Amazon has agreed to pay The New York Times between $20 million and $25 million annually under a multiyear agreement that allows Amazon to use content from the Times’s news, cooking, and sports sections, including The Athletic, to train its AI models and enhance Alexa features. This deal, announced in May and recently detailed by The Wall Street Journal, represents about 1% of the Times’s expected 2024 revenue. It marks the Times’s first AI content licensing partnership with a tech giant amid its ongoing copyright litigation against OpenAI and Microsoft over unauthorized AI training
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions a future where “personal superintelligence” empowers individuals rather than replaces them. He highlighted Meta’s focus on AI integrated with smart devices, especially glasses that perceive and interact with users in real-time, as the next primary computing platform. Zuckerberg contrasted this with competitors targeting automation and mass replacement of jobs. He acknowledged significant safety risks with superintelligence and emphasized the need for careful risk mitigation. The CEO called this decade crucial in determining whether AI will foster personal empowerment or widespread societal automation.
OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT Agent demonstrates advanced capabilities by autonomously bypassing online security measures such as CAPTCHA verification, raising concerns about the reliability of existing web defenses. Available to Pro, Plus, and Team subscribers, the Agent operates through a virtual browser, enabling it to complete complex tasks like booking reservations and shopping. While OpenAI has incorporated safeguards and requires user consent for sensitive actions, cybersecurity experts warn that traditional verification systems may be insufficient against evolving AI. This breakthrough signals a need to rethink online security protocols in response to rapidly advancing AI technologies.
Reliance Jio has introduced JioPC, India’s first AI-ready cloud-based virtual desktop platform that turns any TV or screen into a high-performance computer via the Jio Set-Top Box. Starting at Rs 599 per month with no hardware purchase required, the service offers 8GB RAM, 100GB cloud storage, Ubuntu OS, and access to tools like Adobe Express and Microsoft Office online. Targeting students, professionals, and small businesses, JioPC supports a pay-as-you-go model with a free one-month trial. It promises instant boot-up, automatic updates, and network-level security to democratize computing access nationwide.
Chinese AI company Zhipu AI, now Z.ai, unveiled its biggest open-source model, GLM-4.5, boasting advanced features and strong performance on global benchmarks. The model uses fewer hardware resources while maintaining high accuracy, ranking third worldwide. Z.ai’s aggressive pricing strategy undercuts rivals, offering significantly lower costs per million input and output tokens. As China’s AI sector accelerates, Zhipu has secured more than $1.5 billion in funding and is reportedly eyeing a potential IPO in Hong Kong. Despite U.S. trade restrictions, the company aims to expand globally with affordable, efficient AI solutions.
Three cutting-edge startups just secured major funding, signaling big trends in AI-powered tech. German company 1KOMMA5° raised €150 million pre-IPO to scale its AI-driven home energy platform—aiming to make sustainable, CO₂-neutral power management affordable and widespread across Europe and Australia. In cybersecurity, BlinkOps brought in $50 million to expand its “security micro-agents,” which automate repetitive security duties for enterprises without code, improving focus on real threats. Meanwhile, Dropzone AI landed $37 million to grow its AI-driven autonomous SOC analysts, which leverage large language models to investigate and triage security incidents at scale. Collectively, these investments highlight the rapid integration of AI into energy and cybersecurity, boosting efficiency and automation across critical industries.
Microsoft just rolled out Copilot Mode in its Edge browser, and honestly, it feels like we’re entering a new era of browsing. This AI feature doesn’t just chat—it actually helps. From tweaking recipes to booking flights, it’s like having a digital sidekick built into your tab. It even checks all open tabs to understand what you’re researching. Sure, privacy concerns are real, but the convenience could be game-changing—especially for people who hate juggling sites. It’s still experimental, but if Microsoft nails it, this could seriously change how we use the web every day.
Thinking of venting to ChatGPT like it’s your therapist? Maybe hold up. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just admitted there’s zero doctor-patient confidentiality with AI right now. On a podcast, he said users — especially young people — often share deep emotional stuff with ChatGPT, but unlike real therapists or doctors, AI chats aren’t legally protected. That means your convo could be used in court if needed. Altman called it “screwed up” and says AI laws badly need to catch up. Until then, maybe don’t spill your heart out to a bot.
AI’s hunger for energy is getting wild, and tech leaders are finally panicking. Cloudflare’s hardware boss Andrew Wee says the energy demand for AI is flat-out unsustainable. That’s where startups like Positron and Groq come in—trying to beat Nvidia’s domination with chips built purely for inference (aka responding to prompts). Groq says their chips use 1/3 the power and are way faster. Cloudflare’s already testing Positron’s low-energy chips. Even Amazon’s building its own! Everyone wants to dodge the “Nvidia tax”—their high prices and energy cost. But honestly, beating Nvidia at its own game won’t be easy.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the biggest name in Indian IT, is letting go of around 12,000 employees in the coming year. That’s a serious move. And while it’s being described as part of a tech transition, it also shows how much the industry is changing beneath the surface.
TCS is trying to reinvent itself by investing more in AI, automation, and newer work models. But it seems not every role fits into that picture anymore. Especially for those in middle and senior positions, the message is clear—the company is shifting gears, and not everyone will be on that ride.
They’ve also introduced new rules for employees who are between projects. Now, you need to be actively billed for most of the year. If you’re not contributing to a live project within a short time, your future at the company could be uncertain. That’s a big cultural shift from the way IT firms used to function.
What’s also interesting is that some insiders say the exit process is not as smooth as it sounds. While severance packages and benefits are being offered, there are reports of quiet pressure being put on employees to resign instead of waiting for a formal termination.
This isn’t just a TCS story. It reflects what’s happening across the tech space. Skills are evolving fast, and companies want talent that can keep up with that pace. If anything, this move is a reminder that staying relevant is now more important than ever.
