As Google continues optimising costs and restructuring operations, the company has announced new layoffs in its People Operations (HR) and Cloud divisions. The move is part of a broader effort to streamline business operations while increasing investment in AI infrastructure. Google informed its People Operations division employees that it will offer a voluntary exit program to U.S.-based full-time employees starting in early March. The initiative targets mid-to-senior level employees (Level 4 and Level 5), offering a severance package of 14 weeks’ salary plus one additional week for each year of service.
The layoffs align with Google’s cost-reduction priorities, as outlined by Finance Chief Anat Ashkenazi, who recently emphasized the company’s need to redirect spending toward AI development. Google’s recent Q4 earnings report highlighted strong demand for AI products but noted capacity limitations that require strategic investments.
Cloud Division Layoffs and Relocations
In addition to HR buyouts, several teams within Google Cloud have also been affected by internal restructuring. The sales operations, customer experience, internal deal, and go-to-market teams are among those impacted. Some of these roles are being relocated to India and Mexico City as part of the company’s effort to restructure global operations. Google confirmed the cloud division cuts, stating that reorganizations are a routine part of business operations. However, the company emphasized that the largest employee presence for its cloud business remains in the U.S. and that it continues hiring for critical sales and engineering positions.
Despite these layoffs, Google Cloud remains a high-growth unit, generating a 30% revenue increase year-over-year in Q4 2024. The company continues to compete with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, leveraging AI-driven cloud solutions to expand its market share.
Google’s Strategy Moving Forward
This round of layoffs follows Google’s January announcement of workforce reductions in its Platforms and Devices unit, which includes Android, Chrome, Google Photos, Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest. The company maintains that streamlining operations is essential for long-term success as it prepares for massive AI-driven growth in the coming years. While the exact number of layoffs remains unclear, Google reassured that affected employees will receive support and opportunities to apply for other roles within the company.
Industry Reactions and Future Outlook
As tech giants continue to restructure their workforces, cost-cutting measures across major AI and cloud businesses are becoming more frequent. With companies like Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft also implementing similar workforce adjustments, the industry is shifting its focus to AI infrastructure and cloud computing dominance.
For years, Apple has positioned itself as a privacy-first company, ensuring that user data remains protected. However, with growing concerns over children’s digital safety and app access, the company is now rolling out new child safety features that aim to give parents greater control over their children’s online experiences.
Age-Sharing Feature for Safer App Experiences
Apple’s latest initiative introduces an age-sharing system, allowing parents to share their child’s age range with app developers. This feature ensures that children interact with age-appropriate content while maintaining privacy protections. Unlike direct age verification methods, which Apple has argued could compromise sensitive user information, this system will let developers access only generalised age data rather than specific birthdates. Parents will have full control over this feature, choosing whether to enable or disable age-sharing. Apple is positioning this as a middle-ground approach that balances child safety with user privacy—an issue that tech giants like Meta, Snap, and X have debated in recent years.
Revamped App Store Ratings & Content Visibility
Apple is also overhauling its App Store rating system to provide a more granular approach to age-based content restrictions. The updated system introduces a five-tier rating structure:
4+
9+
13+
16+
18+
Additionally, developers will now be required to disclose whether their apps contain user-generated content or advertisements, helping parents make informed decisions about which apps are suitable for their children. Apple has also confirmed that apps with age ratings exceeding a child’s parental settings won’t appear in recommended sections of the App Store.
Simplified Child Account Setup & Age Correction
Recognizing that setting up child accounts has often been cumbersome, Apple is introducing a new streamlined setup process for Child Accounts. This includes the ability for parents to correct their child’s age if it was mistakenly entered during setup. This small but crucial update ensures that children’s accounts align with their actual age, allowing age-based restrictions to function properly.
Industry Reactions & Next Steps
Apple’s new child safety updates come as lawmakers and tech companies debate who should be responsible for enforcing age restrictions. Meta has previously pushed for OS-level age verification, while Apple has resisted such moves, citing privacy risks. Meta spokesperson Jamie Radice, in a statement to The Verge, acknowledged Apple’s new approach but emphasized that parents should have full control over their child’s app downloads, not just age-sharing settings. Apple has yet to provide a specific launch date, but the company confirmed that these child safety enhancements will roll out later this year. As online safety becomes an increasingly important discussion, Apple’s latest move signals an effort to provide more robust digital protections for children while upholding privacy standards.
