Key Takeaways :Gemini 3.7 Flash delivers a 78.8% relative gain on AutomationBench.Coding performance jumps 33.3% on DeepSWE v1.1.Lower token costs could make multi-step AI agents more economical.Google launched Gemini 3.7 Flash on August 13, 2026, just three weeks after Gemini 3.6 Flash. The new model targets software work, AI agents, document tasks, and multi-step business jobs. Google calls it a workhorse model, with a focus on strong results at a lower cost. Reuters notes that Google still has not shared a launch date for Gemini 3.5 Pro, the expected high-end model.Big Change Sits in Agent WorkGemini 3.7 Flash targets a harder task than a normal chatbot. A chatbot can answer one request and stop. An AI agent must plan a task, use tools, read the result, fix errors, and take the next step. A long task may need many model calls.Google reports a sharp gain on AutomationBench, where Gemini 3.7 Flash scored 30.4%, up from 17.0% for Gemini 3.6 Flash. That marks a 78.8% relative rise. Google says the model can handle roadblocks, follow detailed instructions, plan tasks, and use tools with better control.Software Gets a Major BoostGoogle reports a 43.6% score for Gemini 3.7 Flash on FrontierCode 1.1 Main, versus 34.4% for Gemini 3.6 Flash. That marks a 26.7% relative rise.DeepSWE v1.1 shows an even larger jump. Gemini 3.7 Flash scored 65.3%, compared with 49.0% for Gemini 3.6 Flash. That equals a 33.3% relative rise. DeepSWE tests complex software tasks, so the result gives a useful view of code work.GitHub has also added Gemini 3.7 Flash to Copilot. Early GitHub tests show gains in web and app development, agent code work, code quality, codebase research, result checks, and final output quality.Price May Matter More Than SpeedGemini 3.7 Flash costs $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens through December 31, 2026. From January 1, 2027, the list price rose to $1.50 per million input tokens and $7.50 per million output tokens.An agent may call a model many times for one task. Lower token cost can reduce the bill, while better results can reduce repeat calls. That makes price a major part of Google’s strategy, not just a side benefit.Also Read - Best AI Browser Assistants for Daily Work in 2026More Useful Work from Each Model CallA good agent must understand a goal, choose a tool, inspect a result, spot an error, and move ahead. Fewer failed steps can cut total cost even if raw speed stays close to the old model.Google has placed Gemini 3.7 Flash across its own agent stack. The model supports the Gemini API, Google AI Studio, Google Antigravity, Android Studio, and Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. Gemini Spark also uses it across more than 160 countries.Web Work Shows a Smaller GainGemini 3.7 Flash scored 1,588 Elo on WebDev Arena, up from 1,538 for Gemini 3.6 Flash. That 50-point rise equals about 3.3%. The smaller gain still gives a useful web test.Google says the model can create more complete web apps with fewer prompts and can follow screenshots, layouts, and design systems with better accuracy.What Numbers Still Cannot ProveThe main benchmark figures come from Google’s own tests. They show clear gains, but independent tests still matter. Agent quality also depends on tools, context, memory, system design, and the cost of failed actions.The next few weeks should give a clearer view. Developers will test the model across real code bases and long agent tasks. Those results will show whether the lower price and better scores translate into lower cost per successful task.Also Read - Top 10 AI Chatbot Development Companies in India (2026)Google’s Larger BetGemini 3.7 Flash shows a clear strategy. Google wants capable AI that can run many steps at a low price. The aim goes beyond a smarter chatbot. The bigger goal centers on AI agents that can handle software work, business tasks, and digital chores with less human help.The key figures tell that story: a 50% lower launch price, a 78.8% relative gain on AutomationBench, a 33.3% rise on DeepSWE v1.1, and a 26.7% rise on FrontierCode 1.1 Main. If real-world tests support those results, Gemini 3.7 Flash could give Google a strong tool for the next phase of AI: cheap, fast, capable agents that can finish useful work.FAQsWhat is Gemini 3.7 Flash?Google’s latest AI model focused on agents, coding, documents, and multi-step workflows.Why is it important for AI agents?It is designed to plan, use tools, handle roadblocks, and complete longer tasks more effectively.How much does Gemini 3.7 Flash cost?It launches at $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens through December 2026.Is Gemini 3.7 Flash better for coding?Google reports significant gains across software engineering benchmarks, including DeepSWE and FrontierCode.What could determine its real-world success?Independent testing will show whether benchmark improvements translate into lower cost and better performance on real agent tasks.Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

The FTSE 100 opened 32 points higher at 10.782, recovering some of last week’s losses amid weak US economic data, reducing expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Brent crude futures fell 0.29% to $88.26 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 0.86% to $81.69 per barrel. Sterling traded at $1.3557 on Monday, up from $1.3550 late Friday. Against the euro, it faded to €1.1694 from €1.1698.Gainers and Losers On the upside, Antofagasta climbed 2.59% to 3,678p. Fresnillo advanced 2.47% to 2,951p, while Glencore gained 2.37% to 561.90p. Anglo American rose 2.34% to 3,940p, Prudential added 2.05% to 1,046p, and Endeavour Mining increased 1.82% to 4,186p.On the downside, Unilever fell 1.09% to 4,539.50p. Spirax Group declined 1.07% to 6,945p, while Reckitt Benckiser dropped 0.98% to 5,064p. Croda International slipped 0.83% to 3,231p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners lost 0.50% to 7,895p, and Lion Finance Group edged 0.44% lower to 13,450p.Hiscox Completes First Buyback TrancheHiscox Ltd completed the initial tranche of its share repurchase program, purchasing 6,608,372 ordinary shares for $150 million, according to a press release. The company bought back shares between February 25 and August 14 through an agreement with Peel Hunt LLP. The purchases are part of a broader $300 million buyback program announced on February 25, 2026. Hiscox has agreed with Citigroup Global Markets Limited to conduct the second tranche of the program, which commenced today and will end no later than the end of 2026. AstraZeneca Halts Cancer Drug TrialAstraZeneca said on Monday it is discontinuing a late-stage trial testing its drug volrustomig, combined with chemotherapy, in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The decision came after an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) determined the combination was unlikely to meet its primary goals of extending progression-free survival or overall survival in patients whose tumors lacked the PD-L1 protein, when compared with the trial’s control arm. The drugmaker said the safety profile of the combination was consistent with that of the individual medicines, and no new safety concerns emerged.Also Read: Stock Market Update: Nifty 50 Opens 22.5 points Lower, Sensex Declines 116.33 points Amid Mixed Global CuesUK House Prices Hit 8-Year August Low House prices in the UK have suffered their biggest August drop since 2018. The average house price slumped by 2% this month to £364,999, according to property portal Rightmove. House prices are down 1% year-on-year, the largest annual drop since December 2023. “The uncertain geopolitical picture, changing mortgage rate landscape, and the new Chancellor’s first Budget in October are making it difficult to predict the rest of the year,” the property portal said.Global Market ViewIn the US, stock futures were mixed early Monday, after the S&P 500 climbed for a third straight week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 59 points, or 0.11%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.1% and 0.35%, respectively.In Asia on Monday, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.74% to 69,220.25, while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 1.41%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.55%, and South Korea’s Kospi edged higher by 2.42%. In India, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex fell by 0.15% and 0.15%, respectively.

