Lab Weekly — 11/07/2025 The Future of Healthcare; New Floor 9 Episode; Plus, the latest news from Apple, Amazon, and more must-know news and stats

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The Future of Healthcare: How Consumers are Rewriting the Care Journey

The rise of the DIY Health Optimizer, along with a new class of AI Health Advisors

In case you missed it… From Prediction Markets to Labubus, Everything is Gambling Now

Why people are betting on just about everything, and how brands can respond

Why the Apple-Formula 1 Partnership is Major Deal

And what it says about the current sports media landscape and future brand opportunities

Sora and Vibes: AI Video Now Officially Going After Social Media

Here are some implications and opportunities for brands and marketers to consider

Episode 175: Bet On Everything

Welcome back to Floor 9! In this episode, the Lab team breaks down the “betting on everything” trend, tracing the surge in sports betting and prediction markets, and how their mechanics are spreading across culture and business.

Led by your host Tom Trudeau, the team discusses the trend’s many manifestations, from status-symbol collectibles to frictionless betting apps. Then we unpack why this boom is happening, and ask whether it’s sustainable for society, or even for the platforms monetizing this trend. We debate sports betting vs. prediction markets, what tighter guardrails might look like, and where brands should draw the line. The team also shares some brand-safe ways to play, including bragging-rights challenges and other loyalty-driven tactics, that capitalize on on this trend.

If you enjoyed the episode, please consider giving us a five-star review on Apple Podcast. Follow the Lab on Medium for our latest insights. Thanks for listening!

Apple’s New Siri Will Use Google Gemini Models Behind the Scenes [9to5Mac]

Apple has reportedly finalized a deal to license a custom 1.2 trillion-parameter version of Google’s Gemini model for Siri at about $1 billion per year, with the aim of powering summarization and multi-step planning capabilities. The new Siri reportedly could arrive as soon as next Spring, with Apple planning to use Gemini as a stopgap while it builds its own capable internal model.

Bloomberg reported the partnership is “unlikely to be promoted publicly”, with Apple intending for Google to be a “behind-the-scenes” tech supplier. It is separate from Siri’s existing ChatGPT fallback and not a full Gemini chatbot or Gemini search integration. Moreover, it will run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute to keep user data isolated and secure.

Strategically, Apple appears to be prioritizing shipping a capable Siri 2.0 while it rebuilds its in-house AI stack. Even though this introduces a dependency on Google that Apple probably wouldn’t want forever, for now, Gemini is a good stopgap that buys time for Apple to catch up in the AI race.

Related: Apple’s live translation feature on AirPods will not immediately be available for EU users due to concerns about the bloc’s AI regulations [MacRumors]; Google Maps taps Gemini AI to transform into an ‘all-knowing copilot’ [The Verge]

Amazon Sends Legal Threats to Perplexity Over Agentic Browsing [TechCrunch]

Amazon has escalated its dispute with Perplexity over Comet, Perplexity’s agentic browser that can buy items on users’ behalf in the Amazon Store. After warning Perplexity, Amazon filed a lawsuit alleging the tool disguises automated activity as human browsing, risks account security, and “degrades” the Amazon shopping experience. Perplexity’s response — “Bullying is not innovation” — argues AI agents empower users and that Amazon is just trying to protect its ad business that thrives on driving non-bot traffic to Amazon.com. Meanwhile, Amazon is pushing its own assistant, Rufus, for AI-driven shopping, and says third-party agents must operate transparently.

All of this sets up a clear tension between walled gardens versus free AI agents. Amazon will understandably grant their own agents privileged APIs and checkout rights while restricting non-1st-party agents. Compliant partners may earn scoped purchase permissions; everyone else will be throttled or blocked. It starts to look less like the open web and more like an app-store model for shopping.

