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Alibaba Bets on AI Agents with Wukong Enterprise Platform

Posted on by Anurag Shukla

HANGZHOU: Alibaba unveiled Wukong, an AI agent platform built for enterprise customers. It allows businesses to deploy and manage multiple AI agents through a single interface. Currently in invitation-only testing, it handles document editing, internal approvals, meeting transcription, and research autonomously.

The launch arrived 24 hours after Alibaba announced the creation of its Alibaba Token Hub business group. CEO Eddie Wu will lead the new division directly. It consolidates Tongyi Laboratory, the Qwen model team, MaaS, AI Innovation, and the newly created Wukong division under one roof. Wu framed the move in stark terms, describing it as a “historic opportunity” at the “threshold of an AGI inflection point.”

Wukong integrates natively with DingTalk, Alibaba’s enterprise messaging platform serving over 20 million corporate users. Plans to connect with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WeChat are already on the roadmap. Future integration with Taobao and Alipay would extend the platform’s reach across commerce and payments.

The launch arrives under internal pressure. Three senior members of the Qwen team departed this year before the restructuring was announced. The exits signal turbulence at the model layer even as Alibaba accelerates its enterprise push.

Google Chrome Adds Desktop Style Bookmarks Bar on Android

Posted on by Yashika Aneja

California: Google has rolled out a new update that brings a desktop style bookmarks bar to Chrome on Android. The feature is now available on Android tablets and foldable phones, giving users quick access to their saved websites. It works just like the bookmarks bar on the desktop version of Chrome. 

The bookmarks bar appears right below the address bar, just like on a computer. It shows your saved websites with their icons and names, and even allows folders to open directly within the bar. This means users can reach their favourite sites quickly without opening any extra menus. 

The feature comes with Chrome version 146 and is designed specifically for large screens. It will not appear on regular smartphones, as the narrow display does not leave enough room for the bar. To turn it on, users can open Chrome settings, go to Appearance, and choose Show bookmarks bar. If the option does not show up right away, restarting or force stopping Chrome can help. 

Google says the update is part of its plan to make Chrome on tablets and foldables feel more like the desktop browser. Many users have been asking for this feature for years, and the new update finally brings it to larger Android devices. The rollout has begun and will reach all compatible devices soon. 

Top American Tech Companies Sign Pact to Fight Online Scams 

Posted on by Yashika Aneja

Austria: Some of the biggest American tech giants, namely Google, Amazon, OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, Adobe, LinkedIn and Match Group, have signed a new pledge called the Online Services Accord Against Scams to fight online scams. The agreement was signed ahead of the United Nations Global Fraud Summit in Austria.  

The goal of the pact is to simply share more information about scams so the companies can spot suspicious activity faster and stop criminals who target users across multiple platforms. The companies say many fraud networks operate across borders and jump between apps, making it important for tech firms to collaborate rather than fight scams individually. 

As per a Google trust and safety official, no company can stop scams alone; the whole industry requires to act together to attain that. Under the accord, the companies will not only plan to expand what they share with each other, they will also send more details to law enforcement about criminal networks that use digital platforms to target people. 

Online scams have become more advanced in recent years. Criminals often use fake profiles, fake investment offers and impersonation attacks. The new pledge is meant to help companies respond faster. The firms say they will keep updating their efforts as scam methods change. 

The accord marks one of the strongest industry wide commitments so far to protect users. The companies hope their joint action will make the internet safer for anyone and everyone. 

Iran-Linked Hackers Target US Firm Stryker Amid Israel Conflict

Posted on by Shobhit Kalra

New York: Stryker, the largest medical device manufacturer in the United States, is still dealing with disruptions to its global network after a cyberattack that occurred last week. According to the leading news agency Reuters, an Iranian-linked hacker group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Nearly five days after the breach, the company confirmed that some services remain affected as it works to restore operations. In an update posted on its official website on March 15, Stryker said it is “prioritizing restoration of systems that directly support customers, ordering and shipping”.

The company added that teams across its global facilities are coordinating to keep operations running while the recovery process continues. “We are working closely with our global manufacturing sites to manage operations and mitigate potential impacts, supported by our robust resiliency and business continuity plans,” the company said.

