Vishwadeep Khatri

Elon Musk refuted a CNBC report stating that xAI is currently raising capital. The report suggested a $10 billion raise at a $200 billion valuation to fund data centers and talent acquisition. Musk clarified on X that xAI is not engaged in any fundraising activities at this time, despite the company's efforts to expand its AI infrastructure. View the full article

Currently available in the US, Gemini can clarify user queries on any webpage and even across multiple tabs on Mac, Windows desktop, and Android devices. The company said the feature will also be available to businesses in the coming weeks through Google Workspace, and added that Gemini will soon be built into iOS. View the full article

Huawei said in a publication on a company WeChat account late on Thursday that it used 1,000 of its Ascend AI chips to train the large-language model, which was tweaked from DeepSeek's open-source model R1. View the full article

Any setback in earnings from mega tech firms may spark a selloff given their stretched valuations, as seen during the meltdown in April, according to Kerry Craig, a global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. View the full article

Google has selected 20 AI startups in India for its accelerator program, focusing on healthcare, finance, climate, and education. These companies are developing agentic, multimodal, and foundational AI models. Google will provide support through Google Cloud infrastructure, Gemini models, technical mentorship, and go-to-market strategies, aligning with IndiaAI Mission's startup pillar. View the full article

Epsilon highlights a shift in marketing from broad campaigns to hyper-personalized 'micro moments' driven by AI. This involves using data and AI to deliver timely, relevant offers, exemplified by an auto insurer case study where AI-driven lead prioritization lowered costs and increased policy inquiries. Contributed by Pratik Nath, Managing Director, Epsilon India. View the full article

Keshav Murugesh, chief executive at business process management firm WNS said the leadership alignment and strategic planning between the two firms have already begun. We’ve started early discussions, and the vision is very clear, to create one of the most comprehensive offerings across tech and operations globally, he said. View the full article

The Department of Energy, or DOE, is requesting information from stakeholders including utilities and regional transmission managers on near-term investment opportunities, readiness of projects, expectations on growth in power demand, and constraints that it says it can address. View the full article

Q 807. In Business Excellence, processes evolve constantly through continuous improvement initiatives, customer feedback, or regulatory changes. But many AI solutions risk becoming outdated if they aren’t designed to adapt. Think of a process in your domain that changes frequently. How would you design an AI agent to stay aligned with those changes — without needing to be rebuilt from scratch each time? The best answer will be selected on the basis of: Relevance of the chosen process Practicality of the adaptation approach Insight into balancing stability with flexibility Note for website visitors - This platform hosts two weekly questions, one on Monday and the other on Thursday. All previous questions can be found here: https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/lean-six-sigma-business-excellence-questions/. To participate in the current question, please visit the forum homepage at https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/. The question will be open until Monday or Thursday at 5 PM Indian Standard Time, depending on the launch day. Responses will not be visible until they are reviewed, and only non-plagiarised answers with less than 5-10% plagiarism will be considered for winner selection. If you are unsure about plagiarism, please check your answer using a plagiarism checker tool such as https://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/ before submitting. All correct answers shall be published, and the top-rated answer will be displayed first. The author will receive an honourable mention in our Business Excellence dictionary at https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/business-excellence-dictionary-glossary/ along with the related term. Some people seem to be using AI platforms to find forum answers. This is a risky approach as AI responses are error-prone because our questions are application-oriented (they are never straightforward). Have a look at this funny example - https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/topic/39458-using-ai-to-respond-to-forum-questions/ We also use an AI content detector at https://quillbot.com/ai-content-detector. Only answers with less than 45-50% AI-generated content will be considered for winner selection.

Q 807. In Business Excellence, processes evolve constantly through continuous improvement initiatives, customer feedback, or regulatory changes. But many AI solutions risk becoming outdated if they aren’t designed to adapt. Think of a process in your domain that changes frequently. How would you design an AI agent to stay aligned with those changes — without needing to be rebuilt from scratch each time? The best answer will be selected on the basis of: Relevance of the chosen process Practicality of the adaptation approach Insight into balancing stability with flexibility Note for website visitors - This platform hosts two weekly questions, one on Monday and the other on Thursday. All previous questions can be found here: https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/lean-six-sigma-business-excellence-questions/. To participate in the current question, please visit the forum homepage at https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/. The question will be open until Monday or Thursday at 5 PM Indian Standard Time, depending on the launch day. Responses will not be visible until they are reviewed, and only non-plagiarised answers with less than 5-10% plagiarism will be considered for winner selection. If you are unsure about plagiarism, please check your answer using a plagiarism checker tool such as https://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/ before submitting. All correct answers shall be published, and the top-rated answer will be displayed first. The author will receive an honourable mention in our Business Excellence dictionary at https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/business-excellence-dictionary-glossary/ along with the related term. Some people seem to be using AI platforms to find forum answers. This is a risky approach as AI responses are error-prone because our questions are application-oriented (they are never straightforward). Have a look at this funny example - https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/topic/39458-using-ai-to-respond-to-forum-questions/ We also use an AI content detector at https://quillbot.com/ai-content-detector. Only answers with less than 45-50% AI-generated content will be considered for winner selection.