Ethereum is entering its second decade with a different challenge from its first. The network no longer needs to prove that smart contracts work; it needs to scale them while preserving decentralization, security and usability.By mid-2026, Ethereum secured roughly $229.5 billion in value, while about $79 billion in ETH was staked. Its DeFi ecosystem held around $42 billion, stablecoins across Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks reached approximately $162 billion, and tokenized real-world assets stood near $17 billion.Those numbers explain why Ethereum’s next phase is focused on infrastructure rather than one headline feature.Scaling Moves Beyond MainnetEthereum’s long-term scaling strategy increasingly depends on Layer 2 rollups.Ethereum.org estimates that current rollups can already be around 5-20 times cheaper than Layer 1 transactions. Future ZK-rollup improvements could lower costs by 40-100 times, while subsequent protocol upgrades aim for another 100-1,000 times of scaling.Full Danksharding remains part of that roadmap. Ethereum says the architecture could eventually support more than 100,000 transactions per second by expanding the amount of data available to rollups.The ecosystem already includes about 110 live Ethereum Layer 2 networks with an average combined TVL of roughly $28.73 billion.Ethereum’s Layer 1 Scaling PlansLayer 2s are not the entire strategy. The upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade is targeted for the second half of 2026 and focuses on restructuring block creation and improving Layer 1 scaling. Ethereum Foundation developers have established a post-Glamsterdam target of at least a 200 million gas limit, supported by improvements including enshrined proposer-builder separation and gas repricing.Work is already beginning on Hegotá, the upgrade expected to follow Glamsterdam, with censorship resistance and native account abstraction among the major development areas.Smart Wallets Gain GroundAccount abstraction is another long-term priority. Ethereum wants smart-contract wallets to become the default, potentially enabling account recovery, transaction batching and alternative fee-payment systems without depending on complex middleware. EIP-7702 has already provided part of that foundation, while newer proposals aim to embed smart-account functionality more deeply into Ethereum itself.Nodes Must Remain AccessibleScaling cannot come at the cost of requiring increasingly expensive hardware. ETH is therefore pursuing statelessness, which could eventually allow nodes to verify blocks without storing the network’s entire state. Longer-term designs could make meaningful Ethereum verification possible on lightweight computers and potentially mobile devices.Post-quantum security is also under active development, with Ethereum targeting major cryptographic-readiness milestones around 2029.Also Read: Best Ethereum Smart Contract Auditing Tools in 2026Ethereum’s next decade is less about one massive upgrade and more about simultaneously improving scale, wallets, nodes and cryptographic security. If those efforts succeed, Ethereum could evolve from a smart-contract blockchain into broader settlement infrastructure for DeFi, stablecoins, tokenized assets and institutional finance while allowing ordinary users to verify the network independently.Why this Matters FAQs:1. What is Ethereum focusing on over the next 10 years?Ethereum’s long-term roadmap focuses on scaling both Layer 1 and Layer 2, improving wallet usability and reducing node requirements. It is also preparing for future security challenges, including post-quantum cryptography.2. How will Layer 2 networks help Ethereum scale?Layer 2 rollups process transactions away from Ethereum Mainnet while using Ethereum for settlement and security. Future rollup improvements and Danksharding could significantly increase capacity while reducing transaction costs.3. What is the Glamsterdam upgrade?Glamsterdam is an upcoming Ethereum upgrade expected in the second half of 2026. It is designed to improve block construction, gas efficiency and Layer 1 scalability, with developers targeting a much higher gas limit afterward.4. What does account abstraction mean for Ethereum wallets?Account abstraction could make smart-contract wallets more flexible by supporting features such as account recovery, transaction batching and alternative ways to pay fees. The aim is to make crypto wallets behave more like modern financial applications.5. Why is statelessness important for Ethereum?Statelessness could allow nodes to verify transactions without storing the blockchain’s entire state. This would lower hardware requirements and help keep independent Ethereum verification accessible even as the network grows.

Mirrorless cameras offer interchangeable lenses, advanced autofocus and powerful video features, making them popular among photographers, vloggers and content creators in 2026.The Nikon Z fc combines retro styling with modern features, including 11fps continuous shooting and 4K video recording for photography and everyday content creation.The Sony ZV-E10 features a 24.2MP APS-C sensor and interchangeable lenses, making it a flexible choice for vloggers, photographers and social media creators.The Fujifilm X-T50 delivers high-resolution photography and 6.2K video recording, while its compact design and 15-45mm lens offer versatility for everyday shooting.The Nikon Z50II offers creator-focused features, including Hi-Res Zoom, Creative Picture Controls and 4K video, making it suitable for photography and travel content.The Fujifilm X-M5 combines portability with fast autofocus, Film Simulation modes and 240fps Full HD recording, giving creators flexible options for photos and videos.The Canon EOS R50 supports 4K video recording, advanced image processing and wireless connectivity, making it a practical mirrorless camera for photography and vlogging.The Panasonic LUMIX G7KK offers 4K video recording and a versatile 14-42mm lens, making it suitable for photography, travel and everyday creative projects.From Nikon and Sony to Fujifilm, Canon and Panasonic, these cameras offer different combinations of photography, video, portability and creator-friendly features.Read More Stories Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Dhoot Transmission shares made a strong debut on the stock exchanges on Monday (August 17, 2026), listing at nearly a 38% premium to the IPO price. The auto-component maker's shares opened at Rs. 1,200 on the NSE, compared with the issue price of Rs. 871, marking a gain of 37.77%. On the BSE, the stock began trading at Rs. 1,193.80, up 37.06%.The Rs. 3,067-crore initial public offering attracted strong investor interest, with the issue subscribed 74.21 times during the bidding period. The robust listing also exceeded expectations indicated by the grey market before the debut.Strong Listing Drives Early Gains, Profit Booking FollowsThe stock initially moved higher after listing. On the NSE, it touched an intraday high of Rs. 1,205 before slipping to around Rs. 1,131 as investors booked profits. The movement highlighted the volatility that can follow a sharp IPO debut.For investors who received shares in the IPO, the strong debut already created a substantial listing gain. The bigger question now is whether the company can sustain its valuation as trading continues.Should Investors Buy, Sell or Hold?Founded in 1999, Dhoot Transmission has its headquarters in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The company is planning to set up new units at Jhajjar, Haryana, and Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Market experts offered a broadly positive long-term view, while also flagging risks. Shivani Nyati, Head of Wealth at Swastika Investmart, said, "The company’s strong revenue growth, established position in wiring harnesses and increasing exposure to the EV segment provide a healthy long-term growth outlook. However, elevated customer concentration and execution risks warrant monitoring. We maintain a positive long-term view and recommend holding with a stop-loss of Rs. 1,100.” For fresh investors, the sharp premium over the IPO price makes valuation an important consideration. Also Read: Rs. 7,400 Crore IPO Battle: Which New Issue Looks Most Promising?Growth Drivers and RisksDhoot Transmission manufactures wiring harnesses, sensors, controllers, switches, cables and connectors for automotive and other applications. Its increasing exposure to electric vehicles could support future growth as EVs require more electrical and electronic components.The company plans to use IPO proceeds for debt repayment, new manufacturing facilities, and potential acquisitions. However, investors should watch valuation, customer concentration, execution, and earnings growth before making investment decisions.Disclaimer: The views quoted above are those of market experts and are not investment advice. Investors should assess their own risk profile or consult a qualified financial adviser before trading.Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Bengaluru engineer Gaurav Sen has built an AI tool that detects potholes through dashcam footage during daily drives. He demonstrated the system on Instagram on August 16, 2026, to tackle Bengaluru’s road problems using AI, GPS and vehicle sensors. The system also finds contractors responsible for damaged roads by checking government contracts.Sen built the app with OpenAI Codex and connected it with vision models to study road footage. A dashcam, GPS and accelerometer collect data while the car moves through Bengaluru streets. The AI can spot potholes that may look like speed breakers from a distance.The system goes beyond simply finding damaged roads and also checks who should repair them. Sen added data from 2,900 government contracts to identify contractors linked with specific road stretches.This feature could help with roads still covered under warranty, where contractors may need to fix defects. The system can create a detailed record within four seconds after finding a pothole.Each record includes a photograph, exact location, tender number and responsible road officer. Sen tested the tool during a drive to work and found 12 potholes along his route. The results could provide stronger evidence for complaints sent to civic authorities. The project also gained attention after the video reached X and other social media platforms.A social media reaction described the project as ‘Fixing real-life bugs.’ Another user wrote, “Great idea and execution.” Users also hoped the system could help improve road repairs across Bengaluru and other cities. Sen’s project gives a practical use to AI beyond regular apps and chatbots. It connects road damage with location data and contractor details, creating a simpler way to report potholes. Also Read: Best 4K Dashcam Deals for Safe Driving: Amazon Weekend OffersJoin our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Overview:Use the spoiler-free clues below to work through today’s four Quordle grids.Check the starting letters and repeated-letter clue if you need an extra push.Scroll further only when you are ready to reveal all four answers.Quordle players looking for help with today’s puzzle can use the clues below before revealing the four five-letter answers. The August 17 puzzle brings together words linked to airships, laundry, mining, and a term used for a fussy older woman.Unlike traditional word games, Quordle requires players to solve four words simultaneously. Each guess is applied to all four grids, making it useful for identifying common letters and positions across the puzzles.Today’s Quordle HintsPlayers who are stuck can use these clues without immediately giving away the answers.Word 1 (Top Left): A large airship that has no wings and stays in the sky because of a large bag filled with light gas.Word 2 (Top Right): It is often paired with a laundry machine.Word 3 (Bottom Left): A person who extracts minerals from the earth, perhaps using a pickaxe.Word 4 (Bottom Right): A chicken or a pejorative term for a fussy older woman.There is another clue for players who need an additional push: two of today’s words each contain a pair of repeated letters.The four answers begin with B, D, M, and B, respectively.One Last Clue Before AnswersThe starting letters should help narrow down the possibilities. Look for a B word describing a large airship, a D word associated with laundry, an M word for someone who extracts minerals from the earth, and another B word that can refer to a chicken or a fussy older woman.If you want to solve today’s puzzle without spoilers, this is the point to stop reading.Quordle Answers for August 17Spoiler alert: The four answers to today’s Quordle are:BLIMPDRYERMINERBIDDYWhat do Today’s Quordle Answers Mean?BLIMP: A large airship that stays airborne using a bag filled with a light gas. The word can also refer to a pompous or conservative person.DRYER: A machine used to remove moisture from clothes, commonly paired with a washing machine.MINER: A person who extracts minerals, metals, or other valuable materials from the earth, often working underground.BIDDY: A term that can refer to a chicken. It can also be used as a pejorative term for a fussy or older woman.How Difficult was Today’s Quordle?Today’s Quordle brings together four words from very different contexts. BLIMP is relatively distinctive once the airship clue is identified, while DRYER should be familiar to players who connect it with laundry.MINER is directly linked to the mining clue, making it one of the more straightforward answers. BIDDY may require more thought because of its two meanings.The repeated-letter clue also offers an important advantage, particularly when narrowing down BIDDY and BLIMP. Players who solved all four without checking the answers can consider today’s challenge complete.Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

