Babble Explorer - copyright 2018 @McGeeTech247 McGee.technology

This is ALPHA - there will be bugs! Data is NOT reliable. Should you really even be here?

Navigating and Browsing the Stream

   
Fetching 50 documents.
All systems functional.









1
Alipay leads China’s payments apps with tap-and-pay service amassing 100 million users

2025-04-25 21:00:13                scmp.com

Alipay, launched 20 years ago by Alibaba Group, has proved to be a revolutionary product that changed the way Chinese people make payments.

2
In China, pure EVs regain market leadership on lithium cost, battery technology

2025-04-25 20:26:54                scmp.com

Lithium prices are just one-ninth of the peak in 2022, allowing EV makers to win over new buyers in mainland China.

3
Baidu offers new AI models with enhanced features, lower cost than DeepSeek’s products

2025-04-25 19:00:09                scmp.com

The lower cost would help developers focus on creating ‘more super interesting and useful’ AI applications, Baidu CEO Robin Li says.

4
TikTok US shakes up leadership in e-commerce, policy with looming sell-or-ban deadline

2025-04-25 18:00:19                scmp.com

The changes for two executives follow a departure last month, as ByteDance seeks to safeguard business in its flagship app’s largest market.

5
The Meta Trial Shows the Dangers of Selling Out

2025-04-25 14:00:00                wired.com

Several founders of hot startups took big payouts and let Mark Zuckerberg gobble up their companies—and came to regret it.

6
Google admits depreciation costs are soaring amid furious bit barn build

2025-04-25 13:24:15                theregister.com

Still plans to invest $75B in CapEx this year as unable to meet capacity demand Google says the mega capital splurge on datacenters in recent years is putting more strain on its balance sheet due to rising depreciation costs, yet it still plans to splash $75 billion on bit barns in 2025.…

7
China said to waive retaliatory tariffs on some US chip imports in sign of trade war thaw

2025-04-25 13:15:26                scmp.com

China has waived its retaliatory 125 per cent tariffs on certain semiconductor imports from the US, according to a Caijing report.

8
AI bets underpin strong Q1 for Alphabet

2025-04-25 13:01:01                mobileworldlive.com

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai (pictured) credited the company’s full stack approach to AI for underpinning its growth during a strong Q1, as it saw gains across its major business units. The post AI bets underpin strong Q1 for Alphabet appeared first on Mobile World Live.

9
Moto sharpens Razr in latest range

2025-04-25 12:43:38                mobileworldlive.com

Lenovo-owned Motorola launched the latest version of its flip-style foldable carrying the Razr branding, alongside a series of other smartphones, earbuds and a watch, with the new batch of devices promoted as benefitting from upgraded AI features. The post Moto sharpens Razr in latest range appeared first on Mobile World Live.

10
Virgin Atlantic is piloting an OpenAI agent in to help with the 'customer journey'

2025-04-25 12:27:06                theregister.com

Hello, operator? Book me to Memphis, Tennessee Interview  For all the talk of the "agentic era" from AI vendors like OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, and just about everyone else in the space, corporate use of the technology is still tentative. Virgin Atlantic has been conducting flight tests of its website with an AI agent called Operator, and early results are promising, pointing the way toward how agents might actually be used to help customers book flights.…

11
Facebook owner Meta lays off more than 100 employees in Reality Labs

2025-04-25 12:15:12                scmp.com

The job cuts affected staff focused on creating VR experiences for Meta’s Quest headsets, and those working on hardware.

12
AI training license will allow LLM builders to pay for content they consume

2025-04-25 11:55:38                theregister.com

UK org backing it promises 'legal certainty' for devs, money for creators... but is it too late? Updated  A UK non-profit is planning to introduce a new licensing model which will allow developers of large language models to use copyrighted training data while paying the publishers it represents.…

13
Advanced digital cockpits give Chinese EVs ‘overwhelming advantage’ in Russia, vendors say

2025-04-25 11:45:56                scmp.com

With large screens and high-quality audio systems, Chinese cars are ready to run infotainment software Russian drivers favour, vendor says.

14
Europe fires up beefier booster for Ariane 6 and Vega-C

2025-04-25 11:33:13                theregister.com

Successful qualification run for P160C solid-fuel motor in South American spaceport A qualification version of the P160C solid-fuel motor was successfully tested at the European Spaceport in French Guiana on April 24, paving the way for heftier payloads on the Ariane 6 and Vega rockets.…

15
Intel’s older chips get a second life from US-China trade tensions

2025-04-25 11:15:14                scmp.com

A worsening economic outlook and tariffs between the US and China have prompted customers to fall back on cheaper, older processors.

16
Ant Group rolls out global AI hiring program

2025-04-25 11:07:12                techinasia.com

Ant Group introduced 'Plan A' during the ICLR conference to attract top AI researchers globally.