Chinese AI firm DeepSeek revealed its R1 model was trained for just $294,000 using 512 Nvidia H800 chips, far below US rivals’ costs. The disclosure revives debates on China’s AI progress, export restrictions, and transparency, with skepticism over DeepSeek’s true access to banned Nvidia hardware. View the full article

Congratulations to Monica Salunkhe, whose detailed concept of an AI-powered LMS Coach stood out as the winning entry. Her approach combined micro-learning, contextual guidance, reflection prompts, and privacy safeguards to create a truly supportive and innovative coaching model. Close runner-ups include Nehal Soni, who proposed an adaptive training and stress-reduction framework for banking call centres, and Rohan Modak, who showed how AI could serve as an empathetic companion for new associates in healthcare BPO. Sarveshvar and Kanak RoyChowdhury also offered practical use cases from contact centres and healthcare onboarding, adding valuable perspectives.

Albania appointed the world’s first AI government minister, “Diella,” to oversee public tenders transparently and curb corruption. Addressing parliament, Diella defended its role as supportive, not a replacement for humans, amid opposition criticism of unconstitutionality. View the full article

A Morgan Stanley report highlights AI's transformative potential, affecting 90% of occupations and potentially adding $13-$16 trillion to the S&P 500's market cap. Agentic and embodied AI could generate significant annual benefits. While some jobs may be automated, AI is expected to create new roles and drive demand for re-skilling, particularly in consumer staples, real estate, and transportation. View the full article

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the advanced AI model Gemini 2.5 Deep Think earned a gold-medal level performance at the 2025 ICPC World Finals, a top university programming contest. The model solved 10 of 12 problems, including one no human team could crack during the event. View the full article

Google and PayPal have formed a multi-year strategic partnership to develop AI-driven shopping and payment experiences. PayPal’s shares rose over 3% in late afternoon trading following the announcement. The digital payments company's solutions, including PayPal-branded checkout, Hyperwallet and Payouts solutions, will now be integrated into a range of Google products. View the full article

Huawei announced its plans to release four new Ascend AI chips over the next three years, signaling its ambition to compete with Nvidia in the AI chip market. The Ascend 950 chip will feature Huawei's proprietary high-bandwidth memory, overcoming a key technological challenge for China. View the full article

Meta Platforms has introduced its first consumer-ready smart glasses, Meta Ray-Ban Display, featuring a built-in display. Priced at $799, these glasses aim to integrate AI capabilities, enhancing communication and memory. Alongside, Meta unveiled Oakley-branded glasses for athletes and updated its Ray-Ban line, expanding its presence in the AI-driven wearable technology market. View the full article

The summit, scheduled to be hosted by India in February, is the fourth annual gathering of global leaders on the technology. Reducing the global divide in AI, therefore, would be a key priority, as would the risks associated with an expanding application remit for AI, officials said. View the full article

Reliance Jio, Meta, and Amazon are bringing AI-powered AR glasses to India, reviving privacy and surveillance debates reminiscent of Google Glass. While laws like the DPDP Act remain ambiguous, risks of worker surveillance and unchecked data use loom large. View the full article

Among these VC firms that have come up in the last two years are Boundless Ventures, founded by former Kae Capital investor Natasha Malpani, SenseAI Ventures, started by former senior executive at American financial technology company FIS, and Wyser, set up by two former senior tech executives, Satyakam Mohanty and Supria Dhanda. View the full article

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government spearheaded the legislation saying it establishes human-centric, transparent and safe AI use as core principles while emphasising innovation, cybersecurity and privacy protections. View the full article

Workday announced plans to acquire AI firm Sana for about $1.1 billion. The deal underscores Workday’s push to embed generative AI into its enterprise platforms. View the full article

Building foundational AI models demands massive investment, a challenge for Indian startups. While unable to compete with US giants like OpenAI and Anthropic in funding, Indian firms are innovating. They are focusing on creating Indic language models at significantly lower costs, leveraging India's resourcefulness and ingenuity. View the full article

Winning with AI: A fortnightly column on the tips and tricks that will help propel you ahead in the AI race View the full article