The Internet of Things (IoT) once sounded like a buzzword; today, it underpins everything from factories and hospitals to smart grids and transit systems. Platform-led IoT engineering is an approach to building connected products on a reusable IoT platform, so teams can develop and scale systems efficiently instead of rebuilding each product from scratch. For engineering leaders, product developers, and organizations growing connected product portfolios, that shift matters because speed, security, cost, and scale now decide whether an IoT program can actually expand beyond a pilot.Many organizations still follow traditional IoT development as a project-by-project approach: start each product from scratch, assemble a new stack, and solve the same infrastructure problems again. Maybe that works for a demo or a small rollout, but once you have got a whole suite of products, the flaws start to show. Teams keep rebuilding device onboarding, remote monitoring, cloud links, security systems, and firmware updates, which reduces engineering efficiency, creates technical debt, and drives up costs through duplicate work.When those connected ecosystems grow into the thousands or even millions of devices, that model stops holding up. That is why more companies are moving to platform-led IoT engineering, where products are built on a reusable IoT platform that standardizes core capabilities, lowers development costs, and makes scaling more predictable. This article looks at the limits of project-based IoT development, the benefits and key features of a platform-led model, and how EIC PROPEL™ fits that shift—so teams can focus on business-specific features instead of rebuilding common capabilities.The New Shape of IoT Data ComplexityHooking a device to the Internet is easy. These days, you are stitching together multiple layers, and they all must play nice. First, there is hardware and firmware sensors, device communication, ensuring everything works. At the edge, devices need brains of their own: they process data, translate protocols, and keep working even if the network drops. Then you have cloud services for collecting telemetry, running analytics, managing fleets, securing data the list goes on. You cannot forget about the applications and dashboards that make any of this useful to humans.Managing setup to updates, patches, and finally shutting down retired devices consumes most of your engineering hours even before you start worrying about regulations and the never-ending complexity of communication standards and protocols.There is one more major headache: talent. It is a scramble to find people who understand embedded systems, cloud, cybersecurity, and DevOps all at once. So, teams end up spending most of their time maintaining the platform, not building the features that sell products.Where Traditional IoT Approaches Fall DownThe old way: treat every new connected product as its own mini project. That means new connectivity, new security, fresh cloud integration, new device management—repeatedly.Sure, you get results for the first rollout. But over time, costs pile up. Every project restarts the wheel, so there is no way to build on what you already created. There is a well-known “pilot-to-production” gap, where a pilot of 50 devices works great but scaling up to 50,000 or 500,000 devices turns into a sinking ship. These are the classic challenges that emerge as distributed systems grow: increasing data volumes, multi-tenant complexity, governance, and real-time visibility. It is easy to miss a few of these when designing a system, only to watch it slowly become sluggish, less secure, and far more expensive to maintain. On top of that, technology stacks are bigger than ever. Managing complex open-source packages, SDKs, cloud tools, and vendor integrations take up engineering hours on updates, security patches, and keeping everything running.The result? You are left with a patchwork of half-compatible systems, each with different security and support rules. Technical debt rises, agility declines, and delivering new features becomes increasingly time-consuming.The Case for a Platform-Led IoT Approach to Device ManagementPlatform-led engineering flips the whole process. Building on a base platform, which is a set of reusable tools and services that automate the bulk of mundane work, such as device connectivity, edge management, cloud integration, security, and device lifecycle, as opposed to starting from scratch every time. Your teams focus their energy where it matters: building features unique to your business.Now, there’s a common pipeline from device to cloud. It covers provisioning, updates, monitoring, retiring devices all under one set of processes and controls. Security and governance become consistent, stretching across your whole IoT portfolio.Teams that switch to this model get to use modern DevOps tools such as automated testing, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and one monitoring system for the fleet. No more “one-off” scripts and patch jobs for each project. Updates roll out faster, the risk of mistakes declines, and it is much easier to keep the engines running.Plus, when security is built into the platform, you are protected by default. No more duplicating authentication, encryption, or certificate management for each new product line.What to Look for in IoT PlatformsChoosing the right platform is more than a technical decision. It determines the way you innovate, scale, and keep costs under control.Flexible, scalable, and secure. Ability to grow, cross use of devices, real scalability, and deep security. The best platforms make it easy to connect diverse hardware, integrate with multiple cloud providers, and interface with enterprise systems. Just as importantly, they avoid unnecessary vendor lock-in, giving you the flexibility to adapt as your requirements evolve.For evidence, check for platforms with proven track records, ready-made components, accelerators, and real-world scale in live deployments. Make sure it covers all the basics: device fleet management, security updates, observability, and operational monitoring.Above all, ensure the platform works for projects of larger scale than the demo. The platform needs to grow with your business without sending you back to square one every year.Accelerating IoT with EIC PROPEL™That is why eInfochips built EIC PROPEL™—a production-grade platform meant to speed up connected product launches native to the Microsoft Azure Cloud and enables Remote Device Management as well as Edge Computing and a host of other features that enable you to create Dashboards and even Digital Twins.It is hardware-agnostic and modular so you can pick and choose what you need to build a reliable and standard architecture for your organization. It makes secure onboarding, over-the-air updates for firmware, cloud links for devices, lifecycle management, telemetry  analytics, event management, and visualization of digital twins easy.The biggest wins? Teams reuse up to 75% of their code and components, cut total ownership costs by half, and deliver products up to 40% faster. It has been proved with deployments covering more than 100 million connected devices in different industries.The Road Ahead for Large Scale IoT Deployments and Connected ProductsAs more interconnected ecosystems are built, treating each product like an island is not going to be sustainable. Future success will belong to companies that can build, evolve, and scale these systems without compromising security or efficiency. Platform-led IoT engineering gives you that edge. It lets teams innovate faster and cut through technical debt by reusing solid foundations, standardizing management, and building in security.For engineering leaders, the real question is: how soon can you shift from old, fragmented ways to a platform approach built for growth? Tools like EIC PROPEL™ show that it is possible to break out of the pilot phase, launch real-world connected product ecosystems, and set your business up for sustained growth and innovation.Frequently Asked Questions1. What is platform-led IoT engineering, and how is it different from traditional IoT development?Platform-led IoT engineering uses a shared foundation of reusable services, tools, and processes for device connectivity, security, lifecycle management, cloud integration, and monitoring. Instead of building these capabilities from scratch for every new product, teams build on a common platform and focus on business-specific features. This approach reduces duplication, improves consistency, accelerates development, and makes it easier to scale deployments from pilot projects to large device fleets without accumulating significant technical debt.2. Why do many IoT projects struggle to move from pilot to large-scale production?Many IoT pilots are designed to support a limited number of devices and do not account for the operational complexities of enterprise-scale deployments. As device counts grow, organizations often face challenges with data management, security, governance, monitoring, provisioning, and software updates. Traditional project-based architectures can become difficult and expensive to maintain at scale. A platform-led approach helps address these challenges by standardizing processes, automating operations, and providing built-in scalability from the start.3. What features should businesses look for when choosing an IoT platform?Organizations should evaluate platforms based on scalability, security, flexibility, and interoperability. A strong IoT platform should support multiple hardware types, cloud environments, and communication protocols while providing capabilities such as secure device onboarding, remote management, over-the-air updates, observability, analytics, and lifecycle management. Businesses should also look for proven deployments, reusable accelerators, and a roadmap that minimizes vendor lock-in while supporting future growth and evolving technology requirements.4. How does a platform-led approach help reduce IoT development costs and accelerate launches?By reusing common components across multiple products, organizations can eliminate repetitive engineering work and reduce maintenance overhead. Development teams spend less time building infrastructure capabilities such as security, connectivity, and device management, and more time creating differentiated product features. Standardized DevOps practices, automated testing, and centralized monitoring further improve efficiency. The result is faster product releases, lower total cost of ownership, improved reliability, and a stronger foundation for long-term innovation across connected product portfolios.

