StartupTalky

Tag: Artificial inteligence

  • Airtel & Perplexity Unite to Bring Free AI Search to Millions

    The AI-powered search engine Perplexity and Bharti Airtel launched a collaboration on 17 July. As a result, all Airtel customers will receive a complimentary 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro, which would normally cost INR 17,000 annually worldwide.

    Customers of Airtel’s DTH, broadband, and mobile services can access the offer via the Airtel Thanks app. This is the first time Perplexity has worked with an Indian telecom provider.

     Airtel presently has over 390 million users in India, second only to Reliance Jio, which has 475 million, according to the most recent figures from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    What is Perplexity?

    Perplexity is a conversational, AI-powered search and answer engine that goes beyond conventional search results to provide immediately digestible, thoroughly researched solutions.

    Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, commented on the collaboration, saying the business is excited to announce a revolutionary relationship with Perplexity that will deliver their state-of-the-art AI capabilities exclusively to Airtel customers.

    “Through this partnership, millions of users will have free access to a robust and up-to-date knowledge tool. The goal of this first-of-its-kind Gen-AI collaboration in India is to empower our clients to confidently and easily traverse the new trends in the digital world,” he added further.

    More individuals in India, including students, working professionals, and home managers, will have access to accurate, trustworthy, and professional-grade AI thanks to this collaboration, according to Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and CEO of Perplexity.

    Users may learn more, access information more quickly, and accomplish more with Perplexity Pro.

    How this Collaboration can Benefit the Users?

    Advanced AI models like GPT-4.1 and Claude, deeper research tools, image generation, file uploads and analysis, and Perplexity Labs—which helps with idea and project development—are all available to subscribers of Perplexity’s Pro version.

    The agreement with Airtel comes after Perplexity and Motorola launched a global alliance in April 2025, whereby Perplexity is pre-installed on millions of Motorola smartphones, including the most recent Razr and Edge 60 series.

    Perplexity Pro, which gives customers access to sophisticated capabilities including deep research, several AI model choices (such as GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Sonar), unlimited file uploads, and AI-enhanced purchasing tools, is provided to Motorola users for free for three months as part of that collaboration.

    Perplexity Gaining Popularity

    According to a media report last month, the startup is also getting close to a comprehensive agreement with Samsung.

    As per reports, Samsung is in advanced talks to include Perplexity’s search capabilities in the Samsung web browser, preload the app and assistant on future devices, and maybe incorporate Perplexity technology into Samsung’s Bixby virtual assistant.

    A media source claims that the business is assessing Perplexity and other industry participants for such a deal. Although specifics are still being finalised, the integration is anticipated to debut as early as the Galaxy S26 lineup in 2026.

    Samsung intends to be a significant investor in Perplexity’s upcoming investment round, according to a media outlet. The business is seeking to earn $500 million at a $14 billion valuation.

  • Karnataka Unveils Vision for AI Future with State-Backed Mission

    According to reports, the Karnataka government intends to join the Center-led IndiaAI Mission by launching a specialised AI mission. As GenAI becomes more widely used, it is necessary to control its use and establish a framework, according to a media article that quoted Karnataka’s minister of electronics, information technology, and biotechnology, Priyank Kharge.

    In order to create a distinct framework for AI, Kharge continued, the state is currently considering including the new policy into the next Karnataka IT policy 2025–2030. At the Bengaluru Tech Summit in November, the state intends to introduce its new IT policy. Over a million techies and one lakh AI specialists call Karnataka home.

    The state’s AI Workforce Impact Study, which aims to explore how AI automation is affecting the workforce and what skills people should prioritise for the future, was launched shortly after the AI framework policy talks.

    Karnataka Fostering Matured Startup Ecosystem

    Conversely, Karnataka boasts one of the most developed startup ecosystems in the nation, as Bengaluru-based AI startups secured $872 million in funding over the past five years, according to India’s AI Uprising: GenAI, AI Agents & The Future Of Startups, Report 2025.