17
£136M government grant saves troubled Post Office from suboptimal IT

2025-04-25 10:51:59                theregister.com

Taxpayers foot bill to get to new platform as Fujitsu package balloons to £2.44 billion The UK's Post Office would have to cope with suboptimal IT, increased risks and costs, and reduced reporting accuracy if it didn't receive £136 million ($180 million) in government aid to keep its disastrous Horizon system running and replace it with a more modern platform.…

18
Tencent Music in talks to acquire long-form audio firm Himalaya

2025-04-25 10:40:00                techinasia.com

Himalaya's subsidiary recently raised capital eightfold, sparking speculation about a potential buyout.

19
Temu and Shein raise prices ahead of de minimis tariff exemption expiring on May 2 and urged customers to make purchases prior to April 25 to avoid 120% tariffs (CNN)

2025-04-25 10:25:00                cnn.com

CNN: Temu and Shein raise prices ahead of de minimis tariff exemption expiring on May 2 and urged customers to make purchases prior to April 25 to avoid 120% tariffs  —  New York CNN —  —  “Cheap goods” sold on Temu and Shein aren't as cheap as they were 24 hours ago.

20
Alipay’s contactless payment Tap! hits 100m users in 11 months

2025-04-25 10:17:31                techinasia.com

Alipay Tap! has reached 100 million users in just 11 months since its launch in June 2024.

21
Chinese cargo drone firm Weizhi Aviation closed pre-series A

2025-04-25 10:11:30                techinasia.com

Microavia's first drone, MacroYunxiong, weighs 1.5 tons and can carry up to 500 kilograms.

22
Google parent Alphabet’s earnings beat estimates, says AI investments boost ad sales

2025-04-25 10:10:29                scmp.com

Big Tech firms have continued to defend their aggressive AI investments, saying these were necessary to remain competitive.

23
Docs: X's data licensing and subscriptions revenue grew 32% YoY to $91M in February, ad revenue grew 4% YoY to $146M; Twitter had $4.5B in ad revenue in 2021 (Carmen Arroyo/Bloomberg)

2025-04-25 09:45:00                bloomberg.com

Carmen Arroyo / Bloomberg: Docs: X's data licensing and subscriptions revenue grew 32% YoY to $91M in February, ad revenue grew 4% YoY to $146M; Twitter had $4.5B in ad revenue in 2021  —  Elon Musk's X Holdings Corp. is evolving from a social media platform powered by mainstream advertisers to one betting …

24
Jakarta’s tariff dilemma

2025-04-25 09:30:56                techinasia.com

Trump’s tariffs are squeezing Indonesia’s local industries, while GCash parent Globe names a new CEO. Catch these stories in today’s newsletter.

25
Claims assistance firm fined for cold-calling people who put themselves on opt-out list

2025-04-25 09:29:05                theregister.com

Third-party data supplier also in hot water with Brit regulator over consent issues Britain's data privacy watchdog has slapped a fine of £90k ($120k) on a business that targeted people with intrusive marketing phone calls, despite them being registered with the official "Do Not Call" opt-out service.…

26
MTN hit by cybersecurity incident

2025-04-25 09:22:21                mobileworldlive.com

MTN Group suffered what it described as a cybersecurity incident which led to unauthorised access to some customers’ personal information, though stated its critical infrastructure was not compromised. The post MTN hit by cybersecurity incident appeared first on Mobile World Live.

27
China’s political bureau supports companies hit by US tariffs

2025-04-25 09:01:35                techinasia.com

The decision-making body aims to stabilize employment and enhance economic resilience amid ongoing trade tensions with the US

28
Nous, which plans to launch an AI training system on Solana using people's idle computing power, raised a $50M Series A, a source says at a $1B token valuation (Leo Schwartz/Fortune)

2025-04-25 09:00:58                fortune.com

Leo Schwartz / Fortune: Nous, which plans to launch an AI training system on Solana using people's idle computing power, raised a $50M Series A, a source says at a $1B token valuation  —  Training AI models requires a massive amount of computing power.  —  The crypto industry has been fighting to get a piece …

29
Auto show: German, Japan carmakers embrace Chinese AI as Tesla awaits Beijing’s nod on FSD

2025-04-25 09:00:14                scmp.com

AI models developed by Chinese tech companies, including DeepSeek and Big Tech firms, have emerged as popular choices for carmakers.

30
These are the most active investors in Korea’s startups

2025-04-25 09:00:00                techinasia.com

Which investors are writing the most checks to Korea-based startups?

31
US, India seek trade deal over tariff issues

2025-04-25 08:58:24                techinasia.com

Negotiations cover 19 categories, including ecommerce, agricultural goods, and critical minerals.

32
The Friday File: Telcos talk tariffs; Ericsson dials up India push

2025-04-25 08:34:05                mobileworldlive.com

Mobile World Live brings you our top three picks of the week as US operators Verizon and AT&T addressed tariff tensions, Ericsson planned to expand its production in India to support local 5G rollouts, and OpenAI set its sights on a Chrome acquisition. The post The Friday File: Telcos talk tariffs; Ericsson dials up India push appeared first on Mobile World Live.

