Digital cooperation Archives | Page 182 of 217

Coinbase secures approval to operate in India

Coinbase has officially registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), allowing it to offer crypto trading services in the country, the company announced on Tuesday. The US-based exchange plans to launch its initial retail services later this year, followed by further investments and product rollouts. While a specific timeline has not been disclosed, Coinbase sees India as a key market with strong growth potential.

Interest in cryptocurrency has surged in India, particularly among young investors looking to supplement their incomes. Despite a 30% tax on crypto trading gains—one of the highest globally—the sector remains largely unregulated. Other major exchanges operating in the country include CoinDCX, Binance, and KuCoin.

India requires virtual asset service providers to register with the FIU and comply with anti-money laundering regulations. The government is currently reviewing its stance on crypto, influenced by global regulatory trends and recent policy shifts in the US. As the regulatory landscape evolves, Coinbase aims to establish a strong foothold in the Indian market while adhering to local compliance standards.

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ServiceNow expands AI capabilities with $2.9B acquisition

ServiceNow has struck a significant deal, acquiring AI firm Moveworks for $2.85 billion in cash and stock, marking its largest-ever acquisition. This move comes as companies are increasingly investing in generative AI to streamline operations. ServiceNow, which is based in Santa Clara, California, US, plans to integrate Moveworks’ AI technology into its own platform, further enhancing its IT operations offerings.

Moveworks, known for its AI solutions that help resolve employee issues through chat, has a strong customer base, including companies like Broadcom, Palo Alto Networks, and Pinterest. The deal will bring more than 500 employees from Moveworks into ServiceNow, with no layoffs anticipated.

Despite the deal’s size, ServiceNow does not expect regulatory challenges to hinder the transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Following the announcement, ServiceNow’s shares saw a 7% dip. Moveworks had previously raised $315 million, reaching a valuation of $2.1 billion before this acquisition.

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Britain’s CMA sets roadmap for Big Tech regulation

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced its focus will be on interventions that directly affect UK consumers and businesses. The regulator will release a ‘roadmap’ to guide Big Tech companies, clarifying which issues it plans to prioritise and which it may deprioritise. The roadmap will also outline potential future interventions if companies are designated as having strategic market status, including tech giants like Google and Apple.

CEO Sarah Cardell emphasised that the CMA would act with a ‘more nuanced approach’ to promote competition while fostering business growth. With new powers to investigate firms with significant turnover in the UK, the CMA will continue its work to ensure fairness and transparency in the digital markets. The first roadmaps for investigations into search engines and mobile platforms are set to be released in June and July 2025.

The CMA’s strategy aligns with a pro-business direction, as the UK government aims to boost investor confidence while maintaining competitive markets. This initiative follows the appointment of Doug Gurr, former head of Amazon UK, as interim chair, signaling the government’s commitment to balancing regulation with economic growth.

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Chinese investors turn to AI for stock market edge

Chinese retail investors are rapidly embracing AI tools like DeepSeek to navigate the stock market, marking a striking shift from last year’s government crackdown on computer-driven quantitative trading.

Online courses and packed training rooms reflect a growing eagerness among small-time traders to use AI-powered models, with many seeing them as essential in the digital age.

DeepSeek, developed by a hedge fund in Hangzhou, has not only boosted Chinese stocks but also reshaped perceptions of the country’s $700 billion hedge fund industry.

Despite the initial backlash against quant funds, which were previously blamed for market volatility, investors are now paying thousands of yuan to attend AI trading seminars.

Social media is flooded with courses teaching traders how to use DeepSeek to analyse companies, pick stocks, and even code their own trading strategies.

While major US funds like BlackRock and Renaissance Technologies have long used AI for investments, DeepSeek’s open-source model makes these tools accessible to China’s smaller asset managers and individual traders.

Financial institutions are also adapting to the AI-driven shift. Brokers are rushing to integrate AI models into their platforms, with industry leaders predicting a complete transformation in how Chinese investors make decisions.

Many now seek trading advice from DeepSeek instead of human wealth managers, reflecting a deep trust in the technology. However, experts warn that AI models still have limitations and could create market risks, especially if large numbers of traders act on the same signals.

While some remain cautious about AI’s role in investing, DeepSeek has undeniably changed public attitudes towards quant fund managers.

Many now view them as contributors to market efficiency rather than as culprits behind retail losses. As China’s stock market continues to evolve, AI looks set to play an increasingly dominant role in shaping investor behaviour.

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Meta has developed an AI chip to cut reliance on Nvidia, Reuters reports

Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is testing its first in-house chip designed for training AI systems, sources told Reuters.

The social media giant has started a limited rollout of the chip, planning to scale up production if testing delivers positive results. The move represents a crucial step in Meta’s strategy to lessen dependence on external suppliers like Nvidia and lower substantial infrastructure costs.

The company has projected expenses between $114 billion and $119 billion for 2025, with up to $65 billion dedicated to AI infrastructure.

The chip, part of Meta’s Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) series, is a dedicated AI accelerator, meaning it is specifically designed for AI tasks rather than general processing. This could make it more power-efficient than traditional GPUs.

Meta is collaborating with Taiwan-based chip manufacturer TSMC to produce the new hardware. The test phase follows Meta’s first ‘tape-out’ of the chip, a crucial milestone in silicon development where an initial design is sent to a chip factory.

However, this process is costly and time-consuming, with no guarantee of success, and any failure would require repeating the tape-out step.

Meta has previously faced setbacks in its custom chip development, including scrapping an earlier version of an inference chip after poor test results. However, the company has since used another MTIA chip for AI-powered recommendations on Facebook and Instagram.