    A Centre for Applied AI for Tech Solutions (CATS) would be established with an investment of INR 50 Cr over the next five years, in addition to the INR 100 Cr corpus for deep tech businesses that the state of Karnataka announced in this year’s budget. With more than $2 billion in financing, Bengaluru was the most well-funded startup cluster overall.

    The Centre is already on track to promote the creation of domestic AI models in the nation under its IndiaAI mission, which has an expenditure of more than INR 10K Cr, even though Karnataka plans to create its own AI mission.

    The Centre-led initiative to develop indigenous LLMs in India has already shortlisted GenAI firms SarvamAI, Gnani.ai, and Soket AI. This will also boost India’s GenAI sector, which is predicted to grow to a $17 billion opportunity by 2030.

    India’s AI Roadmap

    The government is providing investment funds and other forms of support to firms like Sarvam, Gnani, Gan, and Soket AI Labs in order to encourage the development of LLMs as part of India’s AI goal. More LLM-developing applications that will receive GPU access or grants will shortly be announced by the IndiaAI Mission, according to various media reports.

    With a plethora of ideas under the IndiaAI Mission centred on creating large language models (LLMs), India’s push to become a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) is gathering steam.

    According to a media report that quoted Sunil Gupta, CEO of Yotta Data Services, the country’s strategic commitment to autonomous and culturally relevant AI is demonstrated by the 43 proposals out of 506 that the India AI Mission received for the development of foundation AI models that are explicitly devoted to creating LLMs.

  • Google Taps Windsurf Talent to Supercharge AI Push

    In a surprise move following an effort by rival OpenAI to purchase the start-up, Google recently revealed that it has hired a number of senior employees from AI code generation start-up Windsurf.

    According to a person familiar with the agreement, Google is paying $2.4 billion in license fees as part of the agreement to use parts of Windsurf’s technology on non-exclusive terms. According to a media report, Google will not acquire a stock or any kind of controlling position in Windsurf.

    Co-founder Douglas Chen, Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, and a few members of the coding tool’s R&D team will join Google’s DeepMind AI group.

    According to media reports from June, the deal came after months of talks between Windsurf and OpenAI to sell the company for a price that may reach $3 billion. This deal demonstrated the interest in the code-generation field, which has become one of the fastest-growing AI applications.

    The New Team to Work Primarily on Gemini Project

    The former Windsurf team will work mostly on the Gemini project at Google DeepMind, where they will concentrate on agentic coding efforts. In a statement, Google expressed its excitement about bringing some of Windsurf’s best AI coding expertise to Google DeepMind to further the company’s agentic coding efforts.

    The unique purchase structure is a victory for Windsurf’s backers. According to PitchBook, the company was last valued at $1.25 billion a year ago and has raised $243 million from investors such as Kleiner Perkins, Greenoaks, and General Catalyst.

    According to reports Windsurf investors would keep their ownership holdings in the business and get liquidity through the licence fee. Google’s unexpected move is similar to its agreement to acquire staff from chatbot startup Character.AI in August 2024.

    Similar responses have been given to these so-called acquihire agreements by their Big Tech contemporaries, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, which some have criticised as an effort to avoid regulatory scrutiny.

    Other Players Also Strengthening their AI Infrastructure

    Amazon hired the co-founders and some of the employees of the AI business Adept last June, while Microsoft signed a $650 million deal with Inflection AI in March 2024 to use the AI start-up’s models and hire its employees.

    In June, Meta made the largest test to date of this growing type of corporate alliances by acquiring a 49% interest in Scale AI. These transactions do not need to be reviewed by US antitrust authorities, in contrast to acquisitions that would grant the buyer a controlling interest.

    If they think the deal was set up to circumvent those standards or hurt competition, they could still investigate it. Since then, other transactions have been the focus of regulatory investigations.

    In an effort to attract elite people in the competition to lead the next wave of AI, tech titans like Alphabet and Meta are aggressively pursuing high-profile acquisitions and offering multi-million dollar compensation packages.

  • Google Gives Students a Boost with Free Gemini Pro Access

    For a whole year, Indian college students will have free access to some of Google’s most cutting-edge AI capabilities.

