Latest AI News
It Built Bengaluru's Electronic City. Now, it Wants to Make an AI Comeback
From Electronic City to AI skilling, KEONICS plots a comeback. Chairman and Karnataka MLA Sharath Kumar Bache Gowda tells how.
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Energy, Network, Compute: Why Google Picked Vizag for 1 GW Data Centre
Google’s data centre in Vishakhapatnam, being built in partnership with AdaniConneX and Nxtra by Airtel, is part of a 20-year plan.
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Accenture Rolls Out Microsoft 365 Copilot to 7.43 Lakh Employees
Accenture cited Copilot’s ability to access enterprise data across SharePoint and OneDrive as a factor in its rollout.
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DeepMind’s David Silver just raised $1.1B to build an AI that learns without human data
Ineffable Intelligence, a British AI lab founded a mere few months ago by former DeepMind researcher David Silver, has raised$1.1 billion in funding at a valuation of $5.1 billionto join the race for novel AI models that could outperform large language models. According to its newly launched site, Ineffable aims to create a “superlearner” capable of discovering knowledge and skills without relying on human data by leveraging reinforcement learning — a technique in which AI systems learn through trial and error rather than studying human-generated examples. This is Silver’s area of expertise. A professor at University College London, Silver was until recentlyleading the reinforcement learning teamat Google-owned DeepMind, where he spent more than a decade before leaving to found this new venture. While at DeepMind, Silver was involved in developing programs that beat professional players at chess and the board game Go games by learning purely from experience, without being fed human strategies or game records — defeating the world’s top computer programs in each game. The most notable of these wasAlphaZero. Similarly, Ineffable Intelligence hopes that its superlearner will discover all knowledge from its own experience. Its superlearner may lack experience, but the company doesn’t lack ambition. “If successful, this will represent a scientific breakthrough of comparable magnitude to Darwin: where his law explained all Life, our law will explain and build all Intelligence,” its site claims (capitals included). Referring to Ineffable Intelligence as “his life’s work” in a personal note he has since published on the company’s blog, Silver alsotold Wiredthat “any money that I make from Ineffable will go to high-impact charities that save as many lives as possible.” It is unclear how, when, or how much the venture will make, but this clearly hasn’t hindered fundraising. According to Wired, the round was led by Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Index Ventures, Google, Nvidia, and others. Among those other investors are theBritish Business Bank and Sovereign AI, the U.K.’s recently launched sovereign venture fund for AI. Fast-forwarding to so-called pentacorn status — meaning companies valued at more than $5 billion — Ineffable Intelligence joins the club of AI ventures founded by star researchers whose names have attracted seed rounds so large they have been nicknamedcoconut rounds(a tongue-in-cheek escalation of the “seed” round). Just last month, AMI Labs, co-founded by Turing Award winner and former Meta AI scientist Yann LeCun,raised $1.03 billion at a $3.5 billion pre-money valuation. There might be more companies in this mold. Recursive Superintelligence, co-founded by DeepMind’s former principal scientist Tim Rocktäschel and incorporated in the U.K.,reportedly raised $500 million, with enough demand to stretch that amount to $1 billion. While Recursive also has ties to the U.S., these companies suggest mounting momentum around London as an AI hub. This is partly thanks to DeepMind’s continued presence after itsacquisition by Googlein 2014. But it is not just DeepMind. Jeff Bezos’ AI lab, Project Prometheus, isreportedly in talksto secure office space close toGoogle’s AI hub. This also translates into a powerful network of alumni, with several former DeepMind staffers reportedly set to join Ineffable’s executive team.
