China’s Alibaba Group posted a 34% jump in revenue from its cloud business in its most recent quarter, buoyed by the boom in artificial intelligence.

But overall revenue at the Chinese tech group for the July-September quarter increased by just 5% year-on-year to 247.8 billion yuan ($35 billion), and profit fell 52% from last year, as a fierce price war in China’s e-commerce landscape, including in the food delivery segment, eroded into short-term profitability. JD.com, its e-commerce rival, reported a 55% net profit drop in the same quarter.

Alibaba started out in e-commerce and later turned its focus to cloud and AI technologies. Earlier this year, it pledged to invest at least 380 billion yuan ($53 billion) in three years in advancing its cloud computing and AI infrastructure.

CEO Eddie Wu said in prepared remarks Tuesday that the group’s “significant” investments in AI had helped its revenue growth. The 34% cloud revenue growth was faster than the 26% increase in the April-June quarter.

The company added that demand for AI was “accelerating” and its “conviction in future AI demand growth is strong.” It also will probably end up investing more than the planned 380 billion yuan in AI to meet surging demand, Alibaba said Tuesday.

On Monday, Alibaba announced that its upgraded AI chatbot Qwen, which aims to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT, recorded 10 million downloads in the first week after its public launch.

The company’s Hong Kong shares gained 2% Tuesday and just before the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange, shares rose 2.4%. Shares have gained more than 90% so far this year, fueled by optimism over its progress in AI.

Chinese companies have been gaining ground in AI since tech startup DeepSeek upended the industry, raising doubts over the dominance in the sector of its U.S. rivals.

Recent earnings reports by other Chinese tech giants have been mixed.

Tencent, which rivals Alibaba in AI, this month reported a strong 15% year-on-year gain in its revenue for the July-September quarter. But Baidu, which also competes with Alibaba in AI development, recorded a 7% drop in revenue in the same quarter compared to last year.

Concerns among investors and analysts over an overblown AI bubble have also been growing, although strong earnings at Nvidia last week slightly eased worries.

Modern WiFi standards have a feature called beamforming that helps routers push signals more efficiently towards connected devices. To do this, phones and laptops regularly broadcast short reports describing how they ‘see’ the wireless channel. These reports are unencrypted and can be picked up by any other device in range.

Are these reports rich enough for someone to recognise who is moving through a room just from how their body disturbs the WiFi field? A new study by researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany has found the answer is ‘yes’.

Previous work had already shown that channel state information (CSI) from WiFi signals can be used to identify people in a room but CSI is harder to obtain and needs specialised hardware and firmware. Beamforming feedback information (BFI) is however available on off-the-shelf hardware. The authors thus treated BFI as a potentially more serious privacy risk and measured how far an attacker could go with it in a realistic setting.

They built a WiFi setup with two access points and four ‘listening’ perspectives, all operating in the 6 GHz band. They asked 197 volunteers to walk back and forth through the WiFi field normally, briskly, through a turnstile, and while carrying a backpack or a crate. The system recorded both BFI and CSI traces, which the team then fed into a relatively simple neural network that could learn patterns directly from the raw data.

Thus they found that BFI alone was strongly identifying. When the model was trained and tested on normal walks, it recognised more than 160 individuals with 99.5% accuracy. CSI, which has higher time resolution but is harder to obtain in practice, was less accurate on the same dataset.

The model also transferred reasonably well across walking styles: BFI could still identify people when they wore a backpack, carried a crate, walked faster or passed through a turnstile, although the performance dipped somewhat for more unusual motions. It also outperformed CSI.

Per the researchers, the results change how we should think about the privacy consequences of everyday WiFi use. They’ve shown that inferring one’s identity doesn’t necessarily require hacking firmware or networks but only a device within listening range. They don’t even need the WiFi password.

The ability is doubly insidious because BFI is produced by normal Wifi networks and, unlike CCTV cameras, doesn’t advertise its role in surveillance. People who might avoid visible cameras might still ignore access points mounted in ceilings or corners. In this sense, WiFi-based tracking can create an ‘inverse panopticon’ where individuals behave as if unobserved while being silently profiled.

Once a system can stably recognise individuals from their gait, any other WiFi-based task such as recognising activities or estimating occupancy can be linked to those identities. This makes the harm cumulative because activity and movement logs can be tied to the same person over time, even if their real-world name is not immediately known.