    With the launch of Gemini for Students, the tech company is offering qualified users a complimentary membership to its AI-powered Gemini Advanced plan, which is typically included in the Google One AI Premium bundle.

    Students who are 18 years of age or older are eligible for the offer. To gain access, they must register on the official Google offer website by September 15, 2025.

    What Google is Offering?

    After enrolling, students will have access to Google’s most potent AI model to date, Gemini 2.5 Pro. Tools for research, writing, studying, and job preparation are also included in the strategy. It provides limitless academic assistance, including help with homework, essays, coding, interviews, and exams.

    Study notes can be organised and summarised with the use of NotebookLM. Gemini Live will support individualised learning and real-time interaction. Google’s AI-powered presentation or project video maker, Veo 3.

    Tools for deep research that will assist in gathering information for school assignments from reliable sources. Additionally, 2 TB of online storage on Google Drive, Gmail, and Photos will be provided to students—enough room to manage creative works, assignments, research, and presentations.

    Initiatives Aims for Responsible Exploration of AI Tools

    Google claims that the idea is intended to encourage ethical exploration of AI technologies as more students use AI to learn and become ready for professions.

    With the right support and tools, the company thinks that this will help students learn more effectively, more quickly, and more intelligently.

    As AI grows increasingly prevalent in both school and the workplace, the initiative also shows how tech companies are attempting to integrate into the learning process.

    No Cap on Number of Users

    One of the first nations where Google is implementing Gemini Advanced for students on a large scale is India. There is currently no cap on the number of users indicated by the company.

    Gemini for Students is being marketed as a digital tool for the contemporary classroom, whether it is for completing projects, creating a CV, or brainstorming. 75% of Indians believe they need a daily tool to help them study and develop, according to a Google and Kantar report.

    According to Google, Gemini, its AI chatbot, is beginning to take over that function for many. Additionally, 95% of Indian students who use Gemini report feeling more confidence in their daily lives, according to the survey.

  • Meta to Ditch Llama 4: AI Behemoth Meets an Early End

    Former proponents of democratising artificial intelligence through open-source releases of Llama at Meta, engineers and executives are now contemplating a radical philosophical shift: giving up their top open-source AI model, Behemoth, in favour of creating a closed, proprietary system.

    This possible withdrawal occurs at a critical juncture. Although Meta is considering shutting down, Chinese AI labs have risen to the top, becoming not just competitors in the open-source large language model competition but its clear leaders.

    Meta’s Trouble with AI Continues

    The SuperIntelligence Lab at Meta, established to further the company’s AI goals, is at a turning point. The business is now reevaluating the same tenet that brought it recognition for transparency and innovation acceleration.

    Previously, it set itself apart from clandestine rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google by openly disclosing its most potent AI models. Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI, was recently named Chief AI Officer by the business, which also announced plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in large AI supercomputing clusters called Prometheus and Hyperion.

    Sources familiar with the company’s discussions claim that these actions have successfully eliminated internal opposition to limiting model access. Chinese AI labs have jumped at the chance to assert leadership in the open-source AI space as Meta re-examines its open strategy, potentially creating a long-lasting edge in the global AI infrastructure.

    Chinese AI Labs Changing the Dynamics of the Business

    Released under an MIT-style open-weight license, DeepSeek-R1 and DeepSeek-V3 are currently on par with Gemini 2.5 Pro in terms of performance and were apparently trained for a fraction of the price, at about $6 million as opposed to OpenAI’s anticipated $100 million.

    This accomplishment is not unique. China has developed what one venture capitalist called “an arsenal of open-source models,” such as Alibaba’s Qwen 3, a family of models with 128K token context released under the Apache-2.0 license that beats Deepseek V3 on important benchmarks, and Moonshot AI’s Kimi K2, which is excellent at high-code and complex tasks.

    Chinese labs’ advancement and Meta’s simultaneous retreat have had a domino effect on the global tech scene. Countries like Czechia, Australia, Canada, India, and the United States have started to prohibit Chinese LLMs due to data security concerns, even as certain Chinese models gain popularity on GitHub and Hugging Face.