Japan has long been at the forefront of technological innovation, but its rapidly aging population and shortage of elderly care workers are pushing the country to rely on AI-driven robots for assistance. With a declining birth rate and a growing elderly population, experts believe that robots could play a key role in the future of nursing care.
Japan’s Aging Population and Caregiver Shortage
Japan faces what experts call the “2025 problem”, a situation where all baby boomers born between 1947 and 1949 will have turned 75 or older by the end of 2024. This demographic shift has led to a growing demand for nursing care services, but the country is struggling to find enough caregivers.
According to Japan’s health ministry, the number of newborns in 2024 dropped by 5% compared to the previous year, reaching a record low of 720,988. Meanwhile, the nursing sector is facing a severe labor shortage, with only one applicant for every 4.25 available jobs, a far worse ratio than Japan’s overall job market, which stands at 1.22 job seekers per position.
Although Japan has increased efforts to attract foreign workers, the total number of international caregivers in the country remains at just 57,000, accounting for less than 3% of the workforce in this sector. Given these challenges, AI and robotics are emerging as the most promising solutions to support the healthcare system.
AI Robots Enter the Nursing Sector
In response to the growing demand for caregivers, Japanese researchers are developing AI-powered robots designed to assist elderly individuals with basic daily tasks. One such innovation is AIREC, a 150-kg (330 lb) humanoid robot that can help turn patients over to prevent bedsores or change diapers.
AIREC is being developed by Professor Shigeki Sugano at Waseda University, with funding from the Japanese government. The goal is to enhance patient care while reducing the workload of human caregivers. However, Sugano notes that robots designed for direct human interaction require high levels of precision and intelligence, something that remains a challenge in robotic development.
Sugano Said, who also serves as President of the Robotics Society of Japan. “Humanoid robots are being developed the world over. But they rarely come into direct contact with humans. They just do household chores or some tasks on factory floors,”
Current Role of AI in Elderly Care
Although fully autonomous humanoid robots like AIREC are still years away from deployment, AI-powered caregiving technology is already being used in some nursing homes. Some of the most practical applications include:
Sleep monitoring sensors placed under mattresses to track sleeping patterns, reducing the need for nighttime check-ups by caregivers.
Small companion robots that engage with residents by singing songs and leading light exercises to provide emotional and mental stimulation.
Automated scheduling systems that help manage medication reminders and caregiver tasks.
Despite these advancements, many experts believe that human caregivers will always be necessary, and that AI should be seen as a support tool rather than a replacement.
Will AI Robots Be the Future of Elderly Care?
While AI-driven nursing robots hold great promise, their widespread adoption will take time. AIREC is expected to be ready for real-world use by 2030, but the initial cost is projected to be at least 10 million yen ($67,000), making it expensive for many facilities.
Some caregivers, like Takaki Ito from the Zenkoukai elderly care facility, are hopeful about the future of AI-assisted nursing but remain cautious. “If we have AI-equipped robots that can grasp each care receiver’s living conditions and personal traits, there may be a future for them to directly provide nursing care,” he said.
With Japan’s aging crisis deepening, the need for innovative solutions in the healthcare sector is greater than ever. Whether AI robots like AIREC will be the answer remains to be seen, but technology will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping the future of elderly care.
Microsoft officially launched the Copilot application for Mac OS and brought the full power of AI assistant into the Apple ecosystem. This step marked the great leap of making AI accessible across platforms so much that Mac users can now interact with Copilot with the same ease as Windows users.
Features of Copilot on macOS
Microsoft’s AI assistant has been designed for fast, intuitive, and efficient operation on MacBooks and iMacs.
These key features include:
Native macOS Support: Optimized for Apple devices, ensuring smooth usage.
AI-Enhanced Content Creation Ability: To write text, analyze pictures, and otherwise enhance productivity.
Easy Shortcut Access: Activating the tool is as simple as hitting Command + Space like Spotlight.
Dark Mode Friendly: An elegant, user-friendly interface that works in low-light settings.
Multi-device Support: It is designed to work on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, enjoying simultaneous screen mode on an iPad.
Apple ID Functionality: A seamless login with Apple credentials.
Enhanced Voice Interaction: Certainly more intelligent with voice requests and deeper reasoning abilities.
