India is about tech talent availability, not low-cost options: Databricks cofounder Patrick Wendell

Patrick Wendell told ET that the company is betting on India as both, a key development hub and business market. He also said Databricks is IPO-ready, with India contributing to core product development and future growth.

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Swiggy’s Majety says won’t chase volume growth at cost of poor AOV; Zepto hits back

The statement made at the company’s post-earnings call followed an analyst pointing out Zepto’s claim to have crossed two million daily orders during the Diwali period. Without naming any company, Sriharsha Majety also said that while it’s easy to see the numbers of listed players, it’s difficult for private players.

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Microsoft Azure, 365 down for thousands of users, Downdetector shows

Azure was down for over 16,600 users and Microsoft 365 was down for nearly 9,000 users, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources.

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GlobalFoundries to expand German facility with $1.28 billion investment

US chipmaker GlobalFoundries on Tuesday said it will invest 1.1 billion euros ($1.28 billion) to expand manufacturing capabilities at its German facility as it looks to increase production.

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Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts, sources say

Amazon is gearing up for a major shakeup, potentially cutting 30,000 corporate roles from its ranks. This strategic decision is part of a broader effort to rein in costs after a hiring spree fueled by pandemic demands. With this anticipated drop, the company is poised for its largest workforce contraction since 2022.

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LSEG partners with Anthropic to bring financial data access to Claude users

Anthropic to give Claude users access to data licensed through LSEG products. LSEG shares rose by as much as 1.7% after the announcement.

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Meta launches 'ghost posts' that disappear after 24 hours on Threads

The feature is aimed at boosting usage, expanding options for users to share posts on the app, similar to the widely used "stories" employed across Meta's Instagram and Facebook.

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Packed festive show delivers a big ecommerce hit; sales jump 27%

India's festive e-commerce season saw a robust 27% year-on-year sales growth, fueled by GST cuts and strong demand from non-metro cities. Analysts highlight a shift towards quality and D2C brands, with quick commerce playing a significant role. Premium categories and gifting saw notable surges, setting a positive outlook for FY26.

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Accel, Prosus team up for early-stage investments in India

Leading tech investor firms Prosus and Accel have teamed up to bolster India's dynamic early-stage startup landscape. This collaborative effort will target initiatives in advanced manufacturing, energy transition, and AI-driven automation. This partnership represents a significant step for Prosus in broadening its investment strategy on a global scale.

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Reliance investments in AI infra may top $12-15 billion: Report

Reliance will spend approximately $12-15 billion on AI infrastructure to develop a 1GW datacenter, underwriting about 25% of the capacity itself. A new wholly-owned subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence will spearhead the conglomerate's AI initiatives.

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Lenskart to launch IPO on October 31; files RHP

Lenskart has filed the red herring prospectus for its initial public offering (IPO), which will be launched on October 31. The IPO, which will close on November 4, will see Lenskart raise Rs 2,150 crore and shareholders sell 127.5 million shares via the offer-for-sale (OFS) portion, as per the RHP.

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Ola Electric board greenlights Rs 1,500 crore fundraise plan

Ola Electric has approved plans to raise up to Rs 1,500 crore through equity and convertible securities. The board made the decision on October 25, after announcing the meeting earlier. Funds may be raised through various routes such as public offer, rights issue, qualified institutional placement (QIP), private placement

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Big Tech makes Cal state its AI training ground

California State University has launched an AI initiative with partners like Amazon, OpenAI, and Nvidia to prepare students for AI-driven careers. Through camps and collaborations, students learn tools like Amazon Bedrock and ChatGPT Edu. Supporters see opportunity; critics warn universities risk losing independence and promoting unproven corporate technology.

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US pushes regulators on connecting data centres to grid

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed federal regulators to consider a rule speeding up data center connections to electric grids, allowing joint requests to reduce study times and costs. The administration aims to boost power capacity and grid access for the data center industry amid rising demand, though environmentalists criticize the accelerated review process.

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OpenAI backs a new venture trying to thwart AI bio attacks

Valthos, a New York-based biosecurity startup founded by Kathleen McMahon and Tess van Stekelenburg, has emerged from stealth with $30 million in funding from OpenAI, Founders Fund, and Lux Capital. Using AI to detect and counter bioweapon threats, Valthos aims to strengthen biodefense as AI advances heighten global biosecurity risks.

