AI SALES AGENTS
Jensen Huang's affair with alleged Chinese spy allowed $7 billion+ Nvidia chip sales to China: Report
The US government has reportedly identified Alice Huang as an intelligence asset working for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). However, there is no evidence that could prove Jensen Huang knowingly helped her or was aware of her alleged links to the government.
China's Singles Day shopping festival puts AI selling power to the test
If you are looking for evidence of how enthusiastically China is adopting AI, look no further than the country's premier month-long Singles Day shopping festival.
Rippling steps up AI hiring in India, looks to expand enterprise push
The firm is hiring principal engineers, senior staff engineers and senior directors among others as the lab focuses on developing core components of Rippling’s global AI platform, Parandekar told ET in an exclusive interaction.
Google agrees to addition privacy protections in Spirit Airlines data sale
The agreement clears the way next week for approval of Google's $10 million deal to acquire Spirit data to train AI models. The union said it had won a more rigorous de-identification process than previously planned and added significant employee data will be excluded from the sale, including health and medical information.
What we know - and what we don't - as Nvidia investigates an alleged spy plot involving its CEO
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's admission of an extramarital affair has triggered a board investigation following allegations that the woman involved was a Chinese intelligence operative. While China has dismissed the claims, the controversy has raised national security concerns, prompted an FBI inquiry and renewed questions over US chip export controls to China.
UPI sees Diwali boom; AI cracks Captcha
Diwali spending fuelled a surge in UPI transactions, with both payment volumes and values rising. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
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Anthropic eyes $1.4 trillion valuation in blockbuster IPO, targets up to $90.4 billion in fundraising
Anthropic is targeting a fully diluted $1.4 trillion valuation through its proposed IPO, seeking up to $64.35 billion. Combined with a $26 billion private placement, fundraising could reach $90.4 billion amid rising infrastructure costs and competition.
Israeli AI security startup Bay raises $50 million
Bay says it addresses a primary barrier to AI adoption by "allowing autonomous agents to perform business-critical work safely while enterprises retain control and accountability at scale".
How intelligent commerce is shaping the next frontier of merchant payments
For a decade, the task in India’s merchant payments was to get every shop and website to accept digital money. The value, leaders argued, at GFF 2026, is now moving to identity, risk, credit and growth, and to preparing the checkout for AI agents that may soon shop on consumers’ behalf.
The next problem to solve: When money arrives, what can merchants do in the meantime?
At GFF 2026, PRISM founder Ritesh Agarwal and Adyen’s Chief Commercial Officer Roelant Prins discussed why, for merchants such as small hotel owners, how quickly money arrives now matters as much as whether a payment is accepted, and why AI is changing back offices faster than it is changing how people buy.
Nvidia's 700,000% return faces a succession test amid Huang's China spy affair
Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang maintains a unique office structure that reflects his hands-on management style. With around 60 direct reports, he closely oversees company operations and decisions, even involving himself in employee compensation. Amid recent controversy over personal allegations, questions about Nvidia’s leadership succession have emerged. Huang, who co-founded the company, hopes a suitable successor will arise from within its ranks.
BPO jobs on a seesaw as bots call the shots
Voice AI is driving call centres even as hiring grows, but the shift towards complex tasks leaves freshers scrambling for a new career ladder.
Linguistic barriers & legacy tech slow India’s VoiceAI shift
India’s broader conversational artificial intelligence market, spanning voice and text-based applications, is estimated at $500-550 million and has an addressable opportunity of about $4 billion over the next decade, growing at 23-25% annually, Deloitte India estimates.
Delhi HC orders removal of AI-generated videos targeting Rekha Gupta, says political satire cannot trample on dignity
Delhi High Court ruled for the removal of defamatory AI-generated videos and images aimed at Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The court emphasized that political satire should not undermine an individual's dignity or character. Gupta filed a suit against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for spreading content that portrayed her in a degrading manner. The impugned media allegedly depicted her engaged in inappropriate activities related to liquor.
Is Cathie Wood betting on the next stage of the AI boom amid Wall Street’s tech stock crash, buying SpaceX and Nvidia while selling $120 million in Broadcom stock?
Cathie Wood is buying AI stocks while Wall Street is selling them. ARK Invest purchased nearly $49 million in SpaceX and $46 million in Nvidia after Thursday’s tech sell-off wiped out more than $3 trillion in US market value. But it sold $119.7 million in Broadcom and $20 million in CoreWeave. The contrasting trades raise questions about Wood’s AI strategy.