Managing a crypto wallet usually creates an uncomfortable security trade-off, like keeping signing keys accessible makes everyday transactions easier, but it also increases the damage that could occur if those keys are compromised.XRP Ledger’s proposed Permission Delegation model aims to change that by allowing an account to give another XRPL account permission to perform specific actions without handing over complete control of the primary wallet.Flexible Wallet PermissionsUnder XLS-75, the primary account acts as the delegator, while another account becomes the delegate. A ‘DelegateSet’ transaction can define which actions the second account is allowed to perform.A delegation can contain up to 10 permissions. Those permissions can cover entire transaction types or more narrowly defined actions. They can later be changed or completely revoked by the primary account.This could enable a business, for example, to keep its most powerful keys offline while giving an operational wallet permission to perform routine tasks.XRPL documentation specifically describes a potential setup where different employees manage activities such as payments, token issuance or trust-line authorization without receiving unrestricted access to the issuer account.Delegated Transactions SimplifiedWhen a delegated transaction is submitted, the transaction identifies the main account while being signed by the delegate.According to XRPL documentation, the delegate’s signature must be valid, and the delegate account pays the transaction fee. The transaction can proceed only when the main account has previously granted the required permission.That separation could be particularly valuable for exchanges, stablecoin issuers and institutional wallets. Instead of exposing a master key every time a routine operation is required, organizations could assign narrowly scoped authority to operational accounts.It also creates new possibilities for wallet applications. Business wallets could eventually offer employee roles, limited transaction permissions and separate signing accounts directly at the protocol level rather than implementing every control off-chain.Also Read: Morgan Stanley Holds XRP ETF Stakes as XRP Struggles Near $1Security Testing Delays XRPL FeaturePermission delegation also demonstrates why new wallet controls require careful testing.An earlier version of the feature contained a vulnerability that could have allowed transaction fees to be charged to another account. The issue was identified on Devnet in September 2025 before the feature was activated on XRPL Mainnet. Validators were advised to vote against the amendment, and version 2.6.1 subsequently disabled it.As of August 2026, XRPL’s official amendment documentation says the original ‘PermissionDelegation’ amendment remains disabled and is expected to be replaced by a corrected ‘PermissionDelegationV1_1’. It should therefore be viewed as an evolving capability rather than an already available Mainnet feature.ConclusionPermission delegation could make XRPL wallets operate more like modern enterprise access systems: different accounts receive only the authority they actually need.For institutions in particular, separating everyday operations from full wallet control could reduce key exposure and improve operational security. The bigger test, however, will be whether the revised implementation reaches Mainnet with strong security guarantees.FAQs:1. What is XRPL permission delegation?Permission delegation is a proposed XRP Ledger feature that lets one account authorize another account to perform specific actions. The delegate receives limited authority without gaining unrestricted control over the primary wallet.2. How does DelegateSet work on XRPL?A DelegateSet transaction allows the main account to define which permissions another XRPL account receives. These permissions can later be modified or revoked, giving the account owner ongoing control over delegated access.3. Why could permission delegation improve wallet security?It could reduce the need to expose powerful master or operational keys for routine transactions. Businesses could keep critical keys offline while allowing separate accounts to perform only approved tasks.4. Is XRPL permission delegation currently available on Mainnet?The original PermissionDelegation amendment was disabled after a vulnerability was identified during testing. As of August 2026, a corrected PermissionDelegationV1_1 implementation is expected to replace it.5. Who could benefit most from XRPL permission delegation?Exchanges, stablecoin issuers, financial institutions and businesses managing shared wallets could benefit significantly. They could assign different permissions to employees or systems while keeping full account control restricted.

Tempsens Instruments fixed its IPO price band at Rs. 285 to Rs. 300 per share. The Rajasthan-based company will open bidding on August 20, 2026, for investors seeking exposure to its temperature sensing and heating solutions business. The Rs. 650 crore IPO will close on August 24, while anchor investors can bid on August 19. The company plans to raise fresh capital and offer existing shares through an offer for sale.The IPO includes a fresh issue worth Rs. 95 crore and an OFS of 1.85 crore shares. The OFS could raise around Rs. 555 crore at the upper price band, taking the total issue size to Rs. 650 crore. Tempsens Instruments will list the shares on BSE and NSE on August 28, subject to the IPO process. The company set the minimum bid at 50 shares, requiring Rs. 15,000 at the upper price band.“This acquisition strengthens our manufacturing capability in temperature and pressure gauges.” This statement came from Tempsens Instruments' official LinkedIn post.Tempsens Instruments will use Rs. 18.1 crore from the fresh issue for capital expenditure. The spending will support electrical heating and specialized cable businesses. Another Rs. 55 crore will go toward debt repayment, while the balance will support general corporate needs.The company reserved up to 50% of the net offer for QIBs. NIIs will receive at least 15%, while retail investors will get at least 35%. Employees also have a separate reservation worth Rs. 1.5 crore.Tempsens Instruments operates 15 manufacturing units across India and overseas markets. The company claims a 10.5% share of India's temperature sensor segment. Its non-contact temperature sensor business holds an estimated 21.3% market share.For FY26, revenue increased 17.5% year over year to Rs. 444.9 crore. Profit also rose 13.6% to Rs. 71.1 crore, showing stronger financial performance before the public issue.Also Read: Anthropic's IPO: A $200 Billion Revenue BetJoin our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Many Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) need banking facilities in India to manage their finances. When choosing an account, the terms ‘NRI savings account’ and ‘NRE savings account’ are often used interchangeably, leading many applicants to wonder whether they refer to the same account. They do not. An NRE account is one type of NRI savings account designed for a specific purpose. Understanding the differences can help you choose an account that matches your income source and banking requirements.Is an NRI savings account the same as an NRE savings account?An NRI savings account is a broad category of savings accounts available to eligible NRIs, while an NRE savings account is a type of NRI Savings Account, specifically intended for managing income earned outside India. NRI Savings Account category also includes NRO Savings Account that is primarily intended for managing income from Indian sources like Pension, Rent, Dividend etc.When should you choose an NRE account?An NRE savings account is generally suitable if you:Receive a salary outside IndiaEarn business or professional income overseasWant to maintain overseas income in India If you also receive income generated in India, such as rent, pension or dividends, another type of NRI savings account, such as an NRO account, may be more appropriate for managing those funds. Some NRIs maintain both account types because they receive income from both overseas and Indian sources.What should you compare before opening an account?Once you identify the account that suits your income source, compare the banking services and account features offered by different banks.Reviewing these features can help you choose an account that supports both current and future banking requirements.IDFC FIRST Bank offers NRI Savings Account solutions, including NRE Savings Account facilities, with mobile and net banking facilities, a dedicated relationship manager, full repatriation benefits and competitive interest rates up to 6.5% p.a.*Why does choosing the right account matter?Choosing the right NRI savings account helps ensure that your banking arrangements match the source of your income. It can also simplify day-to-day banking and reduce the need to change account types later if your financial requirements remain the same.Final wordsAlthough the terms NRI savings account and NRE savings account are often used together, they are not the same. An NRE account is a specific type of NRI savings account intended for overseas earnings, while the broader category includes different account options designed for different banking needs. Understanding the differences and comparing account features carefully can help you choose the account that best supports your financial requirements.FAQsIs an NRI savings account the same as an NRE savings account?No. An NRE savings account is one type of NRI savings account designed specifically for managing income earned outside India.Who should open an NRE savings account?It is generally suitable for NRIs whose primary income is earned outside India and who wish to manage those funds in India.Can an NRI have both NRE and NRO accounts?Yes. Eligible NRIs may maintain different account types if they receive both overseas income and income generated in India, subject to RBI regulations and bank policies.What should I compare before opening an account?Compare the account's purpose, banking facilities, digital services, applicable charges, eligibility requirements and documentation before deciding.Why is it important to choose the correct account?Choosing the appropriate account helps ensure that your banking arrangements align with your income source and financial needs.

