🚀 Microsoft and OpenAI just launched identical AI browsers two days apart, biotech finally stole the funding spotlight from AI, and Instagram keeps piling on generative features nobody asked for.
Industry moves
Microsoft's Copilot mode launches two days after OpenAI's Atlas – coincidence?
Microsoft unveiled major updates to Edge's Copilot Mode on Thursday, positioning it as "an AI browser that is your dynamic, intelligent companion." CEO Mustafa Suleyman described new features like "Actions" (filling forms, booking hotels) and "Journeys" (tracing connections between open tabs). The catch is OpenAI launched its nearly identical Atlas browser just two days earlier.
The timeline: Edge's Copilot Mode technically launched in July with basic features, but Thursday's event pushed it center stage. Both companies claim they've been developing independently for months. The visual similarity between Atlas and Copilot Mode is hard to ignore.
What this means: The AI browser race is heating up, and the products look suspiciously similar because they're solving the same problem, making AI ambient and context-aware across your browsing. The winner won't be who launched first, but who executes better on privacy, speed, and actually useful automation.
Kyrylo Lazariev, CEO at Lazarev.agency: "When two tech giants launch near-identical products within 48 hours, it tells you the market's real. But execution separates winners from fast-followers. Users care whose product doesn't break their workflow or sell their data."
OpenAI buys Sky, an AI interface for Mac
OpenAI acquired Software Applications, Inc., makers of Sky — an unreleased AI-powered natural language interface for Mac. Sky works alongside you throughout the day, seeing what's on your screen and taking action in your apps. Think AI browsers, but for your entire operating system.
Why this matters: OpenAI's not just building chatbots anymore, they're going after the OS layer. Sky gives OpenAI a foothold in native desktop workflows, competing directly with Microsoft's Copilot integrations in Windows. For Mac users, it signals that AI assistants are about to become embedded in everything you do, whether you asked for it or not.
Danylo Dubrovsky, Senior UX/UI Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Screen-reading AI is powerful, but it's also invasive. The UX challenge is making users trust it. One privacy misstep and people will disable it permanently. OpenAI needs to get consent right from day one."
Biotech dominates funding this week: top 5 rounds
For once, AI startups didn't dominate the funding headlines. Biotech took the top spot with Kailera Therapeutics raising $600 million in Series B for obesity treatments.
Top 5 rounds:
- Kailera Therapeutics: $600M, biotech (obesity treatments entering Phase 3 trials)
- Bond: $350M, aviation (fractional private aircraft ownership)
- (tied) Deel: $300M, payroll/compliance (HR platform hit $1B ARR at $17.3B valuation)
- (tied) Vantaca: $300M, business software (HOA management at $1.25B valuation)
- Kardigan: $254M, biopharma (cardiovascular drugs, $554M raised to date)
The pattern: AI still dominates venture capital, but life sciences is having a moment. Obesity drugs, cardiovascular treatments, and hair regrowth are attracting serious capital. When biotech gets this kind of attention, it usually means investors see regulatory paths clearing and commercial timelines shortening.
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Enterprise software and AI have sucked up funding for years, but biotech's catching up. The UX challenges are brutal though, designing for clinicians, patients, and regulatory compliance simultaneously. Most biotech products have interfaces that look like they're from 2010 because nobody prioritizes design. That's a massive opportunity."
Product reality check
Instagram adds Assistive AI for visual creation
Meta's rolling out updates to Instagram's "Restyle" feature, making it easier to edit, reimagine, or fully transform your content using generative AI. Because apparently, Instagram needed more AI-generated images and videos.
The reality: Instagram's betting that users want AI to create content for them. But here's the problem: Instagram built its identity on authentic visual storytelling. Flooding feeds with AI-generated content dilutes that authenticity. Meta's optimizing for volume, not quality or trust.
Danylo Dubrovsky, Senior UX/UI Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Generative AI tools are useful for creators who know what they're doing. But when you make it too easy to generate content, you get a platform full of AI slop. Instagram's already struggling with fake engagement and bot accounts. Adding more generated content doesn't solve that, it makes it worse."
YouTube previews "Ask Studio" AI bot
YouTube shared new insights into its upcoming "Ask Studio" AI tool — an AI chatbot built into YouTube Studio that helps creators extract insights and ideas from their channel data. It's designed to make analytics more accessible and actionable.