    Prominent venture capitalists, including Marc Andreessen, have warned that China will dominate the global technology stack if Western companies don’t lead in open-source AI. This fear now seems to be coming true more quickly than expected.

    There are several reasons for Meta’s reevaluation. Llama 4, the company’s most recent open-source model, has failed. Meta is under increasing pressure to monetise its AI assets after making significant investments in infrastructure, talent, and computing.

  • Intel to Slash 4,000 Jobs by Mid-July in Major Restructuring Push

    As part of a company-wide restructuring spearheaded by new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Intel Corporation has announced a new round of layoffs that will impact 2,400 more employees, bringing the total number of job cuts to almost 4,000 nationwide.

    Almost 2,400 jobs will be lost in Oregon alone, making this one of the biggest tech layoffs in Oregon’s history. The cuts will be implemented by mid-July and will affect several US states, including California, Arizona, and Texas.

    Intel, a major R&D centre with more than 20,000 employees in Oregon, will lay off more than 1,500 workers at its Ronler Acres complex in Hillsboro. The action highlights the company’s changing priorities and budgetary limitations in the face of the semiconductor industry’s rapid transformation.

    Intel-Oregon’s Tech Pillar

    Intel has long been a mainstay of Oregon’s tech economy and the state’s largest employer in the private sector. The average annual pay for semiconductor employment in the state is $180,000, which is far more than the state median.

    It is anticipated that the layoffs will have an effect on consumer spending and state tax receipts throughout the Oregon economy. CEO Lip-Bu stated that Intel was truly in the lead twenty or thirty years ago. According to reports, earlier this week, Tan informed staff, “Now… we are not in the top 10 semiconductor companies,” highlighting the need for a restructuring.

    It has taken years for Intel to start declining. It has lost its position as the undisputed leader in the global semiconductor business to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which now provides cutting-edge processors to firms like Apple and Nvidia.

    Intel Failed to Capture AI Chip Market

    Additionally, Nvidia, which produces the GPUs that power the majority of massive AI models and data centres, has surpassed Intel in the market for AI chips. Tan acknowledged that Intel must now shift its focus to related AI and edge computing technologies since it is “too late” to lead in AI training chips.

    A significant restructuring of Intel’s core business is indicated by the company’s decision to leave the automotive chip business, outsource its marketing to Accenture, and reduce employment in the Foundry Division by 20%. Known for his experience in semiconductors and venture finance, including his work with Cadence Design Systems, Lip-Bu Tan assumed the role of CEO earlier this year.

    His strategy mainly focusses on optimising processes and bringing Intel back to profitability through technological alliances and cost reductions. Intel continues to collect about $260 million in tax benefits from Oregon each year while restructuring is going on; this could come under scrutiny if future expansion plans are postponed or abandoned completely.

  • Analysts Warn: Apple Needs New CEO to Stay in the AI Race

    According to observers, Apple may need a new CEO in order to avoid falling victim to AI. According to analysts Walter Piecyk and Joe Galone of LightShed Partners, Apple needs a CEO who is focused on products, even if Tim Cook, the company’s current CEO, has brought operational experience to the position.

    According to a media agency report, the experts said on July 9 that Tim Cook was the right CEO when he was appointed and has undoubtedly performed admirably.

    Under Cook’s leadership, Apple has sold more than $2.0 trillion worth of iPhones. As pull-forwards connected to tariffs assist in stabilising replacement cycles that may finally be bottoming out, iPhone sales may actually show signs of life this quarter.

    Can Apple Keep Up in AI Race is a Big Question-Analysts

    But with Cook still in charge, analysts questioned if Apple could provide a slew of new AI capabilities and updates. According to them, AI will change industries throughout the world economy, and Apple could be one of the victims.

    The memo was released the day after Apple revealed that Jeff Williams, its chief operational officer, will soon retire. Sabih Khan, who was born in India, has been appointed by the corporation to succeed Williams.