Stryker also reassured customers that the attack did not compromise its products or medical technologies. “All Stryker products across our global portfolio, including connected, digital, and life-saving technologies, remain safe to use. This event was contained to Stryker’s internal Microsoft environment, and as a result it did not affect any of our products-connected or otherwise,” the company said.

The company has not yet disclosed the full extent of the disruption or whether any sensitive data was accessed. Investigations into the attack are ongoing as Stryker works to restore normal operations.

Below is the update from the company:

03/15/2026 11:30 a.m. ET

We wanted to provide you the latest update on the Stryker network disruption and progress on our restoration.  

Safety of our products

All Stryker products across our global portfolio, including connected, digital, and life-saving technologies, remain safe to use. This event was contained to Stryker’s internal Microsoft environment, and as a result it did not affect any of our products—connected or otherwise. Stryker, much like any Fortune 300 company, has embedded policies and procedures for cybersecurity assurances for our products in the field. This process at Stryker provides additional assurances that no potential vulnerabilities or risk of exploitation related to our connected products exist. Per our standard protocols, we have leveraged this process to confirm that our connected products were not impacted by the incident and remain safe to use.  

Communicating with your Stryker Sales Representatives

It is completely safe for Stryker sales representatives to be onsite in hospitals and facilities. It is also safe for you to communicate by phone or e-mail with Stryker personnel. The event only affected Stryker’s internal Microsoft corporate environment. This was not a ransomware attack, and there is no evidence of malware deployed to our systems. The incident has been contained, and we are now in the restoration process, which is progressing steadily.   

Supply, ordering and shipping

We are working closely with our global manufacturing sites to manage operations and mitigate potential impacts, supported by our robust resiliency and business continuity plans. We are actively bringing our electronic ordering systems back online. In the meantime, your Stryker Sales Representatives will be working with you and your distributors directly in an effort to bring you replenishment product through manual ordering where that option exists. Orders placed prior to the disruption will be reconciled as systems are restored, and electronic orders placed during the disruption will process once systems are back online, and supply is flowing normally.  

Next steps

We are prioritizing restoration of systems that directly support customers, ordering and shipping. Our core transactional systems are already on a clear path to full recovery, and we will continue to provide updates as progress is made. There is nothing more important to us than the customers and patients we serve, and we are grateful for your continued support and partnership.

Apple Acquires MotionVFX to Push Professional Video Editing

Posted on by Anurag Shukla

Cupertino: Apple has acquired MotionVFX, a Warsaw-based video editing software company founded in 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed. Apple rarely comments on acquisitions. What the deal signals, however, is hard to miss.

Apple has been quietly building a serious creative software business. In January it launched Creator Studio at a $12.99 per month subscription bundling Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage into a single package. It is Apple’s clearest attempt yet to compete with Adobe’s Creative Cloud on value and convenience.

MotionVFX fits directly into that strategy. The company has spent 15 years building professional-grade plugins, motion graphics templates, and visual effects tools specifically designed for Final Cut Pro users. Bringing that catalog in-house gives Apple’s video editing ecosystem a depth it has long lacked compared to Adobe Premiere Pro.

“For over 15 years, we’ve been on a mission to create world-class, visually inspiring content and effects for video editors,” MotionVFX said in a statement on its website. “These are also the values that we admire most in Apple’s products, and we’re thrilled to be able to embrace them together.”

For professional editors and filmmakers, the acquisition raises an immediate practical question. MotionVFX currently sells subscription access to its tools starting at $29 per month, a separate cost on top of whatever Apple software a user already pays for. Integration into Creator Studio or Final Cut Pro directly could collapse that into one bill. It would also give Apple a significant library of production-ready assets without having to build them from scratch.

The broader context matters here. Apple’s services segment now accounts for more than 26% of total company revenue up from just 8.5% a decade ago. Software subscriptions, app store fees, and digital content have become the engine Apple leans on when hardware growth slows.

Acquiring a well-regarded professional tool with an established paying user base accelerates that momentum. It also puts pressure on Adobe, which has long counted Final Cut Pro users as a natural migration target for Premiere Pro. That calculation just got harder to make.