AI Capability that is Further Enhanced by Microsoft
Amid this launch, Microsoft opens “Think Deeper” from restrictions and voice interactions for really long and deep conversations with AI. Besides, upcoming file-upload functionalities will let users upload text files, PDFs, and images for AI processing.
Availability Around the World & Future Updates
The Copilot app for Mac is now available for download in selected regions, notably the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, and a global rollout is imminent. Nonetheless, Microsoft is continuously developing further AI capabilities and cross-tool compatibility enhancements, making Copilot an even more incredible tool for its users.
Are you ready to enjoy AI functioning with your Macintosh? The Copilot application is available for download in the Mac Store now.
The artificial intelligence race took a turn with OpenAI’s new revolutionizing release of GPT-4.5, the most powerful kind of model and most compute intensive to date. Designed internally as “Orion,” its newest version is an OpenAI assertion of continuing to win in an industry where the bigger the model, the better the results. So, what do these new moves mean for the general user and the AI landscape at large?
OpenAI holds on to its “big is better” philosophy, after pouring in billions scaling up infrastructure, Anthropic and DeepSeekhave continued to disrupt this modeling field by introducing cost-effective models that both go up against one another. Hence, the GTP-4.5 is not just another incremental upgrade, rather it makes a clear strategic statement of an index of OpenAI’s fighting spirit in its approach. As users get the first glimpses of the model via the exclusive $200 a month ChatGPT Pro subscription, the question now is, does OpenAI step rolling along a progressively risky thin rope against a shifting landscape?
The release continues OpenAI’s tradition of scaling AI models to enhance their performance and usability. GPT-4.5 is reportedly better at understanding user prompts than prior models, producing results that are accordingly natural and nuanced in the response. While no specific details about its weight and computer requirements have been noted, OpenAI maintains that this model minimizes the problem of hallucinations, thanks to its enhanced knowledge. Mia Glaese, who leads OpenAI’s alignment team and human data team says, “If you know more things, you don’t need to make things up,”
Competition and GPT’s Growth:
The release of GPT-4.5 follows a sequence of substantial AI developments in 2025. Competitors such as Anthropic have developed hybrid reasoning models for Claude, and Chinese researchers at DeepSeek have made remarkable achievements on very low budgets. OpenAI, however, believes strongly that bigger models mean better AI and has invested billions into building AI infrastructure to support this philosophy.
While growth is the major focus, GPT-4.5 is not considered a reasoning model in the sense of their `o’ series, as it has been stated by Sam Altman, CEO, to be the last model non-integrated with chain of thought reasoning, pointing towards a shift towards integrated and adaptive AI experiences in its next releases. He posted on social media earlier in February, “ship GPT-4.5, the model we called Orion internally, as our last non chain-of-thought model.” The researchers are also putting efforts into streamlining user interactions so ChatGPT can dynamically select the best model for a prompt without requiring the user to select the model from a dropdown.
Future of AI and the OpenAI’s Vision:
With the introduction of GPT-4.5, web search, file and image uploads, and the canvas feature all come into play, but the present course has no AI Voice Mode support. Benchmarking results are competitive in some instances with promising language performance from the system but losing out to o3-miniin assessments of certain areas of math and science, although OpenAI says that the real success of GPT-4.5 will show itself through the user experience.
At a time when competition is heating up in AI, OpenAI is still committed to widen the frontiers in unsupervised learning by data scaling, compute, and training efficiency. According to researchers like Nick Ryder, enlargement of model size does not in itself make it hard to interpret and all current methods of interpretation can still be applied to these huge AI systems. Ryder says, “Saying this is the last non-reasoning model really means we’re really striving to be in a future where all users are getting routed to the right model”. He added, “By increasing the amount of compute we use, by increasing the amount of data we use, and focusing on really efficient training methods. We push the frontier of unsupervised learning.”
This is also the extent of OpenAI’s ambition with regard to things technical, as it develops the emotional intelligence, intuition, and aesthetic preferences of the future AI, it defines an intelligent machine quite unique in productivity with impressive soft skills and cuts a little closer to the time, when AI incorporates itself in the workflow of human beings.
