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Business and Technology

Nothing to Establish CMF as Independent Subsidiary in India

Hardware startup Nothing plans to make its affordable device brand, CMF, an independent subsidiary with India as its headquarters for manufacturing and R&D. CMF was launched in 2023 with earbuds and a smartwatch and has since introduced smartphones. Nothing is partnering with Indian ODM Optiemus in a joint venture, investing over $100 million in three years and creating over 1,800 jobs.
The decision to base CMF in India is strategic, given the popularity of sub-$200 smartphones in the country. Nothing's CEO, Carl Pei, aims to build CMF into India's first global smartphone brand. The move follows the appointment of Himanshu Tondon from Xiaomi's POCO as VP of Business for CMF.
Brand spin-offs are increasingly common, with examples including Xiaomi spinning off POCO, Huawei selling off Honor, and Oppo making Realme a separate company.

Artificial Intelligence

AI Infrastructure Consolidation: Google Cloud's Startup Strategy

The AI infrastructure landscape is being reshaped by mega-deals, with Nvidia and OpenAI forming a $100 billion partnership. Google Cloud is pursuing a different strategy, focusing on capturing the next generation of AI companies. Francis deSouza, Google Cloud's COO, highlights that most top AI labs and generative AI unicorns use Google's infrastructure.

While other companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle are making large investments in AI infrastructure, Google Cloud is targeting smaller, emerging AI startups, offering them cloud credits, technical support, and access to their AI stack. This approach allows Google to foster competition and potentially gain favor with regulators.

Google Cloud's strategy includes providing TPU chips to OpenAI and hosting Anthropic's Claude model, even while competing with them through its own Gemini models. This approach reflects Google's commitment to openness and its belief that empowering the next generation of AI companies is crucial.

Entrepreneurship

YC's New 'Early Decision' Program: Bridging Education and Entrepreneurship

Y Combinator (YC) is shifting its stance on the necessity of dropping out of college for startup founders. The accelerator has launched a new 'Early Decision' track that allows students to apply, get accepted, and receive funding while still in school, deferring their participation in YC until after graduation. This initiative aims to cater to students who want to finish their education before fully committing to a startup. The program reflects a change in Silicon Valley's culture, acknowledging the value of completing college while pursuing entrepreneurship, potentially broadening YC's applicant pool to include more deliberate student founders. Early Decision gives students an option that competes with other programs like Thiel Fellowship, Neo Scholars, Founders Inc, as well as Big Tech internships and grad school pipelines.

Policy & Law

Indian Court Upholds Government's Content Takedown Authority Over X

An Indian court has dismissed X's (formerly Twitter) challenge against the Indian government's content takedown orders, asserting that as a foreign entity, X does not have constitutional free speech rights under Indian law.

The Karnataka High Court validated the government's use of the Sahyog portal for issuing takedown orders, stating that constitutional free expression applies only to Indian citizens. This ruling highlights India's increasingly assertive regulatory stance towards global tech companies.

X had contested the takedown orders, arguing that the Sahyog portal lacked transparency and violated free expression principles. The court, however, emphasized that Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees free speech, is exclusively for citizens.

The decision arrives as Elon Musk expands his ventures in India, including Tesla operations and Starlink. Experts suggest the ruling may improve government-platform coordination but caution against blanket compliance with takedown orders, especially those originating from the Sahyog portal, advocating for adherence to the safeguards in Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

Content takedown orders in India have increased recently, with several instances occurring during the 2020-2021 farmers’ protests. The Sahyog portal was introduced to expedite the removal of unlawful content. While X can appeal to the Supreme Court, some experts believe a favorable outcome is unlikely.

