News & Insights

IIT Guwahati researchers use drones and AI to decode traffic patterns on Indian roads

INDIA-CYBER/AI:India flags Chinese-linked AI tools in hacking campaign against financial firms

Diwali 2026 tech gifting guide: From the Nothing Phone (4b) and CMF Buds Neo to portable speakers and air purifiers, here are five gadgets worth gifting your loved ones this festive season.

Rising memory costs, driven by growing demand from the artificial intelligence industry, could push prices of low-end smartphones up by around 30 per cent and force consumers to delay fresh purchases or opt for second-hand devices, according to a report by Jefferies.

GLOBAL-COMPANIES/CYBERATTACK (GRAPHIC, PIX):AI sharpens cat-and-mouse hacking battle as companies strengthen defences

GIGABYTE has launched its 40th anniversary ENTER INFINITY India campaign, offering gamers and PC builders Amazon gift vouchers worth up to ₹15,500, AORUS merchandise and GIGABYTE monitors.

Nothing CEO Carl Pei has confirmed that the company's first AI-native device will launch in December 2026. The upcoming screenless product is being positioned as a productivity tool and will not be available as a standalone app.

Apple is considering further cuts to employee AI spending limits as it seeks to rein in costs. The move reflects a wider trend among tech giants, including Microsoft, Tesla and Uber, to tighten budgets despite pushing greater AI adoption.

South Korea has launched Hangang, a $276 million national supercomputer equipped with 8,496 Nvidia GPUs and 614.7 petaflops of computing power. Designed to accelerate AI and scientific research, the system is expected to rank among the world's top 10 supercomputers.

Sony is offering US gamers up to $400 in cash for trading in their old PlayStation 5 consoles through a partnership with refurbished electronics marketplace Back Market, according to TweakTown. The offer could help players upgrade to the $899.99 PS5 Pro ahead of the much-anticipated GTA 6 launch.

CERT-In's guidelines mandate six-hour breach reporting and 180-day data logs, but remain non-binding for now. 

Central cyber security agency warns banks, fintech firms of frauds through AI agents

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way e-commerce applications personalise the shopping experience, moving beyond conventional product recommendations to potentially influence the entire interface customers see when they open an app, according to an industry report by AppMaker.

Realme 17T 5G live images have surfaced online, revealing a redesigned rear camera module and slimmer display bezels ahead of its expected launch. The smartphone is expected to succeed the Realme 16T 5G and join the upcoming Realme 17 series as a more affordable offering.

Around 87 per cent of organisations experienced at least one threat-related incident in the 24 months preceding a survey, but many remain inadequately prepared to deal with risks beyond conventional cybersecurity, according to a report by McKinsey & Company.

Sony's PlayStation Black Friday Sale 2026 began on November 4, offering up to 75% off thousands of PS5, PS4 and PS VR2 games, with discounts running until November 30. The sale preview includes 16 titles, while deals on PS5 consoles, controllers and other accessories are yet to be announced.

Democrats' victory in the 2026 US midterm elections could bring increased scrutiny of AI giants including Nvidia, Microsoft, Google and Meta. Proposed data-centre taxes, questions over corporate tax incentives and closer oversight of AI partnerships are emerging as key issues for the industry.

Anthropic has announced FlashProve, an open-source system for ‘provable inference’ that works like a cryptographic email signature for AI outputs. It aims to let users verify that a response came from the model a company claims to have, without exposing the model’s weights. 

Dell has launched the 14S laptop in India at a starting price of ₹79,990, with four colour options. It features Intel Series 3 Core 5 and Core 7 processors, up to 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and a display with up to a 120Hz refresh rate.

AI is driving a massive increase in leverage. It’ll need to be paid.

Google will turn off Gemini and other AI features by default for K-12 accounts and let schools enable them if they want to. The change follows criticism that Google pressured schools to adopt AI and might restrict search for those that refused to do so.

Bengaluru accounts for 34 pc of India's forward-deployed engineering talent: Report

Mahesh Babu has acquired a minority stake in Indian gaming studio Shortgun Games for an undisclosed amount. The investment follows its $1 million seed round in 2025 as the company works on a PC and console game targeting global markets.