Bitcoin tax reporting gets difficult when someone trades across multiple exchanges, different wallets, or even DeFi platforms. Tax software helps by pulling in transaction history, calculating gains and losses, sorting out cost basis, and spitting out reports for the actual tax filing.  In 2026, the top platforms mostly separate themselves through things like international support, transaction limits, DeFi handling, and whether there’s access to professional tax specialist assistance.1. KoinlyKoinly is one of the strongest options for investors who need international tax reporting.Its free plan allows users to import up to 10,000 transactions and unlimited wallets, although downloadable tax reports require a paid plan. Paid tiers start at $49 for 100 transactions, rise to $99 for 1,000 and $199 for higher-volume traders. Koinly also supports more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies, DeFi, NFTs, staking and multiple cost-basis methods.For users holding Bitcoin across several exchanges and wallets, its automatic API synchronization can significantly reduce manual data entry.2. CoinLedgerCoinLedger is particularly useful for investors who want automated transaction reconciliation and straightforward tax-report generation.Its 2026 plans start at roughly $49 for lower transaction counts, with higher tiers available for active traders. The platform supports hundreds of blockchain and exchange integrations and can generate reports for services including TurboTax and TaxAct.CoinLedger also flags missing cost-basis information, which can help users identify incomplete transaction histories before filing.3. CoinTrackerCoinTracker combines crypto tax reporting with portfolio tracking. All paid plans provide tax summaries and reports, while its higher-end Full Service offering supports up to 300,000 transactions and includes dedicated experts, account monitoring and transaction reconciliation.That makes CoinTracker more relevant for active investors or users with complicated trading histories rather than Bitcoin-only holders making a handful of transactions.4. ZenLedgerZenLedger supports Bitcoin alongside DeFi, staking and margin trading.Its Silver plan costs $49 annually for up to 100 transactions, Gold costs $199 for up to 5,000, and Platinum costs $399 for up to 15,000. A professionally prepared tax option is also available for investors who do not want to handle the filing process themselves.5. Bitcoin.TaxBitcoin.Tax is one of the longest-running crypto-specific tax platforms and can be attractive for high-volume traders.Its $59.95 Premium plan supports 1,000 trading transactions, while plans scale to 500,000 transactions for $479 and one million for $679 per tax year. The platform says it has imported more than 100 million transactions and calculated around one billion capital-gains results.Also Read: Best Bitcoin Layer 2 Projects to Watch in Aug 2026Which Bitcoin Tax Software is Best?Koinly stands out for international users, while CoinLedger provides strong reconciliation tools. CoinTracker suits investors wanting tax and portfolio management together, ZenLedger handles complex crypto activity, and Bitcoin.Tax offers unusually high transaction limits.The best option ultimately depends on jurisdiction, number of transactions and trading complexity. Crypto tax rules differ substantially between countries, so software calculations should still be reviewed carefully before a return is filed.Crypto tax software can reduce the time and errors involved in tracking gains, losses and cost basis across multiple wallets and exchanges. As tax authorities increase oversight of digital assets, accurate records are becoming more important for active investors. Choosing software that matches transaction volume, jurisdiction and trading complexity can make filing significantly easier.Why this Matters FAQs:1. What is Bitcoin tax software?Bitcoin tax software imports transactions from exchanges and wallets, calculates gains and losses, and determines cost basis. It can also generate tax reports that make filing easier and reduce manual calculations.2. Which Bitcoin tax software is best for international users?Koinly is a strong option for international investors because it supports multiple tax jurisdictions, cost-basis methods and thousands of cryptocurrencies. It also allows users to connect numerous wallets and exchanges through APIs.3. Which crypto tax software is best for high-volume traders?Bitcoin.Tax can suit high-volume users because its plans support hundreds of thousands of transactions, with its highest tier covering up to one million. CoinTracker also supports very large transaction histories through its premium services.4. Can crypto tax software handle DeFi and staking transactions?Yes. Platforms such as Koinly, ZenLedger and CoinTracker can process many DeFi, staking and token transactions. However, complex activity may still require manual review to ensure transactions are categorized correctly.5. Does crypto tax software automatically file taxes?Most platforms primarily calculate taxable activity and generate reports rather than automatically completing the entire filing process. Some also integrate with tax services or provide access to professionals who can assist with preparation and filing.

n8n — A mature visual automation platform offering 400+ integrations, flexible workflows, code nodes, AI capabilities, and straightforward self-hosting options.Activepieces — An accessible automation platform with a modern visual builder, MIT-licensed core, self-hosting support, and growing integration options for business workflows.Windmill — A developer-focused platform that combines visual workflows with Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, and SQL scripts for sophisticated automation.Apache Airflow — A Python-based workflow orchestrator designed for scheduling, monitoring, and managing complex data pipelines, ETL processes, and engineering workflows.Temporal — A durable workflow platform built for reliable long-running backend processes, supporting multiple programming languages and resilient execution across distributed systems.Huginn — An agent-based automation platform suited to monitoring websites, processing feeds, detecting events, scraping information, and triggering customized automated actions.Node-RED — A low-code, flow-based automation platform using connected nodes to build event-driven workflows, integrations, IoT processes, and custom applications.Automatisch — A self-hosted automation platform designed as a Zapier alternative, providing trigger-action workflows, integrations, and greater control over infrastructure and data.Prefect — A modern Python workflow orchestration framework offering flexible workflow definitions, retries, self-hosting, and hybrid execution for engineering and data teams.Read More StoriesJoin our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Alejandro Ricatti grew up in Corrientes, a city on the banks of the Paraná in north-eastern Argentina, a long way from the venture-funded world he now works in. He started writing code professionally in 2007, in his early twenties, at a local software shop called Soluciones Root, where the work ranged from a pest-control management system for an Argentine state agency to administering Linux servers for organisations with a few hundred staff. It was unglamorous, general-purpose engineering - and, he says, the best possible training."You learn very fast when you're the person who has to make it work and also the person who gets the call when it breaks," he said in a recent conversation. "There's nowhere to hide. That teaches you to build things that actually hold up."In 2012 he moved to Dublin, then in the middle of a tech boom that had turned the city into a European base for large technology firms and a dense network of startups. He took jobs building enterprise software - customer-relationship systems for clients that included the BBC, the NHS and the English Premier League - but it was Dublin's hackathon circuit that made his name locally. Over roughly a year he won three in a row: Google's Startup Weekend, then the largest such event in Europe; Hack The Bank, Ireland's first banking hackathon, sponsored by Ulster Bank, where his team's app won by what contemporaries described as a landslide and drew interest from several European banks; and an Intel- and IBM-backed urban-data event where the prize was mentorship to build sensor-equipped "smart" waste bins. The banking-hackathon win earned him a mention in the Irish press - his first brush with coverage.He is dismissive of the trophies themselves. "Hackathons are not about the prize," he said. "They're a compressed version of the real job. You have a vague problem, no time, a small team, and you have to ship something that works by Sunday. If you can do that repeatedly, it means something." The pattern - small team, hard constraints, working product - would repeat throughout his career.By the end of the decade he had moved back to Argentina and into the orbit of American technology companies working remotely. He led an integrations team at Reciprocity, an enterprise governance-and-compliance platform, then spent nearly two years as a consulting engineer on the data-privacy team at Ring, the smart-home company owned by Amazon. There, he built services that handled customer data-deletion and export requests to comply with privacy regulations such as Europe's GDPR and California's CCPA - the kind of infrastructure that runs invisibly across millions of records and is noticed only when it fails.The Ring work matters to how he thinks now, he says, because it was an early lesson in doing ambitious engineering inside strict guardrails. "Privacy and security are not features you add at the end. They're constraints you design around from the first line. That mindset never left me."In April 2022 he joined ConCntric, a San Francisco-based startup building software for the preconstruction phase of building projects - the estimating, analysis and procurement work that happens before ground is broken. He came in as the senior-most engineer at the seed stage and has been the company's top technical leader since, effectively its chief technology officer without the title. He built the engineering organisation from scratch, and today leads a team of roughly fifteen engineers, designers and quality staff. During his tenure the company raised a ten-million-dollar Series A round.Alejandro’s trajectory is a familiar shape drawn on an unfamiliar canvas: an engineer from an emerging economy, largely self-directed, moving through global companies on the strength of what he can build rather than where he studied. He is candid that the path has not been frictionless, and quick to credit the partnership at the top of ConCntric. He speaks warmly of building alongside Steve, the company’s founder and chief executive, a rare match, he says, of someone who shares his vision but brings deep, first-hand expertise in the construction industry itself.He is now completing a master's degree in artificial intelligence at the University of Colorado Boulder, studying the field formally even as he ships it commercially. Asked where he wants to end up, he resists grandiosity. "I don’t know where I’ll end up on my current path, but I know it’s the correct one," he said. "Building the most advanced agentic AI system for the construction industry, and helping solve physical-world problems with technology, fills me with optimism about the future."