Finally, the researchers noted that current mitigation ideas like adding noise to training fields are immature, often require special hardware, and mainly target CSI instead of BFI.

Chinese smartphone maker iQOO on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) launched its flagship smartphone iQOO 15 in India. The new iQOO 15 is the third smartphone running Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 here and competes with OnePlus 15 and Realme GT 8 Pro.

iQOO 15 is also the first among Vivo and iQOO phones to run their newly unveiled skin, OriginOS 6, replacing FuntouchOS, based on Android 16 out of the box.

iQOO 15 uses a 6.85-inch Samsung’s 2K M14 LEAD OLED display with a peak brightness of 6,000 nits and a 144 Hz refresh rate. Further, iQOO 15 also supports Dolby Vision. It bears IP68 and IP69 ratings for water and dust resistance.

iQOO 15 ships with a 7,000 mAh battery supported by a 100W fast charger inside the box along with 40W wireless charging support. The company also claims that it will have India’s largest 8K VC cooling system for better thermal management.

The iQOO 15 runs on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with up to 16 GB LPDDR5x Ultra RAM and 512 GB UFS 4.1 storage. On top of it, the new phone will use a Q3 chip for gaming performance, and also supports ray tracing. The company will provide 5 OS and 7 years of security updates to iQOO 15.

iQOO 15 sports a triple 50 MP camera system with a 50 MP Sony IMX921 VCS main sensor, a 50 MP Sony IMX882 periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical and 100x digital zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide camera. It has a 32 MP front camera.

The iQOO 15 comes in Alpha Edition, featuring a matte black finish and Legend Edition, paired with tri-colour patterned logo.

The iQOO 15 starts at ₹72,999 for the 12GB/256GB variant and ₹79,999 for the 16GB/512GB variant. Sales start on December 1 on Amazon, the iQOO website, Vivo stores, and retail outlets.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit in Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court against its former Senior Vice President Wei-Jen Lo, who recently joined Intel.

In an emailed statement, TSMC said the lawsuit is based on the terms of the employment contract between TSMC and Lo, the non-compete agreement signed by Lo, and regulations such as the Trade Secrets Act.

“There is a high probability that Lo uses, leaks, discloses or transfers TSMC’s trade secrets and confidential information to Intel, thus making legal actions necessary,” TSMC said.

Intel and Lo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Taiwan’s economy ministry said in a statement that it respects TSMC’s legal action and will closely monitor the impact on the industry.

The ministry added that it will cooperate to determine whether the case involves the infringement of core technologies or violations of Taiwan’s National Security Act.

Last week, Taiwan’s economy minister said authorities were investigating Lo after local media reported that he may have taken TSMC’s advanced technology data to his new employer.

Lo, who helped drive TSMC’s mass production of cutting edge 5-nanometre, 3-nm and 2-nm chips, joined Intel in October after retiring from TSMC following a 21-year-long career there. A source familiar with the matter said he reports directly to Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.

Before joining TSMC in 2004, Lo worked at Intel for 18 years. He served as a director of technology development and was a factory manager, running Intel’s development facility in Santa Clara, California.

Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus on Wednesday (November 26, 2025) confirmed that OnePlus 15R will run on Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor. The upcoming OnePlus 15R is going to be an ‘affordable’ option in the series featuring OnePlus 15 on top.

OnePlus 15R will sell in Charcoal Black and Mint Breeze shades. It will be an IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K rated smartphone.

OnePlus 15R is expected to ship with a 7,000 mAh battery supported by a 100W charger inside the box along with wireless and reverse charging support.

OnePlus 15R might use a 50 MP main camera in OnePlus 15R supported by an ultrawide lens and a telephoto camera. A 32 MP front camera is yet another possibility.

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OnePlus 15 will launch on December 17 in India along with OnePlus Pad Go 2, the second member of the OnePlus Pad Go series.

The OnePlus Pad Go 2 is going to target accessible tablet buyers in the mid-range segment. It will be available in Shadow Black and Lavender Drift. The Shadow Black variant will also be the first OnePlus tablet to feature 5G. OnePlus Pad Go 2 will ship with an in-box stylus.