Why it could work: YouTube Studio is intimidating for most creators. Simplifying data analysis with conversational AI could help smaller channels optimize faster. The question is whether it actually provides useful insights or just surfaces vanity metrics.
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "The best AI tools ask better questions. If Ask Studio can guide creators toward actionable optimizations instead of just summarizing stats, it's valuable. If it's just a chatbot wrapper on existing dashboards, it's theater."
Instagram adds drawing on DM chats
Instagram officially launched the ability to draw on your DM screen and place stickers wherever you like in the messaging UI. It's been in testing, and now it's rolling out broadly.
The take: It's a minor feature that adds personality to conversations. Not groundbreaking, but not harmful either. If anything, it signals Instagram's trying to differentiate DMs from iMessage, WhatsApp, and Telegram by leaning into visual expression.
Design wins
Nimble raises $106M series C following Lazarev.agency redesign
Nimble, a robotics-powered logistics company redefining warehouse automation, partnered with Lazarev.agency to rethink how their story was told. The product was futuristic, but their digital presence felt unfinished.
What we did: Strategic brand and website transformation that positioned Nimble as the world's first autonomous 3PL. One year after launching the new site and brand system, Nimble closed $106M in Series C funding, led by FedEx.
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Nimble had cutting-edge tech but couldn't articulate why it mattered. We clarified their positioning, simplified their messaging, and designed a digital experience that matched their innovation. When FedEx led their Series C, it validated that design is a credibility signal for investors."
Lazarev.agency transforms Royalty Apparel into self-service e-commerce hub
Royalty Apparel, a sportswear manufacturer for U.S. college teams, had a website that wasn't reducing their sales team's workload. Orders still came through phone and email, requiring manual processing. Team managers wanted independence to design merchandise, and fans wanted direct access to gear.
What we did: We transformed Royalty Apparel's platform into a self-service, revenue-driving e-commerce hub. The new website automated order management, improved usability, and created new revenue channels.
Results:
- 8x faster order turnaround thanks to automated order flows
- 1,170 hours dedicated to product creation, ensuring robust functionality
Danylo Dubrovsky, Senior UX/UI Designer at Lazarev.agency: "The challenge was behavioral. Sales teams resist automation when they think it threatens their jobs. We designed workflows that made their lives easier. That's how you drive adoption instead of internal resistance."
Colossus and Wellness pet company launch joyful new brand identity
The heritage pet food brand unveiled a vibrant new look and heartfelt creative celebrating the bond between pets and their people. It's a departure from the clinical, science-first branding most pet food brands lean on.
Why it works: Pet owners buy trust and emotion. Colossus leaned into joy instead of sterile product shots. It's a reminder that B2C brands win by making people feel something, not by listing ingredients.
Tangra brings Indo-Chinese flavor to restaurant branding
Opening in November on Frith Street, Tangra will deliver a layered, story-rich experience shaped by a rare four-way creative collaboration between Jelly, Kuba&Friends, Boomrangg Studio, and Quadrant Design.
The approach: Four studios, one cohesive vision. Indo-Chinese cuisine has a rich cultural history, and Tangra's branding reflects that complexity without overwhelming diners. It's a masterclass in collaborative design that doesn't feel like a committee project.
This week's reality check
6 Seattle web design firms that dare to innovate
The global web design scene is stuck in copy-paste templates. But Seattle's different. Amazon rewrote e-commerce by overhauling its digital storefront early on, smarter design built trust, simplified shopping, and converted hesitant visitors into lifelong customers.
Key takeaways:
- Seattle is where giants are born. Amazon and Microsoft rewrote global markets here, proving how design shapes billion-dollar futures.
- Startups aren't slowing down. Rising players like Remitly and Outreach fuel one of the fastest-growing tech ecosystems in the U.S.
- The metrics speak volumes. Seattle's GDP growth outpaced the U.S. by 1.9%, and per-capita value hit $416K, nearly double the national median.
- Web design is a business strategy. In a market this fierce, only agencies fluent in AI UX can build digital presences that convert.
Kyrylo Lazariev, CEO at Lazarev.agency: "Seattle's tech ecosystem rewards bold design choices because the market moves fast. If your digital presence can't keep up with your product velocity, you're already behind.”
What's coming next week
More AI browser wars, more funding rounds, and probably another social platform trying to solve discoverability. We'll cut through the noise.
🔥 Stay sharp. Stay with Lazarev.agency.
.webp)