Key Takeaways :AI literacy is the foundation — professionals must understand AI capabilities, limitations, risks, and effective human oversight.Human skills remain critical — judgment, communication, creativity, leadership, and domain expertise make AI outputs genuinely valuable.Adaptability will define career resilience — professionals must continuously learn as AI tools, workflows, and workplace expectations evolve.AI has moved from a special tool for technology teams to a major part of modern work. Stanford reports that 88% of surveyed organizations had adopted AI in 2025, while generative AI had reached at least one business function at 70% of organizations. LinkedIn also reports that about 70% of skills used in most jobs may change by 2030. These figures show why AI skill growth now matters across almost every career.1. AI LiteracyAI literacy will form the base skill for almost every professional role. It means a clear grasp of what AI can do, where it fails, how models differ, and when human review matters. LinkedIn placed AI literacy at the top of its 2025 skills list, while its 2026 research shows fast growth in both technical AI skills and AI business skills.2. AI-Assisted Problem SolvingAI can help solve complex work problems, but good results start with a clear problem. Strong professionals will know how to split a large task into smaller parts, give AI the right facts, check the result, and turn the answer into a useful decision. This skill will matter far more than simple chatbot use.3. AI Agent OrchestrationAI agents can handle several steps within one task and can work with software, files and business systems. Microsoft studied 20,000 AI users across 10 countries for its 2026 Work Trend Index and found a clear shift toward human-agent work. Stanford reports that agent use remains early, which makes this a major skill area for the next stage of AI adoption.4. Workflow AutomationProfessionals need to spot work that AI can handle with little human effort. A strong workflow can move from data collection to analysis, review and final output with fewer manual steps. LinkedIn lists workflow automation among fast-growing AI skills in its 2026 India data.5. AI Output EvaluationAI can produce a confident answer that still contains a serious error. Output evaluation therefore becomes a core professional skill. Fact checks, source checks, number checks and logic checks can prevent weak AI results from reaching customers, managers or clients.6. Critical JudgmentAI can offer many answers, but it cannot decide what matters in every situation. Critical judgment helps professionals test assumptions, spot gaps and reject poor advice. The World Economic Forum ranks analytical thinking as a major core skill, while creative thinking also remains vital as technology changes work.7. Data LiteracyAI depends on good data. Data literacy means the ability to read data, spot poor data, understand basic statistics and judge whether a data set can support a decision. Professionals do not need advanced data science skills, but they do need enough data knowledge to avoid false conclusions.8. Domain ExpertiseAI can produce useful answers across many fields, yet domain knowledge gives those answers real value. A finance expert can spot a weak financial claim. A lawyer can spot a legal risk. A doctor can spot a medical error. Strong domain knowledge will help professionals guide AI and judge its work.9. AI Business StrategyAI needs a clear business purpose. LinkedIn reports strong growth in AI business strategy skills as firms move AI from early trials into products, services and core processes. Professionals will need to judge where AI can raise revenue, cut costs, improve service or create a new advantage.Also Read - Best AI Browser Assistants for Daily Work in 202610. Prompt, Context DesignGood AI output starts with good instructions. Prompt design covers clear goals, useful facts, examples, limits and output rules. Context design goes one step further by giving an AI system the right background before it starts a task. This skill can sharply improve accuracy and consistency.11. AI GovernanceAI can create risks around privacy, bias, copyright, safety and accountability. Governance skills help professionals set rules for safe AI use, define human review and protect sensitive information. The rise of AI agents makes this area even more important, since agents may gain access to business systems and data.12. AI SecurityAI creates new security risks as well as new security tools. Professionals need basic knowledge of data leaks, unsafe files, prompt attacks, fake content and excessive system access. WEF lists AI, big data, cybersecurity and technology literacy among the fastest-growing skill areas.13. Clear CommunicationAI can create reports, analysis and drafts at high speed. Human communication still decides whether other people understand the message and act on it. Professionals need to explain complex AI results in simple language, show key facts, state limits and make clear recommendations.14. Leadership, CollaborationAI will change team roles, task ownership and decision paths. Strong leaders will need to set clear goals, assign work across people and AI tools, resolve conflict and build trust. PwC reports that AI-exposed entry-level jobs now show greater demand for skills linked to traditionally senior work, such as leadership.15. Adaptability, Skill RenewalAI tools can change within months. A skill tied to one product may lose value fast, while the ability to learn a new system can retain value for years. WEF estimates that nearly 40% of job skills may change by 2030, while 63% of employers already cite skill gaps as a major barrier to business change.Also Read - How FinTech Tools Enhance Financial LiteracyNew Professional AdvantageThe strongest AI-ready professional will not simply know one chatbot or one software tool. The real advantage will come from AI literacy, sound judgment, domain expertise, data skill, clear communication and strong business sense. PwC reports a 62% average wage premium for workers with AI skills, up from 57% a year earlier. Some sectors show a premium as high as 118%.By 2027, AI skill will mean far more than prompt use. The valuable professional will know how to choose AI, direct AI, test AI, secure AI and connect AI to real business goals. The World Economic Forum also expects technology skills to grow fast while human skills such as creative thought, resilience, flexibility and agility retain major value.FAQs1. What are the most important AI skills for professionals by 2027?AI literacy, AI-assisted problem solving, agent orchestration, workflow automation, output evaluation, critical judgment, data literacy, domain expertise, AI strategy, prompt and context design, governance, security, communication, leadership, and adaptability.2. Do professionals need to become AI experts or programmers?Not necessarily. Most professionals need practical AI literacy and the ability to use, evaluate, and manage AI effectively within their field.3. Why is critical thinking important when using AI?AI can produce convincing but incorrect or incomplete answers. Critical thinking helps professionals challenge assumptions, verify information, identify risks, and make better decisions.4. Will human skills still matter as AI adoption grows?Yes. Leadership, communication, creativity, collaboration, judgment, resilience, and domain expertise remain essential because AI still needs human direction, context, and accountability.5. How can professionals prepare for AI-driven changes by 2027?Start with AI literacy, apply AI to real work problems, learn workflow automation, strengthen data and domain expertise, develop evaluation skills, and continuously update your capabilities.Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Good morning! Here's your quick roundup of today's biggest developments across semiconductors, startup funding governance, workplace policy, crypto regulation, and AI content tools.What's New Today: Today's roundup spans five distinct storylines shaping the tech and business landscape: India's semiconductor ambitions getting a fresh boost in Uttar Pradesh, a governance controversy brewing around India's flagship deeptech fund, Singapore employers navigating new fairness obligations under a landmark law, a historic and controversial regulatory nod for a Trump-linked crypto venture, and Google's move to give AI creators more control over visible watermarking.Fast-Track InsightsPM Modi's virtual foundation-laying for the HCL-Foxconn chip plant underscores India's push to become a global semiconductor hub.Conflict-of-interest concerns around the RDI Fund's first allocation round are testing trust in India's deeptech funding process.Singapore's TAFEP is urging employers to move beyond box-ticking compliance toward genuine mindset shifts on fairness.A Trump family crypto venture becoming a chartered bank marks an unprecedented — and contested — moment in U.S. financial regulation.Google Gemini's new watermark toggle signals a broader industry shift toward invisible AI provenance over mandatory visible labels. PM Modi lays foundation stone of a semiconductor manufacturing unit in Uttar PradeshPM Narendra Modi virtually laid the foundation stone for the HCL-Foxconn joint venture semiconductor unit, India Chip Pvt. Ltd., at Jewar in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, calling it a major step toward technological self-reliance and positioning UP as a key hub in India's chip ecosystem, while highlighting that electronics manufacturing has grown sixfold over the last 11 years with mobile production up 28-fold and exports up 100-fold; IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw added that India's electronics manufacturing is now worth ₹12 lakh crore and that the new plant will produce 3.6 crore chips, while UP CM Yogi Adityanath framed the project as part of the state's transformation into a hub of