    Khan joined Apple in 1995 and is highly recognised for having revolutionised the company’s global supply chain. He has been in charge of Apple’s operations team since 2019, managing global environmental sustainability, supplier accountability, and manufacturing projects.

    Prior to the promotion, he served as senior vice president of operations for the corporation. He will now rank second in the large tech company, behind Cook, as COO.

    Search for CEO Already Began

    Apple needs drastic changes right now, according to LightShed analysts, even though the promotion of an executive who is currently in the company’s highest ranks indicates stability.

    This is due to the fact that Apple is generally seen as having difficulty keeping up in the fiercely competitive AI race. Apple’s AI-enabled Siri has been delayed by almost a year due to alleged technical issues, and the company’s intelligence features have encountered glitches.

    During the 2024 WWDC developer conference, the Cupertino-based tech giant announced features that would improve Siri’s comprehension of conversation context.

    According to the LightShed team, it would be excessively compassionate to characterise the Siri delay as merely an instance of overpromising and underdelivering. They said that little had changed since then and that Apple was at a standstill when it came to AI.

    Renowned developer Ruoming Pang, who was allegedly in charge of Apple’s basic AI model development, departed last week to join Meta’s artificial superintelligence division. Kevan Parekh replaced Luca Maestri as chief financial officer at the beginning of 2025.

  • Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Receives Warning Letter from US Senators

    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was warned by US senators about his impending travel to China. They advised him to stay away from businesses that are compromising US export restrictions on chips. There are worries about possible ways to get beyond technological protections.

    Nvidia maintained that their technology was establishing a global norm. Huang had previously attacked US export controls on AI chips. More worries are raised by reports that DeepSeek is aiding China’s military. According to a report, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has received a strong warning from a group of US lawmakers about his impending visit to China.

    Letter by Senators

    Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator Jim Banks wrote a letter on 11 July urging Huang to avoid meeting with Chinese businesses that have connections to Beijing’s military and intelligence agencies or are suspected of undermining US semiconductor export rules.

    According to a news agency, they also particularly warned against doing business with organisations on the US prohibited export list. Concerning possible circumvention of crucial US technology safeguards, the senators reportedly wrote, “We are concerned that your trip to the PRC could legitimise companies that cooperate closely with the Chinese military or involve discussing exploitable gaps in US export controls.”

    Stressing that such technology could “accelerate the PRC’s effort to modernise its military,” the senators emphasised a consensus on the regulated export of powerful AI hardware.

    Response from Nvidia

    In response to the worries, a representative for Nvidia said that “America wins” when its technology becomes “the global standard.” AI software “should run best on the US technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America,” the representative said, highlighting China’s large pool of software developers.

    This comes after Jensen Huang called previous limitations a “failure” and openly hailed US President Donald Trump’s move to loosen some export controls on AI chips in May at the Computex trade exhibition in Taipei. Huang had previously calculated that Nvidia’s revenue would drop by $15 billion as a result of the US’s April limitations on the company’s customised AI processors for China.

    According to a media story last month, a senior US source claimed that DeepSeek, an AI company, was aiding China’s military and intelligence activities and had tried to get around US export restrictions on AI chips by using shell corporations. Chinese corporations have reportedly flown to Malaysia to train AI models before returning to China with the findings.

    According to its most recent annual report, Nvidia made $17 billion in revenue from China in the fiscal year that ended on January 26. This accounted for 13% of the company’s total sales. China has continuously been cited by Huang as a crucial market for Nvidia’s expansion.

  • WhatsApp Unveils AI Tool to Summarize Unread Conversations

    The most recent AI use case WhatsApp is providing for its users is generating a list of all the communications you haven’t read.

    The feature is dubbed AI-powered message summaries, as you might expect. It will use the new private computing system that the company has set up especially to protect and encrypt its AI data.

    According to WhatsApp, the new AI feature may be used in both private and group chats, but in order to see the summary, you must actively activate the tool.