The tech startups in Karnataka raised a total of $2.7 billion in the first nine months of calendar year 2025 (9M 2025), a 40% drop compared to the corresponding period in 2024, as per the Karnataka Tech Ecosystem Report for 9M 2025 released by market research firm Tracxn. 

According to the report, the period witnessed a noticeable slowdown in large-ticket rounds, impacting overall capital flow into the ecosystem. Bengaluru-based tech firms contributed nearly all of the funding raised by tech companies across Karnataka. 

Strong progress in early stage, selective participation later 

The funding figures also saw a 23% decline compared to the corresponding period in 2023. While the numbers stood at $4.5 billion in 9M 2024, $3.5B was raised in 9M 2023. 

Seed-stage funding stood at $287 million, representing a 22% decline from $366 million in 9M 2024 and a 21% decrease from $361 million in 9M 2023. 

A more positive note

On a more positive note, early-stage investment showed strong progress, reaching $1.1 billion, a 20% increase compared to $914 million in 9M 2024, and a 26% rise from $871 million in 9M 2023. According to the report, this highlighted growing investor confidence in emerging companies.  

Towards the mature end of the market, however, signs of more selective participation were seen. Late-stage funding totaled $1.3 billion, a 59% decrease from $3.2 billion in 9M 2024 and a 41% decline compared to $2.2 billion in 9M 2023. 

Top performing sectors

FinTech, Enterprise Applications, and Retail were the top-performing sectors in Karnataka during the period.  

The FinTech sector recorded $841 million in funding, an increase of 38% compared to $608 million in 9M 2024, but a decrease of 21% compared to $1.1 billion in 9M 2023.  

The Enterprise Applications sector saw $830 million in 9M 2025, representing a 19% decrease from $1.0 billion in 9M 2024, and a 26% decline compared to $1.1 billion in 9M 2023. 

The Retail sector recorded $730 million in 9M 2025, a 43% drop from $1.3 billion in 9M 2024, but a 10% increase compared to $663 million raised in 9M 2023. 

IPOs and unicorns 

The period registered two funding rounds above $100 million – $202 million by Groww in a series F round and $120 million by Jumbotail in a series D round – compared to eight such rounds in 9M 2024 and seven in 9M 2023.  

Ather Energy and BlueStone went public during the period. However, two IPOs that the State’s tech ecosystem saw marked a 67% drop from six in 9M 2024. Three new unicorns emerged during the period, representing a 40% drop from five in 9M 2024, and a 200% rise compared to one in 9M 2023. 

Tech companies in Karnataka saw 35 acquisitions in 9M 2025. The highest-valued acquisition was Groww acquiring Fisdom for $150 million, followed by ICRA acquiring Fintellix for $26 million. 

Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot will not be available through WhatsApp from next year, due to a policy update by the Meta-owned messaging service.

The change will come into effect on January 15, 2026, with users being encouraged to instead access Copilot through apps, the web, or Windows.

Copilot was launched in 2024 and its presence on WhatsApp helped “millions of people connect with their AI companion in a familiar, everyday setting,” shared Microsoft.

Multiple AI companies offer their chatbots via messaging services such as WhatsApp, in order to streamline access and encourage people to treat the chatbot as a contact, of sorts, rather than having to open up a separate app.

However, due to an update in WhatsApp’s platform policy regarding the use of large language model (LLM) chatbots, this is set to end. Microsoft confirmed that Copilot cannot transfer the WhatsApp chat history to other Copilot surfaces, but suggested that users could export their chats before the last date.

“This change is due to recent updates to WhatsApp’s platform policies removing all LLM chatbots from the platform effective January 15th, and as a result, Copilot will be discontinued. We’re working to ensure a smooth transition for users and enable their continued Copilot access on mobile, web, and PC,” said Microsoft in a blog post on November 24.

The U.S. artificial intelligence platform Suno and Warner Music Group on Tuesday announced a partnership to compensate recording artists in the fast-growing domain of AI music.

The agreement, announced jointly by the two companies, resolves a civil lawsuit brought by music giant Warner alleging that the artificial intelligence company mined music catalogues without authorisation or financial compensation.

The litigation was part of a group of complaints brought by legacy music labels against Suno and fellow AI music platform Udio alleging the upstarts violated the copyrights of top artists to train their generative AI engines.

