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AsiaInfo and ABB Robotics Launch “Embodied Intelligence Laboratory”

E-commerce AI surge and startup scrutiny reshape sector outlook

E-commerce platforms and AI startups are under a sharper spotlight as automation deepens its role in online retail, with one fast-growing software firm facing governance questions even as a major commerce platform discloses a steep rise in AI-assisted transactions. The twin developments underline both the speed of adoption and the growing expectations around transparency and leadership as artificial intelligence moves from experimentation to core operations. Shopify has […]

Ras Al Khaimah sets legal framework for autonomous vehicles

Ras Al Khaimah has enacted a new law establishing a comprehensive legal and technical framework for the testing, deployment and operation of autonomous vehicles, positioning the northern emirate among the jurisdictions in the region seeking to regulate emerging transport technologies with an emphasis on safety, security and data protection. The legislation, approved by the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, lays out the conditions under which autonomous vehicles […]

Snowflake expands AI Data Cloud footprint into AWS UAE

Snowflake has rolled out its AI Data Cloud on Amazon Web Services’ UAE region, a move designed to help enterprises build and deploy artificial intelligence workloads while keeping data residency and latency requirements in check. The expansion gives organisations operating in the Gulf access to Snowflake’s platform within the AWS Middle East Region, aligning with regulatory expectations that data generated in the country can be processed locally. […]

LLVM sets guardrails for AI-assisted code submissions

Open-source compiler infrastructure project LLVM has formally clarified how contributors may use artificial intelligence tools when submitting code, allowing AI-assisted contributions while placing clear responsibility on human reviewers to understand, verify and stand behind every line. The policy, adopted after months of internal discussion, reflects a wider reckoning across open-source communities grappling with the growing presence of generative coding systems. LLVM’s leadership has made it clear that […]

Hassabis flags irony in ChatGPT’s ad ambitions

Google DeepMind chief executive Demis Hassabis has challenged the way artificial general intelligence is being discussed and marketed, pointing to what he described as a “big irony” in OpenAI’s plans to introduce advertising into ChatGPT while simultaneously framing the system as a step towards human-level intelligence. His remarks underline widening philosophical and commercial differences between leading AI labs as competition intensifies and public scrutiny grows. Speaking in […]

Microsoft strengthens Mercedes F1’s data-led push

Microsoft and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team have entered a multi-year partnership that places cloud computing and enterprise artificial intelligence at the centre of one of the sport’s most analytics-intensive operations, extending from race-weekend decision-making to long-term car development and factory workflows. The agreement positions Microsoft as the team’s official cloud and AI partner, with Azure, Microsoft Fabric and Copilot technologies set to be woven into […]

Curl drops bug bounty after AI-driven report surge

Curl, one of the world’s most widely used data transfer tools, has shut down its bug bounty programme after an overwhelming influx of low-quality vulnerability reports generated with the help of artificial intelligence began to swamp its small security team. Daniel Stenberg, the creator and lead maintainer of curl, said the volume of submissions claiming security flaws had grown to a level that could no longer be […]

Vertiv rolls out AI-led data centre maintenance

Vertiv has unveiled an artificial intelligence-based predictive maintenance service designed to help data centre operators manage the growing operational strain created by high-density computing and AI-driven workloads. The service, branded Vertiv Next Predict, is positioned as a response to the rising complexity of power and cooling infrastructure as operators race to support advanced computing environments. The company said the new platform uses machine learning models, real-time sensor […]

Designers pivot as Figma’s grip weakens

Momentum is building across the digital design world as designers and product teams rethink long-held workflows, with a noticeable shift away from screen-first tools towards building functional products from the outset. Figma, long regarded as the industry’s default collaborative design platform, remains widely used, but its centrality is being questioned as artificial intelligence reshapes how ideas move from concept to code. For more than a decade, Figma’s […]

Microsoft rolls out WinApp CLI for developers

Microsoft has unveiled WinApp CLI, an open-source command-line tool released in public preview, aimed at simplifying how developers build and package applications for Windows. The tool brings together tasks that are typically spread across multiple utilities, allowing teams to initialise projects, manage software development kits, configure app manifests, handle certificates and generate MSIX packages from a single workflow. The launch reflects a broader push by Microsoft to […]