As OpenAI puts new AI initiatives in overdrive with models like GPT-4.5, the audience becomes even more demanding in terms of scaling versus efficiency. Whereas many industry voices are contending with optimising performance against a thinner budget, for OpenAI, this part of the race is still all about bigger and more complex models toward seeking better ability for AI to understand and respond to human nuance. Whether it will keep its place in the front or slip into the point of diminishing returns is yet to be determined.
According to The Verge, Meta has terminated approximately 20 employees for leaking confidential company information. The tech giant confirmed that the crackdown is part of its commitment to protecting sensitive data, particularly as leaks of internal meetings and upcoming product plans have increased in recent months. A Meta spokesperson stated, “We tell employees when they join the company, and we offer periodic reminders, that it is against our policies to leak internal information, no matter the intent.” The company added that additional terminations are expected as investigations continue.
The decision follows a series of news reports revealing details from Meta’s private discussions, including an all-hands meeting led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In response, the company has ramped up efforts to identify and take action against employees responsible for leaks. Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, reportedly warned staff that the company was close to identifying the culprits. Ironically, even his warning was leaked, underscoring Meta’s challenge in curbing unauthorized disclosures.
Meta’s History of Internal Leak Issues
This is not the first time Meta has cracked down on leaks. The company has faced scrutiny in the past over leaked internal documents related to privacy concerns, content moderation policies, and AI development strategies. As Meta continues to navigate growing competition and regulatory challenges, securing proprietary information has become a top priority. The recent terminations signal a stricter approach to handling internal breaches and protecting corporate secrets.
The rapid landscape of artificial intelligence in evolution has placed tech giants in an all-out war to dominate the AI-driven chatbot space. While Meta has often changed the game in digital communications, it is now aiming for a somewhat loftier challenge with an AI chatbot experience independent of its parent applications. With OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini both garnering formidable attention, Meta is ready to launch a standalone app for its Meta AI assistant, which not only extends the technology but represents a strategic initiative to carve out its position in the AI arena. As leverage continues to be exercised, will this be defined by Meta as its own paradigm shift toward realizing the future of AI engagements?
Anticipated Timeline for Launch:
Reports say that Meta is working on launching a standalone application for its AI assistant called Meta AI. The new application is expected to push Meta further into competition with AI-driven chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini. According to a report from CNBC, Meta would have the possibility of rolling out the standalone Meta AI sometime in its next quarter (April to June). As of now, Meta AI is embedded into various services within the Meta ecosystem, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and dedicated websites. A separate app would give Meta’s AI more visibility in the competitive AI chatbot space.
Paid Subscription Model and Investment in AI:
A paid membership plan is also being researched for the Meta AI, which should provide additional user capabilities for premium members. CNBC’s sources did state that they were unsure about the pricing and the exact capabilities offered to premium members. With over 700 million monthly active users already, Meta AI constituted a major component of Meta’s overall strategy in AI. Besides the chatbot application, Meta has been investing in the open source AI development space mainly through its Llama models. The company is going after OpenAI, which is beginning to shape up the AI industry.
Anticipated AI-Centric Development:
Along with all such activity, Meta is also launching its very first and distinctly elite AI developer conference called LlamaCon in late April. The goal of that intervention would be to further showcase the very latest developments in Meta’s AI technologies and assist the developer community. Such is the development in Meta that the giant promises to become one of the best in the AI industry, matching each proprietary and open-source undertaking toward the future development of AI applications. The introduction of a standalone chatbot app could neutralize all competitive strategies as Meta continues its relentless voyage into AI. Combining its massive user base with next-generation AI technology, Meta can change the very contours of the chatbot market and usher AI into seamless user interactions. Yet, in the wake of serious competition posed by occupants OpenAI and Google, the overrunning success of the app will depend on how much the app drives innovation, simplicity, and utility for the users.
For decades, Pokémon battles have been the franchise’s heart, evolving from classic turn-based showdowns to the highly competitive world of VGC (Video Game Championships). The Pokémon Company has officially announced Pokémon Champions, a game designed to bring core-series battling to a broader audience across Nintendo Switchand mobile platforms.
A Competitive Battler With Pokémon HOME Integration
Pokémon Champions was unveiled during this year’s Pokémon Presents livestream, an annual event celebrating Pokémon Day on February 27. Unlike traditional RPG Pokémon titles, this game is focused purely on competitive battles, bringing back classic turn-based mechanics alongside Mega Evolution, Terastallization, and more battle features. One of the biggest highlights is its compatibility with Pokémon HOME, allowing players to import Pokémon from past games and engage in strategic 2v2 battles, a format used in official Pokémon VGC tournaments. This move is set to unify competitive play across different Pokémon generations, providing a stable environment for players to refine their skills.
