{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"UpNext AI","title":"Private Social AI, Banking Software Bets, and Retail Humanoids | UpNext AI – July 23, 2026","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/8dfbc1d1\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":534,"description":"Today on UpNext AI: a social app makes a fresh bet on private, AI-assisted networks instead of feeds and ads; ServiceNow puts money behind AI banking software in India; and a new robotics paper looks at how to make humanoids work more reliably in actual stores, not just demos.Covered in this episode:\n- Yope raises $12.3 million for a private social network built around small groups, no algorithms, and no ads\n- ServiceNow invests $40 million in BusinessNext at a $700 million valuation to expand AI-powered banking software globally\n- New research on closing the \"lab-to-store\" gap for retail humanoid robots using post-training and experience-driven learning\n- Cisco says its small open cybersecurity models can find far more vulnerabilities per dollar than larger AI agents\n- The Financial Times reports Google burned through $6 billion in cash as AI spending climbed, and says Google plans up to $205 billion in AI investments in 2026Source links:\n- Yope / TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/22/yope-raises-12-3m-to-build-a-private-social-network-without-algorithms-or-ads/\n- ServiceNow / BusinessNext / TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/22/servicenow-bets-40m-on-indian-firm-businessnext-at-700m-valuation-to-deepen-banking-ai-push/\n- Retail humanoids paper / arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.20345v1\n- Cisco cyber models / The Decoder: https://the-decoder.com/cisco-bets-its-small-open-cybersecurity-models-can-outperform-gpt-5-5-at-vulnerability-detection-for-a-fraction-of-the-cost/\n- Google spending / Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/content/b02f972c-c764-4006-9377-42563d9d5530?syn-25a6b1a6=1","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/U8MjYsqEAUXr8sykSIjiubn3kUnZpkcAAqCjELTLubA/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85YWE0/MDRlYTJkZTY4ZDhk/N2YzZjZmYzg0ZmQ2/Mzg1NC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}