E-commerce and trade

CXMT launches LPDDR5X chips as China advances in semiconductor race

ChangXin Memory Technologies has begun mass production of LPDDR5X chips, marking a major milestone in China’s effort to strengthen its position in the global semiconductor market.

The Hefei-based manufacturer, preparing for a Shanghai stock listing, said its new DRAM generation will support faster data transfer and lower power use across mobile devices and AI systems.

The LPDDR5X range includes chips with speeds of up to 10,667 Mbps, positioning CXMT as a growing competitor to industry leaders such as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron.

Earlier LPDDR5 versions launched in 2023 had already helped the firm progress towards advanced 16-nanometre manufacturing, narrowing the technological gap with global rivals.

Industry data indicate a rising global demand for memory chips, driven by AI applications and high-bandwidth computing. Additionally, DRAM revenue increased 17.1 percent in the second quarter, reaching US$31.6 billion.

CXMT’s expansion comes as it targets a Shanghai IPO valued at around 300 billion yuan, highlighting both investor interest and the ambition of China to achieve greater chip self-sufficiency.

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AI brings a personal stylist to Pinterest users

Pinterest has introduced Pinterest Assistant, an AI-powered, visual-first collaborator designed to personalise online shopping and discovery. The assistant offers proactive, style-driven recommendations for fashion, home décor, and lifestyle, helping users find items they might not know they are looking for.

By analysing user saves, boards, collages, and content from nearly 600 million monthly active users, Pinterest Assistant tailors suggestions to individual tastes.

The platform’s AI uses its Taste-graph and billions of user signals to outperform standard visual search models by over 30% in shopping recommendation accuracy. Pinterest Assistant combines images, text, and voice to provide a conversational, visually rich experience like a personal stylist.

Users can access Pinterest Assistant by tapping the mic icon and describing what they are looking for. The AI responds with personalised, visual, and shoppable results, offering inspiration for everything from holiday party outfits to home décor items.

The beta version is rolling out to US users aged 18 and over, with wider availability planned soon.

The launch positions Pinterest as a platform that goes beyond discovery, enabling users to shop seamlessly and creatively while staying aligned with their personal aesthetic, especially appealing to Gen Z shoppers who value style curation and inspiration.

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Reliance and Google expand Gemini AI access across India

Google has partnered with Reliance Intelligence to expand access to its Gemini AI across India.

Under the new collaboration, Jio Unlimited 5G users aged between 18 and 25 will receive the Google AI Pro plan free for 18 months, with nationwide eligibility to follow soon.

The partnership grants access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro model and includes increased limits for generating images and videos with the Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 tools.

Users in India will also benefit from expanded NotebookLM access for study and research, plus 2 TB of cloud storage shared across Google Photos, Gmail and Drive for data and WhatsApp backups.

According to Google, the offer represents a value of about ₹35,100 and can be activated via the MyJio app. The company said the initiative aims to make its most advanced AI tools available to a wider audience and support everyday productivity across India’s fast-growing digital ecosystem.

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Microsoft leaders envision AI as an invisible partner in work and play

AI, gaming and work were at the heart of the discussion during the Paley International Council Summit, where three Microsoft executives explored how technology is reshaping human experience and industry structures.

Mustafa Suleyman, Phil Spencer and Ryan Roslansky offered perspectives on the next phase of digital transformation, from personalised AI companions to the evolution of entertainment and the changing nature of work.

Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, described a future where AI becomes an invisible companion that quietly assists users. He explained that AI is moving beyond standalone apps to integrate directly into systems and browsers, performing tasks through natural language rather than manual navigation.

With features like Copilot on Windows and Edge, users can let AI automate everyday functions, creating a seamless experience where technology anticipates rather than responds.

Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, underlined gaming’s cultural impact, noting that the industry now surpasses film, books and music combined. He emphasised that gaming’s interactive nature offers lessons for all media, where creativity, participation and community define success.

For Spencer, the future of entertainment lies in blending audience engagement with technology, allowing fans and creators to shape experiences together.

Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, discussed how AI is transforming skills and workforce dynamics. He highlighted that required job skills are changing faster than ever, with adaptability, AI literacy and human-centred leadership becoming essential.

Roslansky urged companies to focus on potential and continuous learning instead of static job descriptions, suggesting that the most successful organisations will be those that evolve with technology and cultivate resilience through education.

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Trainium2 power surges as AWS’s Project Rainier enters service for Anthropic

Anthropic and AWS switched on Project Rainier, a vast Trainium2 cluster spanning multiple US sites to accelerate Claude’s evolution.

Project Rainier is now fully operational, less than a year after its announcement. AWS engineered an EC2 UltraCluster of Trainium2 UltraServers to deliver massive training capacity. Anthropic says it offers more than five times the compute used for prior Claude models.

UltraServers bind four Trainium2 servers with high-speed NeuronLinks so 64 chips act as one. Tens of thousands of networks are connected through Elastic Fabric Adapter across buildings. The design reduces latency within racks while preserving flexible scale across data centres.

Anthropic is already training and serving Claude on Rainier across the US and plans to exceed one million Trainium2 chips by year’s end. More computing should raise model accuracy, speed evaluations, and shorten iteration cycles for new frontier releases.

