Category: Communications

For years, the United States has been at the forefront of the global AI race, driving innovation through cutting-edge research, Silicon Valley titans like Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI, and massive VC investments powering its startup ecosystem. While competitors like China, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India have joined the race, none come close to matching U.S. private AI investments. In fact, the U.S. market has attracted more funding than all other top markets combined.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, the United States attracted over $470 billion in private AI investments over the past decade, nearly three times more than China, the United Kingdom, and Canada, the next three top-investing markets combined.

Chinese AI Startups Saw 4x Less Private Investments
Early U.S. investments in AI research and development set the gold standard and turned the country into a global hub for cutting-edge innovation. With a massive influx of talent, capital, and government support, the U.S. AI sector has drawn hundreds of billions in private investments, far surpassing all other countries combined.

These investments include financial backing provided by venture capitalists, private equity firms, or individual investors supporting the development and growth of private AI startups and technologies. According to the Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2025, published by Stanford University, they poured a jaw-dropping amount of money into their business over the past ten years.

Statistics show private investors injected more than $470 billion into AI startups and projects in the United States in the past ten years, far outpacing the value of investments in the rest of the world. To put this figure into perspective, the U.S. alone saw nearly three times more private AI investments than China, the U.K., and Canada combined, and 85% more than the top fourteen countries globally.

The second-ranked China saw $119.3 billion of private AI investments, nearly four times less than the U.S. That doesn`t surprise, considering that the country enjoys strong government support in AI. In some areas, this support is more centralized and aggressive than in the U.S. Far below, the United Kingdom ranked as the country with the third-highest private AI investments of $18.1 billion. Canada, Israel and Germany round the top five club, with $15.3 billion, $14.9 billion and 413.2 billion worth of investments, respectively.

Big Private AI Investments, Ranging from $500 Million to Over $1 Billion, Nearly Double in a Year
With most private AI investments going to American startups and projects, the gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world will only widen in the future. Especially given the trend of a surge in major investments between $500 million and $1 billion, or even more.

According to the Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2025, last year, investors made 15 private investments into AI startups that were heavier than $1 billion, up from nine reported a year before that. The number of investments between $500 million and $1 billion also soared, jumping from 9 to 20 year-over-year. Stocklytics

Just days after Blinkit-Airtel SIM home delivery was announced with much fanfare, the service has been put on hold, sources said.

The move came after DoT queried Airtel on the process being followed and made it clear that stipulated norms have to be complied with, the sources said.

The Telecom Department recently circulated a mail to various telecom service providers, saying “the existing self-KYC process, as per the extant instructions, shall be followed scrupulously.”

A person privy to the development said that the offering has been “put on hold, not discontinued”. A quick search done on Blinkit for Airtel SIM returned no matches.

A user on X penned a post saying: “Tried ordering an Airtel SIM via Blinkit. By the time I blinked… the service was discontinued …”

Emails sent to Airtel and quick commerce platform, Blinkit, seeking comments on the status of the launch announcement and whether or not the same have been discontinued, did not elicit any response.

On April 15, Bharti Airtel had announced this partnership with Blinkit for the delivery of SIM cards to its customers within ten minutes.

It had said that in the initial phase of the launch, the SIM delivery service will be available across 16 major cities, including metropolises such as Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai, Bhopal, Indore, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Hyderabad.

There were plans to add more cities and towns over a period of time.

“This collaboration marks a significant milestone enabling, as it does, customers to receive SIM cards at their doorstep in a minimal 10 minutes at a nominal convenience fee of Rs 49,” the joint release by the two companies had said.

After the delivery of the SIM card, customers can activate the number using Aadhaar-based KYC authentication, as per stipulated process, it had informed at that time. The release that time had also said that customers will have the option to choose from both postpaid and prepaid plans or trigger a mobile number portability for porting into the Airtel network.

The release had explained that in order to streamline the process, customers can access the online link and view the activation video for a seamless activation experience. Additionally, for all such activations, Airtel customers have the option to access the help center through the Airtel Thanks App for any assistance, it had said.

Post-delivery of the SIM card, it will be mandatory for customers to activate the SIM within a 15-day window to ensure a smooth and hassle-free transition, the release earlier this month had said. PTI

The Karnataka High Court Tuesday directed the Centre to block the Swiss secure email service Proton Mail in the country. A single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna also asked the government to take steps to block the offending URLs of Proton Mail until the encrypted email service is blocked in India.