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Mobikwik’s COO for consumer payments Mohit Narain steps down citing health reasons

Narain, who was chief operating officer for consumer payments, has been relieved of his duty from the close of business today. Narain had joined the digital payments company in 2018 as a product and growth coach.

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Experts hail deepfakes labelling rules, flag usage, overreach risks

​​Under the draft amendments notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), social media platforms such as Meta, X and Google would be required to label AI-generated content with markers that cover at least 10% of the display area or the first 10% of the audio duration.

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Google's quantum computer makes a big technical leap

Michel H Devoret, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, demonstrated in the 1980s that quantum mechanics’ unusual properties could appear in visible electrical circuits, enabling superconducting qubits. His work underpins quantum computing, now advancing rapidly at Google, promising breakthroughs in drug discovery, materials science, and problems unsolvable by classical computers.

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Atlan is building a bridge to bring AI pilots to real world

As AI adoption grows, Atlan aims to help companies move from small AI tests to full use. Cofounder Prukalpa Sankar says most AI projects fail early. Atlan connects scattered company data into one clear layer, helping AI systems better understand business meaning and boosting success in real-world use.

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OpenAI launches web browser to compete with Google Chrome

OpenAI is launching its own web browser, called Atlas, stepping into direct competition with Google. By becoming a new way for people to search online, OpenAI hopes to attract more users and earn from ads. Despite having over 800 million ChatGPT users, most use it for free, so profits remain low.

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Visa hurdles make US tech hirings tough for Indian-founded AI startups

Indian AI startups are struggling to hire tech talent in the US. New H-1B visa fees and immigration anxieties make visa holders hesitant to join smaller companies. This forces startups to seek US citizens and green card holders. The talent crunch impacts hiring decisions, shifting focus from immigration policy to available candidates.

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Apple nears $4 trillion valuation as shares surge on strong iPhone 17 demand

Apple shares have reached an all-time peak, approaching a $4 trillion market valuation. Strong early sales of the latest iPhone models in China and the United States are driving this surge. Analysts anticipate Apple will exceed expectations for the current quarter and provide positive forecasts for the December period. This performance marks a significant turnaround for the company's stock.

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GenAI makes cyber fraud look more credible

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Meesho IPO: Ecommerce platform files updated papers for $800 million IPO; eyes December 2025 listing

Meesho IPO scheduled for December 2025. The ecommerce company aims to raise approximately Rs 5,800 to Rs 6,600 crore. This move will make Meesho the first pure-play horizontal ecommerce marketplace to list in India. Early investors are expected to partially exit through the offering.

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Chinese tech giants pause stablecoin plans after Beijing steps in, FT reports

Companies have put their stablecoin ambitions on hold after receiving instructions from Chinese regulators, including the People's Bank of China and Cyberspace Administration of China, not to move ahead with the plans, FT reported.

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Meesho files updated papers for $800 million IPO; eyes December 2025 listing

Meesho is preparing for its stock market debut in December 2025. The e-commerce company aims to raise approximately Rs 5,800 to Rs 6,600 crore. This move will make Meesho the first pure-play horizontal e-commerce marketplace to list in India. Early investors are expected to partially exit through the offering. Other new-age companies like Lenskart and Groww are also planning IPOs.

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Licious FY25 revenue grows 16%; Ebitda loss narrows

Meat and seafood retailer Licious reported a 16% revenue increase to Rs 795 crore in FY25, driven by its omnichannel strategy. The company also saw a 45% reduction in EBITDA losses. In the first half of the current fiscal, Licious achieved 42% revenue growth, expanding its retail footprint to 50 outlets.

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Zepto’s $450 million funding could increase competition, cash burn in industry: analysts

Quick commerce platform Zepto closed a $450 million round in a mix of primary and secondary transactions on Thursday. Founder Adit Palicha told ET in an interview that the firm plans to invest the proceeds in growth, adding a “few hundred” dark stores, and focus on volume expansion over the next 12 months.

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ETtech Explainer: Decoding Blinkit's 9X revenue surge amid slow margin growth

Eternal-owned Blinkit reported a 9x jump in its revenue in Q2 of FY26 to Rs 9,891 crore, up from Rs 1,156 crore in the same period last year. This follows the company's shifting from a marketplace model to an inventory model and aggressive expansion of dark stores. The topline growth of Blinkit also came on the back of the aggressive expansion of its dark stores. The company added 272 new dark stores in the September quarter, bringing the total count to 1,816 stores. It plans to reach the 3,000 mark by March 2026.

