highlights), multilingual tools, and efficient/smaller models. Industry & Investments Massive infrastructure deals: Microsoft/Nvidia investing billions in Anthropic; multi-cloud access for Claude models. Market volatility: Concerns over AI bubble from Oracle/Broadcom reports, but sustained capex (~$350-400B globally) in data centers/compute. Partnerships: Disney invests in OpenAI for character use in Sora; progress in enterprise tools (e.g., Immuta, Progress Software). Policy & Global Developments US: Executive order centralizing AI regulation, limiting state laws; push for unified framework. EU: Delay of high-risk AI Act enforcement to 2027. UN warns AI could widen inequality between nations. Rising adoption: 62% of researchers use AI (up from 45%); surging university AI enrollments. Other Trends Concerns: Hallucinations, ethics, data security in research/tools. Innovations: Optical AI processors, brain-computer interfaces, privacy-focused FHE (e.g., Zama). Broader impact: AI agents in business, healthcare diagnostics, and decentralized infrastructure (DePIN/Web3 AI). AI momentum remains strong into 2026, shifting toward practical adoption, efficiency, and regulation amid fierce competition.

we are moving to the new year full of new opportunities and what are the biggest challenge we will face in the AI race. Curious what you think and why