AWS controls the stack from chip to data centre for reliability and efficiency. Teams tune power delivery, cooling, and software orchestration. New sites add water-wise cooling, contributing to the company’s renewable energy and net-zero goals.

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ILO launches grievance apps for Indonesian workers

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched upgraded grievance apps to enhance workplace conditions in Indonesia’s garment, footwear and palm oil sectors. The Jakarta launch on 29 October advances decent work and strengthens industrial relations.

The initiative was developed in close collaboration with trade union confederations, federations and networks representing more than 100,000 workers nationwide.

The new apps, including SoPaN SPN, Teman Garteks, Hallo Siola and a palm oil platform, use AI for categorisation, tagging, follow-ups and satisfaction ratings. The upgrades make complaint processes quicker, clearer and more accessible for all workers.

Each platform allows workers to submit grievances with supporting evidence, which are then reviewed and addressed by union administrators through negotiation or mediation.

Funded by Canada, the ILO’s RealGains project tackles labour challenges and expands the platforms beyond the garment sector. Using technology in grievance systems, the ILO aims to boost social dialogue, safeguard workers’ rights and support businesses.

Officials highlighted that these tools could deliver direct benefits to hundreds of thousands of employees across key industries in Indonesia.

Experts emphasised that effective grievance channels are critical for sustainable industrial relations. AI apps streamline complaints and empower workers, promoting safer and fairer workplaces nationwide.

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Microsoft restores Azure services after global outage

The US tech giant, Microsoft, has resolved a global outage affecting its Azure cloud services, which disrupted access to Office 365, Minecraft, and numerous other websites.

The company attributed the incident to a configuration change that triggered DNS issues, impacting businesses and consumers worldwide.

An outage that affected high-profile services, including Heathrow Airport, NatWest, Starbucks, and New Zealand’s police and parliament websites.

Microsoft restored access after several hours, but the event highlighted the fragility of the internet due to the concentration of cloud services among a few major providers.

Experts noted that reliance on platforms such as Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud creates systemic risks. Even minor configuration errors can ripple across thousands of interconnected systems, affecting payment processing, government operations, and online services.

Despite the disruption, Microsoft’s swift fix mitigated long-term impact. The company reiterated the importance of robust infrastructure and contingency planning as the global economy increasingly depends on cloud computing.

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Apple fined over unfair iPhone sales contracts in France

A Paris court has ordered Apple to pay around €39 million to French mobile operators, ruling that the company imposed unfair terms in contracts governing iPhone sales more than a decade ago. The court also fined Apple €8 million and annulled several clauses deemed anticompetitive.

Judges found that Apple required carriers to sell a set number of iPhones at fixed prices, restricted how its products were advertised, and used operators’ patents without compensation. The French consumer watchdog DGCCRF had first raised concerns about these practices years earlier.

Under the ruling, Apple must compensate three of France’s four major mobile networks; Bouygues Telecom, Free, and SFR. The decision applies immediately despite Apple’s appeal, which will be heard at a later date.

Apple said it disagreed with the ruling and would challenge it, arguing that the contracts reflected standard commercial arrangements of the time. French regulators have increasingly scrutinised major tech firms as part of wider efforts to curb unfair market dominance.

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NVIDIA and Nokia join forces to build the AI platform for 6G

Nokia and NVIDIA have announced a $1 billion partnership to develop an AI-powered platform that will drive the transition from 5G to 6G networks.

The collaboration will create next-generation AI-RAN systems, combining computing, sensing and connectivity to transform how the US mobile networks process data and deliver services.

However, this partnership marks a strategic step in both companies’ ambition to regain global leadership in telecommunications.

By integrating NVIDIA’s new Aerial RAN Computer and Nokia’s AI-RAN software, operators can upgrade existing networks through software updates instead of complete infrastructure replacements.

T-Mobile US will begin field tests in 2026, supported by Dell’s PowerEdge servers.

NVIDIA’s investment and collaboration with Nokia aim to strengthen the foundation for AI-native networks that can handle the rising demand from agentic, generative and physical AI applications.

These networks are expected to support future 6G use cases, including drones, autonomous vehicles and advanced augmented reality systems.

Both companies see AI-RAN as the next evolution of wireless connectivity, uniting data processing and communication at the edge for greater performance, energy efficiency and innovation.

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New AI boards help Pinterest users refine taste and shop

Pinterest is giving boards an AI upgrade, adding smarter recommendations, fresher layouts, and built-in shopping to help users move from ideas to action worldwide over the coming months.

New tabs tailor each board: Make it yours for fashion and some home decor, More ideas for categories like beauty or recipes, and All saves as a single place to find everything previously pinned.

In the US and Canada, Styled for you creates dynamic AI collages from saved fashion Pins, letting people mix and match apparel and accessories, preview outfits, and shop items that fit their taste.

Pinterest is also testing Boards made for you, personalised boards curated with editorial input and AI picks, delivered to home feeds and inboxes, featuring trending styles, weekly outfit ideas, and shoppable looks.

Executives say boards remain central to Pinterest’s experience; the new AI features aim to act like a personal shopping assistant while keeping curation simple and privacy-respecting by design.

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