Startup PrismML ran a 27 billion-parameter AI model on an iPhone 17 Pro, in what it described as one of the largest models to operate on a mobile device. The Information reported that PrismML compressed Alibaba’s open-source large language model Qwen 3.6 and ran it on the iPhone. The company said the model can handle complex dialogue and reasoning, fully autonomous agents and software coding. PrismML raised $16.25 million in a seed round earlier this year.

Although enthusiasm for humanoid robots is spreading, skepticism about human-shaped designs is growing among some Silicon Valley investors. They argue that robots tailored to specific tasks are more efficient in industrial settings and that humanoids can be more about demonstrations than practicality. Funding is moving to wheeled general-purpose robots and industrial automation. Supporters counter that successful humanoids could target manufacturing, logistics, services and homes, and investment in the sector is rising sharply.