Pokémon Champions vs. Pokémon Showdown: A Shift in Competitive Play
For years, Pokémon Showdown has been the go-to platform for fans wanting to simulate competitive battles in an easy, customisable format. However, Pokémon Champions could mark the first official step toward replacing unofficial battle simulators by providing an accessible, mobile-friendly competitive game. The game’s multiplatform availability ensures that casual and hardcore players can participate without needing a dedicated console, a first-for-the-core Pokémon battle experience.
A Spiritual Successor to Pokémon Stadium?
The last major Pokémon battle-focused game was Pokémon Stadium on the Nintendo 64, a beloved title that allowed players to experience high-quality battles without the RPG elements. Pokémon Champions seems to follow in its footsteps, offering a modernized version of pure Pokémon battling with enhanced features that appeal to both longtime fans and competitive players. While no release date has been announced, the fact that Game Freak is leading development signals that this will be a major addition to the franchise. Whether it can live up to expectations as the next big step for competitive Pokémon remains to be seen, but one thing is clear—Pokémon Champions has the potential to redefine Pokémon battles for a new generation.
The monster never sleeps, never stops watching, and never lets go. It whispers in your ear the moment you wake up and follows you wherever you go. As you eventually bow your head for sleep, it lulls you into its incorporation. You welcome it instead of fearing it. You allocate your time, thoughts, emotions to it. It rewards you with an endless craving for approval and allows you to be positively shaped by it. That is no horror story; it is the social monster we birthed and have become ever so reckless in controlling.
From a simple tool for connecting friends, it has metamorphosed into something much bigger, much worse, holding innumerable puppet strings over how we think, feel, and perceive ourselves. It does not exist solely on phones; it lives in our minds. And like Frankenstein’s wretched creation, this one too has somehow freed itself from its maker’s control-and now, expects dominion over us.
An honest dictionary definition presents social media as “websites and apps that allow people to share content and connect with others.” But could that be the only limited definition? Sure, it can do so and so much more; in fact, it sees you all the time, like the all-seeing eye Orwell describes in his 1984. It sees everything you do, infers your wants, and manipulates your decisions. It controls you first before connecting you.
Where Does It Take Us in Terms of Loneliness?
How could social media, the supposed bridge among us, increase feelings of solitude? In so many different ways, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok all help people communicate, but they also sow the seeds of anxiety, cyberbullying, and aspirations that are not attainable. People pursue an illusion of happiness, like Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, online and offline, because seeing perfect lives on social media makes them feel like accepting nothing less.
Why Do We Favor Comparison?
The finding shows that social media itself induces anxiety and depression if overused. Have you ever found an occasion scrolling posts when your own life fell short? The perfect photos, fun trips, and lovely relationships we see online can solidify our perception that we are just not good enough. But is what we see on social media true? These platforms want to engage us, comparing ourselves with one another and just keep longing for more.
Can We Break Free from the Chains of Social Media?
Jeffrey Cohenin Monster Culture mentions, “The monster theory must therefore concern itself with cultural moments that always oscillate, that change and that ultimately escape.” Social media has moved from mere technology to one huge beast influencing culture.
How Do We Fight Back? But how do we fight back? Like Odysseus resisting the Sirens’ song in The Odyssey, we are not entirely powerless. He who rules is He who can be ruled. Setting limits on time spent away, following only certain things, and consciously clearing the mind from the influence of social media can help in letting go of it. Social media is a monster-a monster that we created. Will we dominate it, or will it?
The Unseen Monster, How Social Media Traps Us
You carry it everywhere with you; you reach for it without thinking; you feel out of sorts without it. Social media, once a lifestyle, is now an addiction, an invisible monster that stalks you wherever you go. It has no claws to grab you and no fangs to bite you, yet it controls you. With the smirk of an unseen devil, it forebodes evil upon your soul concerning what to see, what to feel, and what to want.
Among the wicked strain of its arsenal is the false sense of having a perfect life. While scrolling through the social media feeds, you are mesmerized with nice holidays, fancy dinners, perfect selfies, and numerous party celebrations. But has there ever been a moment of questioning:
Is there a shred of truth to it?
