News Archive
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Days with a blue dot have stories.
- 01 of 10EDUCATION
IIT Madras releases open AI models for Indian classrooms
IIT Madras and AI4Bharat have released the Bodhan family of open-weight models for Indian languages. They are offered as digital public goods, so schools and developers can build learning tools in the languages pupils actually speak.
OUR TAKEA model that speaks twelve Indian languages before breakfast. Most of us struggle with one.
Read more → - 02 of 10HEALTH
China approves first drug discovered with AI
China's medicines regulator has approved Mprosevir, the first Class 1 innovative drug developed with the help of AI. The COVID-19 treatment went from lab bench to approval in three and a half years, roughly half the usual time.
OUR TAKEThree and a half years to approval. The paperwork alone usually takes longer.
Read more → - 03 of 10INDUSTRY
Korea's biggest tech firms team up on AI for All
SK Telecom, KT and Kakao have launched a joint AI for All project in Seoul, with chipmaker FuriosaAI and model builder Upstage on board. The plan is to pool resources and speed up Korea's homegrown AI sector.
OUR TAKERivals sharing a stage and a budget. Wonders never cease.
Read more → - 04 of 10STARTUPS
Ugandan startup wins $50,000 to help farmers borrow
Uganda's SANDI AI Technologies has taken the Grand Prize at the GoGettaz Agripreneur competition. Its software reads farm data to show lenders that smallholders are a good bet.
OUR TAKETurning a maize field into a credit score. Rather clever.
Read more → - 05 of 10BUSINESS
Sony and Saudi Aramco join hands on industrial AI
Sony's semiconductor arm has signed a deal with a Saudi Aramco subsidiary in Japan. The two will work on putting AI into industrial processes and finding new uses for chip technology.
OUR TAKECameras meet crude oil. An unlikely pairing, but then so was pineapple on pizza.
Read more → - 06 of 10POLICY
Vietnam wants to be ASEAN's AI hub by 2030
Vietnam has set out plans to become the region's leading AI hub by 2030. The government wants AI to add 6 per cent to GDP and generate 5 billion dollars a year in service exports.
OUR TAKEA five billion dollar New Year's resolution. Good luck to them.
Read more → - 07 of 10BUSINESS
Brazil and Arab states look to AI for closer trade ties
Speakers at the 5th Brazil and Arab Countries Economic Forum called for wider use of AI to bridge language and distance. A proposed roadmap would use the technology to strengthen trade between the two blocs.
OUR TAKEEight time zones and two alphabets. A translator that never sleeps may help.
Read more → - 08 of 10TECHNOLOGY
Malaysia eyes Huawei chips for 2 billion ringgit cloud plan
Malaysia is weighing Huawei's Ascend chips for a 2 billion ringgit sovereign cloud project. The choice would mark a notable turn in the region's technology shopping habits.
OUR TAKEShopping for chips with geopolitics in the trolley. Awkward checkout ahead.
Read more → - 09 of 10POLICY
Singapore borrows EU rulebook to keep chatbots in line
Singapore's regulators are studying the European Union's new online safety rules as a model for dealing with harmful chatbots. The aim is to protect users while keeping the city state friendly to new business.
OUR TAKECopying Brussels' homework. At least they asked first.
Read more → - 10 of 10RESEARCH
GPT-6 Astra passes Korea's fearsome college entrance exam
OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra scored highly on the 2026 Korean College Scholastic Ability Test. The system reused its earlier reasoning to tackle the exam's trickier questions, a habit most students take years to learn.
OUR TAKEIt passed the Suneung. Somewhere in Seoul, a crammer just lost a customer.
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