What’s new this week (June 8-14)

There have been a lot of developments on the technology front this week. From Apple’s WWDC to GitHub’s CEO’s visit to India, here’s a list of the top events for a quick catch-up:

Apple’s WWDC 2024

On Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced a series of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) products and services at its annual WWDC developer conference. These include a new system called “Apple Intelligence.”

The highlight of the event was the keynote speech, during which Apple confirmed its partnership with OpenAI. This collaboration will bring ChatGPT technology to the new version of Siri, the voice assistant. The updated Siri will function as an AI chatbot that will be able to receive written instructions and take actions in apps based on voice messages. Siri will also be able to search emails, text messages and photos to find specific information.

Snapdeal-Bhashini deal

Online shopping company Snapdeal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bhashini, an Indian language initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The aim of the agreement is to develop services and products focused on language translation and to promote digital inclusion by supporting nine national languages.

Indian developers on GitHub

During his recent visit to India, Thomas Dohmke, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said the platform has nearly 15.5 million Indian developers on its platform, making it the second largest in the world, registering a 33% year-on-year growth ( y/y). The company estimates that by 2027, the Indian developer community using the platform will surpass the American one.

Commenting on India’s pain points, especially related to AI innovation, Dohmke mentioned two challenges. He said there is a lack of regulation where the government is still determining the impact of the technology. He also stressed the need to harmonize AI regulations across regions of the world so that everyone can enjoy the same benefits from the technology. “Clear regulations would help both buyers and sellers of artificial intelligence.” Second, Dohmke said there is not enough private capital funding for AI companies, especially compared to Silicon Valley. He also emphasized the need to increase funding for artificial intelligence research.

TCS launches IoT lab in Ohio

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday announced the launch of a new Internet of Things (IoT) engineering lab in the US. Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, the lab is designed to support rapid prototyping, experimentation and large-scale implementation of AI, Gen AI and IoT engineering solutions. This will enable TCS to help customers implement innovative solutions faster and more effectively.

HCLTech-Olympus expands cooperation

HCLTech and Olympus Corporation, a MedTech company, announced the expansion of their partnership. The goal of this collaboration is to improve health care through advanced engineering technologies.

The partnership focuses on the global development of Olympus products by leveraging HCLTech’s engineering, research and development services and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. This approach is designed to ensure the speed and scale of Olympus’ operations.

Tata Comm-World Athletics partnership

Tata Communications has signed a five-year global television deal with World Athletics, the governing body of international sports. The partnership aims to become a strategic partner of Tata Communication from 2025 to enhance its innovation and engage more audiences in World Athletics events. Tata Communications will leverage its expertise to deliver personalized quality live content to broadcasters around the world

Ashwini Vaishnaw takes over as IT Minister

This week, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge of the Ministry of Electronics and IT for another term. Apart from MeitY, the former bureaucrat was entrusted with the responsibility of two more portfolios – railways and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Moreover, Jitin Prasada has been appointed as Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology. Prasada will be replaced by Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

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