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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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UAE and Google launch ‘AI for All’ national skills initiative

In a major public-private collaboration, the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications Office and Google announced the ‘AI for All’ initiative, aimed at delivering AI skills training across the United Arab Emirates.

The announcement was made on 29 October 2025 and will roll out through 2026.

The programme targets a broad audience, from students, teachers, university learners and government employees, to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), creatives and content-makers.

It will cover fundamentals of AI, practical use-cases, responsible and safe AI use, and prompt-engineering for generative models. Google is also providing university students and other participants access to its advanced Gemini models as part of the skilling effort.

This initiative reflects the UAE’s broader ambition to become a global hub for innovation and talent in the AI economy, as well as Google’s regional strategy under its ‘AI Opportunity Initiative’ for the Middle East & North Africa.

By combining training, awareness campaigns and access to AI tools, the collaboration seeks to ensure that AI’s benefits are accessible to all segments of society in the UAE.

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Google limits search results to 10 per page

Google has removed the option to display up to 100 search results per page, now showing only 10 results at a time. The change limits visibility for websites beyond the top 10 and may reduce organic traffic for many content creators.

The update also impacts AI systems and automated workflows. Many tools rely on search engines to collect data, index content, or feed retrieval systems. With fewer results per query, these processes require additional searches, slowing data collection and increasing operational costs.

Content strategists and developers are advised to adapt. Optimising for top-ranked pages, revising SEO approaches, and rethinking data-gathering methods are increasingly important for both human users and AI-driven systems.

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French lawmakers advance plan to double digital services tax on Big Tech

France’s National Assembly has voted to raise its digital services tax on major tech firms such as Google, Apple, Meta and Amazon from 3% to 6%, despite government warnings that the move could trigger US trade retaliation.

Economy Minister Roland Lescure said the increase would be ‘disproportionate’, cautioning that it could invite equally strong countermeasures from Washington. Lawmakers had initially proposed a 15% levy in response to former US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, but scaled back amid opposition from industry and the government.

The amendment still requires final approval in next week’s budget vote and then in the French Senate. The proposal also raises the global revenue threshold for companies subject to the digital services tax from €750 million to €2 billion, aiming to shield smaller domestic firms.

John Murphy of the US Chamber of Commerce criticised the plan, arguing it solely targets American companies. Lawmaker Charles Sitzenstuhl, from President Emmanuel Macron’s party, stressed that ‘the objective of this tax was not to harm the United States in any way’, addressing US officials following the vote.

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Google commits to long-term power deal as NextEra advances nuclear restart

NextEra Energy and Google have launched a major collaboration to accelerate nuclear energy deployment in the United States, anchored by the planned restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Centre in Iowa. The plant has been offline since 2020 and is slated to be back online by early 2029.

Under their agreement, Google will purchase the plant’s energy output through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). Additionally, NextEra plans to acquire the remaining minority stakes in Duane Arnold to gain full ownership.

Central Iowa Power Cooperative, which currently holds part of the facility, will secure the output under the same terms.

As the energy needs of AI and cloud computing infrastructure surge, the Duane Arnold partnership positions nuclear power as a reliable, carbon-free baseload resource.

The revival is expected to bring substantial economic benefits: thousands of direct and indirect jobs during construction and operation, and over US$9 billion in regional economic impact.

Beyond Iowa, Google and NextEra will explore broader nuclear development opportunities across the US, including next-generation technologies to meet long-term demand.

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Anthropic boosts cloud capacity with Google’s AI hardware

Anthropic has struck a multibillion-dollar deal with Google to expand its use of cloud computing and specialised AI chips. The agreement includes the purchase of up to one million Tensor Processing Units, Google’s custom hardware built to train and run large AI models.

The partnership will provide Anthropic with more than a gigawatt of additional computing power by late 2026. Executives said the move will support soaring demand for its Claude model family, which already serves over 300,000 business clients.

Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, has quickly become a major player in generative AI. Backed by Amazon and valued at $183 billion, the company recently launched Claude Sonnet 4.5, praised for its coding and reasoning abilities.

Google continues to invest heavily in AI hardware to compete with Nvidia’s GPUs and rival US tech giants. Analysts said Anthropic’s expansion signals intensifying demand for computing power as companies race to lead the global AI revolution.