In this case, a Bengaluru firm, M Moser Design Associates, had approached the high court about the alleged targeting of some women employees using the Proton Mail service, wherein emails with obscene content, including AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images, had been sent. The petition called for agreements between India and Switzerland to obtain information and documents regarding the sender of the offensive emails and to preserve them. It also called for steps to ban the plaKarnatform.

The petitioner’s counsel stated that, although the service allowed users to select India as a location, its servers were actually located outside the country. The plea also highlighted previous instances where the platform’s blockage was sought on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Police. It also noted that several bomb threats had been sent to schools using the platform.

Issuing an order in favour of the petitioner, the bench stated, “Mandamus issued to respondents- Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and Ministry of Communications to initiate proceedings in terms of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000 read with Rule 10 of the IT Procedure and Safeguards of Blocking of Access to Information by Public Access Rules, 2009 to block ProtonMail.” Section 69A of the IT Act gives the government the power to block access to certain information through computer resources.

A detailed order is awaited.

Previously, the Delhi High Court had directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Delhi Police to investigate the use of Proton Mail. As reported by the Indian Express, the Delhi High Court matter dealt with a habeas corpus petition. It sought the production of the petitioner’s wife and their two minor children after the woman was found to be corresponding with her father over Proton Mail, which the police claimed is banned in India.

This March, before the Karnataka High Court, MEITY sent a communication stating that ProtonMail was not actually blocked. It stated, “MEITY can exercise this power (blocking) upon receipt of a request from a Nodal Officer and after examination and recommendation by the Committee…… action can also be taken under section 69A if so ordered by a competent Court. It is submitted that Proton Mail has not been blocked in India under Section 69A of IT Act, 2000 and is operating in India.” Indian Express

Taiwan’s Pegatron, an important supplier to Apple and Dell, said that President Donald Trump’s tariffs were confusing U.S. customers and risked leading to shortages of consumer electronics in the United States.

Washington’s on-again, off-again levies have created uncertainty for U.S. retailers and disrupted decisions on shipments, the electronics manufacturer’s chairman T.H. Tung told Reuters on the sidelines of an awards event.

“Within two months, shelves in the United States … might resemble those in third-world countries, where people visit department stores and markets only to find empty shelves, all because everyone is waiting and seeing,” Tung said.

This month, Trump abruptly paused some tariffs targeting trading partners including Vietnam, Indonesia and India, where Pegatron has manufacturing bases. A 10% levy on nearly all goods imported into the U.S. remains, however.

Though meant to provide some relief while trade talks take place, Tung said U.S. importers will not necessarily take advantage of the pause by ramping up shipments if they believe the 10% tariff might be repealed.

Trump’s actions had disrupted the seamless logistics at the centre of the modern global supply chain, Tung said, but added that Pegatron would stick to its plans.

“Just because Trump raises tariffs doesn’t mean the rest of the world will do the same. Taiwanese contract manufacturers are sticking to their overseas plans,” he said.

“We won’t immediately adjust our long-term plans just because of two or three months of tariff changes. Manufacturing bases require long-term planning,” he added

Pegatron has been diversifying its manufacturing locations away from China since Trump’s first term, expanding to countries in Southeast Asia as well as Mexico.

Tung said the manufacturing locations were not decided by Taiwanese contract manufacturers themselves, however, but had to be negotiated with customers. Reuters

The Big Five of India’s IT services sector are flashing mixed signals on hiring and pay hikes, at a time when the sector is navigating uncertainties resulting from US president Donald Trump’s tariff war. Companies are mostly in a wait-and-watch mode, as they await clarity on spending plans by their biggest clients in the US.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd collectively employ more than 1.5 million employees as of March 2025. Low business due to demand uncertainty means salary hikes might be deferred or lower than the previous fiscal, or both.

Mumbai-based TCS that gives pay hikes around April-July period has deferred its wage hike plans, citing macroeconomic uncertainty.

“Regarding wage hikes, considering the uncertain business environment, we will decide during the year when to make that happen,” said Milind Lakkad, TCS’s chief HR officer, during the company’s post-earnings press interaction on 10 April.

