The round was led by Amazon with $50 billion, while SoftBank and NVIDIA contributed $30 billion each. Amazon's funding will start with $15 billion upfront, with $35 billion tied to future milestones, reflecting the growing investor confidence in AI as a transformative force.

Meanwhile, Google unveiled Nano Banana 2, the latest AI image generation tool in its Gemini lineup. The model accelerates image creation and editing while delivering better results, tapping into Gemini's knowledge base and real-time web data.

On the wearable tech front, Temple, a startup targeting elite athletes, raised $54 million in its first funding round, achieving a $190 million valuation. The device tracks physiological metrics that current consumer wearables miss, reflecting a growing trend of hyper-precise, data-driven performance technology.

The media landscape is shifting as well. After a multibillion-dollar bidding war, Paramount, owned by David Ellison, will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, outbidding Netflix.

Paramount's $31-per-share offer grants it complete control over studios, HBO, streaming platforms, gaming divisions, and networks like CNN, TBS, TNT, Discovery, and HGTV. Netflix will collect a $2.8 billion breakup fee, highlighting the high stakes in the evolving streaming and content wars.

In today's newsletter, we will talk about

• Rethinking one-size AI model
• NetApp making enterprises AI ready
• Women powering India's growth

Here's your trivia for today: What is the most viewed photo in the world?

Technology

Design: Nihar Apte

The race for the next leap in AI has moved beyond chatbots into arenas like courtrooms and factories. In Seattle and Las Vegas, 40 startups convened for the 2025 Amazon Web Services Generative AI Accelerator, aimed at scaling early-stage innovation into global infrastructure. Representing countries from Brazil to South Korea, they signal a shift from general-purpose AI to specialised, enterprise-grade solutions.

Key takeaways

• Startups are moving away from general-purpose AI toward specialised tools that solve narrow, high-value problems-whether legal document analysis or enterprise voice automation. Competitive advantage now lies in domain depth, proprietary data, and the ability to innovate faster.
• The next frontier is "Physical AI", i.e., robots powered by vision-language-action models that can operate in real-world environments. From factories to convenience stores, embodied AI is poised to address labour shortages and reshape how physical work is done.
• In sectors like law, finance, and banking, security and compliance are non-negotiable. Robust cloud infrastructure, data residency controls, and trusted ecosystem partners are critical to scaling AI solutions in high-stakes environments.

Interview

Artificial intelligence (AI) and GenAI have transformed how enterprises view, analyse, and use data. Amid this rapid shift, global storage technology company NetApp is accelerating innovation to meet evolving AI data needs through new products, sharper strategies, and consulting support. NetApp CPO Syam Nair and Premalakshmi PR, Area Vice President, India & Saarc, NetApp, discuss the nuances of data management in the AI era and how the company is helping enterprises to bring about the transformation.

Data in AI era

• Enterprises are focused on optimising AI ROI amid high capital expenditure, simplifying complex data pipelines, and addressing data proliferation risks. Access, integration, quality, and protection of data are emerging as core challenges in making AI truly valuable at scale.
• With GenAI driving demand for multi-modal data, enterprises need modern data architectures, intelligent data engines, and integrated pipelines. NetApp is positioning itself beyond storage-moving up the value stack to deliver data infrastructure, integration, governance, and AI-ready platforms.
• Indian enterprises are rapidly increasing AI investments, yet struggle to scale due to data quality and integration issues. NetApp's India engineering centre plays a strategic role in innovation, co-creation, and building enterprise-grade AI solutions, supported by a strong and experienced talent base.

Entrepreneurship

Women powering India's growth

India's startup narrative has focused on rapid scale and soaring valuations, but many women founders are quietly building capital-efficient, disciplined businesses. Rather than chasing hype, they are creating foundational systems that power commerce and supply chains-proving the value of sustainable growth.

News & updates

Crunch: Analysts are forecasting a record decline in the global smartphone market in 2026, as rising memory costs drive up device prices. According to the International Data Corporation, the ongoing memory shortage could shrink the global PC and smartphone markets by 11% and 13%, respectively.

Job cuts: Jack Dorsey's Block said it will cut over 4,000 jobs, nearly half its workforce, as part of an overhaul to embed AI across operations. The layoffs highlight how the AI boom is fuelling fears that technology may eliminate roles even as it boosts productivity and profits.

AI tools: AI search startup Perplexity AI has introduced "Perplexity Computer," a new system designed to bring multiple AI capabilities together into a single, task-oriented platform.