The concerns come amid several incidents involving alleged security breaches and the theft of sensitive technology-related information.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has unveiled three indigenous artificial intelligence foundation models, EKA-1, Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B, developed by domestic companies with support under the IndiaAI Mission, with the government highlighting their potential for specialised applications and deployment in secure, offline environments.

97 pc Indian professionals want to learn AI; 65 pc concerned about lack of human judgment: Report

BAIDU-AUTONOMOUS/ (PIX):China's Baidu launches AI model simulating road environment for robotaxis

EU-GOOGLE-AI-COPYRIGHT:Google AI chatbot's use of press items may infringe copyright rules, EU court adviser says

OnePlus Turbo 7 is tipped to launch in China in December 2026, powered by Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 chipset. The smartphone could feature a 200MP primary camera, a 185Hz display and a glass back, but may skip a periscope telephoto camera.

The Esya Centre study finds that India's proposed SIM-binding mandate could disrupt consumers and MSMEs, increase business costs and offer limited cybersecurity benefits, leaving phishing, malware and other cyber fraud risks largely unaddressed.

Australia's highest court hears challenges to social media ban for children

Indian companies are increasingly allowing artificial intelligence (AI) systems to independently handle business processes, with 28 per cent of surveyed business leaders saying generative AI completes defined tasks from beginning to end without routine human approval.

Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra could feature a redesigned camera bar for better compatibility with magnetic accessories, according to a new leak. The Galaxy S27 Pro and S27 Ultra are also tipped to get an upgraded Privacy Display with improved brightness.

Google Dreambeans has launched in India. The app creates personalised visual stories from Gmail, Photos and more in 14 languages.

Vivo Y32 5G has been unveiled with a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor, a 6.87-inch 120Hz display and an 8,000mAh battery. The smartphone supports 44W fast charging, reverse charging and microSD storage expansion of up to 2TB.

HONGKONG-FINANCIALS-SUMMIT:Big ticket tech deals needed to keep pace with AI growth boom, financial leaders say

Ukraine-based CODE380 has developed the D·Vision SDR, a 280-gram receiver that intercepts live camera feeds from Russian drones in real time. The device scans frequencies between 500 MHz and 8.7 GHz, helping Ukrainian forces monitor drone movements and identify potential targets before attacks.

The technology-focused investment firm, which recently infused $100 million in Sachin Bansal’s fintech platform Navi, is looking to deepen its financial services thesis, Ashutosh Sharma, India head at Prosus, told Mint in an interview.

Artificial intelligence (AI) must evolve beyond providing information to offering responsible, ethical and wiser advice, as growing dependence on the technology raises concerns over misleading responses, human decision-making and societal well-being, experts said.

Nothing is expanding the stable rollout of Nothing OS 5.0, based on Android 17, to the Phone (4a) Pro, Phone (4a), Phone (3a) Pro and Phone (3a). The update adds interface and personalization changes, performance improvements and AI-powered tools. Availability is phased by device, region & carrier.

Rockstar Games has introduced limited-time rewards and boosted payouts in Red Dead Online as part of its Halloween event. However, the offers do not include a free download of the full Red Dead Redemption 2 game.

ASUS ExpertBook business laptops are available with discounts of up to ₹18,000 during the Flipkart Big Bang Diwali Sale 2026. Prices start at ₹50,990. Buyers can also get bank discounts of up to ₹10,000, exchange benefits of up to ₹15,000 and up to 12-month no-cost EMI.

Pebble has launched the Qore Vox screenless wellness band in India at an introductory price of ₹5,799, combining health tracking with voice recording and AI-powered meeting summaries.

Xiaomi has launched the Redmi M100 Pro in China at CNY 2,499 (approximately ₹33,000), featuring the MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Ultra chipset and 12GB RAM. The smartphone sports a 6.67-inch 1.5K 120Hz OLED display, a 50-megapixel triple rear camera setup and a 5,500mAh battery with 45W wired charging.

Realme is facing criticism from AIMRA over alleged price differences of up to ₹6,000 between Flipkart and offline stores for its P4 series smartphones. 

