NerdNews

QpiAI, an Indian startup, has raised $32 million to develop utility-scale quantum computers. The company aims to expand its presence globally and develop a 100-logical qubit system by 2030. QpiAI integrates AI and quantum computing for enterprise use cases, including manufacturing, finance, and materials science.

Researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic are speaking out against xAI's safety culture, calling it 'reckless' and 'completely irresponsible'. The criticism follows incidents of xAI's chatbot Grok spouting antisemitic comments and consulting Elon Musk's personal politics. Researchers are calling for increased attention to xAI's safety practices, which they claim are at odds with industry norms.

Google is rolling out an AI-powered business-calling feature to all users in the US, allowing users to collect information about local businesses without having to call them directly. The feature uses AI to call businesses and provide information about availability and pricing. Additionally, Google is enhancing its AI Mode with the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, which excels at advanced reasoning, math, and coding questions, and introducing a 'Deep Search' feature that can conduct hundreds of searches to create a comprehensive report.

Google has introduced a new feature that allows its AI to make phone calls on behalf of users. The feature, available in Search, enables users to have AI check pricing or availability information at local businesses without having to talk on the phone. The AI, powered by Gemini, will announce itself as an AI from Google and provide updates over text.

Mark Zuckerberg has hired two more researchers, Jason Wei and Hyung Won Chung, from OpenAI, as part of his efforts to strengthen Meta's AI capabilities. This move is seen as a significant blow to OpenAI, which has been losing top talent to Meta. Wei and Chung worked on OpenAI's o3 and deep research models, and their departure is expected to impact OpenAI's research efforts.

Google is expanding its AI Mode with extra features for search, including the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, Deep Search capability, and AI-powered phone calls. These features will be available to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers, and are part of the company's goal to make AI Mode the primary form of engagement with its search service.

Google is rolling out AI-generated summaries to its Discover feature, providing users with concise summaries of trending topics. The feature, which is currently available to some Android and iOS users in the US, aims to make it easier for users to decide which articles to read. However, publishers have expressed concerns that this feature may lead to decreased clickthrough traffic.

The author discusses how Claude Code, an AI tool, has revolutionized his work as a developer. He can now delegate tasks to the AI, which handles implementation details, allowing him to focus on high-level decisions. This shift in workflow enables faster shipping of features and increased productivity. The author also highlights the benefits of using Claude Code, including its ability to work on multiple tasks simultaneously and its adaptability to existing workflows.

Former top Google researchers have developed a new kind of AI agent called Asimov, which is trained to understand how software is built by analyzing a company's data and learning from it. The goal is to create a more capable software assistant and a step towards superintelligent AI. Asimov reads code, emails, Slack messages, and other documentation to learn how they lead to a finished product.

The article discusses optimizing search systems, focusing on techniques like indexing, sharding, and parallel query processing to improve speed, relevance, and scalability. It explores Uber Eats' search platform, which handles tens of millions of requests daily, and how it optimized its search efficiency by restructuring its index layout and introducing ETA indexing.

Scale AI, a data-labeling startup, is laying off 14% of its staff, roughly 200 employees, and cutting ties with 500 global contractors. This move comes after Meta hired Scale AI's CEO in a $14.3 billion deal, leading to a pivot in the company's business strategy.

Bedrock Robotics, founded by ex-Waymo engineers, has raised $80M to automate construction with self-driving kits for worksite vehicles. The company is testing in several states with major construction corporations.

Over 22,000 workers have been laid off in the tech industry so far in 2025, with major companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google cutting jobs. The layoffs are part of a larger trend of cost-cutting and restructuring in the tech industry, with many companies citing economic uncertainty and the need to improve efficiency.

UK retail giant Co-op confirms hackers stole all 6.5 million customer records, including names, addresses, and contact information, during an April cyberattack. The breach was part of a broader hacking campaign targeting the UK retail sector.

Google has released a security update for Chrome to address a sandbox escape zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-6558) that is being actively exploited by attackers. The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code within the browser's GPU process. Users are advised to update to version 138.0.7204.157/.158 as soon as possible.

Apple has committed $500 million to buy rare earth magnets from US-based MP Materials over several years. The magnets will be used in products like iPhones and MacBooks. Apple and MP will also build a recycling facility in California and develop new magnet materials.

Ukrainian hackers claim to have destroyed the IT infrastructure of Russia's Gaskar Integration plant, a major supplier of drones to the Russian army. The hackers, known as BO Team, claim to have 'deeply penetrated' the company's network and destroyed 47TB of technical information about drone production, as well as 10TB of backup files.

VMware has announced significant changes to its partner program, reducing the number of authorized partners and ending its White Label program. This change may impact smaller partners and customers who will need to find new providers or face potential cost increases and service disruptions. The move is part of Broadcom's strategy to simplify and streamline its VMware ecosystem.

Google's Threat Intelligence Group found a custom backdoor, called Overstep, being installed on SonicWall Secure Mobile Access appliances. The backdoor allows attackers to remove log entries, making detection difficult. The attacks target end-of-life devices that no longer receive updates, and the motivations of the group and their actions after installation are still unknown.

A threat actor has been deploying a previously unseen malware called OVERSTEP that modifies the boot process of fully-patched but no longer supported SonicWall Secure Mobile Access appliances. The backdoor is a user-mode rootkit that allows hackers to hide malicious components, maintain persistent access on the device, and steal sensitive credentials.