Suno will launch new models in 2026, requiring a paid account to download audio, the companies said in a press release.

Recording artists will have the right to opt in to Suno for the use of their “names, images, likenesses, voices and compositions to be used in new AI-generated music,” Suno said in an online letter to users.

“These will be new creation experiences from artists who do opt in, which will open up new revenue streams for them… and allow you to interact with them in new ways,” Suno said.

Warner’s CEO Robert Kyncl called the agreement a “landmark pact” that “benefits everyone,” according to the press release.

“With Suno rapidly scaling, both in users and monetization, we’ve seized this opportunity to shape models that expand revenue and deliver new fan experiences,” Kyncl said.

“AI becomes pro-artist when it adheres to our principles: committing to licensed models, reflecting the value of music on and off platform, and providing artists and songwriters with an opt-in.”

Lawsuits brought by music giants cited prompts to churn out AI songs mimicking copyrighted works of Chuck Berry, James Brown, Michael Buble, ABBA, and others.

The Suno announcement comes on the heels of an agreement announced last month between Udio and Universal Music Group, whose roster includes Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and other stars.

Computer and printer maker HP announced Tuesday a sweeping restructuring plan that will eliminate about 10 percent of its workforce globally as the company pivots toward artificial intelligence to boost efficiency.

According to its latest earnings report, the tech giant expects to reduce its global headcount by between 4,000 and 6,000 employees to focus on adopting AI to increase innovation and customer satisfaction.

HP’s move reflects a broader trend across the tech sector, where companies are investing heavily in AI development while using the technology to reduce operational costs.

Major tech firms including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have announced workforce reductions over the past two years, with many citing the need to reallocate resources, including jobs, toward AI initiatives.

Industry analysts say AI automation is particularly affecting roles in customer support, content moderation, data entry, and certain computer programming tasks.

HP said its AI plan aims to generate approximately $1 billion in annual savings by the end of fiscal 2028.

The company has been working to transform its business model amid changing demand patterns in the PC and printing markets.

HP CEO Enrique Lores told the Wall Street Journal that the company plans to raise the prices of its computers and work with new suppliers to help offset the higher costs of AI computing.

In its latest quarter, HP posted a profit of $795 million, compared with $906 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose 4.2 percent to $14.64 billion, topping analyst estimates with sales in PCs offsetting a decline in printer sales.

Harmonic, an artificial intelligence startup co-founded by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, has raised $120 million in new funding, valuing the company at $1.45 billion, as it tackles AI “hallucinations” — or incorrect or nonsensical answers — by improving the ability to reason.

The Series C round for the pre-revenue startup was led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from existing investors Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins. Laurene Powell Jobs’ investment firm Emerson Collective joined as a new backer.

The deal marks the company’s third major fundraising in 14 months, bringing its total capital raised to $295 million, highlighting strong investor interest in startups trying to make AI more accurate and reliable, even before they have commercial products.

Harmonic is developing what it calls “Mathematical Superintelligence” (MSI), a form of AI focused on advanced reasoning that it claims is free of hallucinations and other factual errors that plague many generative AI models.

It says its flagship model, Aristotle, trained on synthetic math proofs — computer-generated examples used to teach problem-solving — achieved a top-level performance at the International Mathematical Olympiad in July alongside Google and OpenAI, a win that CEO Tudor Achim said helped attract investor interest.

Founded in 2023, Harmonic says it can achieve this by using formal reasoning, requiring its AI to output its reasoning as computer code in the Lean4 programming language, which can be checked for correctness. The bulk of the new funding will go toward the immense computing power required for training its models, according to Achim.

By focusing on verifiable, error-free logic, Harmonic says it aims to build trust for AI in safety-critical industries like aerospace and finance, where mistakes can have severe consequences.

“The elimination of hallucinations comes directly from the fact that we require our system to output reasoning as code instead of reasoning as English,” CEO Tudor Achim said in an interview.

Harmonic currently offers its Aristotle model to the public via a free API, a tool that lets developers plug the model into their own software. The company said mathematicians and researchers have been using the tool to check complex proofs and accelerate novel discoveries. Achim said it will explore commercialization in the future.

“I think there are certain areas of software development where safety and reliability are paramount,” he said, adding there is also demand from safety-critical sectors such as automotive and aerospace.