Apple explored acquiring Mistral & Perplexity

Good morning, AI enthusiasts. Apple is weighing bold moves in AI, with internal discussions about potentially acquiring Mistral and Perplexity,

PLUS: How to turn any image into a fully edited video

1. Apple explored acquiring Mistral & Perplexity

According to The Information, Apple has internally discussed potential acquisitions of French AI startup Mistral and AI search engine Perplexity. While nothing is confirmed, the move would mark a major shift in Apple’s traditionally cautious M&A approach.

→ Tim Cook recently signaled openness to large AI acquisitions

→ Apple trails Google & Samsung in consumer AI rollouts

→ Mistral was valued at $6B last year, now eyeing $10B

Why is important: Apple making a big AI acquisition would mark a rare, aggressive play by the company, potentially giving it a fast track to compete with Google’s Gemini and OpenAI-powered Microsoft Copilot. A successful deal could reshape the AI startup landscape while signaling a new era of boldness from Apple.

2. Anthropic settles landmark lawsuit with US authors

Anthropic has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit from US authors who alleged the company trained its AI models on millions of pirated books. This marks the first major settlement in the wave of copyright lawsuits facing AI companies.

→ Judge previously said Anthropic may have downloaded up to 7M books illegally

→ Could have faced billions in damages if authors won at trial

→ Terms of the settlement remain confidential for now

Why is important: This is the first big copyright settlement in AI’s legal battles. How it’s structured could set the tone for future cases against OpenAI, Meta, and Microsoft, and reshape the rules around how AI models are trained.

How to turn any image into a fully edited video

In this tutorial, we’re going to see how Higgsfield’s new feature can transform a single image into a studio-quality video, making pro-level visuals more accessible than ever.

🧰 Who is this for

• Marketers who need polished ad creatives on short timelines.

• Founders and solopreneurs running lean campaigns.

• Video creators who want tighter control over AI outputs.

• Agencies producing brand content at scale.

STEP 1: Access the Draw to Video Tool

Head over to Higgsfield AI.

You’ll see main dashboard, with variety of features.

For this tutorial, we’ll focus on the feature called "Draw to Video".

So, click on “Draw to Video” to open the video workspace.

2: Upload Your Image

Once you’re in Draw to Video, you’ll see options to “Upload Media” or create a “Blank Canvas”. Select Upload Media and choose the image you want to animate.

This could be a product photo, a landscape, or any visual you’d like to bring to life.

STEP 3: Direct the Motion

Here, you can either write a text prompt describing the motion and effects, or sketch arrows and marks directly on the frame to guide camera movement and action.

The AI interprets your instructions and translates them into video.

Here is an example:

STEP 4: Generate the Video

Once done, click “Generate” and within seconds, the system will transform your still image into a fully animated video. The camera moves, transitions, and effects you described will play out seamlessly, as though an editor had cut it frame by frame.

If you’re not satisfied, just adjust your sketch or refine your prompt. You can iterate quickly until the video looks exactly the way you want.

⚙️ Hot AI Tools:

• 💻️ Reeroll: Create videos by chatting with AI.

• 🔎 AI Mode: New agentic capabilities for search in Google

• 🧠 Splash: Transform your data into insights with AI

• 📽️ DrawToVideo: Turn sketches into living animations with AI.

That's it! See you tomorrow

- Dr. Alvaro Cintas