Last month, the music streaming arm of telecom company Jio, Reliance Jio Music, and music and audio streaming service Saavn merged to jointly strengthen their foothold in the digital music market, which is expected to cross $460 million (Rs.3,100 crore) in revenue by 2020. The two music streaming companies will be integrated into a combined $1 billion entity that leverages the media streaming expertise of Saavn with the 4G internet connectivity of telecom company Jio. Soon after the announcement of this merger, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), also agreed to pick up a 72.69% stake in the AI-based online education startup Embibe, with a proposal to invest $180 million over the next three years. This foray of India's petrochemical giant Reliance in the startup industry was the culmination of a plan put into motion in 2016, when RIL's owner, the richest Indian on Forbes Billionaires 2018 list, Mukesh Ambani, addressed its 42nd annual general meeting in Mumbai. During the address he stated that Reliance Industries was setting up a $743 million (Rs.5,000 crore) fund, called the Jio Digital India Startup Fund, to invest in digital businesses.

The "Big Brother" strategy underscores how AI and facial recognition tools are increasingly being used in China for a host of tasks, from verifying payments and catching criminals to checking the audience at big entertainment events and customers at fast-food joints.

We are at a pivotal moment in technical advancements, where waves of digital innovation are changing how we work, play, travel, communicate, dine, interact and even think. In March, our collective imaginations soared when SpaceX launched a Tesla into space. Drones are starting to deliver packages and meals. Robots are transforming factories, supply chains, restaurants -- even the environment. In the latest on the #tech4good movement, Urban Rivers has built a remote-controlled, floating, trash-collecting robot to clean up Chicago's rivers. IoT-enabled smart cities, such as Barcelona, Singapore and Denver, are already saving millions in energy and labor efficiency while improving citizen services and public safety.

An student's idea for making a facial-recognition app for smartphones that can provide speedy access to the profiles of Olympic athletes who appear on TV has drawn interest from the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, which hopes it can meet the changing needs of modern sports fans. The committee picked the idea proposed by Eisuke Sugitani, a 20-year-old junior at Doshisha University in Kyoto, as the best in a student idea contest for new media aimed at improving the public's experience with the quadrennial sporting event. If someone wants to know more about a particular athlete when watching the Olympics and Paralympics on TV, it will be difficult to find that person on the internet without first knowing the athlete's name. Sugitani came up with the idea for the app while thinking about how to familiarize Japanese television viewers with the thousands of foreign athletes who participate in the games. The problem must be the same for foreign fans watching Japanese athletes, he said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's northern port city of Tianjin announced plans on Thursday to set up funds worth 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) to support the artificial intelligence industry, official news agency Xinhua said. China aims to become a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2025, taking on U.S. dominance in the sector amid heightened international tension over military applications of the technology. Tianjin will pour the funds into developing sectors such as intelligent robots and hardware and software. It will also set aside 30 billion yuan in a sub-fund for intelligent devices and intelligent upgrades for traditional industries. Sun Wenkui, vice mayor of Tianjin, pledged financial support of up to 30 million yuan for each scientific research institution, whether a provincial- or national-level body, that sets up in Tianjin.

A well-crafted data strategy is key to enhancing patient experience and controlling healthcare industry costs, according to Bill Gillis, CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization. In an interview at the recent CDM Media CIO Boston Summit, Gillis discussed how data can be used to revolutionize the healthcare industry. In this video, he talks about the benefits of big data for the healthcare industry and highlights how AI and machine learning investments streamline manual processes and improve interoperability. Editor's note: The following transcript has been edited for clarity and length. Do organizations need a chief data officer?

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's northern port city of Tianjin announced plans on Thursday (May 17) to set up funds worth 100 billion yuan (S$21 billion) to support the artificial intelligence industry, official news agency Xinhua said. China aims to become a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2025, taking on US dominance in the sector amid heightened international tension over military applications of the technology. Tianjin will pour the funds into developing sectors such as intelligent robots and hardware and software. It will also set aside 30 billion yuan in a sub-fund for intelligent devices and intelligent upgrades for traditional industries. Sun Wenkui, vice mayor of Tianjin, pledged financial support of up to 30 million yuan for each scientific research institution, whether a provincial- or national-level body, that sets up in Tianjin.

Tianjin will pour the funds into developing sectors such as intelligent robots and hardware and software. It will also set aside 30 billion yuan in a sub-fund for intelligent devices and intelligent upgrades for traditional industries.

China's Didi Chuxing is rolling out new safety measures for its Hitch carpooling service after a driver allegedly killed a passenger last week. Drivers will need to verify their identities through facial recognition before each trip -- the alleged murderer, who was also found dead over the weekend, was using his father's Hitch account when he picked up the victim. Drivers using Didi's other ridesharing programs must pass a facial recognition test before each shift as well. Hitch suspended activities for a week following the killing, and will not allow trips between 10 PM and 6 AM while it explores additional safety measures for night-time rides. In the meantime, drivers and passengers taking a trip that's likely to end after 10 PM will receive a safety reminder before starting the ride.

North Korea has been secretly selling facial recognition software, a new report states. This photo shows a German official identified by a computer with an automatic facial recognition system that was not mentioned in the report. North Korea has been secretly selling facial recognition software, a new report states. This photo shows a German official identified by a computer with an automatic facial recognition system that was not mentioned in the report. North Korea has been secretly selling facial recognition technology, fingerprint scanning and other products overseas. That's what researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies found by investigating the country's information technology networks.