Picsart Launches AI Agent Marketplace to Automate Creator Workflows

Posted on by Amita Parul

San Francisco: Picsart, the AI-powered design platform with over 130 million users worldwide, has launched an AI agent marketplace. It lets creators assign specific creative and business tasks to specialized AI assistants.

Users can set direction and approve actions. The agent handles execution. The launch positions Picsart as one of the first consumer creative platforms to bring agentic AI directly into everyday content workflows.

The marketplace launches with four agents: Flair, Resize Pro, Remix, and Swap. Flair is the most capable at launch. It integrates directly with Shopify and acts as a background assistant for online store owners. It analyzes market trends, recommends improvements to product photos, and flags underperforming listings.

All agents can be accessed via WhatsApp and Telegram, letting creators delegate tasks directly from messaging apps. Picsart chose those platforms specifically because their APIs support AI-powered business chatbots. Creators can also set autonomy levels for each agent requiring approval before any action is taken. New specialized agents will be added on a weekly basis.

The launch arrives as agentic AI tools accelerate rapidly across the creative and enterprise software markets. OpenClaw’s viral rise earlier this year demonstrated mass appetite for AI assistants that act rather than just respond.

Picsart which reached unicorn status in 2021 backed by SoftBank and has remained relevant through repeated AI investment is now using that momentum to shift its product from an editing tool into a delegation platform. Agents are available to paid subscribers, with plans starting at approximately $10 per month. A free tier offers limited weekly AI credits

Amazon Adds Adults‑Only ‘Sassy’ Mode to Alexa+ 

Posted on by Yashika Aneja

Seattle: Amazon is updating Alexa+ with a new adults‑only “Sassy” mode, a feature that lets the voice assistant respond with sarcasm and a sharper sense of humour. The update adds a bold new style to Alexa’s growing list of personalities, making it feel more conversational and human. 

Instead of the usual polite replies, Alexa can now tease you, make sarcastic comments, or drop a gentle roast while still giving you the information you asked for. Amazon describes this style as “help first, judge always”, meaning Alexa will answer your question but might add a witty remark afterward. This new Sassy personality joins the other styles Amazon recently added, including Brief, Chill, and Sweet, which let users choose how they want Alexa to sound. 

Since Sassy mode includes more mature humour, Amazon has secured it with an extra verification step. To switch it on, users must confirm their identity in the Alexa app; on iPhones, this required Face ID during testing. The feature is automatically disabled when Amazon Kids is active, ensuring that its young users don’t hear sarcasm or censored profanity. 

Despite its attitude, Sassy mode still follows Alexa’s strict safety rules. It will not engage in explicit sexual content, hate speech, illegal advice, personal attacks or harmful responses. Amazon says the aim is to make Alexa feel livelier without crossing lines.  

The launch is part of Amazon’s broader effort to modernize Alexa+ with generative‑AI capabilities and customizable personalities, giving users an assistant that feels more like a friend. 

Claude Doubles Usage Limits for Two Weeks 

Posted on by Yashika Aneja

San Francisco: Anthropic is giving all Claude users a temporary boost by doubling usage limits for the next two weeks. The bonus usage, however, only applies outside peak hours, that is to say, users get more AI access depending on when they log in. The promotion runs from March 13 to March 27, 2026, and applies automatically to all non‑Enterprise users. 

According to the official announcement shared via Claude’s X account, this offer is “a small thank you” to the community at a time when the AI chatbot has seen a surge in popularity. That rise is partly due to Anthropic’s decision to walk away from a US military contract rather than weaken its AI safety rules, a stance that led many users to switch from other platforms. 

During weekdays, users get double usage only outside the busy window of 8am to 2pm ET. But on weekends, the doubled limits apply all day, giving people more flexibility to experiment with Claude’s growing capabilities, including Claude Code and the platform’s new interactive visualization tools. 

The expanded limits work across the web, desktop, and mobile versions of Claude, and also extend to connected tools such as Claude Cowork, Claude Code, Claude for Excel, and Claude for PowerPoint. Enterprise customers, however, are excluded. 

Once March 27 arrives, usage limits will return to normal. For now, though, users get more room to test and explore Claude’s features as long as they pick the right time of day. 

