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26 Mar 2026

China Blocks Manus Founders After Meta's $2 Billion Deal Exposes AI Talent Exodus

Beijing has barred Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao from leaving China while reviewing whether Meta's $2 billion acquisition violated foreign investment rules. The intervention signals a crackdown on Chinese AI startups relocating offshore and highlights intensifying tensions in the US-China tech rivalry over AI dominance.

3 Sources

Ring launches battery-powered 4K video doorbells with advanced AI capabilities

Amazon's Ring has unveiled its first battery-powered video doorbells with 4K resolution and 2K options, priced from $80. The wire-free models feature advanced AI capabilities including facial recognition, AI-generated video descriptions, and natural language video search through the Ring AI Pro subscription service at $20 per month.

2 Sources

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the future of AI is both open and proprietary, not one or the other

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declared that the future isn't about choosing between open versus proprietary AI models—it's about using both together. At GTC, industry leaders discussed how AI orchestration systems will blend open-source AI and proprietary models to create specialized solutions across industries, with Nvidia launching the Nemotron Coalition to advance this vision.

2 Sources

Arm AGI CPU takes on x86 with first server chip as Meta and OpenAI join agentic AI push

Arm has launched its first in-house production silicon, the AGI CPU, marking a historic shift from IP licensor to compute provider. The 136-core processor targets agentic AI workloads in data centers, with Meta as lead partner and OpenAI among early adopters. Intel's leadership questions whether specialized chips are necessary, pointing to its own Clearwater Forest as a competitor.

5 Sources

Germany Pushes to Criminalize Deepfake Porn Production After High-Profile Abuse Case

A prominent German television actor's accusations against her ex-husband have ignited nationwide protests and legislative action. Over 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Berlin demanding stronger legal protections as Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig drafts a bill to criminalize the production of pornographic deepfakes, with violations punishable by up to two years in prison.

2 Sources

Mistral AI releases Voxtral TTS, an open-source voice model challenging ElevenLabs and OpenAI

French AI company Mistral AI launched Voxtral TTS, an open-source text-to-speech model that runs on edge devices from smartwatches to laptops. The 3-billion-parameter model supports nine languages, adapts custom voices in under five seconds, and achieves 90ms time-to-first-audio. Human evaluations showed 69.9% preference over ElevenLabs in voice customization tasks, positioning Mistral to compete directly in the enterprise voice AI market.

5 Sources

EU backs nudify apps ban while delaying AI Act compliance deadlines until 2027

European Parliament voted to ban AI nudification tools that create non-consensual deepfake images, following the Grok chatbot scandal. The vote also delays compliance deadlines for high-risk AI systems until December 2027, extending uncertainty for businesses operating in Europe as negotiations with member states continue.

3 Sources

OpenAI shelves ChatGPT adult mode indefinitely as investor concerns and safety risks mount

OpenAI has indefinitely shelved plans for an erotic version of ChatGPT after facing internal and external pressures. The controversial adult mode sparked concerns from advisors about mental health harms, turned off investors worried about reputation risk, and faced technical challenges in preventing illegal content. The decision marks another strategic shift as OpenAI refocuses on core products amid growing competition.

28 Sources

SEBI Partners Google to Verify Apps and Track Finfluencers Using AI to Combat Financial Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has joined forces with Google to introduce verified badges for stock trading apps on Google Play and deploy artificial intelligence tools to track finfluencers violating regulations. With over 1.33 lakh misleading posts flagged and 66 fake apps taken down, the initiative aims to protect retail investors from cyber fraud in the investment space.

2 Sources

Pentagon Official's Millions in Rival AI Firm Raises Questions in Anthropic Contract Dispute

Emil Michael, the Pentagon's Chief Technology Officer who led efforts to blacklist Anthropic over AI usage restrictions, holds $2-10 million in stock from rival firm Perplexity. Meanwhile, Sam Altman claims he tried to mediate the dispute even as OpenAI secured the Pentagon contract Anthropic lost, sparking questions about conflicts of interest in government dealings.

3 Sources

Pony AI swings to profit, plans robotaxi expansion to 20 cities with Uber partnership

Pony AI delivered its first profitable quarter with $75.5 million net income, driven by investment gains. The company's robotaxi revenue surged 160% year-over-year as it achieved unit economics breakeven in Chinese cities. Pony AI now targets deploying over 3,000 robotaxis across 20+ cities globally in 2026, including Europe's first commercial service in Zagreb through an Uber partnership.

3 Sources

US Army taps Carlyle and KKR to build $2bn data centers as AI warfare demands skyrocket

The US Army has selected Carlyle Group and KKR to build data centers on military bases, with each project costing an estimated $2 billion. The facilities at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, will be financed through 50-year leases with private capital firms, allowing the military to access critical AI computing power without direct investment. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll revealed that AI token usage has surged 8x in recent weeks during the Iran conflict.

2 Sources

Pony AI and Uber partner with Verne to launch Europe's first commercial robotaxi service

Pony AI and Uber are teaming up with Croatian startup Verne to launch what they claim will be Europe's first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb. The partnership combines Pony AI's autonomous driving technology, Uber's ride-hailing network, and Verne's fleet management, with plans to scale to thousands of vehicles across European cities. The move comes as Pony AI reports 160% year-over-year revenue growth.

4 Sources

California regulator says Tesla Robotaxi operates like a limo service, not autonomous vehicles

A California regulator has confirmed that Tesla's so-called robotaxi service holds the same permit as limousine companies and is not operating an autonomous vehicle service. The classification means Tesla is exempt from safety reporting requirements that apply to competitors like Waymo and Zoox, creating a significant regulatory loophole.

3 Sources

Kiran Mani, Former JioStar CEO, Joins OpenAI to Lead Asia-Pacific Expansion from Singapore

OpenAI appoints Kiran Mani as managing director for Asia-Pacific in a newly created role. The former JioStar CEO and ex-Google executive will relocate to Singapore in June, reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon. With over 100 million weekly ChatGPT users in India alone, the appointment signals OpenAI's intensifying focus on a region critical to AI growth and enterprise adoption.

2 Sources

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