Tech & Internet
They sell party supplies on Amazon, new tariffs threaten their future
Amazon sellers Jing and Eddie Levine face major uncertainty after President Trump’s sweeping tariffs disrupted global trade. Relying on Asian suppliers for party goods, they now grapple with rising costs, unstable shipping, and limited US alternatives—highlighting the vulnerability of small ecommerce businesses to rapid policy shifts in international trade.
In last-minute reversal, US agency extends support for cyber vulnerability database
US officials have extended funding for MITRE’s crucial CVE database by 11 months, averting a potential service disruption. The last-minute decision followed public outcry from the cybersecurity community. The move highlights ongoing uncertainty in government spending and has prompted some to seek independent alternatives for long-term database stability.
On the stand, Zuckerberg says TikTok is a major competitive threat
Mark Zuckerberg testified for a third day in an antitrust trial, calling TikTok a major threat to Meta. The FTC accuses Meta of buying Instagram and WhatsApp to crush competition. Zuckerberg defended Meta’s strategy, but internal emails may support the FTC’s case for a potential breakup.
Spotify says it's back after an hours long outage disrupts thousands of users
Spotify faced a major outage Wednesday, with over 48,000 users reporting issues like app loading, playback, and search errors. The disruption began at 6:20 a.m. ET and was resolved by 11:45 a.m. ET. Spotify denied any security breach and thanked users for their patience.
Transforming India
GCC staff in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, NCR spend 5% of lifetime commuting: Report
A study by MoveInSync, an employee commute platform, based on Q1 2025 commute data, found that the GCC workforce in Bengaluru spends an average of 50 minutes commuting 15 km one way, Hyderabad 45 minutes to cover 16 km, and NCR 55 minutes for 22 km one way.
BluSmart halts Delhi airport operations amid Sebi heat on promoters
EV ride-hailing startup has pulled out of the Delhi international airport amid regulatory scrutiny and potential stake sale to Uber. A passenger advisory issued by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) on Tuesday informed travelers that BluSmart’s services from Terminals 1 and 3 have been paused.
Taiwan's chip companies are caught in the US-China tariff war
The US and China, despite rising tariffs and diverging strategies, both rely heavily on Taiwan's semiconductor industry, especially TSMC. Efforts to localize chip production face steep challenges due to the industry's global complexity. China's tariff exemptions highlight its dependence, while US policies aim to reclaim chipmaking amid escalating economic tensions.
MeitY Startup Hub throws open innovation challenge to build open-source consent systems for data protection law
The winning solution will be made available by the MeitY as a downloadable public good. It would help standardise consent handling practices India’s digital ecosystem.
AMD flags $800 million hit from new US curbs on chip exports to China
AMD expects up to $800 million in charges due to new US export restrictions on advanced chips to China, affecting its MI308 processors. Nvidia faces $5.5 billion in related charges. Both stocks dropped over 5%. China, a key market for AMD, accounted for over 24% of its 2024 revenue.
Crypto firm DWF Labs buys $25 million of Trump's World Liberty Financial tokens
DWF Labs, a crypto firm based in Abu Dhabi, bought $25 million worth of $WLFI governance tokens from World Liberty Financial, linked to Trump’s family. The strategic deal grants voting rights, not trading, and highlights DWF’s DeFi focus. DWF will also support World Liberty’s stablecoin project, USD1.