infrastructure and economic growth.Read MoreThe RDI Fund Row, PM’s I-Day Address & MoreRDI Fund Row (lead story): India's ₹1 Lakh Cr Research, Development & Innovation fund is facing controversy over its first round of allocations. A report found 15 of the 22 companies selected (including Ather, Agnikul, and Dhruva Space) had investment ties to 7 members of the selection panel, and received ₹1,377 Cr of the ₹2,192 Cr disbursed. The government says conflicted panel members disclosed their interests and recused themselves from evaluations, but critics are calling for an independent review, arguing disclosures alone may not be enough when industry insiders help decide public funding.Read MoreReflect, reframe, reset, and reinforce: 4 ways to advance Workplace Fairness under the new lawThis is a contributed piece from TAFEP (Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices) on how employers can build genuine fairness under Singapore's Workplace Fairness Act (WFA), which bans discrimination based on protected characteristics (like age and sex) across hiring, appraisal, promotion, and dismissal. The article argues compliance alone isn't enough; employers need a mindset shift, and lays out four steps.Read MoreCrypto going through a massive dot-com-style shakeoutThe Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) gave World Liberty Trust Co. — a business tied to the Trump family's crypto venture World Liberty Financial — conditional approval to become a chartered bank. This is the first time in U.S. history that a sitting president's family business has been granted bank status.Read MoreHow Agentic Automation Is Redefining Enterprise IntegrationStarting August 14, 2026, Google began letting Gemini users remove visible AI watermarks from generated images, videos, and music (covering models like Nano Banana, Omni, and Lyria). The toggle lives in a new "Media Watermark" setting within Gemini, and Google plans to extend the same control to Search later.Read MoreJoin our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Severance: Apple TV+'s Severance leads the ranking with its unsettling blend of workplace drama, dystopian horror, and corporate thriller. The series follows employees whose work and personal memories are surgically separated, creating questions about identity, control, and meaning. Its inventive storytelling and striking visuals make it defining sci-fi television.Andor: Andor transforms the Star Wars universe into a grounded political thriller centered on rebellion, sacrifice, surveillance, and resistance. Diego Luna's Cassian Andor becomes part of a larger struggle against authoritarian control. The series stands apart through its mature storytelling, complex characters, and willingness to examine the personal costs of revolutionary movements.Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Strange New Worlds revives the classic episodic spirit of Star Trek while addressing contemporary social questions through diverse, multidimensional characters. Captain Christopher Pike leads the Enterprise through encounters that balance exploration, ethics, compassion, and adventure. Its traditional structure gives the franchise a distinctive identity within modern science-fiction television.Cyberpunk: Edgerunners - Cyberpunk: Edgerunners delivers a visually explosive animated story set within the Cyberpunk universe. David Martinez's journey through Night City explores technology, ambition, inequality, violence, and emotional attachment. Its tightly focused single-season narrative, distinctive animation, and emotional intensity helped establish the series as an exceptional video-game adaptation and animated science-fiction achievement.For All Mankind - For All Mankind imagines an alternate history where the Soviet Union reaches the Moon before the United States. The series expands that premise across decades, exploring space exploration, technological progress, political competition, and changing generations. Its ambitious timeline allows the story to continually reinvent itself while maintaining its central alternate-history foundation.Devs - Devs examines the consequences of technology, quantum computing, and attempts to understand determinism. Created and directed by Alex Garland, the eight-episode series follows a technology company pursuing a project capable of challenging conventional ideas about free will. Its atmospheric presentation, philosophical questions, and unsettling corporate setting create a distinctive science-fiction experience.Silo - Silo follows humanity living inside a massive underground settlement where residents believe the outside world is deadly. Engineer Juliette Nichols investigates inconsistencies surrounding the silo's history and leadership. Rebecca Ferguson anchors the mystery with a compelling performance as revelations gradually expose deeper questions about authority, truth, survival, and humanity's uncertain future.Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Sending cryptocurrency once meant putting in a wallet address and then approving the blockchain transaction. In 2026, that process increasingly includes identity checks, beneficiary details, and compliance screening, as regulators nudge digital asset transfers toward the usual payment rules.The biggest reason is the Travel Rule, which makes regulated crypto service providers collect and share info about the people sending and receiving digital assets.The Travel Rule is Expanding GloballyAccording to the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, 99 jurisdictions had passed or were in the process of passing legislation implementing the Travel Rule by June 2025. Those rules are designed to improve transparency around cross-border digital-asset transfers and combat money laundering and terrorist financing.FATF also revised Recommendation 16 in June 2025 to standardize the information that should accompany cross-border payments. The objective is to give financial institutions a clearer view of who is sending and receiving funds.For users, this means a transfer between two regulated exchanges may now require more than a wallet address. Platforms can request the beneficiary's name, destination platform and additional identifying information before releasing funds.EU Crypto Transfer Rules ExplainedThe European Union's Transfer of Funds Regulation has applied to crypto-assets since December 30, 2024.The regulation requires information about the originator and beneficiary to accompany qualifying crypto transfers when a crypto-asset service provider is involved. It also covers transfers involving crypto ATMs.Pure person-to-person transactions where no regulated crypto service provider is involved are excluded from the regulation. However, once assets enter or leave a regulated exchange or custodian, additional compliance checks can apply.MiCA also requires crypto firms providing transfer services to establish agreements outlining responsibilities, security systems, fees and applicable law.India Tightens Crypto Compliance RulesIndia is moving in the same direction. FIU-India's updated January 2026 guidelines classify virtual digital asset service providers as reporting entities under the country's anti-money-laundering framework.That means exchanges and other regulated VDA businesses increasingly need customer identification, transaction monitoring, record-keeping and suspicious-transaction controls.For users, withdrawals or deposits that trigger compliance rules may therefore require additional information or review before completion.Also Read: Crypto Adoption Around World in 2026: Key Regional TrendsSelf-Custody Still MattersRegulation does not eliminate self-custody. A direct blockchain transfer between two personally controlled wallets can still occur without a centralized intermediary.The difference appears when users interact with regulated exchanges. Platforms may need to establish who owns an external wallet, screen its transaction history or request additional information before processing the transfer.Crypto transfers are becoming more traceable at regulated entry and exit points. That can reduce illicit activity and improve institutional acceptance, but it also means users should expect more verification, monitoring and occasional transfer delays. The blockchain transaction itself may still settle in minutes, increasingly, it is the compliance process surrounding the transaction that determines how easily digital assets can move.Why This Matters FAQs:1. What is the Travel Rule in crypto?The Travel Rule requires regulated crypto service providers to collect and share information about the sender and recipient of certain digital-asset transfers. Its goal is to improve transparency and reduce money laundering and terrorist-financing risks.2. Why are crypto exchanges asking for beneficiary details?Exchanges may need the recipient’s name, destination platform and other identifying information to meet AML and Travel Rule requirements. These checks are increasingly common when assets move between regulated platforms.3. Does crypto regulation affect self-custody wallets?Direct transfers between two self-custody wallets can still occur without an intermediary. However, exchanges may ask for additional information or wallet-ownership verification when funds move between a self-custody wallet and a regulated platform.4. How are European crypto transfers regulated?The EU’s Transfer of Funds Regulation requires originator and beneficiary information to accompany many crypto transfers involving regulated service providers. MiCA also introduces operational and compliance requirements for firms offering crypto-transfer services.5. Can crypto regulation delay withdrawals and deposits?Yes. Transactions flagged for compliance review may require additional verification before an exchange processes them. While the blockchain itself may settle quickly, identity checks and transaction screening can increase the total transfer time.