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OpenAI ends Microsoft legal peril over its $50B Amazon deal
On Monday, Microsoft and OpenAI announced that they have, once again,renegotiated the dealbinding the two companies. Despite some opinions on X that frame it as a victory for the ChatGPT maker over the Windows giant, both sides are walking away winners. Most importantly, the new terms solve an issue that was hanging over OpenAI’s head since it signed itsup-to-$50 billion dealwith Amazon. With this new deal, instead of Microsoft having exclusive access to all of OpenAI’s products and IP until the magical day when OpenAI produces AGI, its partnership has a definitive timeline. This contract gives Microsoft a nonexclusive license to OpenAI IP for models and products through 2032. The two companies are still calling Microsoft OpenAI’s “primary cloud partner,” meaning that the bulk of OpenAI’s cloud will likely be served by Azure for the six years this deal covers, even as OpenAI rushes to build its own data centers with other partners.In October, OpenAI agreed to buy an additional $250 billion worth of Microsoft’s cloud. This line is a message to Microsoft shareholders that OpenAI will still be an enormous Azure customer. OpenAI products will ship “first on Azure, unless Microsoft cannot and chooses not to support the necessary capabilities,” the companies say. But, critically, “OpenAI can now serve all its products to customers across any cloud provider.” Again, “first” is not defined clearly in this announcement, whether that means exclusive on Azure only for some time period or just that Microsoft will also be among the vendors carrying OpenAI’s latest products. But the most important part of this term: It solves the possibility that Microsoft could sue OpenAI over the AI lab’sdeal with Amazon. To recap that messiness: In February, OpenAI announced that Amazon was investing up to $50 billion in the model maker, comprised of a $15 billion initial investment and another $35 billion “in the coming months when certain conditions are met,” the companies said, without specifying what those conditions were. In exchange, OpenAI agreed to co-develop a “stateful runtime technology” on AWS Bedrock (the AWS service that serves up various AI models and services). Stateful runtime is the tech that supports AI agents, allowing them to remember tasks and contexts for long periods of time. OpenAI also promised that AWS would have exclusive rights to serve up OpenAI’s new agent-making tool, Frontier. And there’s the rub. OpenAI’s initial agreement with Microsoft prevented OpenAI from selling Frontier exclusively on AWS, and possibly prevented AWS from selling it at all. While Microsoft had previously agreed to let OpenAI run certain select products, like consumer ChatGPT, on other cloud providers, it retained exclusive rights to any OpenAI product accessed through an API, such as Frontier. In fact, the same day that OpenAI announced its AWS deal, Microsoft publicly refuted the AWS-exclusive terms,writing(emphasis Microsoft’s): Microsoft maintains its exclusive license and access to intellectual property across OpenAI models and products. …Azure remains the exclusive cloud provider of stateless OpenAI APIs.… Any stateless API calls to OpenAI models that result from a collaboration between OpenAI and any third party — including Amazon — would be hosted on Azure. …OpenAI’s first party products, including Frontier, will continue to be hosted on Azure. Microsoft also emphasized that its terms were in effect until OpenAI achieved AGI. TheFinancial Times reportedthat Microsoft even contemplated legal action if it had to enforce these contract terms. So, the new agreement eliminates Microsoft’s exclusive rights and solves the AWS legal peril. In a post on X, Amazon CEO Andy Jassycelebrated the deal, adding that it meant OpenAI’s models would become available to customers on AWS Bedrock. Very interesting announcement from OpenAI this morning. We’re excited to make OpenAI's models available directly to customers on Bedrock in the coming weeks, alongside the upcoming Stateful Runtime Environment. With this, builders will have even more choice to pick the right… While this deal is good for OpenAI, Microsoft walked with some wins, too. The new deal now allows Microsoft to stop paying a revenue share to OpenAI, while OpenAI will continue to pay a revenue share to Microsoft through 2030, although this is now subject to a cap. Exactly how much cash will flow to Microsoft is hard to tell, but it’s likely in the billions. Last quarter, Microsoft reported thatit made $7.5 billion in a single quarterfrom its investment in OpenAI. The kicker is that Microsoft remains a major shareholder in OpenAI, owning about 27% of the for-profit entity, it said in October. It financially benefits from OpenAI’s growth, even the sales it makes on AWS. The downside, of course, is that Microsoft loses out on any extra cloud services it would be able to sell as a result of an exclusive deal with OpenAI. That may not matter much. Just like OpenAI has been courting Microsoft’s biggest competitors, Microsoft has a new, cozy relationship with OpenAI rivalAnthropicfor the cloud giant to use its Claude AI to power agentic products. The biggest winners here are enterprises, which get to choose their models and their clouds while the giants compete with each other to serve them. Here’s a timeline of the recent changes in Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI: In October,Microsoft and OpenAI announced a new agreementto help OpenAI fend off the lawsuit from Elon Musk about its corporate structure that gives OpenAI the ability to run non-API-accessed products on other clouds. In November, OpenAI and Amazonsigned their first multi-year agreement, in which OpenAI contracted for $38 billion worth of AWS cloud. In February, Amazonannouncedanup to $50 billion investment in OpenAI, pending “certain conditions,” including the exclusive tech development and hosting deal for Frontier and stateful tech. On the same day, Microsoftrefutedthat AWS will have that tech exclusively. In March, the Financial Timespublishedthat Microsoft is considering legal action. In April, OpenAI and Microsoftannounced a new deal, that includes a calendar-end date for their exclusive partnership and allows OpenAI to run all of its products on other clouds. Microsoft no longer has to pay OpenAI revenue share. Microsoft remains a major shareholder in OpenAI.
