One Thing Today in Tech
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GE set to make engines for LCA in India — Reuters; India reopens window for semicon fab proposals
US President Joe Biden's administration is preparing to approve a deal that would allow General Electric (GE) to manufacture jet engines for Indian military aircraft in India, Reuters reports exclusively. Meanwhile, after setbacks to two major proposed projects, The India Semiconductor Mission is reopening its application window for semiconductor fab proposals starting today, Mint reports. Also in this report, the US is funding eight pilot projects aimed at developing nuclear fusion; and Capillary Technologies has raised $45 million in fresh funding
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ONGC to invest $12.1 bln in green energy; Top AI experts warn of 'extinction risk'; Blackrock slashes BYJU'S value
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has announced plans to invest Rs1 trillion ($12.1 billion) by 2030 to increase its renewable energy capacity and reduce direct emissions. The company aims to scale up its renewable energy capacity to 10 gigawatts by 2030, a significant increase from the current 189 megawatts. The world's biggest AI experts have captured in one sentence the risk of AI. Blackrock, the world's biggest money manager, has slashed the valuation of BYJU'S by 62 percent. Also in this brief, the C919, China's challenge to Airbus-Boeing takes flight
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JioCinema smashes Hotstar's IPL record; new Mac models rumoured at Apple's WWDC
JioCinema set a new global record for concurrent views during a live-streamed event, yesterday attracting more than 33 million simultaneous viewers for the Indian Premier League cricket tournament finale, surpassing the previous record held by Disney's Hotstar, TechCrunch reports. Apple is expected to introduce new Mac models at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), according to Bloomberg. Also in this brief, a US fund has cut the value of Indian ed-tech unicorn Eruditus
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ChatGPT app now in India; data bill will push platforms 'behavioural change,' says Rajeev Chandrasekhar
OpenAI has expanded the availability of its ChatGPT app for iOS users in 33 countries, including India, where a subscription costs just under Rs. 1,000 a month. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has stated that the upcoming Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in India will bring about significant changes in the behaviour of platforms that have exploited or misused personal data, according to a Press Trust of India report carried by Hindustan Times. Also in this brief, WhatsApp is said to be working on a screen-sharing feature
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Microsoft's Brad Smith flags AI deep fakes threat; Snapchat hits 200 mln users in India
Microsoft President Brad Smith has raised concerns about artificial intelligence churning out deep fakes, false but highly realistic content. In a speech in Washington, Smith emphasized the need to address deep fakes and protect against foreign cyber influence operations, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, India didn't figure in the list of markets as OpenAI expanded its iOS app to 11 countries. Snapchat hits 200 million active users in India, and also in this brief, Matrix Partners India has closed its latest fund at $550 million
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Apple, Broadcom strike multi-bln dollar deal; Google backs OpenAI rival Anthropic's $450 mln funding
Apple yesterday announced a new partnership with Broadcom to develop 5G radio frequency components and wireless connectivity components. Separately, Wistron, a contract manufacturing supplier to Apple, has shut its operations in India, Mint reports. Also in this brief, Infosys Topaz is a new suite of services based on generative AI with specific use cases in different industry verticals; Microsoft is showcasing Jugalbandi, an AI assistant in local Indian languages; And Matrix Partners India is raising the target for its fourth fund to $525 million, TechCrunch reports
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Meta fined $1.3 bln in EU over data violations; WhatsApp introduces 15-min edit feature
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has been hit with a record-breaking fine of 1.2 billion Euro ($1.3 billion) by European Union regulators for violating EU privacy laws. Meanwhile, the company's WhatsApp unit announced that messages on its platform will soon be editable for up to 15 minutes after they are sent. The feature is rolling out worldwide. Also in this brief, TCS announced a generative AI bespoke service as part of its partnership with Google Cloud; And Mumbai startup Chalo raises $45 million in fresh funding led by Avataar Ventures
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TCS wins $1.81 bln BSNL order; ChatGPT iOS app out; AWS to invest $12.7 bln in India by 2030
Leaders of the Group of Seven nations have called for the development of technical standards to ensure trustworthy artificial intelligence, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, OpenAI has introduced an official iOS app for ChatGPT, bringing its popular AI chatbot to mobile devices, according to a blog post from the company over the weekend. Also in this brief, Amazon Web Services, the world's biggest cloud provider, has announced a massive investment in India; IBM announces a new quantum computing R&D partnership and Krafton gets another shot at India for PUBG aka BGMI
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Apple announces new accessibility features; Wipro among Vice's creditors — report; WeWork's Mathrani quits
Apple yesterday announced new software features for cognitive, speech, and vision accessibility. These updates, set to launch later this year, include assistive access, live speech, personal voice, and point and speak in the magnifier app, the company said in a press release. Also in this brief, Infosys and bp signed an MoU to deepen their partnership. This helps Infosys "solidify" its 20-year-old relationship as the primary provider of IT application services to the British energy company, India's second-biggest IT company said in a press release yesterday
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QuickTake: IPL, Disney+ Hotstar, Jio Cinema and India's OTT wars
In today's quick take, we teamed up with our own Naini Thaker, an avid IPL watcher and OTT aficionado, to help us make sense of the news that Disney+ Hotstar lost 15-16 percent of its India paid subscriber base between October 2022 and March 2023. Naini also walks us through the news that a substantial portion of HBO's premium content will now only be available on Jio Cinema. She unpacks what this means, including Jio Cinema's emergence as an OTT force that you will have to embrace to find your favourite HBO show
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Apple contractor Foxconn to invest $500 mln in Telangana; EU clears Microsoft's $68.7 bln Activision deal
Foxconn, a key Apple contractor, is set to invest $500 million in setting up manufacturing plants in Telangana. This move demonstrates Foxconn's intent to expand its presence in India as Apple pushes its biggest partners to step up efforts to help it reduce dependence on China. The EU has okayed Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, making it a direct competitor to Sony and Nintendo. Also in this brief, WhatsApp has added a security feature to protect "intimate" conversations, and Amazon is laying off employees across various functions in India