Most of it happened under the stage camera with the glamour aspect added to it; it keeps you asking, WHY ISN’T MY LIFE LIKE THIS? This is a success for social media: creating unrealistic expectations, leaving you feeling like you are missing out on something important, something better.
And this feeling has a name,Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), an internal stressor that keeps screaming at you that everybody else is living their best lives while you are stuck in the boring. You see a bunch of friends hanging out, and suddenly you feel left out. You see someone prospering, and that makes you question yourself. You start believing that outside social media, you are absent from the world.
But here’s the truth, Social media only reveals the highlights, not the whole truth. It hid the down moments, loneliness, and times of questioning. The few that seem to be very happy online may not feel that way in reality. But the monster wants you to perpetually chase the illusion, perpetually compare, with the eternal scrolling, for something that isn’t even the Word.
But the real question is: Will you allow social media to be the yardstick for your happiness, or will you attain freedom from its bondage?
Orwell’s dystopian world is ruled by constant surveillance, just like social media, which tracks and manipulates our thoughts, actions, and desires.
“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” Privacy is an illusion online. Even what we delete is never truly erased, much like Winston’s realization that his own thoughts could betray him.
Victor Frankenstein lost control of his creation, just as we have lost control over social media, which now dictates our lives instead of serving us.
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” Social media spreads information—true or false—without fear, influencing opinions and fueling trends that shape society.
Like Gatsby chasing an impossible dream, people on social media compare themselves to unrealistic online portrayals, believing in an illusion of happiness.
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness.” Online drama spreads easily, and people move on quickly, forgetting the real damage done to others.
“What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
Dorian Gray’s portrait hides his true self, just as people curate a perfect online presence while struggling in reality.
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” Likes, followers, and shares have become more valuable than genuine relationships and personal happiness.
Check out this infographic prepared by our Graphics team learn more about just how distracting social media can be.
The ROI of Social Media Marketing – A deep dive into how social media impacts brand growth, engagement, and customer retention. Stay ahead with the latest trends!
Data storage is not so limited and is not only found in clouds, rather it goes beyond Earth’s atmosphere. This bold step takes the form of a collaboration between Lonestar andPhison to launch the first ever lunar data center. With cyber threats, climate risks, and AI-driven data demand soaring, of course, the race toward safeguarding the most prized human asset, information, has officially gone planetary.
The move to achieve data storage and resilience has now become more pronounced for Lonestar, along with Phison in rolling out a data center infrastructure aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket destined to the moon. The flight, which took place on Wednesday, will pave the way for developing a data storage site on the moon, a phenomenon mentored into changing the way humankind guards its dearest digital artifacts. The mission carries Phison’s PASCARI storage such as solid state drives engineered for data centers, all packed in Lonestar clients’ data. An initial lunar data center, landing on March 4, and then scaling to an eventual total capacity of a petabyte.
Future of a Space Storage Vision:
Chris Stott, Founder, Chair, and CEO of Lonestar, said that he has had this idea of an off-Earth data center since 2018. It has been since before any possible AI forwards has beaten up all the new demands on data storage about the development to house critical information outside the planet’s vulnerabilities took form. Stott said, “Humanity’s most precious item, outside of us, is data. They see data as the new oil. I’d say it’s more precious than that”.
Phison seemed a natural choice for partnership, as they were engaged in space missions already such as, its storage solutions powering NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars where Phison loaned its knowledge in designing customized SSDs for extreme conditions in space. Imagine Plus service customized the needed hardware according to Lonestar’s requirements. Michael Wu, the General Manager and President of Phison said, “We were very excited when there’s a call from Chris. We took a standard product and were able to customize whatever they need for these products and we launched it. So it’s a very exciting journey”.
Since their partnership in 2021, Lonestar and Phison took turns testing their technology rigorously to support it reliably before launch. Apparently, the SSDs needed to have high endurance for space. Stott said, “[This is] why SSDs are so important. No moving parts. It’s remarkable technology that’s allowing us to do what we’re doing for these governments and hopefully almost every government in the world as we go forward and almost every company and corporation”.
Growing Industry:
The tech has been ready for launch since 2023, with a successful test flight carried out in early 2024. Wednesday’s mission involved sending data from several governments concentrating on disaster recovery and a space agency testing a large language model. Even Imagine Dragons sent along a music video for the soundtrack from the Starfield space game!