NMK Beyond launches immersive Dubai tech hub

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai NMK Electronics has unveiled NMK Beyond, a 21,500 sq ft immersive technology hub positioned in Dubai’s urban core, marking a significant expansion of the company’s footprint in professional audio-visual and integrated solutions. The facility is designed to function as a live, hands-on environment where enterprise clients, systems integrators, consultants, educators and content creators can experience end-to-end technology workflows rather than static product displays. […]

US tech brain drain gathers pace as India gains ground

A shift in global technology talent flows is becoming clearer as companies and professionals reassess the United States’ immigration environment, with India emerging as a leading beneficiary. Tightened visa scrutiny, policy uncertainty and prolonged processing timelines linked to Trump-era approaches to skilled migration have altered career calculations for engineers, researchers and founders who once saw the US as the default destination. Technology firms across Silicon Valley and […]

Mistral AI weighs Bengaluru base to deepen engineering push

  Mistral AI, the French artificial intelligence company behind a fast-growing portfolio of large language models, is in discussions to establish a Global Capability Centre in Bengaluru, a move that would place advanced engineering and research operations in one of Asia’s most competitive technology hubs. People familiar with the matter say the plan, still under evaluation, reflects the company’s need to scale product development while drawing on […]

Sensors emerge as the silent force reshaping global defence

Major powers are expanding sensor investment across land, air, sea, cyber and space as platforms grow faster, stealthier and more autonomous. Aerospace advances such as reusable launch vehicles, hypersonic flight and satellite mega-constellations depend on dense networks of precision sensors to operate safely and effectively. In military settings, those same tools are redefining early warning, targeting and defence. One of the most consequential shifts has been in […]

Walmart immersive commerce SDK expands game-to-shop ecosystem

Walmart and Unity have rolled out a new immersive commerce software-development kit that allows game creators to embed real-world shopping experiences directly within Unity-built titles and apps, marking a shift in how physical retail intersects with interactive entertainment. The free SDK empowers developers to integrate Walmart’s commerce systems, catalogue and checkout functionality into gameplay without forcing players to exit the virtual environment, unlocking fresh monetisation routes for […]

Rubrik expands sovereign cloud push amid data control demands

Cybersecurity firm Rubrik has rolled out a sovereign version of its Rubrik Security Cloud, positioning the offering as a response to mounting pressure from governments and regulated industries to keep sensitive data under national control and outside the reach of foreign jurisdictions. Rubrik said the sovereign capability is designed to ensure that customer data, encryption keys, operations and support remain confined within specific countries or regions, aligning […]

ININUM debuts an AI fragrance device for bespoke scents

A Milan-based scent technology start-up says it has entered the consumer fragrance market with a countertop device that uses artificial intelligence to blend more than 100 aromas on demand, signalling a push to personalise a category long dominated by mass-produced perfumes. ININUM said the system combines software-led scent design with refillable Eau de Parfum pods developed and produced in Italy, and will be sold from $299, with […]

GameStop accelerates New York store closures amid retail reset

GameStop is preparing to shut down nearly 30 outlets across New York State, a move that underscores the videogame retailer’s deepening retreat from bricks-and-mortar locations as it retools its business for a market reshaped by digital distribution and tighter consumer spending. The closures span dense urban neighbourhoods and smaller regional centres, signalling a broad reassessment rather than a targeted pullback. In New York City, multiple stores across […]

Intel’s Battlemage push tilts toward pricey pro cards

Intel’s next major graphics move appears set to bypass mainstream PC gamers, with industry chatter pointing to a high-end Battlemage product debuting first as a workstation-class card carrying 32 GB of video memory and a premium price tag. The prospect underscores a growing divide between professional and consumer GPU markets at a time when gamers face limited choice and escalating costs. Talk surrounding a so-called “Big Battlemage” […]

Ransomware breach at Apple supplier exposes deep supply chain risks

A major ransomware intrusion at a key manufacturing partner of Apple has intensified concerns over cyber resilience across global electronics supply chains, after attackers claimed to have stolen more than one terabyte of confidential data linked to unreleased products and internal operations. The attack, attributed to the criminal group RansomHub, targeted Luxshare, a long-standing supplier involved in assembling and producing components for flagship consumer devices. Information circulating […]