Wipro echoed a similar opinion. Its management said that it would look at hikes later in the year closer to September. “In an uncertain environment, we will decide closer to the date,” said Govil.

Meanwhile, Noida-based HCLTech said its wage hike cycle would start as planned from October 2025, in line with last year.

TCS was the first of the top five IT services companies to roll out salary hikes, giving increments of 4.5-7% in the April-June 2024 period, whereas Bengaluru-based Wipro handed out 4-8% from September last year.

Much like its peers, Tech Mahindra’s annual pay increments were pushed back for the second year running, as software service providers looked to combat low demand and shore up operating margins last year. The company gave hikes in the January-March 2025 period.

Infosys and HCL Tech give pay hikes in two tranches. While certain Infosys executives got their hikes at the start of the month, HCL Tech finished rolling out its second tranche of hikes in January-March 2025, as per the company’s management.

The uncertainty in hikes comes as companies look to boost their profitability. Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra increased their operating margins last fiscal by 40 bps, 10 bps, 100 bps, and 360 bps, respectively. One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point. TCS’s margins fell 30 bps on a yearly basis.

TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra ended FY25 with $30.18 billion, $19.28 billion, $13.84 billion, $10.51 billion, and $6.26 billion in revenue, respectively.

“There is considerable consternation and uncertainty in the market,” said Peter Bendor-Samuel, founder of Everest Group, a Dallas-based tech research firm. “Whereas there is clearly significant pent-up demand after two years of deceleration, the tariff-driven uncertainty is causing clients in many industries to delay significant projects until the direction of economic travel is determined. This is causing the service providers to take a defensive posture regarding talent and move cautiously,” he added.

Companies were slightly more positive on hiring, though only Infosys has set a target for the year. However, even for the companies that promised to increase hiring, plans appear tentative.

Second-largest IT company Infosys said it is looking to hire 20,000 employees in FY26. TCS said it would hire a similar number or higher than the 42,000 trainees it onboarded in FY25, while HCL Tech would increase entry-level hiring this year from last year’s 7,829.

“We’re going to make our plans on a quarter-on-quarter basis. We’re not trying to define an annual plan. In the current climate, it’s a lot more prudent to make plans quarterly,” said Ramachandran Sundararajan, chief human resource officer for HCL Tech, in the company’s post-earnings press conference on 22 April, adding the company will target hiring at least 2,000 freshers every quarter.

Smaller peer Wipro also flagged caution on hiring.

“We will have to take it as it comes from a growth perspective, where we have geared ourselves from a plan of onboarding people, especially from the campuses, on a regular basis,” said Saurabh Govil, chief HR officer, Wipro, in the company’s post-earnings press conference on 16 April.

“But we are also very cognizant that we shouldn’t do anything which is onboard people and not deploy them. Or, you know, hire people and we can’t take them, which we have burnt our fingers three years back,” added Govil. The company added approximately 10,000 freshers in FY25.

Fifth-largest company Tech Mahindra also avoided giving out a hiring target, adding the company would hire based on demand visibility, which he said was “muddy.” The company added 6,100 campus recruits last fiscal.

Fresher hiring or new hiring is an indicator of demand in the market. More hiring signals greater demand for IT services and vice-versa.

Another uncertainty in hiring stems from Gen AI.

“The execution model is expected to become less location-dependent, with a mix of 50% people and 50% agentic solutions. This shift is a gradual journey, and there are clients already keen to adopt this approach,” said Girish Pai, head of capital research at Bank of Baroda Capital Research, in a note dated 23 April, after HCL Tech announced its full-year earnings.

Four of the top five including TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra added headcount ranging between 722 employees and 6,433 employees. HCL Tech cut headcount last fiscal by 4,061 employees. LiveMint

Chinese artificial intelligence service DeepSeek became available again on South Korean app markets on Monday for the first time in about two months, when downloads were suspended after authorities cited breaches in data protection rules.

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said on Thursday that DeepSeek transferred user data and prompts without permission when the service first launched in South Korea in January.

Downloading the app was suspended in February after the questions over personal data protection surfaced, but the service was available for download again on South Korea’s app market including via Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store.

“We process your personal information in compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act of Korea,” DeepSeek said in a revised privacy policy note applied to the app.

DeepSeek said users had the option to refuse to allow the transfer of personal information to a number of companies in China and the United States.

