Category TechnologyTrends

Union minister Piyush Goyal said his earlier comments urging founders to focus on deeptech over consumer apps were off the mark. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, and Goa lead in developing startup ecosystems. Gujarat has been the top performer for five years. Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh are also top performers. This yearly ranking by DPIIT encourages states to…

India’s startup ecosystem is set for a boost. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that guidelines for the second phase of the Fund of Funds scheme are nearing completion. This initiative, with a Rs 10,000 crore allocation, will focus…

Australia has successfully banned social media for children under 16. Nearly 4.7 million accounts have been removed since the law took effect. This landmark decision aims to protect young people from harmful online environments. Officials report strong compliance from major…

LTIMindtree has secured a Rs 3,000 crore, seven-year contract from the CBDT to upgrade tax analytics using artificial intelligence. The ramp-up in the company’s large-deal wins is expected to aid growth, with brokerages expecting its revenues to rise between 2.2%…

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has issued a stark warning about artificial intelligence potentially causing mass unemployment in the UK capital. He will outline both the risks and benefits of AI in a speech.

India has issued a final warning to Apple regarding an antitrust case. The Competition Commission of India stated that Apple has delayed responses for over a year. This has undermined the investigation. Apple fears a potential fine of up to…

Amazon’s cloud computing division said Thursday that it would expand its “sovereign cloud” across the European Union, hoping to cash in as EU governments seek to safeguard their citizens’ data.

The Supreme Court has upheld a Rs 14,500-crore tax demand on Tiger Global. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

India ranks second globally in overall Claude.ai usage, with nearly half of all activity driven by work-related tasks, Peter McCrory, head of economics at Anthropic, told ET. India’s work-to-personal usage split is unusually high compared with peer countries, showing that…

​​At the end of the December quarter, Infosys had 337,034 employees, higher than the September quarter’s count of 331,991, the Bengaluru-headquartered firm reported on Wednesday announcing its third quarter financial numbers.

Belgian cybersecurity firm Aikido Security has secured $60 million in funding. This investment values the company at $1 billion, marking it as an early unicorn for 2026. Aikido’s software helps developers automatically find and fix security risks.

Groww reported an operating revenue of Rs 1,216 crore in the December quarter, up 24.8% from Rs 974 crore a year back. The company’s net profits went down 27% to Rs 547 crore from Rs 757 crore a year prior.…

Quick commerce firms have dropped explicit 10-minute delivery claims after government intervention over rider safety concerns. Analysts say operations and demand will stay unchanged, as fast delivery is driven by dark store density, not slogans. Orders may still arrive quickly,…

A group of women’s and rights organisations is urging Apple and Google to remove X and its chatbot Grok from app stores. They claim the tools are producing illegal and harmful sexual images, especially involving women and children. Several countries…

Social media harms the mental health of adolescents, particularly girls, France’s health watchdog said Tuesday as the country debates banning children under 15 from accessing the immensely popular platforms. France is currently debating two bills, one backed by President Emmanuel…

A new app, ‘Are You Dead?’, is topping sales charts in China. It alerts emergency contacts if users do not check in every 48 hours. This safety tool is designed for China’s growing population of people living alone.

Uber has made a strategic investment in Gurugram-based fleet operator Carrum, though financial details were not disclosed. The startup will use the funding to expand its clean mobility fleet and enter more cities. Carrum, backed by CarDekho Group, currently operates…

The labour minister has asked quick commerce firms to stop advertising 10-minute deliveries, citing worker safety. Platforms have agreed to drop the branding, though operations will continue largely unchanged. The move follows gig-worker strikes and wider concerns that ultra-fast promises…

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) already suspended access to Grok, which is integrated into both the X and xAI platforms, on Sunday. It has now appointed solicitors to commence “legal proceedings” against X and xAI, the regulatory body…

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has said that a Reuters report which claims the union government has demanded that smartphone makers share their source code is false. The report also stated that firms like Apple and Samsung have to implement…