Entrepreneurship

YC's New 'Early Decision' Program: Bridging Education and Entrepreneurship

Y Combinator (YC) has introduced a new 'Early Decision' application track designed for students who want to start companies but also want to graduate. The program allows students to apply while still in school, get accepted and funded immediately, and defer their participation in YC until after they graduate. This initiative marks a shift from Silicon Valley's traditional valorization of college dropouts, offering a middle ground between academic completion and entrepreneurship. The move could broaden YC’s applicant pool to include more cautious, deliberate student founders who are committed to startup life but unwilling to sacrifice education.

Politics & Technology

Indian Court Upholds Government's Content Takedown Orders Against X

An Indian court has dismissed X's challenge against the Indian government's content takedown orders, asserting that as a foreign entity, X does not have constitutional free speech rights under Indian law.

The Karnataka High Court supported the government's use of a centralized online portal for issuing takedown orders, stating that constitutional free expression applies only to Indian citizens.

X had challenged these orders, calling the government's portal a "censorship portal" and claiming a lack of transparency.

The ruling arrives as Elon Musk expands his ventures in India, including Tesla and Starlink.

Experts suggest the ruling may improve government-platform coordination but caution against blanket compliance, advocating for due diligence and adherence to established legal safeguards.

Content takedown orders have increased in India, particularly during the 2020-2021 farmers’ protests, leading to the introduction of the Sahyog portal to expedite content removal.

Autonomous Vehicles

Zoox Seeks Approval for Commercial Robotaxi Deployment

Zoox, owned by Amazon, has requested a federal exemption to commercially deploy its custom-built robotaxis, which lack traditional controls. The company has submitted a petition for a '555 exemption' and is working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA is reviewing Zoox's application and will seek public comment after its initial review. This request follows the launch of a free robotaxi service in Las Vegas and an earlier NHTSA exemption for demonstrating robotaxis on public roads. This new application would broaden the scope and pave the way for Zoox to launch a commercial robotaxi service.

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft Integrates Anthropic's AI Models into Copilot

Microsoft is expanding its AI capabilities by integrating Anthropic's AI models into its Copilot assistant, previously powered mainly by OpenAI. This move signifies a shift in Microsoft's reliance on OpenAI, following a recent deal to use Anthropic's AI in Office 365 apps. Copilot business users can now choose between OpenAI's models and Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.1 and Claude Sonnet 4 for tasks such as complex research and building custom AI tools. Opus 4.1 is suited for reasoning and coding, while Sonnet 4 is better for data processing and content generation.

Mobile Technology

Transform Your iPhone with iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design

iOS 26 introduces the Liquid Glass design language, offering new ways to customize your iPhone's Home and Lock Screens. Key features include:

  • Liquid Glass Icons: Customize app icons with light, dark, tinted, or clear glass styles.
  • Matched Icons: Match icons to your iPhone's color or Apple MagSafe case.
  • Home Screen Wallpaper and Layout: Use glass-inspired wallpapers and arrange icons freely.
  • Glassy Widgets: Enhance your Home Screen with glassified widgets from third-party apps or create custom widgets with Widgy.
  • Liquid Glass Lock Screen: Experience a glassy typeface for the time display and Spatial Scenes for a 3D effect on your wallpaper.

Explore third-party apps like Brass, Color Themes, Screenkit, and Widgy for further customization options.

Artificial Intelligence

Google's Mixboard: AI-Powered Mood Board Creation

Google has launched Mixboard, an AI-powered mood board app that competes with Pinterest's collage feature. Available as a public beta in the U.S. via Google Labs, Mixboard allows users to create mood boards using text prompts and AI-generated images, leveraging Google's new image editing model, Nano Banana.

Mixboard caters to user demand for Nano Banana by incorporating it in its own product, which it suggests could be used to brainstorm ideas involving home decor and design, event themes, DIY projects, and more, with both images and text. Users can edit images, combine them, and regenerate images to get more ideas. The AI can also generate text based on the images on users’ boards.

Mixboard can be accessed at labs.google/mixboard, with a Discord community available for users. The app is similar to other collage-making tools, such as Pinterest's Shuffles, Landing, and Verse.