Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. and Merriam-Webster Inc. have filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI Inc., accusing the company of using their protected content without permission. Perplexity AI allegedly uses a bot to crawl and scrape research websites, taking "free rides" on the companies' investment in developing high-quality content. This practice is said to be a form of "massive copying" that violates the companies' rights.
Replit, a platform for creating software with AI agents, has closed a $250 million funding round to capitalize on the momentum of its growing user base. The company, valued at $3 billion after the round, has seen its annual revenue grow from $2.8 million to $150 million in less than a year, driven by a global community of over 40 million users. Prysm Capital led the round, with Amex Ventures and Google's AI Futures Fund joining as strategic investors. The new funds will be used to scale operations, accelerate product development and global expansion, as Replit builds a new way of working in the era of AI. Replit has launched Agent 3, its most autonomous agent yet, capable of testing and correcting code, building custom agents and workflows to automate complex or repetitive tasks for any type of work, not just software engineering.
SK hynix Inc., a top-tier semiconductor supplier, has begun supplying its high-performance mobile NAND solution ZUFS 4.1 to customers, marking the world's first mass production of this solution. Developed through close collaboration with customers, ZUFS 4.1 enhances smartphones' powerful on-device AI capabilities and offers users an innovative experience, with a 47% reduction in AI app launch times. The solution's adoption in the latest smartphones reinforces SK hynix's technological excellence in the global market, and its applications are expected to expand.
A family court magistrate in Singapore dismissed PPO (Protection Order) applications from two former spouses after finding that none of the 14 local legal precedents cited by a self-represented man were legitimate cases. The man had used ChatGPT to generate relevant precedents, but did not verify them before submitting. Magistrate Soh Kian Peng ordered the man to declare in writing if he uses generative AI in preparing future court documents and comply with a relevant guide. The PPO applications were dismissed, and the man was ordered to pay costs of $1,000 to the mother.
Effectual, an AWS Premier Tier Services Partner, has partnered with SOLV Energy, a prominent renewable energy services provider, to deploy an innovative Generative AI (Gen AI) solution for enhanced field technician support. This collaboration aims to revolutionize field operations by equipping SOLV Energy's technicians with a natural language interface, allowing them to access critical information, diagnose issues, and implement solutions more efficiently through conversational interaction. The Gen AI solution includes features such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), Contextual Troubleshooting, and Knowledge Repository Integration, which will enable technicians to work smarter, reduce downtime, and maintain the highest standards of operational efficiency.
Strider Technologies has collaborated with the NATO's Defense Innovation Acceleration Programme (DIANA) to provide its security economic capabilities and identify potential risks from strategic competitors. The company's intelligence will also be used to evaluate the risk of entities and individuals participating in DIANA's innovation ecosystem. This collaboration aims to ensure the trust and resilience of the ecosytem, promoting innovative technologies with total security.
A new online safety app named Sway.ly has been launched to help parents and children control social media algorithms. The app uses AI technology to identify 36 different types of harmful content, sending alerts to parents and suggesting education for young users. For example, it advises children to unfollow or block accounts promoting unrealistic body images or self-harm. The app's CEO, Mike Bennett, stated that the persistent drip of toxic posts on social media is harming children who feel powerless to stop it, and that the real danger lies in subtle content promoting violence, misogyny, and other toxic narratives.
Talkdesk, a company known for its customer experience solutions, has been named a leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contact Center as a Service. Their CXA platform enables AI agents to collaborate and resolve complex customer problems efficiently, supporting various industries such as healthcare, financial services, retail, utilities, travel, and government. This allows enterprises to modernize their customer experience without a full system replacement, ultimately helping them grow revenue and reduce costs through AI-driven automation.
US Senator Ted Cruz has proposed an AI 'sandbox' to ease tech regulations, aiming to spur innovation and impact state bans. This proposal is part of Cruz's efforts to work closely with the US government on artificial intelligence, as stated during a hearing. The AI sandbox is expected to provide a testing ground for new technologies, potentially easing regulations and fostering innovation in the tech industry.