Meta Pulls Instagram End-to-End Encryption, Pushes Users to WhatsApp

Posted on by Yashika Aneja

MENLO PARK: Meta is removing end-to-end encryption from Instagram direct messages. The feature will no longer be supported after May 8, 2026. Users with affected chats are being prompted to download their messages and media before that date. Those on older versions of the app will need to update first to access their data.

Meta cited low adoption as the reason for the decision. “Very few people were opting in to end-to-end encrypted messaging in DMs, so we’re removing this option from Instagram in the coming months,” a Meta spokesperson said. “Anyone who wants to keep messaging with end-to-end encryption can easily do that on WhatsApp.”

The move is a notable reversal. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent years promoting encryption as central to his privacy vision for social networking. Instagram first began testing optional end-to-end encrypted DMs in 2021.

The feature was never a default setting on the platform. Unlike WhatsApp, where encryption is on by default for all users, Instagram only offered it as an opt-in for select regions on a per-chat basis. Messenger, meanwhile, had encryption turned on as a default in 2023 and appears unaffected by this change.

The decision arrives amid sustained regulatory pressure. Governments across the US, UK, and EU have pushed platforms to enable scanning of private messages for child sexual abuse material. The EU’s proposed Chat Control regulation would require platforms to scan encrypted communications.

The UK’s Online Safety Act gives regulator Ofcom powers to direct platforms to do the same. Reuters previously reported that Meta proceeded with encryption plans in 2019 despite internal warnings that it would hinder detection of illegal content.

Privacy advocates are raising fresh concerns. Without encryption, Meta can technically access the content of Instagram DMs. In December 2025, Meta confirmed that interactions with its AI tools inside private conversations may be used for targeted advertising. The removal of encryption widens that access.

India is one of Instagram’s largest markets, faces particular implications, as the DPDP Act classifies Meta as a data fiduciary with strict consent requirements for processing personal data.

Replit Raises $400M Series D to Scale AI-Powered Vibe Coding Platform

Posted on by Amita Parul

San Francisco: Replit has closed a $400 million Series D round at a $9 billion valuation, tripling its worth in just six months. The round was led by Toronto-based growth investor Georgian, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Y Combinator, Craft Ventures, G Squared, Prysm Capital, and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund QIA.

Strategic investors include Accenture Ventures, Databricks Ventures, and Okta Ventures. Celebrity backers Shaquille O’Neal and Jared Leto also joined the round. Replit raised $250 million at a $3 billion valuation as recently as September 2025.

Founded in 2016 by Amjad Masad, Haya Odeh, and Faris Masad, Replit has built a browser-based platform that lets anyone build, deploy, and scale software using plain language. No coding experience is required. Users describe what they want and the platform’s AI agent generates working code, handles deployment, and connects backend infrastructure.

The platform now serves 40 million users worldwide and is active inside 85% of Fortune 500 companies. Zillow holds roughly 600 Replit seats, with employees having built more than 7,000 internal apps over the past year. Talkdesk built a headcount capacity app in two days, a process that previously took two weeks.

“This funding will help us scale our ambition and expand beyond coding into AI systems that center human creativity, Replit is now used at 85% of the Fortune 500, and we have an opportunity to help shape the future of work, one where AI abstracts away the boring parts and humans shine as creative directors.”

Amjad Masad, Co-Founder, Replit

The raise coincides with the launch of Agent 4, Replit’s most capable AI engine to date. It runs multiple design and coding tasks in parallel, generates interface variations from a single prompt, and can turn hand-drawn sketches into working visual assets including three-dimensional animations.

A built-in cybersecurity scanner checks applications for vulnerabilities before deployment. The update moves Replit firmly beyond coding assistance into full product creation, users can go from concept to a live mobile app on Apple’s App Store in days.

Replit is targeting $1 billion in annual recurring revenue by end of 2026, up from $240 million in 2025. The new capital will fund international expansion into Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, with headcount expected to grow from 350 to approximately 900 employees.

The raise arrives as the AI coding tools market heats up rapidly. Cursor’s creator Anysphere raised $2.3 billion at a $29.3 billion valuation late last year, while Anthropic’s Claude Code hit $2.5 billion in annualised revenue after the launch of Claude Opus 4.6 in February 2026.