Chinese AI DeepSeek says hit by large-scale cyberattack

Chinese AI sensation DeepSeek on Monday said it was limiting the registration of new users due to large-scale cyberattacks on its services. The company, whose chatbot took over OpenAI’s ChatGPT as Apple’s top downloaded app on Monday, cited “large-scale malicious attacks” for outages and its inability to take on new users. DeepSeek, which was developed by a start-up based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, has shown the ability to match the capacity of AI pace-setters such as Nvidia. Its success on the US app store sent shares in…

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Chinese startup DeepSeek’s AI overtakes ChatGPT on Apple App Store

BEIJING: Chinese startup DeepSeek’s AI Assistant overtook artificial intelligence giant ChatGPT to become the top-rated free application available on Apple’s App Store in the United States of America. The AI is powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model and its creators say it “tops the leaderboard among open-source models and rivals the most advanced closed-source models globally”. The application’s popularity has skyrocketed in the US since it was released on January 10, according to app data research firm Sensor Tower. The milestone highlights how DeepSeek has left a deep impression on Silicon…

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Perplexity AI proposes TikTok merger, giving US govt half: source

US startup Perplexity AI has revised the merger proposal it had submitted to TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to create a new entity combining Perplexity and TikTok US, a person familiar with the proposal told Reuters on Sunday. The proposal calls for the US government to own up to 50% of the new company upon a future initial public offering (IPO), the person said. A Perplexity document shared with ByteDance and new investors proposed the creation of a new US holding company called “NewCo”, the person said. Under the proposal, ByteDance would sell…

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Newly-discovered ‘Chonkus’ microbe could help contain climate change

A new green mutant named “Chonkus” microbe has been discovered by scientists which appears to have ability to fight climate change. Chonkus was found in shallow, sunlit waters off the coast of Italy’s Vulcano Island by a team led by microbiologist Max Schubert, according to Science News.  The team had ventured towards the waters in search of micro-organisms that take in carbon dioxide for photosynthesis but instead, they found this naturally occurring microbe strain of  Synechococcus elongatus a type of microbe that performs photosynthesis and is a species of cyanobacterium. Synechococcus…

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Nasa to launch rockets to study auroras’ atmospheric phenomenon

Nasa plans to fly two rocket through an active aurora borealis to study the phenomenal lights that flash and dance across the northern hemisphere sky. The two rockets are expected to launch into space from the Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska as part of two missions led by space physicists Marilia Samara and Robert Michell from Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre. The mission aims to delve deep as to why some auroras flicker, others pulsate and the rest appear to have missing patches of light in them, as…

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US TikTokers question censorship after noticing changes post-ban

NEW YORK: US TikTok users have sensed signs of censorship on the video-sharing platform, which is owned by China’s ByteDance and was revived by an executive order from President Donald Trump. TikTok users are noting a difference in the short-video app following its revival after going dark on Saturday under a new law — enacted over national security concerns during the Biden administration with bipartisan support — that requires it to be sold to a US buyer. Trump has vowed to find a solution to the ban, with several bidders…

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Meta starts testing ads on Threads

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has initiated testing of advertisements on Threads — its alternative to Elon Musk’s X — an executive announced Friday. Threads launch came in 2023 — eight months after Musk’s acquisition of X  — when changes like paid subscriptions and reduced content moderation were driving away users and advertisers. The introduction of advertising on Threads was expected, given that Meta derives most of its revenue from ads across its free platforms. “We’re starting a small test for ads on Threads with a handful of brands in the US and…

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India’s multibillionaire plans to build world’s largest data centre

Indian billionaire and business icon Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group is planning to build world’s largest data centre by capacity in a bid to capitalise on the increasing global demand for artificial intelligence services. The conglomerate is reportedly buying Nvidia Corp’s powerful AI semiconductors and plans to set up the new data centre in Gujarat’s Jamnagar. The data hub is expected to have a total capacity of three gigawatts, according to those involved in the project, the Bloomberg News has reported. The three GW capacity would make the data centre far bigger than…

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Meta seeks AI revolution with $60bn investment in 2025

SAN FRANCISCO: Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced on Friday that the company will invest at least $60 billion in artificial intelligence during 2025, aiming to cement its position as a leader in the rapidly advancing field. “This will be a defining year for AI,” Zuckerberg said in a post on his Facebook page. Zuckerberg expects Meta AI to be the top digital assistant, used by more than a billion people, and for the tech firm’s Llama 4 to be at the forefront of AI models, according to the post.…

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India tribunal suspends antitrust ban on WhatsApp-Meta data sharing

NEW DELHI: A five-year data sharing ban between WhatsApp and owner Meta Platforms has been temporarily suspended, bringing major relief for the US tech company which had warned that its advertising business will be affected by the ban. The Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) directive issued in November had been challenged in November. The directive had entailed a ban on data sharing between WhatsApp and other Meta entities for advertising purposes, warning the platforms that they may have to roll back some features. 7 The CCI was also criticised by…

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