33
Apple spurns China, will double India iPhone output

2025-04-25 08:31:05                mobileworldlive.com

Apple accelerated its pullback from China following a round of tariff hikes by the US, with the iPhone maker planning to assemble all smartphones for the US market in India by end-2026, the Financial Times reported. The post Apple spurns China, will double India iPhone output appeared first on Mobile World Live.

34
Samsung warns US tariffs may increase EV costs

2025-04-25 08:28:36                techinasia.com

Samsung SDI supplies batteries to major automakers like BMW, Rivian, and General Motors.

35
Sources: Tencent Music is in advanced talks to buy Chinese podcasting startup Ximalaya in a $2.4B deal (Bloomberg)

2025-04-25 08:25:00                bloomberg.com

Bloomberg: Sources: Tencent Music is in advanced talks to buy Chinese podcasting startup Ximalaya in a $2.4B deal  —  An agreement could be reached as soon as the coming weeks, the people said.  —  Talks are ongoing and no final decisions have been made, the people said.

36
Meta cuts jobs from Reality Labs division

2025-04-25 08:24:39                mobileworldlive.com

Meta laid off an undetermined number of employees from its Reality Labs division, with the culls coming across teams working in its Oculus Studios game unit and for the Supernatural VR exercise app. The post Meta cuts jobs from Reality Labs division appeared first on Mobile World Live.

37
T-Mobile US pushes 5G-Advanced nationwide, prices Starlink service

2025-04-25 08:08:53                mobileworldlive.com

T-Mobile US CEO Mike Sievert dropped several bits of news during the company’s Q1 earnings call, which included the nationwide launch of its 5G-Advanced network. The post T-Mobile US pushes 5G-Advanced nationwide, prices Starlink service appeared first on Mobile World Live.

38
Fujitsu to spin off network unit into subsidiary

2025-04-25 08:07:08                mobileworldlive.com

Fujitsu plans to spin off its network products unit, covering photonics and mobile systems, into a wholly owned subsidiary called 1Finity to streamline operations. The post Fujitsu to spin off network unit into subsidiary appeared first on Mobile World Live.

39
AT&T boosts connectivity with Helium hotspot deal

2025-04-25 07:51:21                mobileworldlive.com

AT&T teamed with Helium Network to offer decentralised high-speed data to its mobile subscribers using the latter’s user-enabled hotspots. The post AT&T boosts connectivity with Helium hotspot deal appeared first on Mobile World Live.

40
Malaysia to discuss trade deficit, non-tariff barriers with US

2025-04-25 07:40:27                techinasia.com

Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz’s visit to Washington this week.

41
Baidu CEO Robin Li says demand for text-based models like DeepSeek's is "shrinking" and claims its model had a higher propensity for "hallucinations" (Eleanor Olcott/Financial Times)

2025-04-25 07:35:03                t.co

Eleanor Olcott / Financial Times: Baidu CEO Robin Li says demand for text-based models like DeepSeek's is “shrinking” and claims its model had a higher propensity for “hallucinations”  —  Search group's chief makes rare criticism of China's generative artificial intelligence darling

42
Techie diagnosed hardware fault by checking customer's coffee

2025-04-25 07:30:08                theregister.com

Volts make jolts On Call  By the time Friday morning rolls around, starting the day with a stimulating beverage feels like a fine idea. And so does delivering a freshly brewed installment of On Call, The Register's reader-contributed column in which you share tales of tech support triumph and torture.…

43
Bukalapak injects $44m into 10 subsidiaries

2025-04-25 07:29:44                techinasia.com

The capital injection involves multiple subsidiaries, including ABC, BUI, and BUK.

44
Russian internet firm Yandex Q1 revenue up 34% to $3.71b

2025-04-25 07:22:13                techinasia.com

The revenue growth was driven by strong performance in its ecommerce and search divisions.

45
IMF: Asia eyes rate cuts to mitigate trade war effects

2025-04-25 07:18:47                techinasia.com

Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department said that the region’s inflation levels are within or below target ranges.

46
Indonesia pushes fair trade in US tariff talks

2025-04-25 07:10:33                techinasia.com

Indonesia aims to boost U.S. imports by up to $19 billion, including wheat and crude oil.

47
South Korea, US discuss trade package ahead of tariff deadline

2025-04-25 07:00:35                techinasia.com

South Korea is facing a 25% reciprocal tariff and is one of the first countries to negotiate with the US, after Japan.

48
Series SEA: Who’s investing in the region’s health startups?

2025-04-25 07:00:00                techinasia.com

We've compiled a list of investors that are pouring money into Southeast Asia’s health startups.

49
India iPhone plans delayed by China curbs, labor issues

2025-04-25 06:50:24                techinasia.com

Chinese authorities blocked a supplier from exporting key equipment to India earlier this year.

50
7-Eleven owner plans cuts as tariffs hit US consumer trust

2025-04-25 06:44:13                techinasia.com

Incoming CEO Stephen Dacus indicated that the tariffs are likely to affect consumer behavior.