China blocks SoftBank's $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB Robotics
China has blocked SoftBank’s $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB’s robotics business, disrupting the Japanese group’s AI-powered robotics expansion. The intervention highlights Beijing’s growing scrutiny of cross-border deals involving strategically important technologies.
OpenAI, ready to IPO in 2027, now counts majority of sales from enterprises, Greg Brockman says
OpenAI President Greg Brockman said on Wednesday the company now generates the majority of its revenue from enterprise sales and he believes it will be ready to go public in 2027.
AI shopping agents could threaten Amazon and Walmart's ad business
Retail powerhouses Walmart and Amazon are also the world's two largest retail media businesses, dominating the estimated $74.4 billion in US retail media spending with a combined 88% share of that market, according to projections from data firm Emarketer. But digital assistants could soon disrupt that business.
AI sales startup Nooks secures $500 million in funding for expansion
Unlike traditional investors that buy a stake in a company, General Catalyst's commitment involves taking a share of the returns its capital helps generate, Nooks CEO Dan Lee said. He declined to give details on the terms of the deal.
Freshworks crosses $1 billion ARR as enterprise push lifts growth
Revenue for the July-September quarter rose to $245.4 million from $215.1 million a year earlier. Net profit stood at $18.3 million, compared with a loss of $4.7 million in the year-ago period. Its non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 29.8% from 21% a year earlier, while adjusted free cash flow increased 29% to $73.9 million.
Apple Q4 results beat estimates as iPhone 18 Pro demand, price hikes offset rising chip costs
Apple reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue of $114.48 billion and earnings of $2.10 per share, driven by strong iPhone 18 Pro demand and Mac sales. Higher product prices helped offset rising memory-chip costs. The company is also expanding its AI offerings, while addressing supply constraints affecting its first foldable iPhone.
AI on the clock as fintechs demand payoff for spends
September-quarter earnings calls of Paytm, Pine Labs, Groww, PB Fintech, Kissht and Mobikwik reveal a shift across payments, stockbroking, lending and insurance. AI is moving beyond chatbots and experiments into decisions affecting the cost of acquiring, serving and retaining customers.
SaaS firm Capillary’s AI platform drives new customer wins, revenue grows 51%
Capillary’s aiRA (AI-powered Research Assistant) is an AI agent for enterprise brands that helps connect customer data across platforms and identifies opportunities to acquire, convert, retain and reactivate customers. It also executes campaigns through existing marketing tools, with human approval. It works with data from platforms such as Salesforce, Snowflake, Databricks, Google Ads and Meta, according to the investor presentation.
Marvell to buy Lumentum in $115 billion deal in AI data-center bet
Marvell Technology is poised to acquire Lumentum in a groundbreaking all-stock transaction worth $115 billion. This strategic acquisition is intended to position Marvell more competitively against Broadcom in the rapidly growing AI sector. With this expansion, Marvell anticipates boosting its optical components production to satisfy the escalating demand in data transfer spurred by AI innovations in data centers.
Apple's new CEO John Ternus to face first earnings test as memory costs surge
Ternus, who took the reins from Tim Cook in September, has overseen the introduction of Apple's first foldable phone, smart home hub and Apple's first touch-screen laptops. All of those products began shipping during the company's current fiscal first quarter, amid what Cook had called a "100-year flood" of rising memory costs.
Fintechs fortify cyber defences; Logistics cos in the speed lane
Happy Monday! Fintechs are stepping up security as AI-powered cyberattacks become more sophisticated. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
When my AI bargains with your AI: The next great bazaar may be where our agents haggle for milliseconds
AI agents are evolving from simple task execution to negotiating on behalf of users in commerce. These agents can analyze data efficiently, enabling faster negotiations and potentially better deals. Businesses are already preparing for AI-to-AI negotiations, which may reshape the landscape of commerce. While this could benefit consumers, it may also create disparities based on the sophistication of agents.
Odoo 20 strengthens business operations with deeper India-specific compliance features
Odoo 20 has launched several updates designed specifically for Indian businesses. These updates focus on enhancing GST compliance, payroll processing, and accounting workflows to meet local demands. The integration of AI facilitates improved data handling and analysis in everyday operations, ultimately boosting productivity.
Cognizant sets up OpenAI Frontier Capability Group to help enterprises deploy AI at scale
Cognizant said it is scaling OpenAI across its own sales and customer success operations first, so clients can benefit from approaches tested at enterprise level.
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