The new training chip aims to first enhance recommendation systems before expanding to generative AI applications like the chatbot Meta AI.

Meta executives hope to implement their own chips for AI training by 2026, although the company continues to be one of Nvidia’s biggest customers, investing heavily in GPUs for its AI operations.

The development comes as AI researchers increasingly question whether scaling up large language models by adding more computing power will continue to drive progress. The recent emergence of more efficient AI models, such as those from Chinese startup DeepSeek, has intensified these debates.

While Nvidia remains a dominant force in AI hardware, fluctuating investor confidence and broader market concerns have caused turbulence in the company’s stock value.

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Meta AI widget now available for WhatsApp beta testers

WhatsApp is set to introduce a new Meta AI widget that will allow users to access its AI capabilities directly from their home screens.

The widget, now in beta testing, eliminates the need to open the app to interact with Meta’s AI, making it quicker and more convenient to use.

Users can ask questions, upload images, and even activate the AI’s voice mode directly from their device’s home screen.

This new feature is expected to make Meta AI even more accessible, helping to increase its popularity among WhatsApp users.

Powered by the company’s Llama language model, the AI is already capable of answering questions, generating images, and participating in both individual and group conversations.

The widget is adjustable, letting users resize it according to their preferences. While it’s currently only available to a limited group of users, WhatsApp plans to make it available to everyone in the coming months.

However, this addition comes as part of a wider rollout of new features within WhatsApp, including preset chat themes and shareable sticker packs.

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New York MTA partners with Google to detect track problems

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City has partnered with Google Public Sector on a pilot program designed to detect track defects before they cause significant disruptions. Using Google Pixel smartphones retrofitted onto subway cars, the system captured millions of sensor readings, GPS locations, and hours of audio to identify potential problems. The project aimed to improve the efficiency of the MTA’s response to track issues, potentially saving time and money while reducing delays for passengers.

The AI-powered program, called TrackInspect, analyses the sounds and vibrations from the subway to pinpoint areas that could signal defects, such as loose rails or worn joints. Data collected during the pilot, which ran from September 2024 to January 2025, showed that the AI system successfully identified 92% of defect locations found by human inspectors. The system was trained using feedback from MTA inspectors, helping refine its ability to predict track issues.

While the pilot was considered a success, the future of the program remains uncertain due to financial concerns at the MTA. Despite this, the success of the project has sparked interest from other transit systems looking to adopt similar AI-driven technologies to improve infrastructure maintenance and reduce delays. The MTA is now exploring other technological partnerships to enhance its track monitoring and maintenance efforts.

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Fast-delivery firms face antitrust scrutiny in India

Fast-delivery giants Zomato, Swiggy, and Zepto are facing an antitrust investigation in India over allegations of deep discounting practices that harm smaller retailers.

The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which represents 400,000 distributors, has filed a case with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to examine the business practices of these companies.

They claim that the discounting strategies of these platforms result in unfair pricing models that harm traditional retailers.

The quick-commerce sector in India, where products are delivered within minutes from local warehouses, has grown rapidly in recent years. However, this growth has come at the expense of brick-and-mortar stores, which cannot match the discounts offered by online platforms.

A recent survey showed a significant shift in consumer behaviour, with many shoppers reducing their purchases from supermarkets and independent stores due to the appeal of fast-delivery options.

The filing by the AICPDF, which has reviewed the pricing of several popular products, accuses companies like Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart, and Zomato’s Blinkit of offering products at prices significantly lower than those available in traditional stores.

However, this has raised concerns about the long-term impact on local businesses. The CCI is now set to review the case, which may result in a formal investigation.

As India’s quick-commerce market continues to grow, estimated to reach $35 billion by 2030, the regulatory scrutiny of this sector is intensifying. The outcome of this case could shape the future of the industry, especially as companies like Zepto and Swiggy prepare for further expansion.

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Indonesia approves Apple’s local content certificates

Indonesia has granted local content certificates for 20 Apple products, including the iPhone 16 after the company met requirements for locally-made components.

Apple still needs further approvals from the communications and trade ministries before it can officially sell the devices in the country.

The certification follows Apple’s recent pledge to invest over $300 million in Indonesia, including funding component manufacturing plants and a research and development centre.

Last year, the country had banned iPhone 16 sales due to non-compliance with local content rules.

Industry ministry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arief confirmed that Apple received certificates for 11 phone models and nine tablets.

However, negotiations had been ‘tricky’, according to Indonesia’s industry minister. Apple remains outside the top five smartphone brands in Indonesia, according to research firm Canalyst.

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Zalando challenges EU tech rules, seeks exemption

Zalando, Europe’s leading online fashion retailer, has filed a legal challenge against the European Commission’s classification of the company under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The company argues that, unlike platforms such as Amazon and AliExpress, its business model does not fit into the “very large online platform” (VLOP) category, and it should not face the same stringent regulations.

The DSA, which came into force in 2022, requires VLOPs to take additional measures to manage harmful and illegal content or face significant fines. Zalando’s lawyer, Robert Briske, pointed out that the company operates a hybrid model, offering both its own products and those from third-party partners, making it distinct from other online platforms that purely function as marketplaces.

The European Commission contends that Zalando’s business model is similar to those of Amazon and AliExpress. The Commission’s lawyer, Liane Wildpanner, argued that Zalando is seeking to benefit from the flexibility of a hybrid model without bearing the regulatory burden of platforms like Amazon.

Zalando’s case is supported by Germany’s e-commerce association, BEVH, while other EU bodies, including the European Parliament, have sided with the Commission. The General Court is expected to deliver a ruling in the coming months.

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