Related: Perplexity to pay Snap $400M to power search in Snapchat [TechCrunch]; OpenAI and Amazon sign a seven-year deal in which OpenAI will pay $38 billion for AWS’ AI compute [WSJ]

Amazon Tests Whole Foods Store that Sells Kraft Mac & Cheese [Bloomberg]

Amazon is piloting a “store-within-a-store” concept in Pennsylvania, combining a regular Whole Foods store with a mini warehouse stocked with products the chain hasn’t previously sold. Inside a micro-fulfillment center partly run by Fulfil’s robots, shoppers will be able to scan a QR code and order some “non-Whole Foods” items, such as Kraft Mac & Cheese, Tide pods, and Goldfish, for pickup at an in-store counter, keeping shelves organic while offering one-stop shopping. Amazon says it will refine and expand the concept after gathering feedback.

Considering Amazon has been remodeling Fresh stores and replacing its “Just Walk Out” technology with Dash Carts, this new pilot concept also points to a more pragmatic, easily scalable in-store tech stack that could complement Amazon’s existing micro-fulfillment nodes. If it scales across Whole Foods’ footprint, it bolsters Amazon’s grocery business and sharpens its challenge to retailers like Walmart and Kroger.

It’s interesting to contrast Amazon’s stance with Walmart’s approach, which is leaning into off-platform distribution by partnering with OpenAI so people can buy from Walmart inside ChatGPT using “Instant Checkout.” Even though Walmart also has its own in-app assistant, Sparky, it’s a different bet from Amazon to meet customers where they already chat, even if that’s outside Walmart’s domain.

Related: Shein opens its first store in Paris after scandal [Bloomberg]; Urban Outfitters expands localized store concept aimed at Gen Z [Retail Dive]

Situational Awareness: Google adds Gemini-Powered Deep Search to Google Finance [Android Authority]

Besides adding Deep Search function to help provide more comprehensive answers to people’s questions, Google is adding data from prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket for future event analysis. As I mentioned in my article last week on the prevailing betting-on-everything trend, in lieu of trusted investment or viable saving options for their goals, many consumers are turning to high-risk, high-reward platforms to chase returns. By adding prediction-market data to Google Finance, Google further normalizes these markets and weaves them into mainstream tools for retail investors.

Netflix approaches SiriusXM for video podcast licensing [THR]

Netflix’s appetite for video podcasts is apparently still not satiated after licensing deals with Spotify to bring more video podcasts to its streaming platform in 2026. Besides SiriusXM, Netflix also reached out to iHeartMedia for licensing video podcasts. It seems clear that Netflix sees video podcasts as a competitive asset to have against YouTube, which remains the largest platform for consuming video podcasts. In February, YouTube shared that more than 1 billion people watch podcasts on its service each month.

TikTok announces its first awards show in the US [TechCrunch]

TikTok is launching its first U.S. TikTok Awards, with categories including Creator of the Year, Video of the Year, Muse of the Year, and Breakthrough Artist. Unlike Instagram’s new “Ring” awards, TikTok will reveal winners during a live, in-app awards show, leaning into live broadcasting for immediacy and suspense. Given how many social ecommerce features have been added to TikTok Live, expect some live shopping hooks, such as creator storefronts and affiliate links, to be baked into the live stream.

  • OpenAI says it now has 1 million business customers globally, with ChatGPT for Work seats up 40% in two months to 7 million and ChatGPT Enterprise seats up 900% YoY. OpenAI says it is now the fastest-growing business platform in history.
  • Netflix is rolling out a new advertising metric meant to highlight the reach of its ad-supported tier, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Called monthly active viewers (MAV), the company says it has 190 million such viewers across the 12 countries where it offers an ad tier.
  • Nvidia becomes the world’s first $5 trilion company after closing up 3% on Wednesday. having hit a $4 trillon market cap in July; NVDA is up about 90% in the past six months, the New York Times reports.

If you find our insights valuable and would like to have a deeper conversation on technology and media innovations, or need to sound smarter in a client meeting or a pitch, please feel free to reach out to Ryan Miller, our Director of Partnerships, at ryan.miller@ipglab.com.

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Lab Weekly — 11/07/2025 was originally published in IPG Media Lab on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.