India has once again pushed back a contentious plan to limit big technology companies’ control of the nation’s digital payments system, extending a regulatory uncertainty that has weighed on the sector for years. The National Payments Corporation of India said on Tuesday it would extend the deadline for implementing a 30% cap on any individual […]
India again delays rules to break PhonePe-Google Pay duopoly Read More »
India’s payments regulator is set to decide as early as Monday whether to curb the dominance of Walmart’s PhonePe and Google in the nation’s fast-growing mobile payments market, a move that could reshape how its billion-plus population moves money. The decision centers on UPI, or Unified Payments Interface, a network backed by more than 50
India’s mobile payments dilemma | TechCrunch Read More »
CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly told Google employees that 2025 will be a “critical” year for the company. CNBC reports that it obtained audio from a December 18 strategy meeting where Pichai and other executives put on ugly holiday sweaters and laid out their priorities for the coming year. “I think 2025 will be critical,” Pichai
Google CEO says AI model Gemini will the company’s ‘biggest focus’ in 2025 Read More »
David Krane is in an enviable position. As the CEO of GV, the venture firm that is funded entirely by Google to the tune of $1 billion a year, his team of roughly 100 gets to make a lot of bets — with just a couple of notable restrictions. During a TechCrunch StrictlyVC event in
GV, the VC team backed by Google, has a broad remit, but it can’t do one thing Read More »
Contractors working to improve Google’s Gemini AI are comparing its answers against outputs produced by Anthropic’s competitor model Claude, according to internal correspondence seen by TechCrunch. Google would not say, when reached by TechCrunch for comment, if it had obtained permission for its use of Claude in testing against Gemini. As tech companies race to
Google is using Anthropic’s Claude to improve its Gemini AI Read More »
A Wired investigation found that Google Maps can be near impossible to use in the West Bank, especially since the start of the war. Users told the publication that the navigation app would direct them into walls, fail to account for time-consuming checkpoints, or steer them onto restricted roads leading to Israeli settlements, which can
An investigation finds that Google Maps fails users in the West Bank Read More »
Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re looking at OpenAI’s last — and biggest — announcement from its “12 Days of OpenAI” event; Apple’s potential entrance into the foldable market; and why Databricks is choosing to wait to go public. Let’s get into it. P.S. We’re off for the holidays! Week in Review
OpenAI announces new o3 model — but you can’t use it yet Read More »
Google has offered up its own proposal in a recent antitrust case that saw the US Department of Justice argue that Google must sell its Chrome browser. US District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google had acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search, with the DOJ then proposing a number
Google pushes back against DOJ’s ‘interventionist’ remedies in antitrust case Read More »
A lot of YouTube videos have flashy, misleading titles and thumbnails, such as “BREAKING NEWS” or “The president steps down,” to bait the user into watching the video, which has non-related content. YouTube said Wednesday that it is now cracking down on such videos — especially if videos with topics breaking news or current events
YouTube says it will start cracking down on videos with clickbait titles in India Read More »
A U.S. court ruled in August that Google has a search monopoly, and while Google appeals, the Justice Department is figuring out what kind of potential penalties to impose — like breaking off Chrome. As part of this process, the DOJ wants to call on a specific witness, according to a recent court filing: Dmitry
The DOJ wants a Perplexity executive to testify in its Google antitrust case Read More »