Within this segment of companies wanting space data centers, Lonestar finds itself not alone. Starcloud, a Y Combinator Summer 2024 startup, was previously named Lumen Orbit, after closing over $21 million in funding. More companies will start looking at space solutions for massive storage and unlimited solar energy, which terrestrial data centers cannot compete with, as we know, in the time of ramping AI hardware demand.
Expansion Plans:
Presuming that everything goes as planned, it is anticipated that Lonestar will work alongside satellite producer Sidus Space to create a fleet of six dedicated data storage spacecraft with the launches scheduled for 2027 to 2030. Stott said, “It’s fascinating to see the level of professionalism, it is tremendous. This isn’t 60 years ago with the Apollo program. Apollo flight computers, they had 2 kilobytes of RAM and they had 36 kilobytes of storage. Here we are on this mission, flying 1 Gigabyte of RAM and 8 terabytes of storage with Phison Pascari. It’s tremendous”.
For reshaping the digital experience through artificial intelligence and cloud computing, secure and scalable data storage is now more urgent than ever. With Lonestar and Phison at the helm, the phrase becomes more than just stargazing, it becomes reality with space based data centers. Should such a mission succeed, it would herald a new age in which data resilience is no longer bound by Earth’s limitations. So, with many more launches forthcoming and increasing competition in the air, the future of space based infrastructure is about to take off.
Metahas long been chasing dominance in the short-form video space. From acquiring Instagram to launching Lasso in 2018—a failed attempt to rival TikTok—the company has explored multiple ways to keep users engaged. Now, sources suggest Instagram is considering turning Reels into a standalone app, signalling a renewed push to capture the short-video market. Unlike its past experiments, the landscape is shifting in Meta’s favour this time. With TikTok’s uncertain regulatory status in the U.S., Meta sees a potential opportunity to attract users looking for alternatives. While Reels is integrated into Instagram, a dedicated app would allow for deeper monetisation, better content discovery, and an experience tailored exclusively to short-form video creators.
Meta has already shown interest in expanding its video ecosystem. In January, the company launched Edits, a video-editing app designed to compete with CapCut, the tool owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance. A separate Reels app could follow a similar strategy—offering users an independent space for content creation and engagement while still being linked to Instagram’s massive audience. While Meta has not officially confirmed the move, the company has consistently adapted its products based on shifting user behaviour and competitor threats. Whether this is a preemptive strike against TikTok’s dominance or a new approach to boosting Instagram’s engagement, separating Reels could mark a significant shift in the short-video industry.
Baidu has long been a dominant player in China’s artificial intelligence landscape. In 2016, it pioneered AI-driven innovations like Baidu Brain and launched Ernie, a ChatGPT-style chatbot, in 2023. However, as AI competition heats up, Baidu is shifting gears to stay ahead. The company is preparing to launch its upgraded AI model, Ernie 4.5, in mid-March. This model will introduce improved reasoning and multimodal capabilities to more effectively process text, images, video, and audio.
Baidu had previously announced that it would gradually roll out the Ernie 4.5 series over the coming months, with a fully open-source release planned for 30 June. This represents a significant shift in the company’s approach. CEO Robin Li, who once believed in keeping AI models closed-source, has recently acknowledged that growing competition from the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek influenced Baidu’s decision to adopt open-source development.
Despite Baidu’s early entry into the AI chatbot arena, Ernie has struggled to secure mass adoption. DeepSeek, which has launched affordable AI models comparable to leading Western competitors, has further compelled Baidu to reassess its AI strategy. With the impending launch of Ernie 4.5, Baidu is making a clear statement—it is prepared to adapt and compete with both domestic challengers and AI leaders such as OpenAI and Google.
The AI race in China is intensifying, particularly after Alibaba recently announced that its video and image-generating AI model, Wan 2.1, would also be open-source. Baidu’s latest move suggests that the future of AI development in China may favour greater transparency and collaboration, a trend that could reshape the industry. As the official launch of Ernie 4.5 approaches in mid-March, the coming months will be crucial in determining whether Baidu’s strategic shift will enable it to strengthen its position in the AI landscape. Read More: After R1’s Success, DeepSeek Fast-Tracks Launch of New AI Model R2