South Korea’s data protection agency said DeepSeek had voluntarily decided to make the app available for download, which it is free to do after at least partially reflecting its recommendations. Reuters

Despite global macroeconomic headwinds and a cautious IT spending environment, Indian tech companies like HCLTech, Tech Mahindra, Persistent Systems and Mphasis have bucked the trend in the March quarter, posting resilient growth driven by strong deal wins, sectoral diversification, and aggressive investments in Gen AI.

Analysts attribute HCLTech’s resilience to its strong focus on delivering measurable outcomes for clients—often backed by contractual commitments—demonstrating its confidence in execution. The company combines deep engineering expertise with flexible, cloud-based solutions that adapt easily to evolving client needs.

C. Vijayakumar, the CEO and MD of HCLTech, during the Q4 earnings conference call shared, “Our FY25 growth was supported by our diverse and all-weather portfolio, despite global economic uncertainty. Our razor-sharp focus on clients during this period of uncertainty helped us achieve results that matched our guidance. Our guidance forecast of 2-6 per cent for FY26 is also driven by the Q4 bookings. We have had a good booking and it will convert into revenue and we have analysed each deal. We believe it’s important for clients to continue and some not be impacted by tariffs. We are confident about the ramp-up of our Q4 bookings, which have been among the strongest in recent quarters.”

Biswajit Maity, Sr Principal Analyst, Gartnerhighlighted the company’s approach of combining engineering expertise with adaptable, cloud-based solutions, along with a focus on embedding sustainability into its offerings, positions it as a strong transformation partner.

“HCLTech holds a healthy deal pipeline and continues to invest in AI and digital transformation, which are expected to fuel future growth. The company remains focused on delivering measurable outcomes for clients, often backed by contractual commitments that reflect its confidence in execution. These strategic efforts strengthen its position as a global IT services provider, helping clients adapt to change and achieve long-term transformation goals.”

Similarly, Tech Mahindra also delivered a resilient performance, with encouraging signs of recovery in specific sectors. According to a Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) report, Tech Mahindra’s revenue outlook shows strength in BFSI, where early recovery signals are visible and client progress continues. Communications remain neutral, while manufacturing and Hi-Tech sectors remain under pressure, with softness in the automotive vertical and discretionary spending in Hi-Tech.

Despite these challenges, Tech Mahindra posted a 42% year-on-year increase in deal TCV in FY25—the strongest among large and mid-tier peers, according to the report.

“We remain positive about the restructuring at Tech Mahindra under the new leadership and believe this quarter was another step in the right direction. But we expect the impact of these steps to be visible gradually. Its bottom-up transformation appears relatively independent of discretionary spending. With the potential for telecom recovery and improved operational efficiency, we see room for sustained margin improvement.”

Meanwhile, Persistent Systems also stood out with its consistent execution despite broader macroeconomic challenges. Kumar Rakesh, Analyst – IT & Auto at BNP Paribas India, said the company continues to deliver strong growth, demonstrating its solid execution engine.

“As the market gets comfortable with near-term macroeconomic concerns, we see the company’s solid long-term growth potential getting better appreciation,” Rakesh said in a report.

“Despite macroeconomic challenges over the last two years and DOGE-related impact in the recent quarter, it sustained solid revenue growth performance. We see its growth drivers diversifying and decoupling from macroeconomic uncertainties. This raises our conviction on the strong long-term growth that we are building in our estimates. Recent quarters have also demonstrated that the company is back on track with margin expansion and management is targeting 100bp margin expansion in FY26 and 200-300bp over three years.” The Hindu BusinessLine

South Korea’s data protection authority has concluded that Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek collected personal information from local users and transferred it overseas without their permission.

The authority, the Personal Information Protection Commission, released its written findings on Thursday in connection with a privacy and security review of DeepSeek.

It follows DeepSeek’s removal of its chatbot application from South Korean app stores in February at the recommendation of PICP. The agency said DeepSeek had committed to cooperate on its concerns.

During DeepSeek’s presence in South Korea, it transferred user data to several firms in China and the U.S. without obtaining the necessary consent from users or disclosing the practice, the PIPC said.

The agency highlighted a particular case in which DeepSeek transferred information from user-written AI prompts, as well as device, network, and app information, to a Chinese cloud service platform named Beijing Volcano Engine Technology Co.

