Etiquetas: India

Google and venture firm Accel announced a joint effort to invest in India’s earliest‑stage artificial‑intelligence startups through the Google AI Futures Fund and Accel’s Atoms program. The partnership will allocate up to $1 million per startup, provide compute credits, early access to Gemini and DeepMind models, and mentorship from both firms. Targeted founders include those building AI products for the Indian market and for global audiences. The collaboration aims to tap India’s large, mobile‑first population, engineering talent, and growing cloud infrastructure to accelerate AI innovation. Leer más

Google is rolling out on‑device AI scam detection for Pixel 9 smartphones in India, using Gemini Nano to analyze calls without sending data to its servers. The feature, which is off by default and limited to English‑speaking users, flags potential fraud from unknown numbers with an audible beep. Google also launched a pilot that alerts users of screen‑sharing scams in partnership with Navi, Paytm and Google Pay, offering a one‑tap option to end the call. Play Protect continues to block predatory loan apps, and the company’s DigiKavach campaign has reached hundreds of millions, though gaps remain due to limited device share and language coverage. Leer más

Indian IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has secured a $1 billion investment from private‑equity firm TPG as part of a multi‑year, $2 billion plan to build a network of gigawatt‑scale AI data centers across India. Dubbed “HyperVault,” the project will use liquid‑cooled, high‑density designs to meet the soaring demand for AI compute power. The initiative arrives amid a stark supply‑demand gap in the country, where data generation is high but data‑center capacity remains low. TCS aims to partner with hyperscalers and AI firms to develop the infrastructure needed for advanced AI workloads. Leer más

Google Photos has rolled out six new AI-driven tools aimed at simplifying editing and searching within users' photo libraries. The "Help me edit" feature now offers personalized portrait adjustments, using facial data to remove sunglasses or fix closed eyes, and is expanding to iOS in the United States. The Nano Banana editor powers a new "Create with AI" section that supplies customizable templates for artistic restyling, initially reaching Android users in the United States and India. The Ask Photos search tool is expanding to over 100 additional markets and 17 new languages, while a new Ask button lets users ask detailed questions about individual images, currently available in the United States on both Android and iOS. Leer más

Google is rolling out its Gemini AI assistant within Google Maps for Android and iOS users in India, adding contextual navigation help, multilingual support, and new safety features such as accident‑prone stretch alerts. The update, built on extensive localization, also brings real‑time road‑closure data from the National Highways Authority of India and speed‑limit displays in several major cities. Leer más

OpenAI has launched a promotion that makes its ChatGPT Go subscription free for a full year for users in India. The offer applies to both new and existing subscribers and can be redeemed through the ChatGPT website or the Google Play store, with an Apple App Store rollout expected soon. ChatGPT Go provides a selection of premium features—including extended access to GPT‑5, image generation, file uploads, advanced data analysis, longer memory, and custom GPT tools—at a lower price point than ChatGPT Plus. The move highlights India as a key test market for OpenAI’s pricing experiments and positions the company against local and international AI competitors. Leer más

Google has partnered with Reliance Intelligence to provide its Gemini 2.5 Pro model at no cost to users of Jio, India’s largest mobile carrier. Eligible Jio customers on the Unlimited 5G plan will receive Google AI Pro for 18 months, unlocking higher limits for Nano Banana and Veo 3.1 image and video generators, expanded NotebookLM access, and 2 TB of cloud storage across Google apps. The promotion initially targets Jio users aged 18 to 25 before expanding to all qualifying plans via the MyJio app, underscoring Google’s aggressive AI expansion strategy in the Indian market. Leer más

OpenAI announced a promotion that provides free access to its ChatGPT Go plan for a full year to users in India who sign up during a limited period. The offer applies to both new and existing subscribers, allowing them to enjoy the plan’s enhanced features such as higher usage limits, image generation, and improved memory without paying the regular monthly fee. The company highlighted the strong adoption of its services in India and aims to deepen engagement in one of its largest markets. Leer más

Social network X said it will appeal a Karnataka High Court decision that upheld the Indian government's Sahyog portal for content takedowns. The company called the portal "secretive" and argued it lacks legal basis, claiming it bypasses Section 69A of the IT Act and threatens free expression. X maintains that the ruling denies the platform’s right to free speech under Indian law. The appeal follows X's broader effort to challenge the system, which other tech firms have joined, while Elon Musk continues expanding his businesses in India, including Tesla and Starlink. Leer más

X is contesting a Karnataka High Court ruling that would compel the platform to obey millions of takedown requests via the government‑run Sahyog portal, a system X describes as a censorship tool that bypasses judicial review. The company says the order threatens free expression and could expose platforms to criminal liability for non‑compliance. X’s appeal follows earlier disputes with Indian authorities, including challenges to block orders in 2024 and 2022 and a 2021 confrontation that saw officials threaten jail for Twitter employees. Leer más

The Karnataka High Court ruled that the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, cannot invoke Article 19 of the Indian Constitution to challenge government-ordered content removals. The court held that free‑speech protections apply only to Indian citizens, affirming the government's use of the Sahyog portal to issue takedown orders. X had argued that the portal lacked transparency, but the judgment emphasizes that foreign platforms must comply with Indian law. The decision marks a notable moment in India’s approach to regulating global tech firms. Leer más

Google’s Nano Banana image‑generation model, officially known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, has become the top driver of the Gemini app’s popularity in India. Indian users are employing the AI to create retro Bollywood looks, AI‑saree portraits, city‑scape selfies, miniature figurines and short videos from old family photos. The surge has propelled the Gemini app to the top of both the iOS App Store and Google Play charts in the country, with monthly downloads far outpacing those in the United States. While the model’s adoption is boosting downloads, in‑app spending remains modest, and Google is rolling out watermarks and a hidden SynthID marker to address privacy and misuse concerns. Leer más