HCL Tech Q3 Results: HCL Technologies on Monday reported an 11% YoY fall in its December quarter consolidated net profit at Rs 4,076 crore compared to Rs 4,591 crore reported in the year ago period. The profit after tax (PAT)…

Britain’s media regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over alleged misuse of its Grok AI chatbot to generate sexual deepfakes. The probe follows political pressure after Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the content as unlawful. Ofcom…

Infra.Market reported strong topline growth in FY25, with revenue rising sharply year-on-year, even as profitability weakened. Higher costs across materials, staffing and finance dragged net profit down significantly. The Mumbai-based construction materials platform has filed confidentially for a Rs 5,000-crore…

TCS Q3 Results: Revenue from operations in Q3FY26 rose 5% year-on-year to Rs 67,087 crore, up from Rs 63,973 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

India has tightened rules for cryptocurrency exchanges, introducing tougher AML and KYC checks. Users must complete live selfie verification, location tracking and enhanced identity checks, while risky tokens and ICOs are discouraged. Exchanges must monitor high-risk clients closely and keep…

Malaysia has blocked access to Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot after it was widely misused to create pornographic and abusive images. Regulators said safeguards were weak, despite earlier warnings, and cited sexualised content involving women and children. Access will return only…

Pendants and brooches packed with artificial intelligence abounded at the Consumer Electronics show, using cameras and microphones to watch and listen through the day like a vigilant personal assistant. Nonetheless, at the CES show in Las Vegas, gadget makers have…

India is reportedly proposing new security rules for smartphones. These rules include sharing source code and making software changes. Tech companies like Apple and Samsung are opposing these measures. They argue the requirements lack global precedent and risk revealing proprietary…

In 2021, Facebook, another Meta company, reported that data of over 350 million users had been exposed from publicly accessible profiles but not breached. Data breaches at other major social media platforms, X and LinkedIn, were reported in 2018 and…

Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said artificial intelligence (AI) laboratories are being set up in nine Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) of the state.

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are reducing their California business presence, moving companies to Nevada and buying property elsewhere, amid concern over a proposed California wealth tax on billionaires. The measure has sparked debate, with tech leaders warning…

AI dominated CES 2026, from voice-controlled espresso machines by Bosch using Amazon Alexa, to personalised perfumes from DigitalScent. Tennis robots from UBTech and Tenniix showcased AI-driven realism in sport and lifestyle tech.

At the Consumer Electronics Show, gadget makers warned of a global DRAM shortage driven by booming AI demand. Memory prices are soaring, boosting revenues at Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology. IDC says shortages may last into next year, forcing higher…

xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was restricting image generation and editing to paying subscribers as it tried ​to fix safeguard lapses that ​had allowed sexualised outputs including depictions of scantily ‌clad ‍children.

Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has turned off its image creation feature for non-paying users following backlash over its use to create sexualized deepfakes of women and children. Some users reportedly used Grok to generate pictures of women and children…

SoftBank has cut its stake in Ola Electric to 13.53% after selling shares over recent months. The offloading comes as major investors trim stake amid regulatory pressure, rising competition and operational challenges. Ola’s market share and valuation also dropped sharply…

Chinese AI startup Zhipu AI surged over 12% in its Hong Kong debut, raising $558 million ahead of rival MiniMax’s listing. But analysts said profits were unlikely any time soon from either company, the first two IPOs among China’s so-called…

AI is transforming online search, with startups like OpenAI innovating faster than legacy firms, said Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy. AI-powered browsers and tools are reshaping how users access information. While cloud giants compete, Snowflake remains confident in its specialised analytics…

India is stepping up plans to build its own graphics processors after talks between minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Nvidia executives. The discussions covered sovereign GPUs and local manufacturing of advanced AI devices. The government is also expanding subsidised access to…

Apple’s senior leadership continues to see significant departures, with its lead Safari designer, Marco Triverio, joining The Browser Company. This move means The Browser Company now employs lead designers from every Safari era overlapping with their Arc and Dia browsers…