While the PIPC identified Beijing Volcano Engine Technology Co. as “an affiliate” of TikTok-owner ByteDance, the information privacy watchdog noted in a statement that the cloud platform “is a separate legal entity and has no relation to ByteDance,” according to a Google translation.

According to PIPC, DeepSeek said it used Beijing Volcano Engine Technology’s services to improve the security and user experience of its app, but later blocked the transfer of AI prompt information from April 10.

DeepSeek and ByteDance did not immediately respond to inquiries from CNBC.

The Hangzhou-based AI startup took the world by storm in January when it unveiled its R1 reasoning model, rivaling the performance of Western competitors despite the company’s claims that it was trained for relatively low costs and with less advanced hardware.

However, the app’s rising popularity quickly triggered national security and data concerns outside China due to Beijing’s requirement for domestic firms to share data with the PRC. Cybersecurity experts have also flagged data vulnerabilities in the app and voiced concerns about the company’s privacy policy.

PIPC on Thursday said it had issued a corrective recommendation to DeepSeek, which includes requests to immediately destroy AI prompt information transferred to the Chinese company in question and to set up legal protocols for transferring personal information overseas.

When the data protection authority announced the removal of DeepSeek from local app stores, it signaled that the app would become available again once the company implemented the necessary updates to comply with local data protection policy.

That investigation followed reports that some South Korean government agencies had banned employees from using DeepSeek on work devices. Other global government departments, including in Taiwan, Australia, and the U.S., have reportedly instituted similar bans. CNBC

US lawmakers have put the spotlight on three Chinese telecom giants amid claims their platforms have enabled cyber intrusions, data theft, and paths to sabotage of US infrastructure.

The leaders of a US congressional committee moved on Wednesday to force China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom to cooperate with an investigation into their alleged support for the Chinese military and government.

Reuters reported that letters sent this week show the House of Representatives’ select committee on China used its seldom exercised subpoena powers in an effort to compel the three firms to answer questions on whether they could exploit access to American data through their US cloud and internet businesses.

In a bipartisan effort, Democratic and Republican lawmakers voiced concern over the Chinese telecoms’ US operations following high-profile Chinese-led cyberattacks, including Volt Typhoon, which the FBI said has allowed China to gain access to American telecommunications, energy, water and other critical infrastructure.

Beijing has denied responsibility for those attacks.

Last month the committee’s Republican chair John Moolenaar and its top Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi sought responses from the companies to questions after a 2024 Reuters report that they were under US Commerce Department investigation.

The committee said the companies had ignored that request.

Firms providing cloud, internet routing services
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) denied China Mobile’s application to provide US telecommunications service in 2019 and revoked China Telecom and China Unicom’s authorizations in 2021 and 2022.

But the companies still have a small presence in the US, for example, providing cloud services and routing wholesale US internet traffic.

US regulators and lawmakers fear that the companies could access personal information and intellectual property stored in their clouds and provide it to the Chinese government or prevent Americans from gaining access.

In three similar letters dated April 23 notifying the companies of the subpoenas, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi said the select committee had received information indicating the companies “may continue to maintain network Points of Presence, data centre access, and cloud-related offerings in the United States, potentially through subsidiaries or affiliates.”

They called for the companies’ full cooperation by May 7.

The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. China’s embassy in Washington also did not respond immediately, but it has previously said the US sought to suppress Chinese companies under “false pretexts.”

Running equipment, software, cloud systems
A committee spokesperson said despite the FCC ban on all three companies operating licensed telecom infrastructure in the US, they have continued to run equipment, software, and cloud-based systems in the country that do not require licences and thus avoid FCC oversight.

“The committee has received third-party private sector reporting and intelligence indicating these platforms have enabled cyber intrusions, data theft, and potential sabotage of US infrastructure,” the spokesperson said, without providing further details.

Congress could move to find the companies in contempt if they fail to respond.

The move would be no surprise, given revelations in December that US telecom systems were so badly compromised by Chinese hackers that senior government officials were told to ditch regular phone calls and text messages.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued that warning that senior government officials should only use end-to-end encrypted communications in the wake of a hacking incident described as the most widespread ever by Chinese cyber spies.

Concern over US communications is high partly because of bilateral tensions over the trade war, plus revelations that new Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly failed to adhere to secure communication protocols. Asia Financial