Matter sets ambitious electric two-wheeler expansion plan

Electric motorbike maker Matter has outlined a $150 million investment programme running through the 2028 calendar year, signalling a sharp acceleration in its manufacturing capacity, product development and market reach as competition intensifies in the electric two-wheeler segment. The company has set an annual sales target of between 1.50 lakh and 1.80 lakh electric motorbikes by 2028, positioning itself among the more aggressive growth players in the […]

Bolna secures $6.3 million to scale enterprise voice AI

Bolna has raised $6.3 million in funding from General Catalyst, marking a significant capital infusion for the Bengaluru-based startup as it expands its voice orchestration platform designed for enterprises operating across multiple languages and customer touchpoints. The investment positions Bolna to deepen its presence in India-focused use cases while sharpening its technology for regulated sectors that demand reliability, security and compliance in automated voice interactions.

Founded to address the growing demand for natural, human-like voice interfaces in customer engagement, Bolna develops software that allows companies to design, deploy and manage AI-driven voice agents across telephony systems. The platform focuses on orchestrating speech recognition, natural language understanding, dialogue management and speech synthesis in a single workflow, enabling businesses to automate calls without sacrificing contextual awareness or linguistic nuance. The funding round underscores investor confidence in voice as a critical interface as enterprises look beyond chat-based automation.

Executives familiar with the company’s roadmap say the capital will be directed towards product development, hiring in engineering and applied linguistics, and expanding enterprise partnerships. Bolna has prioritised support for multiple Indian languages and dialects, a feature that has become central as companies in banking, insurance, logistics and commerce seek to reach customers outside metropolitan centres. Industry analysts note that voice automation in India faces distinct challenges due to code-switching, accent variation and noisy environments, making orchestration and model tuning more complex than in English-only deployments.

General Catalyst’s backing reflects a broader venture trend towards applied AI infrastructure rather than consumer-facing chatbots alone. Investors have increasingly focused on platforms that sit beneath applications, enabling enterprises to integrate AI safely into existing workflows. In Bolna’s case, the emphasis on orchestration allows companies to plug in different speech-to-text or text-to-speech engines, including proprietary or open-source models, while maintaining control over call logic and data handling. This flexibility has become attractive as organisations navigate data residency rules and sector-specific compliance obligations.

Voice AI adoption has accelerated as call centres confront rising costs and labour shortages, while customers continue to rely on phone-based interactions for sensitive or complex queries. Research firms tracking enterprise automation report that voice remains the dominant channel for high-value customer service in India, particularly in financial services and public-facing utilities. Bolna’s platform aims to complement human agents rather than fully replace them, handling routine calls and triage before escalating complex cases. Company officials have said this hybrid approach improves efficiency while reducing customer frustration associated with rigid interactive voice response systems.

Competition in the voice AI space has intensified, with global players offering end-to-end solutions and local startups focusing on language coverage and integration with domestic telecom infrastructure. Bolna differentiates itself by positioning as an orchestration layer rather than a monolithic model provider. This approach aligns with enterprise preferences to avoid vendor lock-in and to adapt quickly as speech and language models improve. Analysts also point to the growing importance of observability and analytics in voice systems, areas where Bolna has invested to give clients visibility into call outcomes, latency and error rates.

The funding arrives amid heightened scrutiny of AI ethics and transparency. Voice systems, in particular, raise concerns around consent, disclosure and bias. Bolna has stated that it builds safeguards into deployments, including clear disclosures when callers are interacting with automated agents and configurable controls to limit sensitive data capture. Such measures are increasingly demanded by enterprise clients as regulators and consumers push for responsible AI use.

Boston Dynamics robot dog explained for wider use

  Boston Dynamics’ four-legged robot, widely known as the robot dog, has moved from laboratory demonstrations into everyday industrial and public-sector settings, reflecting a shift in how mobile robotics is being adopted across inspection, safety and data-collection roles. The machine, marketed as Spot, is designed to traverse environments that are difficult or hazardous for humans, combining advanced mobility with sensors and autonomous navigation software. Developed by Boston […]