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Google expands Earth AI for disaster response and environmental monitoring

The US tech giant, Google, has expanded access to Earth AI, a platform built on decades of geospatial modelling combined with Gemini’s advanced reasoning.

Enterprises, cities, and nonprofits can now rapidly analyse environmental and disaster-related data, enabling faster, informed decisions to protect communities.

During the 2025 California wildfires, Google’s AI helped alert millions and guide them to safety, showing the potential of Earth AI in crisis response.

A key feature, Geospatial Reasoning, allows the AI to connect multiple models (such as satellite imagery, population maps, and weather forecasts) to assess which communities and infrastructure are most at risk.

Instead of manual data analysis, organisations can now identify vulnerable areas and prioritise relief efforts in minutes.

Earth AI now includes tools to detect patterns in satellite imagery, such as drying rivers, harmful algae blooms, or vegetation encroachment on infrastructure. These insights support environmental monitoring and early warnings, letting authorities respond before disasters escalate.

The models are available on Google Cloud to Trusted Testers, allowing integration with external datasets for tailored analysis.

Several organisations are already leveraging Earth AI for the public good. WHO AFRO uses it to monitor cholera risks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Planet and Airbus analyse satellite imagery for deforestation and power line safety.

Bellwether uses Earth AI for hurricane prediction, enabling faster insurance claim processing and recovery. Google aims to make these tools broadly accessible to support global crisis management, public health, and environmental protection.

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Oracle and Google Cloud launch multicloud database service in Australia

A new chapter in Australia’s cloud computing landscape has begun as Oracle and Google Cloud introduce Oracle Database@Google Cloud to local customers.

The service enables organisations to run Oracle Exadata Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure hosted on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure within Google Cloud’s Melbourne data centre.

A collaboration that allows businesses to integrate Oracle’s enterprise database power with Google Cloud’s AI and analytics tools, improving decision-making, innovation and compliance with data residency requirements.

Through the Google Cloud Marketplace, Oracle and Google Cloud partners in Australia can now resell Oracle Database@Google Cloud, expanding access to multicloud solutions.

The launch marks growing demand for flexible, multicloud environments that blend high performance with AI-driven capabilities. Oracle’s Exadata Database Service on Dedicated Infrastructure and Oracle AI Database 26ai will help enterprises enhance analytics, AI productivity and application development.

These technologies deliver faster processing, secure data handling and new AI-driven search and development features.

Industry leaders such as Accenture say the partnership represents a significant step toward integrated, data-centric innovation.

With Oracle and Google Cloud combining their strengths, Australian organisations can modernise IT foundations, scale operations and accelerate digital transformation across industries.

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UK tightens grip on Apple and Google mobile power

Apple and Google have been designated with strategic market status over UK mobile platforms. The CMA’s decision covers operating systems, app stores, browsers, and browser engines. Tailored conduct rules and special abuse oversight can now be imposed.

Regulators say entrenched power across iOS and Android risks limiting rivals and developers. The move is enabled by the UK’s DMCC framework and mirrors EU ambitions. Implementation will follow consultations on specific remedies for competition and consumer choice.

In Europe, gatekeeper rules already bite as Apple was fined €500 million over anti-steering. Alphabet faces preliminary findings over Play Store and search preferencing under the DMA. Further penalties could follow if non-compliance persists.

Both companies criticised the UK move, warning of harmed innovation and user experience. Google called the decision disappointing and disproportionate, while Apple attacked EU-style rules. The CMA also recently gave Google’s search and ads businesses SMS status.

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Cloudflare calls for UK action on Google’s AI crawlers

Cloudflare’s chief executive Matthew Prince has urged the UK regulator to curb Google’s AI practices. He met with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in London to argue that Google’s bundled crawlers give it excessive power.

Prince said Google uses the same web crawler to gather data for both search and AI products. Blocking the crawler, he added, can also disrupt advertising systems, leaving websites financially exposed.

Cloudflare, which supplies network services to most major AI companies, has proposed separating Google’s AI and search crawlers. Prince believes the change would create fairer access to online content for smaller AI developers.

He also provided data to the UK CMA showing why rivals cannot easily replicate Google’s infrastructure. Media groups have echoed his concerns, warning that Google’s dominance risks deepening inequalities across the AI ecosystem.

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