E-commerce and trade Archives | Page 51 of 200

Gemini expands its footprint in Australia

Gemini has announced a significant expansion in Australia, reinforcing its long-term growth strategy across Asia. The move includes appointing James Logan, gaining AUSTRAC registration, and launching new AUD banking rails for faster deposits and trading.

Australians can now deposit funds instantly through Osko and the New Payments Platform (NPP), avoiding international transfer delays and fees. Users can seamlessly buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies using AUD on the Gemini app and the Gemini ActiveTrader platform.

According to Gemini’s Global State of Crypto Report 2025, 22% of Australians already hold digital assets- a rate matching that of the United States.

James Logan will lead Gemini’s Australian operations, overseeing strategy, partnerships, and customer growth. With a background in financial services and senior roles at exchanges like Luno and Bitget, Logan brings deep expertise in digital asset adoption and trust building.

He described Gemini’s expansion as ‘an exciting milestone strengthening Australia’s access to secure and transparent crypto trading.’

Gemini’s mission to bridge traditional finance and the future of money underpins its commitment to trust, transparency, and innovation. The company views its expansion as the start of a long-term effort to empower Australians with secure tools to participate in the next generation of digital finance.

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AI and cloud to drive Google’s partnership with LA28 and Team USA

Google has announced a significant partnership with LA28, Team USA, and NBCUniversal ahead of the 2026 and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The collaboration aims to create a more interactive and personalised experience for fans, athletes, and the 70,000 volunteers helping deliver the LA28 Games.

The agreement will combine innovations across Google Search, Gemini, and Google Cloud. AI tools will assist Team USA with training analysis, while viewers will benefit from more innovative search functions during NBCUniversal’s coverage.

Gemini will also support athletes and organisers with enhanced data insights and communication tools.

Google Cloud will power what is set to be the most technologically advanced Games in history. It will optimise event logistics, analyse performance data, and provide real-time analytics to NBCUniversal.

Meanwhile, YouTube will host exclusive Olympic content, expanding NBCUniversal’s storytelling reach through short-form video.

The partnership underscores how AI and cloud technologies are shaping the future of global events. Fans attending or watching from home will enjoy more immersive, on-demand access to the athletes, competitions, and stories driving LA28.

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ABB sells Robotics division to SoftBank in $5.4 billion deal

The Swedish-Swiss electrical engineering corporation ABB has agreed to sell its Robotics division to Japan’s SoftBank Group for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion, abandoning plans for a spin-off.

However, the move marks one of the most significant robotics transactions in recent years, and reflects both firms’ ambition to drive the next era of AI-based automation.

A divestment that will allow ABB to focus on its core businesses in electrification and automation, while SoftBank expands its ‘Physical AI’ strategy.

ABB said the sale would create immediate shareholder value and that proceeds would be used according to its capital allocation principles.

The Robotics division, which employs around 7,000 people and generated $2.3 billion in 2024 revenues, will become part of SoftBank’s portfolio upon completion of the deal, expected by mid-to-late 2026. The transaction is projected to yield ABB a pre-tax book gain of about $2.4 billion.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said the acquisition aligns with his vision to combine artificial superintelligence and robotics to ‘propel humanity forward’.

ABB’s CEO Morten Wierod said the partnership would unite ABB’s industrial expertise with SoftBank’s AI capabilities, strengthening its global leadership in advanced robotics.

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Sanders warns AI could erase 100 million US jobs

Senator Bernie Sanders has warned that AI and automation could eliminate nearly 100 million US jobs within the next decade unless stronger worker protections are introduced.

The report, titled The Big Tech Oligarchs’ War Against Workers, claims that companies such as Amazon, Walmart, JPMorgan Chase, and UnitedHealth already use AI to reduce their workforces while rewarding executives with multimillion-dollar pay packages.

According to the findings, nearly 90% of US fast-food workers, two-thirds of accountants, and almost half of truck drivers could see their jobs replaced by automation. Sanders argues that technological progress should enhance people’s lives rather than displace them,

His proposals include introducing a 32-hour workweek without loss of pay, a ‘robot tax’ for companies that replace human labour, and giving workers a share of profits and board representation.

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Anthropic launches Bengaluru office to drive responsible AI in India

AI firm Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI chatbot, is opening its first office in India, choosing Bengaluru as its base.

A move that follows OpenAI’s recent expansion into New Delhi, underlining India’s growing importance as a hub for AI development and adoption.

CEO Dario Amodei said India’s combination of vast technical talent and the government’s commitment to equitable AI progress makes it an ideal location.

The Bengaluru office will focus on developing AI solutions tailored to India’s needs in education, healthcare, and agriculture sectors.

Amodei is visiting India to strengthen ties with enterprises, nonprofits, and startups and promote responsible AI use that is aligned with India’s digital growth strategy.

Anthropic plans further expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, following its Tokyo launch, later in the year.

Chief Commercial Officer Paul Smith noted the rising demand among Indian companies for trustworthy, scalable AI systems. Anthropic’s Claude models are already accessible in India through its API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud Vertex AI.