Innefu Labs claims its AI-powered Prophecy Eagle I platform has detected a suspected ₹5,700 crore GST fraud network involving more than 1,500 businesses across India.

OpenAI is proposing to rename its data centres as ‘AI compute campuses’ amid growing public opposition to large-scale AI infrastructure projects in the US. The company says the new term better reflects the facilities' scale, energy requirements and workforce investments.

Alphabet’s search ad revenue missed expectations as greater use of AI Mode contributed to slower growth. Meta reported $63.1 billion in ad revenue, with AI helping improve ad creation, targeting and engagement. Google says longer AI-powered queries could create new monetization opportunities.

Nate Soares, a machine learning researcher and president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), estimates that the probability of AI-driven human extinction over the next 10 years is higher than 50%.

A San Francisco startup is offering $20 an hour to people willing to walk robot dogs through city streets. The job is part of Dimensional's effort to collect real-world navigation data and improve how AI agents control robots without human intervention.

Mayur More, known for ‘Kota Factory’, and Ashlesha Thakur, who featured in ‘The Family Man’, will headline ‘Beta Builder’, the first feature film under Abundantia Entertainment and InVideo’s AI filmmaking partnership.

The primary concern is the possibility that an individual suspected of working for Chinese intelligence could have gained access to information through a close relationship with one of America's most influential technology executives.

Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu said AI makes clear communication, problem-solving and spotting errors in AI-generated responses increasingly important, calling them 'meta level skills' that can significantly boost productivity.

OpenAI has cut its latest fundraising target by $10 billion and is now seeking $20 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, the Financial Times reported. The company had previously aimed to raise $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation.

Copilot in Excel’s Skill Builder turns everyday workflows into reusable skills, helping finance teams standardize monthly reports, preserve formatting and commentary, and cut repetitive work.

We are being asked to love AI at the same time as we’re being warned about its dire dangers.

Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu warned that AI could allow one skilled worker to do the work of 10 people, putting computer-based jobs at risk. He said the technology may also create new opportunities, but adapting to this economic shift could be painful.

AI safety researcher Nate Soares estimates a greater-than-50% chance that advanced AI could cause human extinction within a decade. Concerned that systems may outgrow human control, he has stopped contributing to retirement savings and urges governments to halt the development of general-purpose AI.

Amazon is pushing customers towards its Alexa shopping assistant as Meta's Muse gains popularity. Here's why the two tech giants are competing for control of AI-powered shopping.

India’s festive e-commerce rush is expected to bring more orders, more shoppers and a growing fraud challenge. As suspicious transactions can resemble genuine festive buying, platforms and logistics firms are increasingly turning to AI-driven checks to protect customers without slowing deliveries.

Microsoft plans to raise about $25 billion in its first US investment-grade bond sale in more than nine years, with orders exceeding $100 billion. 

The tool represents an additional approach to estimating breast cancer recurrence risk using MRI-derived information. It may help inform discussions about treatment.

IISc professor Prathosh AP recommends a three-semester learning path and emphasises mentorship, clear reasoning, and research to address real-world problems through artificial intelligence (AI).

Google is testing its Multi-Party Computation (MPC) security system to help banks and financial institutions protect cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets against hacking and unauthorized transactions.

Microsoft cuts its 2026 AI spending forecast by $5 billion despite Azure revenue surging 48%. Is the move a strategic shift or a temporary delay?

Google has unveiled Gemini 4 Carbon, a new AI model focused on cybersecurity, coding and software vulnerability detection, alongside Genie 4, which creates interactive digital worlds with real-time audio.

The US Justice Department is examining whether Nvidia’s proposed $12.93 billion acquisition of Hugging Face could give the chipmaker greater control over AI model distribution and harm competitors. 

Leaders from Salesforce, PwC and IndiaFirst Life explain how AI agents could extend insurance distribution, accelerate underwriting and reshape customer engagement.

Lawyers say a European Union-style AI law would be in the right direction, Big Tech executives are pushing for “sector-wise AI rules, rather than an overarching law.”

China’s AI and semiconductor stocks have lost about $480 billion in market value, ending a two-year rally. High valuations, concerns about AI demand, export restrictions and potential price wars fueled the selloff.