Joelle Pineau, the Vice President of AI research at Meta, announced she will be leaving the company by the end of May, after nearly eight years with the organisation.
Pineau, who joined Meta in 2017, has overseen key AI initiatives, including the FAIR research unit, PyTorch, and the Llama AI models.
In a LinkedIn post, Pineau reflected on her time at Meta, mentioning the creation of groundbreaking AI projects such as PyTorch, FAISS, and Roberta.
She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside top AI researchers, with the aim of accelerating innovation through open-source contributions.
Pineau, also a professor at McGill University, stated that after her departure, she plans to take some time to reflect before pursuing new ventures. Her departure comes as Meta intensifies its focus on AI, including the recent launch of its Meta AI chatbot in Europe.
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Nokia has signed a multi-year deal with Bharti Airtel to expand their core network collaboration instead of maintaining a limited partnership, aiming to enhance 5G service delivery.
The move will integrate 5G and 4G technologies into a unified server setup instead of running them separately, while also helping Airtel grow its 4G/5G customer base.
Nokia’s Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) will provide additional solutions for home broadband and enterprise-critical applications instead of relying solely on traditional infrastructure.
The rollout will cover network automation across most Airtel service regions in India, helping the telecom giant optimise its hardware footprint and reduce costs per bit by using appliance-based Packet Core gateways.
Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon highlighted that Nokia’s Packet Core deployment will improve network quality and reliability instead of allowing congestion to impact customers.
Nokia’s president of cloud and network services, Raghav Sahgal, emphasised that this collaboration strengthens Airtel’s 5G standalone (SA) readiness, reinforcing Nokia’s leadership in core network solutions in India and globally.
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Arm Holdings, owned by SoftBank, recently considered acquiring UK-based semiconductor IP supplier Alphawave to bolster its artificial intelligence processor technology.
The focus was on Alphawave’s ‘serdes’ technology, essential for rapid data transfer in AI applications requiring interconnected chips.
Despite initial discussions, Arm decided against pursuing the acquisition. Alphawave had been exploring a sale after attracting interest from Arm and other potential buyers.
Alphawave’s joint venture in China, WiseWave, added complexity to the potential deal due to national security concerns raised by US officials.
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Physicists at CERN believe they’ve found evidence of quantum entanglement in sheep, potentially explaining the near-instantaneous coordination seen in flocks.
The study, by HERD collaboration, used tracking devices and quantum modelling to suggest that sheep may be mentally linked across distances.
Researchers discovered what they call ‘moutons’, fluffy leptons in the brain that may be behind this bizarre quantum connection.
Though the statistical result reached 4 sigma, it falls short of full scientific confirmation and further testing is required.
The team stresses the findings are serious science, despite the sheep-related puns. If verified, the results could open an entirely new frontier at the intersection of quantum physics and biology and perhaps even explain why some researchers feel inexplicably sleepy near the flock.
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Following the US’s first-ever Enterprise Artificial Intelligence Strategy in October 2024, leading robotics companies are urging the government to develop a national robotics strategy and establish a federal office to support the industry.
The push comes as China accelerates its robotics investments, raising concerns about US competitiveness in the global market.
Executives from Tesla, Boston Dynamics, and Agility Robotics showcased their latest innovations on Capitol Hill this week, advocating for policies that bolster domestic production and adoption of robots.
Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Apptronik, highlighted how the United States once led the field but lost ground to Japan and Europe. Tesla’s Jonathan Chen added that manufacturing at scale remains a key challenge.
The Association for Advanced Automation warned that without strong federal leadership, the US risks falling behind in both robotics and AI. Meanwhile, China continues expanding its robotics sector, with a state-backed fund aiming to attract $138 billion over two decades.
According to the International Federation of Robotics, China now leads in industrial robot usage, with 1.8 million in operation as of 2023.
With global investment in robotics projected to exceed $13 billion by 2025, US industry leaders stress that a national strategy is essential to maintaining a competitive edge.
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The Coimisiún na Meán has warned that differing interpretations of the Digital Services Act (DSA) by EU regulators are hindering a unified approach to online platform regulation.
Maria Donde, Director of International Affairs at Coimisiún na Meán, highlighted the challenges of aligning various regulators’ approaches to the DSA, which has left room for interpretation.
She emphasised the importance of finding common ground, especially as the DSA, which came into effect last February, imposes transparency and election integrity requirements on platforms.
The DSA requires each EU member state to appoint a Digital Services Coordinator as a point of contact for platforms. Ireland, home to major platforms like TikTok and X, is at the forefront of enforcement.
Donde stressed the need for a consistent voice within the EU, particularly as the law faces criticism globally. The US government has condemned the EU’s regulatory approach, calling it a threat to free speech and accusing Europe of sidelining US tech companies.
The European Commission has already initiated several investigations under the DSA, targeting platforms such as X, TikTok, and Temu. These probes are ongoing, with potential fines for non-compliance reaching up to 6% of a company’s global turnover.
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EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen has voiced support for using a Regulation, rather than a Directive, in the upcoming Digital Networks Act.
She says this would ensure consistent implementation across all member states, avoiding the patchwork seen under current telecom rules.
Virkkunen also hinted at easing merger rules and reducing ex-ante regulation within the existing framework, the European Electronic Communications Code.
These changes, she noted, could encourage investment and help the EU meet its goal of full 5G and fibre coverage by 2030.
She criticised slow national efforts to phase out high-risk Chinese components from 5G networks, calling for stronger action.
Her stance follows pressure from MEPs concerned about ongoing cybersecurity risks and lack of enforcement.
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Korean authorities say no decision has been made on when China’s DeepSeek AI app can resume operations in the country. The app was suspended last month due to concerns over its data handling practices.
Talks are ongoing between the Personal Information Protection Commission in Korea and DeepSeek, which recently appointed a local representative and pledged to comply with Korean privacy law.
DeepSeek is considered a key player in the Korean market, but officials stress that any resumption will depend on satisfactory privacy safeguards. No timeline has been set for lifting the suspension.
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Chinese scientists have developed a compact chip-based quantum digital signature network that drastically improves both speed and efficiency.
The system replaces bulky, expensive equipment with streamlined silicon chips, making it easier to integrate into today’s fibre networks.
The new setup allows multiple users to share a single central detector, reducing cost and complexity. By adopting a star network design and a new cryptographic protocol, the system can handle longer documents with fewer resources and lower delays.
The Chinese experiment outperformed previous quantum signature technologies, achieving reliable performance even over a 200 km fibre link.
Experts say this research opens the door to future applications in quantum e-commerce, secure communication, and digital finance.
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Nvidia is reportedly close to acquiring Lepton AI, a startup that rents out servers powered by Nvidia’s AI chips. The deal, said to be worth several hundred million dollars, would mark Nvidia’s entry into the server rental space.
Founded just two years ago, Lepton AI previously raised $11 million in seed funding and is seen as a key rival to Together AI, a similar firm with over $500 million in backing.
The move follows Nvidia’s recent acquisition of synthetic data startup Gretel.
With AI demand skyrocketing, this acquisition could strengthen Nvidia’s grip on the market by combining its chip dominance with direct cloud-based services. Nvidia has yet to comment on the reported talks.
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