Google has introduced its Gemini app on Apple’s App Store, offering a new voice-based feature named Gemini Live. Designed to enable natural conversations, the tool marks the latest step in the evolution of voice assistants. Apple’s plans to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Siri highlight growing competition in the field.
Gemini, initially launched as Bard in 2023, is Google’s response to ChatGPT by OpenAI. The app, now enhanced with features like Gemini Live, aims to support diverse tasks such as interview preparation, travel advice, and creative brainstorming. Its rollout follows an announcement in August, with Android users receiving early access.
The app showcases advances in AI-powered voice assistants that surpass previous iterations like Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant. Google retired its older Assistant, an eight-year-old product, earlier this year after layoffs within its Voice Assistant team. These changes are part of broader efforts to streamline operations.
Google has also restructured its AI efforts, merging the Gemini app team into DeepMind, its research lab. DeepMind focuses on improving AI capabilities while overcoming challenges associated with traditional model expansion. These developments position Google at the forefront of next-generation AI solutions.
Meta Platforms is gearing up to introduce advertising to its Threads app early next year, aiming to tap into a new revenue stream while competing with X (formerly Twitter). The Information reported that a limited number of advertisers will be allowed to publish ads on Threads starting in January, with the initiative spearheaded by Instagram’s advertising team. Threads, which launched in July 2023 amidst the upheaval at X under Elon Musk’s ownership, has rapidly grown to 275 million monthly active users, as announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg in October.
Despite the app’s quick expansion, Meta remains cautious about its immediate profitability. CFO Susan Li, during a recent post-earnings call, indicated that Threads is not expected to be a significant revenue driver by 2025. She emphasised that the company is prioritising consumer value, and monetisation features are not yet a primary focus. A Meta spokesperson echoed this sentiment, confirming that Threads currently has no ads or monetisation strategies.
The timing for the introduction of ads on Threads could be opportune, given the instability at X. Since Elon Musk‘s acquisition of X, the platform has experienced disruptions and a decline in ad revenue, as some advertisers feared their brands could appear alongside controversial or harmful content. Musk’s management style and significant policy changes prompted many brands to reconsider ad spending on the site. Notably, X has taken legal action against a global advertising alliance and some major companies, accusing them of conspiring to boycott the platform and contributing to revenue losses.
Meta‘s plans to monetise Threads come as it seeks to entice disillusioned advertisers from X. However, the company is carefully balancing the need to develop Threads as a welcoming and user-friendly environment while exploring advertising opportunities. The rollout of ads and additional features is set to shape how Threads evolves as a major social media contender in the years to come.
TikTok has rolled out Symphony Creative Studios worldwide, a generative AI video creation platform designed for advertisers. The platform aims to simplify the creation of tailored, high-quality content for businesses, creators, and agencies.
Unveiled earlier this year at the TikTok World Product Summit, Symphony is part of a broader suite of tools. These include Symphony Assistant, Symphony Digital Avatars, and the TikTok Ads Manager, all focused on enhancing creative capabilities on the platform.
Symphony Creative Studios offers features like automated content generation from text, video previews, remixing, and digital avatar creation. Users can also access tools for translation and customisation, making it easier to adapt content for diverse audiences.
AI-powered tools have become essential in attracting brands, with TikTok joining other tech companies in integrating these technologies to strengthen its advertising business. Symphony aims to position the platform as a leader in digital marketing innovation.
According to sources, the Federal Trade Commission is preparing to investigate Microsoft’s cloud computing business over allegations of anti-competitive practices. The probe will focus on claims that Microsoft uses restrictive licensing terms to deter customers from moving data from its Azure cloud service to competitors.
Reportedly, Microsoft has been accused of tactics such as raising subscription fees for departing customers, imposing steep exit charges, and making its Office 365 products incompatible with rival cloud platforms. These practices could potentially leverage the company’s market power in productivity software to stifle competition.
While the FTC declined to comment on the investigation, Microsoft has yet to respond to the allegations. The Financial Times was the first to report on the probe.
The global cryptocurrency market has surged past $3 trillion, fueled by a resurgence in interest following Donald Trump’s recent presidential election win, which many investors believe could usher in favourable US regulations. This milestone marks a new peak, eclipsing even the 2021 boom fueled by pandemic-era investments, as the total market value reached nearly $3.2 trillion in early November, according to CoinGecko. Bitcoin, the market’s leader, hit a record high of $93,480, with other cryptocurrencies like Ether and Dogecoin also seeing significant gains.
Trump’s election and pro-crypto lawmakers in Congress appear to have injected optimism by easing concerns over regulatory uncertainty. Bitcoin has doubled in value this year and jumped 30% since Election Day to $90,000, while Ether rose to $3,220, and Dogecoin gained 140%, supported by endorsements from Trump ally Elon Musk. Institutional interest has also grown, with increased buying in crypto exchange-traded funds hinting at broader adoption from financial entities.