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Big US court relief for H-1B spouses, but worries remain

The spouses of H-1B workers, who are skilled professionals, were given H4 Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) allowing them to work in the US starting 2015. Joel Yanovich, attorney, Murthy Law Firm, said that over 200,000 H-4 EADs have been issued to date. According to data shared by Boundless Immigration, a US-based agency, 90% of the H-1B beneficiaries are Indians.

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Lyft to open Toronto tech hub, deepening push beyond US market

The office will be located in Toronto's financial district and will host several hundred employees across engineering, product, operations and marketing, as the company expands its presence in Canada.

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Alarms go off as Sebi chief warns of a looming quantum apocalypse

Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey warned that quantum computing could trigger a disruption to the economy similar to that spawned by the Y2K crisis in 2000, conveying the urgency and uncertainty this swiftly approaching technological shift has created in regulatory circles.

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Anthropic aims to nearly triple annualized revenue in 2026, sources say

The company is on track to meet an internal goal of $9 billion in annual revenue run rate - a calculation of annual revenue extrapolated from the current sales pace - by the end of 2025, the people said. For 2026, Anthropic has set even more aggressive targets: a base case of more than doubling to $20 billion in annualized revenue and a best case of as much as $26 billion, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss private figures.

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TCS job cuts: Karnataka union submits records of two cases, not mass layoffs

KITU’s documents did not indicate any mass layoffs, senior labour department officials told ET. TCS general manager (HR) Boban Varghese Thomas appeared for the software major, while KITU president VJK Nair, general secretary Suhas Adiga, and secretary Sooraj Nidiyanga appeared for the employees in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

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Brands, sellers gear up for a strong finish to ecomm festive sale

With much of the shopping in the final week happening for last-minute purchases and gifting purposes for Diwali, sellers and brands are expected to step up discounting to as much as 20-30% with certain categories seeing discounts as high as 40%, brands and analysts said. This festive season, discounting has gone upwards of 5-6% compared to last year.

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CDAC to tape out local chiplet tech demonstrator by Q1 FY27

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will unveil a technology demonstrator of an indigenous chiplet by the first quarter of 2026-27, marking a critical milestone in India’s high-performance computing and semiconductor roadmap, said SD Sudarsan, executive director of C-DAC, Bengaluru.

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Intel customers to test new GPU late next year

Intel announced that customers will begin sampling its next-generation data center GPU, Crescent Island, in the second half of 2026. The chip aims to enhance AI and high-performance computing capabilities, reflecting Intel’s efforts to expand its presence in the enterprise GPU market and compete with rivals like Nvidia and AMD.

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California governor signs law to protect kids from the risks of AI chatbots

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law regulating AI chatbots to protect children and teens. Platforms must disclose chatbot interactions every three hours for minors, prevent self-harm content, and refer at-risk users to crisis services.

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100k H-1B visa fee disrupts Telugu graduates' career plans, marriages, faith

Some estimates suggest that 10–15% of all H-1B visas are filled by applicants from the twin Telugu states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. With Indians accounting for nearly 71% of total H-1B allocations, this translates into tens of thousands of young Telugu graduates, engineers, and tech professionals.

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Warburg Pincus nears deal to buy Germany's PSI for more than 700 million euros, sources say

The transaction would value PSI at 45 euros per share, the sources said, a premium of more than a third over Friday's closing price.

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AI will transform agriculture: Maharashtra CM

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said new tech like AI, blockchain, and digitisation is making both business and government more open and efficient. He believes these tools can help farmers earn more and lose less. Speaking at a tech event, he highlighted AI's power to bridge social and economic gaps.

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Children plug into AI chatbots, leaving reality, parents behind

Conversational AI apps like Chai and Character.AI let users create and interact with virtual personas, while Roblox is a social gaming universe where kids play and interact daily. ​​Together, these interactive platforms and games, experts told ET, represent a rapidly expanding digital ecosystem where young users are spending increasing amounts of time—often to the point of problematic use or dependency.

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Meta hires Thinking Machines Lab cofounder Andrew Tulloch

Led by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, the startup had been approached or offered jobs by Meta in the past as well but the latter had pushed back on some of these claims. Andrew Tulloch previously worked at OpenAI and Facebook’s AI Research Group. WSJ reported that a Thinking Machine Labs spokesperson confirmed Tulloch’s departure to the WSJ, saying he “has decided to pursue a different path for personal reasons.”

