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Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI Expands AI Infrastructure with Five New Stargate Data Centers

OpenAI is set to construct five new AI data centers across the U.S. under its Stargate project, collaborating with Oracle and SoftBank. These data centers will boast a combined capacity of seven gigawatts, sufficient to power over five million homes. Oracle will assist in developing sites in Texas, New Mexico, and the Midwest, while SoftBank will contribute to facilities in Ohio and Texas. This expansion supports OpenAI's growing infrastructure needs for training and deploying advanced AI models.

Artificial Intelligence

Google Expands AI-Powered Search to Spanish Speakers Globally

Google Search is extending its AI Mode feature to Spanish-speaking users, providing a conversational search experience. This follows a major expansion in August to 180 countries. Google is also rolling out AI capabilities across its products, including conversational photo editing for Android users and a more affordable Google AI Plus subscription plan in 40 more countries. AI Mode now supports multiple languages, including Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Technology Policy

California's SB 53: A Step Towards AI Safety and Transparency

California State Senator Scott Wiener is championing a new AI safety bill, SB 53, which requires leading AI labs to publish safety reports for their most capable AI models. This bill focuses on AI's potential to contribute to human deaths, cyberattacks, and chemical weapons. Unlike the previous bill, SB 1047, SB 53 emphasizes transparency and self-reporting rather than liability.

The bill has garnered support from companies like Anthropic and aims to create protected channels for employees to report safety concerns. It also establishes CalCompute, a state-operated cloud computing cluster for AI research. Senator Wiener believes states must lead on AI safety due to the federal government's inaction.

While some argue that AI regulation should be left to the federal government, Wiener emphasizes the importance of holding Silicon Valley accountable. He views SB 53 as a way to promote innovation while mitigating catastrophic risks associated with AI. The bill is currently awaiting Governor Newsom's signature.

Business and Finance

Rapido's Valuation Soars to $2.3 Billion Post-Swiggy Stake Sale

Rapido, an Indian ride-hailing platform, has doubled its valuation to $2.3 billion after Swiggy sold its 12% stake for ₹24 billion. Prosus acquired 10% for ₹19.68 billion, and WestBridge Capital bought the remaining stake for ₹4.31 billion.

This share sale occurred after Rapido began piloting food deliveries, entering Swiggy's main market. Rapido's CEO confirmed the new valuation and the food delivery pilot in Bengaluru, which started in three neighborhoods.

Swiggy had previously invested $180 million in Rapido in 2022 and used Rapido for last-mile deliveries. Swiggy hinted at the sale due to potential conflicts as Rapido entered food delivery.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has identified Rapido as Uber's biggest rival in India. Meanwhile, Swiggy is expanding its instant commerce business, Instamart, which saw an 82% surge in gross order value, reaching ₹146.83 billion in FY25.

Entertainment & Streaming Services

Disney+ and Hulu Subscription Prices to Increase in October

Disney is raising the prices of Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions starting October 21. Several standalone plans and bundles will see price increases. The Disney+ standalone plan with ads will increase to $11.99 per month, while the no-ads Disney+ Premium plan will increase to $18.99 per month. The Hulu standalone plan with ads is increasing to $11.99 per month. However, the premium version of Hulu with no ads will remain at $18.99 per month. The Disney+ and Hulu with ads bundle will increase to $12.99, while the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Select bundle with ads will increase to $19.99. This follows a previous price hike in October 2024.

Business & Finance

Rapido's Valuation Soars as Swiggy Exits and Food Delivery Looms

Rapido, an Indian ride-hailing platform, has doubled its valuation to $2.3 billion after Swiggy sold its 12% stake for $270 million. Prosus acquired 10% for $222 million, and WestBridge Capital purchased the remainder for $49 million.

Rapido is venturing into food delivery, challenging Swiggy and Zomato, after Swiggy backed Rapido with $180 million in 2022. Uber's CEO considers Rapido its biggest rival in India.

Swiggy is expanding its quick commerce business, Instamart, with significant growth in order value and revenue. Instamart's revenue has doubled to $254 million.

Productivity

Goodnotes Expands Beyond Education with Collaborative Tools and AI Assistant

Goodnotes is launching new features aimed at professionals, including a collaborative whiteboard, document creation capabilities, and an AI assistant that can summarize meetings, create visuals, proofread text, and generate templates. The AI assistant supports handwriting, typing, sketches, and voice input.

The company acquired a South Korean startup specializing in meeting and video summaries to power these new features. Goodnotes is also introducing Goodnotes Essentials ($11.99/year) and Goodnotes Pro ($35.99/year) plans, offering features like AI for Q&A and math, Google Calendar and OneDrive integration, and AI-powered content suggestions.

Goodnotes aims to become a comprehensive notetaking app for all users and devices. They report having over 25 million monthly active users.

Automotive Industry

Jaguar Land Rover Production Halt Extended Due to Cyberattack Fallout

Jaguar Land Rover has extended the production suspension at its UK factories for another week following a cyberattack in early September. The company stopped production after hackers stole company data, the extent of which remains undisclosed.

The production halt will continue until Wednesday, October 1, but the company has not committed to resuming production then. This decision aims to provide clarity as they build a timeline for a phased restart and continue their investigation.

The ongoing shutdown, now in its third week, is also impacting suppliers, raising concerns about potential bankruptcies.

Technology

Mobile Vibe Coding Apps Struggle to Gain Traction Despite Overall AI Coding Growth

Despite the rise of AI-assisted vibe coding, dedicated mobile apps in this area are failing to gain significant traction. Analysis of app store trends reveals low downloads and minimal revenue for vibe coding apps. While the market is young and new apps are emerging, most vibe coding activity remains on desktop. However, vibe coding is increasingly powering existing mobile apps, with platforms like RevenueCat seeing a surge in AI-driven subscriptions. Despite user interest and integration of AI tools in development processes, developers report the technology still requires significant refinement.

Technology

WhatsApp Introduces In-App Message Translation for iOS and Android

WhatsApp has launched a new feature that allows users to translate messages directly within the app. This update is available for both iOS and Android users. To translate a message, users can long-press on the message and select 'Translate'. They can then choose the desired language for translation.

Android users have the option to enable automatic translation for entire chat threads. WhatsApp emphasizes that the translations are processed on the user's device, ensuring message encryption and privacy. This feature aims to facilitate communication across different languages for WhatsApp's global user base.

The translation feature is available in one-on-one chats, groups, and Channel updates. Android users can translate into six languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic. iPhone users have access to a broader range of languages, including Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.