Yet, the overall value of cryptocurrencies remains modest compared to traditional assets like gold or the US stock market. Some segments of the crypto market, such as NFTs, remain subdued. However, industry insiders suggest that sustained high market values could lead to further exploration of blockchain applications, including decentralised finance and real-world asset tokenisation, signalling that crypto’s current momentum might spark broader financial innovations.
Europe’s largest tech company, ASML, projected an annual sales growth of 8% to 14% over the next five years, driven by strong demand for its advanced chip-making tools amid a global boom in AI. ASML’s CEO Christophe Fouquet highlighted the company’s advanced EUV technology as pivotal in meeting the growing AI demand, positioning the firm well for continued profitability.
Ahead of its investor day in the Netherlands, ASML forecasted revenue between €44 billion and €60 billion by 2030, with stable gross margins between 56% and 60%, reassuring analysts who had been concerned by recent earnings shortfalls. The company’s shares rose by 2.6% in early trading, buoyed by its steady outlook on AI-driven growth despite weaker demand in other chip segments.
ASML faces challenges in China, where US and Dutch export restrictions prevent it from selling its most advanced EUV and certain DUV tools. However, ASML continues to supply older DUV models to Chinese buyers, even as China’s share of ASML’s total sales has dropped significantly.
Indonesia‘s top telecom company, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, and tech giant GoTo Gojek Tokopedia launched Sahabat-AI, a new large language model ecosystem designed to support AI-based services in Indonesian languages. This initiative aims to empower local developers to create applications that reflect Indonesia’s diverse languages and cultural nuances.
The Sahabat-AI project is supported by AI Singapore and India’s Tech Mahindra, using Nvidia’s AI Enterprise software and the Nvidia NeMo platform for robust language processing capabilities. Contributions from universities and media groups will further tailor the model to Indonesia’s unique context.
In its initial phase, Sahabat-AI will offer 8-billion and 9-billion parameter models, highlighting Indonesia’s growing AI sector, which has already drawn significant investment interest, including a recent data centre pledge from Microsoft.
London-based startup Tessl has raised $125 million in funding, achieving a valuation exceeding $500 million. Led by founder and CEO Guy Podjarny, the company aims to address challenges in managing software created by both humans and AI. Podjarny, known for his work with Snyk and Akamai, brings deep industry expertise in software security and scalability to this new venture.
Tessl plans to launch its AI-driven platform early next year, designed to simplify code creation and maintenance. The system will enable developers and non-technical team members to provide specifications in natural language or code, with Tessl generating code to meet those requirements. This approach allows users to test and adjust code in a secure sandbox environment before it’s deployed, with the AI automatically identifying and fixing potential issues to keep software running smoothly.
The platform is envisioned as open and adaptable, intended to work alongside other AI coding assistants. This flexibility has attracted significant investor interest, with Index Ventures, Accel, GV, and Boldstart among the backers. Tessl will initially support Java, Javascript, and Python, with plans to expand to more languages over time.
The name ‘Tessl’ reflects its goal of creating a seamless ‘tessellation’ of code, preventing overlaps and inconsistencies that often arise in software development. By streamlining the code lifecycle, Tessl aims to alleviate the increasing complexity in software engineering, particularly as AI-generated code continues to proliferate.
Which? is taking legal action against Apple, alleging the company breached competition law by pressuring customers to use its iCloud service. Which? argues that Apple encouraged users to store their data on iCloud, making it challenging to switch to other providers, and then charged users when they exceeded the free 5GB limit. This practice, they claim, led to overcharges, costing consumers up to £13.36 ($16.98) this year in subscription fees.
Apple denies any wrongdoing, stating customers are not required to use iCloud and often choose third-party alternatives. However, if Which? succeeds, around 40 million Apple customers in the UK who have used iCloud over the last nine years could be entitled to compensation.
Which? CEO Anabel Hoult emphasised that the action aims to secure refunds for consumers, prevent future anti-competitive behaviour, and promote a fairer market. The group plans to file the claim with the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Swisscom has moved a step closer to finalising its €8 billion acquisition of Vodafone Italia after receiving approval from Italy’s communications regulator, AGCOM. The deal, announced in March, aims to merge Vodafone Italia with Swisscom’s Fastweb subsidiary, potentially granting Swisscom a 30% share of Italy’s fixed broadband market. However, the transaction still faces scrutiny from Italy‘s antitrust authority, AGCM, which is conducting a detailed review to assess its impact on competition.
AGCM has expressed concerns that the merger could reduce competition in Italy’s already concentrated broadband market, potentially disadvantaging residential customers. In response, Swisscom has proposed several concessions, including access to Fastweb’s fiber network for competitors and protections for existing wholesale contracts.
Competitors were invited to provide feedback on these concessions by early November, and the AGCM is expected to conclude its review by mid-December. If approved, Swisscom aims to complete the acquisition by early 2025.