Microsoft has denied reports it plans to cut up to 22,000 jobs, calling the claims unfounded. The rumours, which spread online, suggested wide-ranging layoffs across key divisions – gaming, Azure, and sales. While recent job cuts have fuelled scepticism, the…

Humanoid robots danced, somersaulted, dealt blackjack and played ping-pong at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, but some in the industry are impatient for them to become more useful, not just a promise of things to come. – According to…

Health-tech platform Practo has launched its care navigation service in the United States. The company has already seen significant adoption, listing over two lakh doctors. Practo aims to strengthen its US team and explore acquisitions.

Google has launched a Gemini-powered tool that lets teachers create podcast-style audio lessons in Google Classroom. The feature targets students’ growing preference for audio learning and is now rolling out to education subscribers. While interest is strong, some teachers remain…

A California lawmaker has proposed a four-year ban on AI-powered toys for children, citing risks from unsafe chatbot interactions. The move follows wider concerns over AI tools exposing minors to harmful or sexual content. The proposed restriction is intended to…

A viral Reddit post falsely accused a major food-delivery company of exploiting drivers, claiming hidden algorithms and unpaid benefits. The post, which gained millions of views and likes, was later revealed to be AI-generated, including fabricated documents and images. The…

Microsoft could be planning a round of job cuts this month, affecting teams in Gaming, Azure, and Sales, reports HR Digest. Between 5% and 10% of staff may be impacted, as the company aims to reduce middle management and increase…

Samsung said it will put governance, privacy and security at the centre of its AI push, aiming to make AI a trusted daily companion. Speaking at CES 2026, executives outlined a hybrid on-device and cloud approach backed by Knox security.…

The gigafactory with Nvidia enables AI cloud providers to bring enterprise AI workloads online faster and ​move customers from creation ​to production, Lenovo said at ‌CES ‍2026, an annual consumer electronics ‍trade show.

India’s private credit market is growing rapidly. Deal volumes are rising, and assets under management are expanding. This market offers higher yields compared to developed economies. Global investors are increasingly looking at India for attractive returns. Local expertise is key…

Nvidia unveiled Alpamayo at CES 2026, an open-source AI model that adds reasoning to autonomous vehicles and robotics. The technology will debut with Mercedes-Benz from early 2026. Nvidia also launched the new Vera Rubin chip. Nvidia is also open-sourcing models,…

SuprDaily cofounder Puneet Kumar has left Nexus Venture Partners less than two years after joining, sources told ET. He is reportedly planning a new startup in stealth mode. His exit follows several senior departures at Nexus, including Sameer Brij Verma…

Italy’s antitrust authority has ‍ended an investigation ​into the Chinese AI system ⁠DeepSeek for allegedly failing to warn users that it may produce false information, ‌agreeing to ‌binding commitments as a condition for closing ‌the case.

The company said a product version of the robot that will help assemble cars is already in production and will be deployed by 2028 at Hyundai’s electric vehicle manufacturing facility near Savannah, Georgia.

Global markets have surged on AI optimism, but investors may be overlooking rising inflation risks linked to heavy tech investment. Fund managers warn that government stimulus and AI-driven costs could push inflation higher, forcing central banks to tighten policy. Tighter…

Reddit has overtaken TikTok to become the UK’s fourth most-visited social media platform, boosted by Google search changes and Gen Z usage. The site now reaches 60% of UK internet users, with strong growth among young and female audiences. Partnerships…

DoorDash has banned a rider after an AI-generated image was allegedly used to fake a delivery, TechCrunch reported. The case emerged after Austin-based author Byrne Hobart received a false “delivered” alert, though no food arrived. DoorDash investigated, refunded the order…

Nykaa expects December-quarter net revenue growth at the upper end of the mid-twenties YoY, led by strong beauty demand. Beauty saw its fastest growth in the past six quarters, while fashion lagged due to weaker marketing income streams. The update,…

Chinese cyberattacks on Taiwan’s key infrastructure from hospitals to banks rose 6% ‍in 2025 from the previous year to ​an average of 2.63 million attacks a day, the island’s National Security ⁠Bureau said, adding some were synchronised with military drills…

This came in response to a post by a user, DogeDesigner, who, drawing a parallel between the AI assistant and a pen and its writer, said that’s like blaming a pen for writing something bad — the pen doesn’t decide…

Starlink is offering free internet to Venezuela until February 3. This comes as deposed leader Nicolas Maduro was removed by the United States. Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume presidential duties.

Paytm has allotted over 1.88 lakh equity shares to employees upon exercising stock options under its Esop 2019 scheme. The company also approved a fresh grant of 1.23 lakh stock options. This move aims to retain and incentivise employees, despite…

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal revealed he once thought of removing Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa. This was due to potential conflict of interest after Zomato acquired Blinkit. The deal faced criticism over pricing and relationships. Goyal found Blinkit’s convenience addictive. Blinkit…

Microblogging platform X owner Elon Musk declared users of its AI service Grok generating illegal content will face severe penalties. This follows a directive from India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT demanding immediate removal of vulgar and unlawful material.

The AI giant has not specified any restrictions on background, discipline, or experience level for the prospective candidates. The five-week programme will be hosted at OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco and will include workshops, weekly office hours, and mentorship from…

Per Brockman, AI can help improve healthcare at scale and make it more affordable, foster scientific thinking, and expand access to quality education.

Across the United States, communities are increasingly blocking massive data center projects planned by Big Tech to power AI and cloud computing. Residents cite zoning gaps, energy and water use, noise, and secrecy. Growing grassroots opposition has delayed or killed…

The Delhi government has agreed in principle to allow privately-owned electric vehicles to operate as shared taxis, even as cab aggregators have said they will roll out shared rides that will also involve women drivers within a month, officials said…

At CES, lofty artificial intelligence hype meets reality: today’s AI excels at narrow tasks, not autonomy. Analysts from Forrester warn of widening gaps, amid smart gadgets, chip rivalries, rising costs, and geopolitical trade pressures shaping consumer tech this year globally.

As AI tools accelerate how engineering teams write and deploy code, review and quality processes are struggling to keep pace. Swiggy CTO Madhusudhan Rao and other senior technology and engineering leaders will explore these gaps in Bengaluru on 22 January…

Samsung says customers are impressed by its new HBM4 memory chips, helping restore confidence in its AI credentials and lifting its share price. The company is also gaining momentum in contract chipmaking, backed by big global deals. However, executives warn…

AI leaders believe Earth may soon lack the power and space for data centres, pushing them to look skyward. Big tech figures are backing the idea of building computing hubs in orbit, despite huge costs and doubts. Supporters say it…

Quick commerce is reshaping India’s beauty market, with skincare and makeup now bought on impulse and delivered in minutes rather than planned online shopping. The category has surged sharply, reaching about $100 million a month, growing far faster than traditional…

​​The digitally-native Gen Z’s willingness to adopt unique, frictionless services is quietly shaping a new model of commerce. Businesses must understand this 377 million-strong cohort if they want to centre innovation on its specific needs.

Brookfield plans to launch its own cloud business, leasing chips in data centres directly to AI developers. It will be backed by a new $10 billion AI fund and Radiant, developing data centres in France, Qatar and Sweden. The strategy…

Meta faced pressure over scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, especially from Japan. Internal papers show it reduced how easily regulators could find such ads, rather than fully fixing the problem. The company resisted strict advertiser checks worldwide to protect…

The pull feature allowed users to request funds from each other. Specific merchant UPI IDs could also initiate payments through this. However, the feature became a problem after fraudsters started using it to dupe unsuspecting consumers.

India’s gig workers plan a nationwide strike on December 31, demanding an end to 10-minute deliveries and a return to older pay rates, union leaders said. They cite low wages, algorithm pressure and poor grievance systems, warning of major delivery…

China has criticised the Netherlands for interfering in the chip industry and disrupting the global semiconductor supply chain. The row centres on Dutch control of Nexperia, a firm linked to a Chinese company, and Beijing’s retaliatory export curbs. Dutch officials…

The US Virgin Islands has sued Meta, accusing it of allowing scam adverts and failing to protect users, including children. The case cites reports that a large share of Meta’s revenue comes from harmful ads. Meta denies the claims, saying…

ByteDance is planning a sharp rise in spending on Nvidia AI chips in 2026, according to a report by the South China Morning ‍Post. The increase depends on whether the US firm is allowed to sell its advanced H200 processors…

Taiwan’s TSMC has begun mass production of its new 2-nanometre chips, the most advanced it has ever made. The company says the technology offers higher performance with better energy efficiency. “TSMC’s 2nm (N2) technology has started volume production in 4Q25…

Samsung Electronics has secured a one-year US licence allowing chipmaking equipment shipments to its China plants in 2026. The move offers short-term certainty after Washington earlier withdrew long-standing waiver permissions for some technology firms. Officials have shifted to an annual…

Humanoid robots are drawing renewed attention as advances in artificial intelligence revive long-held ambitions, though many experts remain sceptical about how soon they will become widely useful. While China has built strong momentum through funding and policy support, the US…

Meta is acquiring Chinese artificial intelligence startup Manus. This move aims to speed up the integration of advanced AI across Meta’s platforms. Manus develops a general-purpose AI agent capable of independent task execution. Meta plans to operate and sell the…

Happy Tuesday! As 2025 comes to a close, we at ETtech take a look back as deal values softened in the tech and startup ecosystem, churn continued in venture capital and new age companies, and major shutdowns unfolded. Here’s a…

​​With new centres opening and hiring continuing at scale, GCCs are now a major driver of jobs and office demand. ET’s Tanya Pandey breaks down the numbers behind India’s GCC boom.

New documents have raised concerns over China’s alleged use of AI to influence Taiwan’s elections, with reports warning of coordinated digital manipulation, fake online personas, and efforts to shape public opinion, prompting calls for stronger safeguards to protect democratic processes.

Happy Monday! Zepto going public could put India’s quick commerce space under scrutiny. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Tata Consultancy Services is preparing for an AI-driven future with a major internal and market reset. The company is shifting from AI pilots to scaled deployments focused on return on investment. TCS aims to become the world’s largest AI-led technology…

This surge is fueled by companies consolidating to gain scale amidst slowing organic growth. Experts anticipate continued momentum in 2026, with a focus on innovation and managed offerings.

Indian startups are designing advanced chips for video surveillance. These chips will process artificial intelligence locally on devices. This focus on edge AI is a first step towards a wider automation vision. Companies like Netrasemi, BigEndian, and Sensesemi are developing…

Quick commerce platforms, including Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, Zepto, BigBasket and Amazon Now, have also started rolling out party-themed sections and targeted deals on soft drinks, snacks, mixers, disposable cups, decoration items and games.

Adani had visited Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family, in 2022 to attend the inauguration of the Science and Innovation Activity Centre in the town, about 110 km from Pune. The relationship between Pawar and Adani goes back…

Driverless taxis from Alphabet unit Waymo, a ubiquitous feature on the city’s streets, were stuck ⁠at intersections with their hazard lights turned on as traffic lights stopped working following a fire at a PG&E substation that knocked out power to…

Karpathy said he has “never felt this much behind as a programmer,” describing the change in how code is now written, optimised, and deployed. “The profession is being dramatically refactored,” he wrote.

WeWork India, Smartworks, Awfis and IndiQube Spaces are already listed on stock exchanges. Other major players are The Executive Centre, Incuspaze, Simpliwork Offices, Table Space, Urban Vault, 91Springboard, Spring House Workspaces, BHIVE Workspace, 315Work Avenue, The Office Pass and Hanto…