    Using Meta AI to Summarise Chat

    According to WhatsApp, these chat summaries are created by Meta AI and are solely viewable to users. WhatsApp, Meta, and the chatbot users used to generate the list are unable to read these summaries.

    They will appear in bullet points, with the private processing label next to the lock icon and a visible-only-to-users label at the top. For the time being, WhatsApp is only making this functionality available to its customers in the US in English; later this year, more areas and languages will be enabled.

    In order to keep the conversations private, secure, and unusable for AI system training, Meta has discussed its own private computing system that runs in a different cloud tier.

    WhatsApp uses Meta AI throughout the platform with great care, and in order to maintain user satisfaction, the platform needs a strong back end.

    WhatsApp is working to put safeguards in place to prevent this from becoming a problem, but AI training is being carried out using our data without the user’s knowledge.

    WhatsApp to Add Ads on its Platform

    The WhatsApp advertising that the Meta-owned messaging firm has formally unveiled won’t appear in users’ calls or chats, so don’t worry. Instead of showing up in users’ personal area, these advertisements will show up in the Updates tab.

    The Updates page, where one may view WhatsApp Status posts, is where Meta is placing them.  Therefore, no, consumers’ private discussions are not being interrupted by advertisements for shoes or shampoo. These sponsored posts, such as Instagram Stories with occasional promotions, will appear between friends’ status updates.

    In an official blog post, WhatsApp stated that these new features will only be available on the Updates page, separate from your private conversations. This implies that a user’s experience remains unchanged if he or she solely uses WhatsApp to communicate with friends and family.

    Minting More Revenue Through this Move

    WhatsApp did not just adopt this notion without any prior planning. Since acquiring WhatsApp, Meta has considered monetising the app and introducing advertisements to make money.

    Meta always had a distinct idea, even though WhatsApp’s initial creators opposed the messaging service’s use of advertisements.  In 2020, they postponed their advertising goals, but they have since returned with a strategy that says it respects users’ privacy.

  • Search Gets Smarter: Google Launches ‘AI Mode’ in India

    Google just introduced AI Mode, its most potent search function to date, to Indian users.

    This experimental tool, which will be available in English through Search Labs starting from 24 June, is reportedly meant for individuals who want better responses to more complicated questions, such as how to keep two hyper youngsters entertained indoors, compare devices, or plan a trip.

    Supported by Gemini 2.5 and integrated into Search, AI Mode combines Google’s search infrastructure with sophisticated AI reasoning to split down user searches into subtopics and delve deeper into the web.

    According to Google, early adopters are already utilising AI Mode for things like product comparisons and travel planning, and their enquiries are two to three times longer than standard search queries.

    It’s not limited to written searches either. Because AI Mode is multimodal, users can ask questions by speaking or even by taking a picture. In India, where more people use Google Lens than elsewhere in the world, that is really helpful.

    If a user has an unfamiliar plant? AI Mode will identify the species and provide information on how to maintain it, including where to put it in his house. All he needs to do is to click a picture of the plant and upload the same by adding a question – how to take care?

    The user can express exactly what he wants, with all its details, and access the appropriate web content in a variety of formats by using AI Mode. This helps expand the types of enquiries individuals can ask, generating additional potential for content discovery.

    Users Already Enjoying the Latest Features

    Google reports that early adopters of the tool, which has previously been tested in the US, are asking far longer enquiries than they typically do, indicating a noticeable change in the way people choose to search.

    They are posing well-thought-out, real-world queries and anticipating intelligent responses rather than merely inputting brief keywords and assembling the answers themselves.

    Even though it’s still in the experimental stage, this function feels familiar because it’s integrated into Google Search. The system will just provide conventional search results if it is unsure of its AI response.

     According to Google, the purpose of this India launch is to identify what works and what doesn’t, then use user feedback to improve the function. Google claims that AI Mode goes beyond AI Overviews, which has more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, by offering deeper reasoning and real-time content discovery.

    Users participating in Search Labs can now access AI Mode on iOS and Android devices through the Google app. This is the ideal moment to try searching in a more organic manner or to ask a challenging question.