This Week in AI: Peloton Taps AI and Cohere Nets Funds to Take on OpenAI

Peloton plans to roll out new AI features as soon as October, OpenAI rival Cohere raises $500 million and Anthropic offers Claude to the federal government for $1. PYMNTS breaks it down.

AI’s Reach Is Limited in Search for a Cancer Cure

Silicon Valley leaders like Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei have predicted artificial intelligence (AI) could someday cure all diseases or eliminate most cancers. Experts say AI is already transforming cancer detection, research and treatment, from predicting pancreatic cancer risk to finding otherwise invisible tumor cells, but curing most cancers remains far more complex.

Experts say cancer cures are individualized, relying on genetics, immune response and environmental factors no AI can fully model. Treatment decisions require multidisciplinary teams and patient-specific judgment. Cancer’s diversity as hundreds of distinct diseases limits one-size-fits-all solutions, though AI could enable hyper-personalized care.

Read more: Can AI Cure Cancer? Experts Say the Answer Is Complicated

OpenAI Rival Raises Half a Billion Dollars

Canadian AI startup Cohere has raised $500 million at a $6.8 billion valuation, backed by Nvidia, AMD, Salesforce and others.

CEO Aidan Gomez said the company, which sells exclusively to businesses, focuses on security and on-premises deployments rather than repurposed consumer models.

Cohere has hired former Meta AI research VP Joelle Pineau as chief AI officer and KPMG partner and ex-Uber finance executive Francois Chadwick as CFO.

The firm doubled annual recurring revenue to $100 million in 2025 and targets $200 million by year-end, working with Oracle, Dell, RBC, Fujitsu, SAP and others across sectors.

See more: Startup Cohere Raises $500 Million for Its AI Model for Enterprises

Peloton Aiming to Roll Out New AI Features

Peloton plans to debut its integrated AI platform, updated bike, refreshed treadmill and new peripherals as early as October, according to a Bloomberg report. The company will also expand refurbished equipment sales and offer self-assembly options.

CEO Peter Stern had said on an earnings call that Peloton will use AI to act as personalized coaches. Recent moves include opening two micro stores, with eight more planned for the holidays; launching special pricing for students, educators, first responders, healthcare workers and military; merging business units into a commercial division; and developing a loyalty program.

Peloton has been restructuring after subscription declines, launching a resale marketplace in July and expanding its Teams app feature for larger community engagement.

See details: Peloton May Launch Integrated AI Platform in October

US Government Workers Can Get Claude for a Buck

Anthropic will offer its Claude chatbot to all three U.S. government branches for $1 per agency for one year, expanding on OpenAI’s similar deal limited to the executive branch.

The offer includes “Claude for Enterprise” and “Claude for Government,” which meets FedRAMP High security standards for sensitive unclassified work. The move comes amid growing AI adoption.

Anthropic’s Claude is already used by the Defense Department, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, and others. Rival efforts include OpenAI’s state government pilots and xAI’s $200 million defense contract. Google is reportedly considering a similar Gemini chatbot offer.

Read more: Anthropic Offers Claude to US Government Workers for $1

MIT AI Startup Aims to Dethrone Excel

MIT spinoff Fundamental Research Labs has launched Shortcut, an agentic AI tool that automates complex Excel workflows, from financial modeling to Monte Carlo simulations, via natural language prompts.

CEO Nico Christie says Shortcut can complete Excel World Championship cases 10 times faster than humans and adapts mid-task, avoiding the fragility of macros. It keeps data on-device, supports Google Sheets and links results to source documents for verification.

Powered by Anthropic’s Claude, Shortcut is 90% to 95% accurate and improving, though some users report persistent errors. The startup, which began in AI gaming simulations, recently raised $33 million and plans to expand its multi-agent framework.

Read more: Is ‘Shortcut’ the New Excel? MIT Startup Behind Viral AI Tool Thinks So

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