Insta360 X6 Action Camera Bundle: Costco’s Insta360 X6 Action Camera Bundle is aimed at outdoor enthusiasts, travellers and vloggers seeking high-quality 360-degree footage. It features dual Sony sensors, AI processing and 8K video recording at up to 50fps. The $699.99 bundle includes an extra battery, Bullet Time Selfie Stick, quick-release mount and lens replacement kit, making it a comprehensive package.Ring Battery Doorbell Plus With Spotlight Cam: Costco has added a Ring security bundle combining the second-generation Battery Doorbell Plus with a second-generation Spotlight Cam. Priced at $269.99, the package offers 2K video, night vision, motion detection, two-way communication and rechargeable batteries. The Spotlight Cam adds motion-activated lighting and a built-in siren, giving homeowners a convenient two-camera security setup.Hisense 32-inch QD4 Series Hi-QLED Smart TV: The Hisense 32-inch QD4 Series Hi-QLED Smart TV brings an affordable option to Costco’s electronics lineup. Priced at $119.99, it features a 1080p display, 60Hz refresh rate, Roku OS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and support for Apple HomeKit, AirPlay and Alexa. Its compact size makes it particularly suitable for bedrooms, kitchens or smaller living spaces.Samsung 75-inch Class M80H Series 4K Mini LED Smart TV: Samsung’s 75-inch M80H Series brings a premium large-screen option to Costco, featuring 4K Mini LED technology and a 144Hz refresh rate. It supports HDR10+, FreeSync Premium and ALLM, while Samsung’s NQ4 Gen2 processor powers AI features including Vision AI Companion, AI Soccer Mode and AI Gaming Optimizer for entertainment and gaming.Oura Ring 5: The Oura Ring 5 is among Costco’s newer wearable additions, offering health and fitness tracking in a slimmer design than its predecessor. At 6.09mm thick and weighing about 2 grams, it is designed for discreet everyday wear. Costco’s $399 member bundle includes an extra charger and one-year additional warranty, with online availability for shoppers.LG C6 Smart TV: LG’s C6 is the company’s latest 2026 OLED 4K television available through Costco. The TV combines deep blacks and rich colours with Precision HDR Master Pro, Precision Sound Master Pro and a high-end processor. Costco also offers a five-year warranty, while the 48-inch model costs around $1,600, making it an attractive premium television option.iPad Pro With M5 Chip: Apple’s M5-powered iPad Pro is another notable Costco electronics addition, targeting users who need strong performance in a portable format. Available in 11-inch and 13-inch versions, it features an OLED Ultra Retina XDR display and Apple’s M5 processor. Prices listed by SlashGear were about $950 and $1,250 respectively, depending on screen size.Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp

Key Takeaways :Schema adherence: Structured Outputs goes beyond JSON Mode by enforcing developer-defined structures during generation.Production reliability: Schemas improve consistency, but applications still need validation, source verification, and failure handling.Better schema design: Schema descriptions and instructions can influence model behavior, so schemas should remain clear, focused, and consistent.AI applications often need clean JSON. A model may need to extract invoice fields, classify a document, return data for an app, or pass information to another system. A simple prompt such as ‘return valid JSON’ can help, but it cannot guarantee the exact structure.OpenAI Structured Outputs takes a stronger approach. OpenAI designed the feature to make model responses follow a developer-defined JSON Schema. The result goes beyond valid JSON. The response must match the required structure when the request completes normally and no refusal or interruption occurs.This difference matters. JSON Mode targets valid JSON syntax. Structured Outputs targets schema adherence. OpenAI recommends Structured Outputs instead of JSON Mode whenever possible.From Prompting to Constrained GenerationTraditional prompting asks a model to follow a format. The model still chooses every token from its normal range of possible outputs. A small mistake can create a missing field, an incorrect data type, or an unexpected value.Structured Outputs adds constrained decoding. OpenAI converts the supplied JSON Schema into a context-free grammar. The system then checks which tokens remain valid after each part of the response. Invalid choices cannot enter the normal generation path.OpenAI reported a major result at the feature launch in 2024. On an internal complex JSON Schema evaluation, GPT-4-0613 achieved less than 40% schema adherence. GPT-4o-2024-08-06 reached 93% without Structured Outputs. GPT-4o-2024-08-06 reached 100% with Structured Outputs and strict: true.That result shows the main value of the feature. Model training improves instruction following, while constrained decoding adds a structural control layer.JSON Mode, Structured Outputs Are Not the SameJSON Mode can produce syntactically valid JSON, but it does not guarantee a specific schema. A response may contain valid JSON while still missing a required field or add an unwanted property.Structured Outputs add stronger rules. A schema can define required fields, data types, arrays, objects, and enum values. The API can then enforce those rules during generation.Function calling follows a related path. When a model needs to call a tool or function, strict: true can constrain the function arguments to the supplied schema. When the model needs to return structured text itself, Structured Outputs fits the task better.Also Read - Best Online PostgreSQL Courses to Learn in 2026: Beginner to AdvancedAPI Has Also EvolvedThe current OpenAI documentation places greater focus on the Responses API. Current examples use text.format with a json_schema definition. Earlier examples often relied on response_format.The SDK experience has also become simpler. Python applications can use Pydantic, while JavaScript and TypeScript applications can use Zod. The SDK can turn those definitions into the required schema and return parsed data. This approach helps keep application types and JSON Schema aligned.The current Node SDK documentation recommends the Responses API as the starting point for Structured Outputs. That marks a clear shift from older tutorials that focused on manual JSON parsing.Current Model SupportStructured Outputs now sit inside the standard capabilities of current OpenAI models. The GPT-5.6 family supports both function calling and Structured Outputs. The current GPT-5.6 lineup lists GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.6 Terra, and GPT-5.6 Luna. Each model has a 1.05 million token context window and a 128K maximum output.Price also creates an important choice for large workloads. GPT-5.6 Sol costs $5 per 1 million input tokens and $30 per 1 million output tokens. GPT-5.6 Terra costs $2.50 for input and $15 for output. GPT-5.6 Luna costs $1 for input and $6 for output. For high-volume structured extraction, the Luna price point can make large workloads more practical.Reliable Structure Does Not Mean Correct FactsStructured Outputs solves a specific problem. It does not guarantee factual accuracy. A schema can require a field called temperature with a number value. The system can ensure that the response contains that field and that the value has the right data type. The system cannot know whether the number itself reflects the real temperature.This distinction matters for production systems. Structural reliability and semantic reliability represent separate problems. Applications still need sound prompts, source checks, validation rules, and sensible error handling.OpenAI also warns about unrelated input. If the source text cannot support the requested structure, the model may still try to fill the schema. Clear instructions should define what the model should return when source data cannot support a valid answer.Refusals, Incomplete Responses Still MatterStructured Outputs does not remove every failure case. A model can refuse a request for safety reasons. A response can also stop before completion when a token limit or another interruption occurs.OpenAI provides refusal information so applications can detect such cases. Production code should check these conditions rather than assume that every request will produce a complete object.Schema limits also deserve attention. Structured Outputs supports types such as strings, numbers, booleans, integers, objects, arrays, enums, and anyOf. Objects require additionalProperties: false. Several advanced JSON Schema keywords remain unsupported, such as allOf, not, dependentRequired, dependentSchemas, if, then, and else.New Lesson for Schema DesignRecent independent research adds another useful point. An August 2026 study across ten model configurations found that schema descriptions could affect model behavior. For GPT-4.1 and GPT-5.4 without reasoning, definitions inside schema descriptions performed 11–13 percentage points worse than system prompts in a specific classification task. Conflicting schema instructions produced accuracy drops of 5–45 percentage points in some tests.Another July 2026 study examined 44 language models and found that JSON requests could reduce answer diversity in open-ended tasks. In one experiment, the most common answer rose from 41% to 64%, while distinct answers fell from 52 to 36.These studies do not show a failure of OpenAI Structured Outputs. They show that schema design can affect model behavior beyond simple formatting.Also Read - HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Explained Simply: Beginner’s Guide for 2026The Real Value of Structured OutputsStructured Outputs change the role of JSON in AI software. A prompt no longer carries the entire burden of format control. A schema can define the expected contract, while constrained decoding helps enforce that contract.The strongest approach treats Structured Outputs as one part of a reliable application pipeline. Schema rules handle structure. Model instructions handle task behavior. Validation checks handle business rules. Source verification handles factual accuracy. Refusal and incomplete-response checks handle failure cases.That makes Structured Outputs more than a JSON feature. It provides a practical bridge between flexible language models and software that needs predictable, typed data.FAQs1. What are OpenAI Structured Outputs?They ensure model responses follow a developer-defined JSON Schema, providing stronger structural guarantees than basic JSON prompting or JSON Mode.2. How is Structured Outputs different from JSON Mode?JSON Mode focuses on producing valid JSON syntax, while Structured Outputs is designed to make the response conform to a specified schema.3. Does Structured Outputs guarantee accurate information?No. It guarantees structure, not factual correctness. Applications should still validate important facts and apply business rules.4. Can Structured Outputs handle refusals or incomplete responses?No format guarantee eliminates these cases. Applications should detect safety refusals, interruptions, and incomplete generations before processing the result.5. Why does schema design matter?Schema descriptions and instructions can influence model behavior. Clear, concise, non-conflicting schemas can help reduce unexpected behavior and improve reliability.Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp