Apple has rolled out a new feature called ‘age assurance’ to help protect children’s privacy while using apps. The technology allows parents to input their child’s age when setting up an account without disclosing sensitive information like birthdays or government IDs. Instead, parents can share a general ‘age range’ with app developers, putting them in control of what data is shared.
This move comes amid growing pressure from US lawmakers, including those in Utah and South Carolina, who are considering age-verification laws for social media apps. Apple has expressed concerns about collecting sensitive personal data for such verifications, arguing it would require users to hand over unnecessary details for apps that don’t require it.
The age assurance tool allows parents to maintain control over their children’s data while limiting what third parties can access. Meta, which has supported legislation for app stores to verify children’s ages, welcomed the new tech as a step in the right direction, though it raised concerns about its practical implementation.
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Meta Platforms is preparing to test a paid subscription model for its AI chatbot, Meta AI, as it looks to compete with industry giants like OpenAI and Microsoft. The test will begin in the second quarter of this year, although significant revenue from the service is not expected until next year. Meta AI, launched in September 2023, offers virtual assistance powered by advanced language models.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to boost the company’s AI capabilities include a $65 billion investment this year to expand AI infrastructure. Meta is also working on humanoid robots under its Reality Labs division. As tech companies race to dominate the AI space, Meta’s move to monetise its chatbot aligns with broader industry trends, with Microsoft and Amazon also making substantial investments in AI.
Despite the rising demand for AI services, Meta has not yet revealed the specific pricing for the new subscription service. However, the development highlights the company’s effort to enhance its AI offerings while positioning itself as a strong competitor in the rapidly expanding AI market.
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TikTok, the popular video-sharing app owned by ByteDance, has unveiled plans to invest $8.8 billion in building data centres in Thailand over the next five years. The announcement was made by Helena Lersch, TikTok’s Vice President of Public Policy, during an event held in Bangkok on Friday. This investment marks a significant move as the company continues to expand its operations in the region.
The specific details of the investment remain unclear, particularly whether it includes a $3.8 billion agreement that was announced by Thailand’s investment board last month. The government’s investment board had previously detailed a deal aimed at boosting digital infrastructure in the country, but TikTok did not provide further clarification on the connection between the two.
This move highlights TikTok’s growing commitment to the Thai market and its broader strategy of increasing local data storage capabilities. As part of its ongoing efforts to expand its global presence, the company is investing in infrastructure to better serve its user base and meet regulatory requirements in key markets.
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At a conference in Hyderabad this week, pharmaceutical companies highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in evolving the drug development process. Companies like Amgen and Parexel showcased how AI can reduce trial times, with Parexel demonstrating a model that speeds up drug safety reports by 30-45 minutes. Industry experts believe that AI can potentially halve the costs and time needed to develop drugs, cutting down the process from over a decade to just a few years.
Beyond speeding up trials, AI is also aiding in drug discovery and medical diagnostics. For instance, AI is being used to repurpose existing drugs for new uses and to analyse medical images, potentially identifying conditions such as cancer that might be missed by human doctors. Medtronic’s CTO stressed that integrating AI across the industry is essential to its future success.
Despite these technological strides, the conference was overshadowed by ongoing uncertainty regarding US President Trump’s proposed tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. Companies, particularly those based in India, expressed concern over the potential impact of these tariffs, with some, like Dr Reddy’s, opting to take a ‘wait and watch’ approach until further clarity emerges. This tariff uncertainty remains a pressing issue for India’s pharmaceutical industry, which is a major exporter of affordable drugs to the US.
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Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges has urged Germany and Europe to invest more in artificial intelligence and data centres to stay competitive with the US and Asia. Speaking after the release of the company’s annual results, Hoettges stressed the need for Europe to increase its computing power, citing a growing demand for data centres that he expects to rise by at least 30%. Deutsche Telekom is already expanding its infrastructure with plans to build four new data centres in Europe, aiming to create one gigawatt of capacity.
Hoettges also emphasised the importance of AI for Europe’s economic growth and sovereignty in the digital age. His comments come as Europe strives to catch up with major AI investments made by the US, with the European Commission pledging to mobilise 200 billion euros for AI development. This contrasts with the US, where private companies have committed up to $500 billion to AI infrastructure.
The call for greater AI investment follows a wave of AI advancements, such as China’s DeepSeek model, which has begun to challenge Western competitors. Hoettges warned that Germany must act quickly or risk falling behind in the global AI race.
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Lonestar and Phison have successfully launched the first-ever lunar data centre infrastructure aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission, set to land on the moon on March 4, is a joint venture to send Phison’s Pascari solid-state drives (SSDs), packed with data from various clients, to the lunar surface. The companies plan to expand this infrastructure, with ambitions to scale up to a petabyte of storage in the coming years.
The idea of building a data centre on the moon originated in 2018, driven by the need for secure, off-Earth storage to safeguard against climate disasters and cyber-attacks. Lonestar’s CEO, Chris Stott, noted that data has become as valuable as oil, if not more precious. The SSDs were rigorously tested for space readiness, ensuring their durability for long-term use without the possibility of on-site repairs.
This mission is just the beginning, as Lonestar and Phison aim to revolutionise data storage with nearly limitless capacity and energy efficiency in space. As AI-driven demand for data storage continues to rise, this lunar project could set the stage for future space-based infrastructure, promising a new era in data management.
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Inception, a Palo Alto-based startup founded by Stanford professor Stefano Ermon, has unveiled an innovative AI model based on diffusion technology. Unlike traditional large language models that generate text sequentially, Inception’s diffusion-based model can produce large blocks of text in parallel, making it up to 10 times faster and more cost-efficient. The company claims its model offers similar capabilities to existing LLMs but with significantly improved performance.
The diffusion model operates differently from the typical approach of LLMs, which generate text word by word. Instead, it starts with a rough estimate and refines the output all at once, allowing for faster processing. Ermon, who has been researching this technology for years at Stanford, believes it will revolutionise AI by enabling more efficient use of computational resources, particularly GPUs. Inception already boasts several Fortune 100 companies as clients, attracted by its promise to reduce AI latency and costs.
Inception’s model can handle various tasks, including code generation and question answering, and is designed for flexible deployment options such as API, on-premises, and edge devices. This breakthrough technology is expected to lead to more accessible and scalable AI solutions, positioning Inception at the forefront of AI development.
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ElevenLabs, a Palo Alto-based AI startup valued at $3.3 billion, has introduced its first stand-alone speech-to-text model, Scribe. The company, which is better known for its audio-generation capabilities, now aims to disrupt the speech detection market by providing a faster and more accurate alternative to existing models like Whisper and Deepgram. Scribe supports over 99 languages, with top accuracy in more than 25, including English, French, and Spanish.
The new AI model has already outperformed competitors like Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash and OpenAI’s Whisper Large V3 in benchmark tests. It also includes features like speaker diarisation, accurate subtitles, and sound event tagging, which could appeal to customers in media and content creation. While Scribe currently only works with pre-recorded audio, ElevenLabs plans to release a real-time version soon.
Priced at $0.40 per hour of transcribed audio, Scribe offers a competitive rate, though some rivals currently offer lower prices. With this move into speech-to-text, ElevenLabs is positioning itself to expand its AI offerings and challenge established players in the field.
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Taiwan’s Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei announced on Thursday that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) would require government approval for any overseas joint ventures, although there are no restrictions on manufacturing advanced chips abroad, except for China. This comes amid reports that TSMC is in talks to acquire a stake in Intel, a move that could stir tensions with the US, where former President Trump has expressed concerns about Taiwan taking away American semiconductor business.
Kuo reassured reporters in Taipei that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, particularly TSMC, remains vital to the nation’s economy, describing it as the ‘sacred mountain protecting the country.’ He also clarified that while the Taiwanese government would not interfere with TSMC’s business decisions, any large overseas investments or joint ventures must be approved by Taiwan’s economy ministry, with no changes to the rules surrounding advanced chip production outside of China.
TSMC is already investing $65 billion in new factories in Arizona, where it plans to manufacture the most advanced 2-nanometre chips, though this will not occur for a few years. The government is also preparing to engage in discussions with the Trump administration over potential tariffs on Taiwanese imports, aiming to secure the best conditions for local companies in light of the ongoing trade tensions.
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Amazon has unveiled Alexa+, a major upgrade to its voice assistant, integrating advanced AI to enhance interactions.
The new version can process multiple prompts in sequence, store user preferences, and manage tasks such as making reservations and sending reminders. AI-powered improvements aim to make Alexa more conversational and responsive.
The company has invested heavily in the technology, incorporating AI models through its Bedrock platform. Startup Anthropic contributed to development, with its Claude AI underpinning Alexa+.
The service will be free for Amazon Prime members, while non-Prime users will pay $19.99 per month. A phased rollout begins in March.
Alexa+ will integrate seamlessly with Amazon devices, including Ring doorbells, allowing users to access video recordings and control smart home features. It can also analyse documents, helping users understand contracts and regulations.
Industry competition remains strong, with Apple and Google also enhancing their voice assistants through AI.
Amazon hopes the overhaul will boost engagement, as Alexa usage had declined due to limited advancements. The company’s stock rose 1.7% following the announcement, reflecting investor confidence in the AI-driven update.
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