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Allahabad HC asks Google, Meta to remove 'objectionable' videos against Rambhadracharya

The court instructed the petitioners to provide the relevant URL links to the social media companies to facilitate the removal process. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for November 11.

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‘Silent layoffs’ tighten grip in 2025: 50k tech jobs on the line

While Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) drew much attention when it announced in July that it was sacking 2% of its workforce (about 12,000 out of 600,000) by March 2026, scores of large and medium-sized technology services companies have been asking people to resign or find other jobs quietly. While the total number of dismissals is difficult to measure, estimates peg this at 25,000 between 2023 and 2024, suggesting that the number is set to double this year.

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Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain details fundraising efforts amid leadership crisis

In a LinkedIn post, Jain reassured staff in the post that employees would be prioritised in the fundraise and emphasised a commitment to payroll timeliness, noting that since Bira 91’s inception in 2015 until early 2025, payroll was always given importance over other investments.

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Samsung hit with $445.5 million US jury verdict over wireless communications patents

The jury said that Samsung's laptops, Galaxy smartphones and other wireless-enabled devices infringe four Collision patents. The verdict is one of several nine-figure patent infringement verdicts that Samsung has been hit with in the same Marshall, Texas court in recent years.

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Nvidia-backed Reflection AI raises $2 billion in funding, boosts valuation to $8 billion

The funding round, led by Nvidia, saw participation from prominent investors, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Citi, and Donald Trump Jr-backed private equity firm 1789 Capital, as well as existing investors Lightspeed and Sequoia.

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UK’s Revolut to launch its payment platform in India; aims for 20 million customers by 2030

London-based digital finance firm Revolut is launching its payment platform in India, marking its entry into a major digital payments market. The platform will facilitate domestic and international payments through partnerships with Unified Payments Interface and Visa, with a goal of acquiring 20 million customers by 2030.

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Centre’s DLI tag helping semicon cos win over venture capital companies

Several Indian semiconductor startups are raising funds from local venture capital firms, driven by government self-reliance initiatives, rising geopolitical uncertainty, and increased investor interest as industry veterans enter the sector. The startups include CalligoTech, 3rdiTech, SandLogic and Terminus Circuits, ET has learnt.

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Nvidia CEO Huang says chipmaker will continue to sponsor H-1B visas: Report

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that the company will keep sponsoring H-1B visas and bear all related costs, despite President Trump’s recent executive order imposing a $100,000 fee per new application.

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IT cos on alert as hyperscalers eye a slice of enterprise spends

IT companies have so far been able to compensate for this impact through higher volumes from customers, which allowed revenues to grow. In 2026, there will be a push and pull between this deflationary impact and macro tailwind, according to Yogesh Aggarwal, Prateek Maheshwari and Sagar Desai, who wrote the HSBC report.

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Mattel partners with OpenAI on Sora 2 AI video model

Monday's moves are the latest in a stream of announcements for OpenAI, which sparked the modern AI boom with the launch of ChatGPT about three years ago. Many of CEO Sam Altman's ambitions are bold and expensive, even by Silicon Valley standards, sparking some concern among tech investors about whether or not AI investments are a bubble.

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DevDay 2025: OpenAI launches apps inside ChatGPT

The number of developers using OpenAI’s tools has also doubled to 4 million, and API usage has increased from 300 million tokens per minute to 6 billion, CEO Sam Altman revealed at the OpenAI DevDay in San Francisco. The new ChatGPT Apps SDK, now in preview for developers, lets them build apps that connect to data, trigger actions, and include interactive interfaces.

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Urban Company eyes ACs foray via in-house co Native: sources

The Gurgaon-based company, which offers a host of home services such as spas and AC repairs, already sells water purifiers and electronic smart locks under the ‘Native’ label. The platform has held early discussions with component makers to assemble room ACs locally, sources said.

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EU to unveil new AI strategy to reduce dependence on US and China: FT

The EU plans to launch a fresh strategy to boost locally developed AI platforms, aiming to compete with tech leaders like the US and China. Called the "Apply AI strategy", the proposal encourages the use of European AI tools across key areas such as healthcare, defence, and manufacturing.

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When AI came for Hollywood

Emily Blunt expressed alarm after learning that rising “actress” Tilly Norwood is actually AI. Speaking on a podcast, she called the development terrifying. Created to rival real stars like Scarlett Johansson, Tilly’s rise has triggered concern in Hollywood, where many fear losing roles to lifelike digital creations.

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D2C startups in big FMCG bag, but still shy of gains

Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Marico, and Emami, among others, have either acquired or taken controlling stakes in at least a dozen digital-first brands over the past five years. Though sales accelerated for the acquired startups, they continue to incur losses.

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Draft online gaming rules set stage for clean-up, esports growth

New draft online gaming rules bring clarity and recognize esports as official sports, promising career pathways and investor confidence. However, challenges remain in enforcing regulations for social games, interpreting virtual currencies, and navigating compliance costs, with a pending Supreme Court tax lawsuit further shaping the final law.

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Industry welcomes six-month window to refund real-money game deposits

MeitY's draft online gaming rules propose a 180-day transition period for companies and payment partners to refund users for real-money games before their ban. This window eases potential criminal liability for firms, though legal experts caution about users missing the deadline. The government aims for zero tolerance after this practical compliance period.

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Lenskart gets Sebi nod for Rs 8,000-crore IPO, aims for November listing: sources

Eyewear retailer Lenskart has received Sebi approval for its IPO, targeting a mid-November listing. The company aims to raise Rs 2,150 crore in fresh capital, with the total IPO size expected to be Rs 7,500-8,000 crore. Lenskart turned profitable in fiscal 2025, posting a net profit of Rs 297 crore, and will use proceeds for store expansion and acquisitions.

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Quick commerce reshapes festive shopping with idols, sweets, puja essentials

Quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit and Zepto are rapidly dominating festival puja essential sales, with the "spiritual commerce" segment nearing Rs 900 crore annually. Consumers increasingly prefer these platforms for convenience and curated assortments. Spiritual apps are also expanding into e-commerce, delivering prasad and religious items, reflecting a significant shift in festive buying habits.

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India nets $13 billion proposals under electronics component scheme: Vaishnaw

India's Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) has attracted $13 billion in investment proposals, nearly doubling its target and significantly boosting the nation's ambition to become a global electronics manufacturing hub. This overwhelming response, including strong MSME participation, aims to deepen the value chain, reduce import dependence, and achieve $500 billion in electronics manufacturing by 2031.

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Perplexity AI makes Comet browser free for everyone

Perplexity AI has made its Comet browser free for all users, as announced by CEO Aravind Srinivas. The company also introduced Comet Plus, a new subscription for news consumption featuring content from major publishers like CNN and The Washington Post. Publishers will be compensated from a $42.5 million revenue pool for their content.

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Govt sets up online gaming regulator under IT ministry

Government formed an online gaming regulator. The Online Gaming Authority of India will oversee money-gaming bans. It will operate as a digital office in Delhi-NCR. This body holds court powers. It will maintain a registry of games. Ministries now share duties. Sports ministry will promote esports. Information ministry will regulate social games.

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Hyperpure eyes home bakers, caterers amid Blinkit model shift

The push comes as Hyperpure braces for a revenue squeeze after it stopped supplying groceries to sellers on the group’s quick-commerce platform Blinkit shifted to an inventory-led model. The revenue stream accounted for more than 60% of its topline.

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Perplexity acquires Visual Electric to rival OpenAI’s Sora, Google’s Nano Banana

Perplexity AI has acquired Visual Electric, an AI-based image and video generation platform. The Visual Electric team will join Perplexity to develop new consumer product experiences, while Visual Electric winds down its current operations over 90 days, offering refunds and data export.

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Microsoft launches 365 Premium with Copilot AI assistant

The company will stop selling Copilot Pro and existing Copilot Pro and Microsoft 365 Personal or Family customers can switch to Premium. Microsoft, which also has a free version of Copilot, had launched its Copilot Pro at $20 per month last year.

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ET Explainer: OpenAI’s direct shopping via ChatGPT puts ecomm on notice

OpenAI has launched “Instant Checkout” in ChatGPT, letting US users complete purchases directly in-app, starting with Etsy and soon Shopify. Unlike earlier shopping features, this removes external redirects. Powered by the agentic commerce protocol, the move positions ChatGPT as a commerce platform, challenging Amazon and Google while offering merchants a streamlined, high-conversion sales channel.

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OpenAI launches AI video tool Sora as standalone app

OpenAI is expanding its generative AI portfolio with the launch of Sora 2, a text-to-video model, as a standalone app in the US and Canada. CEO Sam Altman highlighted that Sora 2 enables users to create videos directly from text prompts, signaling OpenAI’s growing push into multimedia AI applications.

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