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AI and Robotics are No Longer Optional Subjects in Schools
With new CBSE guidelines and growing industry support, robotics and AI are moving from optional learning to core subjects in schools.
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OpenAI Breaks Free From Microsoft Azure Exclusivity
Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI.
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OpenAI could be making a phone with AI agents replacing apps
There have been plenty of rumors aboutOpenAI’s hardware plans, which involvelaunching a pair of earbuds. A new note from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuosuggeststhat the AI company might be working on a phone in collaboration with MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare. Kuo, who has reported on several Apple hardware plans in the past, said that OpenAI would develop a smartphone chip with MediaTek and Qualcomm, with Luxshare acting as a co-design and manufacturing partner. The analyst’s note also suggests that instead of apps, the smartphone could rely on AI agents to complete different tasks. Currently, Apple and Google control the app pipeline and the type of system access they get, restricting some of their functions. Kuo suggests that by creating its own smartphone and hardware stack, OpenAI would be able to use AI in all kinds of features without restrictions. With ChatGPT nearing a billion weekly users, a hardware product for daily use could also bode well for OpenAI’s ambition to reach more consumers. This thinking is not restricted to OpenAI. Vibe coding app makersare predicting a futurethat doesn’t involve apps. Nothing CEO Carl Pei said at SXSW thatapps will eventually go away. Kuo believes that OpenAI’s smartphone would be designed to continuously understand users’ context. By offering the phone itself, the company could gain access to more data about users’ habits than an app on the phone could. He also said that the company will work on a mixture of small on-device models and cloud models to handle different types of requests and tasks. The analyst said the smartphone’s specifications and its component suppliers are expected to be finalized by the year-end or by the first quarter of 2027, with mass production of the device expected to start in 2028. Earlier this year, OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said that the company is on track to announce itsfirst hardware product in the second half of 2026.Severalreportsat that time indicated that the device could be uniquely designed earbuds. OpenAI didn’t comment on the story at the time of writing.
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China blocks Meta’s $2B Manus deal after months-long probe
China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said on Monday it has blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus, an agentic AI startup founded by Chinese engineers that relocated to Singapore before MarkZuckerberg scooped it up late last year. The move marks one of China’s most significant interventions in a cross-border deal, one that extends well beyond U.S.-China tensions and into the broader AI industry. For Meta, it could deal a serious blow to its ambitions in the fast-moving AI agents space. With no explanation offered, China’s NDRC ordered both parties to unwind the deal entirely. “The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has made a decision to prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project in accordance with laws and regulations, and has required the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction,”it said. But the situation is far from straightforward. Around100 Manus employees have already moved intoMeta’s Singapore offices as of March, with founders taking on executive roles. CEO Xiao Hong now reportsdirectly to Meta COO Javier Olivan. Manus CEO Hong and Chief Scientist Yichao Ji arereportedlyunder exit bans, preventing them from leaving mainland China. “The transaction complied fully with applicable law. We anticipate an appropriate resolution to the inquiry,” a spokesperson at Meta told TechCrunch. Founded in 2022 by Hong, Ji, and Tao Zhang, Manus relocated its headquarters from China to Singapore around mid-2025. Just months later, Meta came knocking. The company announced its acquisition of Manus in December 2025 for roughly $2 billion to $3 billion, with plans to fold its agent technology directly into Meta AI. Meta has agreed to acquire Singapore-based AI startup Manus, with the deal requiring a full exit from Chinese ownership and operations, perNikkei Asia. But the company’s origins trace back to China. Manus’ founders previously established its parent company, Butterfly Effect, in Beijing in 2022 before relocating to Singapore. That background has drawn scrutiny in Washington, where Senator John Cornyn has already raised concerns about Benchmark’s investment in the company, questioning whether American capital should be flowing to a Chinese-linked firm, TechCrunch pointed out,citing Cornyn’s post on X. Manus did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
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Investors back Skye’s AI home screen app for iPhone ahead of launch
Skye, an iPhone app still in private testing, wants to change how people interact with AI on their smartphones. And even before it’s launched, it’s already attracted interest online and from investors and “tens of thousands” of users, according to its creator — a sign that consumers might want a more AI-aware iPhone. Instead of launching an app or speaking to an AI chatbot, the startup is working to design an “agentic homescreen” for the iPhone, using iOS widgets as its interface. Through those widgets, Skye would bring a sort of ambient intelligence to your device, offering personalized insights about your local weather, your current context, your health, and more, according to apostfrom its creator, who goes bysignüllon X. The app can also draft email replies, help you with your meeting prep, send reminders, and flag suspicious charges in your bank accounts. Its creator also claims it can provide location-specific recommendations and additional information about local businesses, neighborhoods, and attractions while you’re out and about. Much of this data would be pulled in through authorized connections granted by the user. The app, which is beingbuiltby a small team from the startupSignull Labs, has already attracted investor attention, despite not yet having a public product. Accordingto an SEC filing, the startup has raised north of $3.58 million in pre-seed funding, in a round that closed in September 2025.Pitchbookalso currently lists New York-based Signull Labs’ funding along with a post-money valuation of $19.5 million. Since announcing the startup’s plans on X, signüll, whose name TechCrunch confirmed as Nirav Savjani according to theSEC filingsand other documents, claims the app has added “tens of thousands” of users to the waitlist. This metric, if accurate, would suggest strong consumer interest in a more AI-aware iPhone. (And potentially, the possibility that a new type of AI device, like therumored OpenAI smartphone, could have a chance.) holy fuck the response to yesterday's lunch has been absolutely unreal. ~million views on our video, tens of thousands added to a waitlist that was already 25k+, & hundreds & hundreds of emails & DMs from investors & ppl genuinely excited about what we're building. our discord is…https://t.co/jqtU9zELqH TechCrunch spoke to signüll, who shared more about the product and funding, under the condition of protecting his pseudonymity. TechCrunch declined, as signull’s name is listed publicly in the SEC filings establishing Signull Labs. (TechCrunch said we would still be happy to publish an interview with him when he’s prepared to go on the record.) The founder noted he’s previously worked at Google and Meta, though he has no obvious LinkedIn presence. He also told TechCrunch that Skye’s early backers includeda16z(Andreesen Horowitz), True Ventures, SV Angel, and other individuals.Offline Venturesalso lists Signull Labs in its online portfolio, we found. Since announcing Skye, Savjani hasappeared on the TBPN podcastas his avatar and has beenposting on Xabout his use of the app. He told TechCrunch that the Skye app plans to launch to its waitlist of users soon, though he declined to give specifics.
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The $100,000 Experiment: What Happens When an AI Agent Manages a Store with Its Own Credit Card?
The world's first artificial intelligence (AI) store, which is entirely designed, managed, and run by an AI agent, is here. Even five years ago, the previous sentence would have sounded like it was taken from science fiction; however, today it is reality. A San Francisco-based startup, Andon Labs, designed an AI agent with all the necessary tools required to run a physical store, and gave it the keys to a retail store and a corporate credit card with $100,000 (roughly Rs. 94.25 lakh) in the bank.
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Meta AI Business Assistant Expanded to Global Markets, to Let Advertisers Optimise Marketing Campaigns
Meta is now expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) tool for marketing campaigns to major global markets. Dubbed the Meta AI Business Assistant, it is a conversational AI platform designed to help advertisers optimise marketing campaigns, resolve account issues, and manage customer interactions across Meta's platforms. It was first introduced last year and was limited to select advertisers in the US. The Menlo Park-based tech giant is now widely rolling out the AI tool globally across its key markets.
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