The company serves more than 300,000 businesses worldwide, with nearly 80 percent of usage outside the US.

India has become the second-largest market for Claude, with developers using it for tasks such as mobile UI design and web app debugging.

Anthropic also enhances Claude’s multilingual capabilities in major Indic languages, including Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil, to support education and public sector projects.

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Scammers use AI to fake British boutiques

Fraudsters are using AI-generated images and back stories to pose as British family businesses, luring shoppers into buying cheap goods from Asia. Websites claiming to be long-standing local boutiques have been linked to warehouses in China and Hong Kong.

Among them is C’est La Vie, which presented itself as a Birmingham jeweller run by a couple called Eileen and Patrick. The supposed owners appeared in highly convincing AI-generated photos, while customers later discovered their purchases were shipped from China.

Victims described feeling cheated after receiving poor-quality jewellery and clothes that bore no resemblance to the advertised items. More than 500 complaints on Trustpilot accuse such companies of exploiting fabricated stories to appear authentic.

Consumer experts at Which? warn that AI tools now enable scammers to create fake brands at an unprecedented scale. The ASA has called on social media platforms to act, as many victims were targeted through Facebook ads.

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AI tools reshape how Gen Z approaches buying cars

Gen Z drivers are increasingly turning to AI tools to help them decide which car to buy. A new Motor Ombudsman survey of 1,100 UK drivers finds that over one in four Gen Z drivers would rely on AI guidance when purchasing a vehicle, compared with 12% of Gen X drivers and just 6% of Baby Boomers.

Younger drivers view AI as a neutral and judgment-free resource. Nearly two-thirds say it helps them make better decisions, while over half appreciate the ability to ask unlimited questions. Many see AI as a fast and convenient way to access information during car-buying.

Three-quarters of Gen Z respondents believe AI could help them estimate price ranges, while 60% think it would improve their haggling skills. Around four in ten say it would help them assess affordability and running costs, a sentiment less common among Millennials and Gen Xers.

Confidence levels also vary across generations. About 86% of Gen Z and 87% of Millennials say they would feel more assured if they used AI before making a purchase, compared with 39% of Gen Xers and 40% of Boomers, many of whom remain indifferent to its influence.

Almost half of drivers say they would take AI-generated information at face value. Gen Z is the most trusting, while older generations remain cautious. The Motor Ombudsman urges buyers to treat AI as a complement to trusted research and retailer checks.

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ChatGPT introduces new generation of interactive apps

A new generation of interactive apps is arriving in ChatGPT, allowing users to engage with tools like Canva, Spotify, and Booking.com directly through conversation. The apps appear naturally during chats, enabling users to create, learn, and explore within the same interface.

Developers can now build their own ChatGPT apps using the newly launched Apps SDK, released in preview as an open standard based on the Model Context Protocol. The SDK includes documentation, examples, and testing tools, with app submissions and monetisation to follow later this year.

Over 800 million ChatGPT users can now access these apps on Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, excluding EU regions for the moment. Early partners include Booking.com, Coursera, Canva, Figma, Expedia, Spotify, and Zillow, with more to follow later in the year.

Apps respond to natural language and integrate interactive features such as maps, playlists, and slides directly in chat. ChatGPT can even suggest relevant apps during conversations- for instance, showing Zillow listings when discussing home purchases or prompting Spotify for a party playlist.

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Anthropic’s Claude to power Deloitte’s new enterprise AI expansion

Deloitte entered a new enterprise AI partnership with Anthropic shortly after refunding the Australian government for a report that included inaccurate AI-generated information.

The A$439,000 (US$290,618) contract was intended for an independent review but contained fabricated citations to non-existent academic sources. Deloitte has since repaid the final instalment, and the government of Australia has released a corrected version of the report.

Despite the controversy, Deloitte is expanding its use of AI by integrating Anthropic’s Claude chatbot across its global workforce of nearly half a million employees.

A collaboration will focus on developing AI-driven tools for compliance, automation and data analysis, especially in highly regulated industries such as finance and healthcare.

The companies also plan to design AI agent personas tailored to Deloitte’s various departments to enhance productivity and decision-making. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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ChatGPT reaches 800 million weekly users as OpenAI’s value hits $500 billion

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced that ChatGPT now reaches 800 million weekly active users, reflecting rapid growth across consumers, developers, enterprises and governments.

The figure marks another milestone for the company, which reported 700 million weekly users in August and 500 million at the end of March.

Altman shared the news during OpenAI’s Dev Day keynote, noting that four million developers are now building with OpenAI tools. He said ChatGPT processes more than six billion tokens per minute through its API, signalling how deeply integrated it has become across digital ecosystems.

The event also introduced new tools for building apps directly within ChatGPT and creating more advanced agentic systems. Altman states these will support a new generation of interactive and personalised applications.

OpenAI, still legally a nonprofit, was recently valued at $500 billion following a private stock sale worth $6.6 billion.

Its growing portfolio now includes the Sora video-generation tool, a new social platform, and a commerce partnership with Stripe, consolidating its status as the world’s most valuable private company.

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