𝐔.𝐒. 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed its final remedy proposal in its antitrust showdown with Google, demanding the tech giant sell off its Chrome browser and halt payments to partners for search engine favoritism.
The filing, lodged Friday, accuses Google of wielding “unrestricted power” to stifle competition, cementing its near-90% U.S. search dominance through exclusive contracts.
The DOJ’s push follows a 2023 trial and an August 2024 ruling by Judge Amit Mehta, who declared Google an illegal monopoly in search and text ads.
While earlier calls to divest Android and AI investments have been dropped, the DOJ insists Chrome’s sale—along with assets needed for a clean break—is non-negotiable.
Google must also notify regulators of new search or ad partnerships. Google slammed the proposal as overreach that threatens consumers and innovation, vowing an appeal as courtroom arguments loom in April.
𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧-𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has launched trials of its first self-designed chip aimed at training artificial intelligence systems, a strategic step to reduce its dependence on NVIDIA and slash soaring AI infrastructure costs.
The social media giant, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, is testing the chip in a small-scale deployment, with plans to scale up if successful.
The move is part of Meta’s broader push to manage its hefty 2025 budget—projected at $114 billion to $119 billion, including up to $65 billion for AI-related capital spending.
The company aims to deploy the chip for training recommendation systems by 2026, with ambitions to later support generative AI tools like its Meta AI chatbot.
𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢-𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐜 𝐆𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫.
Google has launched a new AI-driven feature for Gmail, powered by its Gemini bot, that automatically detects event details in emails and adds them to Google Calendar with a single click.
Rolling out now to Workspace business, enterprise, and education users, as well as Google one AI Premium subscribers, the “Add to Calendar” button appears alongside emails Gemini identifies as event-related.
Clicking it triggers a sidebar prompt to confirm or edit the event before it’s seamlessly added to your calendar.
Building on Google’s earlier non-AI tools for auto-adding appointments or travel plans, this update streamlines the process.
In testing, the feature accurately spotted two distinct events in a single email, though it prompted for confirmation rather than auto-adding as Google suggested.
While an edit button wasn’t offered in the sidebar, users can tweak details directly in Calendar after creation.
The rollout enhances productivity for Gmail’s power users, marrying AI convenience with practical functionality.
𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐤 : 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬.
Chinese startup DeepSeek AI Launched in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, the company claims its R1 reasoning model matches OpenAI’s o1, while its Janus Pro multimodal AI outstrips Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 3—all built with fewer resources despite U.S. chip export curbs.
Its AI app has surged to the top of the App Store, forcing sign-up restrictions amid “malicious attacks.”
Microsoft is fast-tracking DeepSeek AI’s R1 onto Azure, while OpenAI probes if its data fueled the rival’s rise. The U.S. is mulling bans on government devices, and South Korea and Italy have already blocked the app over data concerns.
With claims of using one-tenth the power of Meta’s Llama 3.1, DeepSeek could reshape AI’s economic and environmental stakes.
𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐔𝐩𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬.
Apple has hit the brakes on its highly anticipated Siri overhaul, admitting that the smarter, more personalized version of its virtual assistant is taking “longer than we thought.”
Initially teased at Worldwide Developers Conference,WWDC last year with promises of context-aware capabilities and app-integrated actions, the features were expected this spring.
Now, spokesperson Jacqueline Roy says they won’t arrive until sometime in the “coming year,” leaving the timeline vague.
Some in Apple’s AI team fear the project might need a complete rebuild, with a “true modernized” Siri possibly delayed until iOS 20.
Recent Siri updates—conversational tweaks, ChatGPT integration, and typing options—aren’t enough to offset the disappointment. Apple’s been pressed for clarity, and we’ll update as answers emerge.
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐔𝐩𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐨.
Orange Burkina Faso S.A has completed an upgrade of its mobile money platform to Comviva's next-generation mobiquity Pay, representing a significant advancement in digital payment capabilities for Orange Money users in the country.
The new platform features an open architecture and API-first approach that will enable Orange to rapidly scale its payment services while ensuring smooth ecosystem integration and enhanced interoperability.
Security has been strengthened through robust authentication and authorization modules along with improved session management capabilities to provide better fraud prevention.
Christophe Yikirega Baziemo, CEO of Orange Money Burkina Faso, emphasized that Orange Money is a key growth driver for economic and social development in the country, highlighting the platform's microservices architecture and open design as enablers for ecosystem expansion and innovative customer services.
Rajesh Chandiramani, CEO of Comviva, noted that his company has been Orange's trusted partner for over a decade, managing platform design and technical operations.
The upgrade, described as the first of its kind at this scale in the region, leverages Comviva's experience with large-scale migrations, having completed over 30 transitions in the past decade.
The new cloud-native solution offers a comprehensive suite for digital money, wallets, and payments with a true-fixed cost model that ensures business continuity without unexpected expenses.
𝐔𝐊 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭-𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐀𝐈 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐞.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has terminated its investigation into Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
Launched in December 2023, the probe examined whether Microsoft’s multi-billion-dollar investment and influence over OpenAI—particularly after the dramatic firing and rehiring of OpenAI boss Sam Altman—constituted a merger requiring review.
The CMA concluded that while Microsoft holds significant sway over OpenAI’s commercial policy, it does not fully control the AI firm, meaning the partnership does not fall under UK merger rules.
Critics, including digital rights group Foxglove, slammed the decision as evidence of a “defanged” regulator under pressure from a pro-growth government agenda.
The CMA defended its ruling, noting it reflects legal limits, not an endorsement of the partnership’s competitive impact.
