Sumitomo and SBI Holdings will each acquire a 20% stake in a unit of Vietnam's software and telecommunications conglomerate FPT to foster artificial intelligence adoption in Japan, according to a statement. Sumitomo and SBI will invest in FPT Smart Cloud Japan, which oversees FPT's Japan AI data center, according to a statement from the Vietnamese technology firm. FPT will remain the unit's major stakeholder, it said. SBI Holdings late last year signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire as much as a 35% stake in FPT's Japan cloud unit. FPT is setting up a Japan AI data center, with an initial investment of 200 million.

Wayve Technologies, a U.K.-based artificial intelligence startup backed by SoftBank, has tapped Japan as the next location in its global expansion. On Tuesday, it announced the opening of a test center in Yokohama, making Japan its fourth market after the U.K., U.S. and Germany as it looks to work with major carmakers in developing AI-driven autonomous driving technology. "The platform we provide can give a safer and more reliable driving performance than any single manufacturer can build on their own," Chief Executive Officer Alex Kendall said during an interview.

Alphabet's Google needs strong measures imposed on it to prevent it from using its artificial intelligence products to extend its dominance in online search, a U.S. Department of Justice attorney said as a trial in the historic antitrust case began on Monday. The outcome of the case could fundamentally reshape the internet by unseating Google as the go-to portal for information online. The Justice Department is seeking an order that would require Google to sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end what a judge found was its monopoly in online search. Prosecutors have compared the lawsuit to past cases that resulted in the breakup of AT&T and Standard Oil.

Finals season looks different this year. Across college campuses, students are slogging their way through exams with all-nighters and lots of caffeine, just as they always have. Through the end of May, OpenAI is offering students two months of free access to ChatGPT Plus, which normally costs 20 a month. It's a compelling deal for students who want help cramming--or cheating--their way through finals: Rather than firing up the free version of ChatGPT to outsource essay writing or work through a practice chemistry exam, students are now able to access the company's most advanced models, as well as its "deep research" tool, which can quickly synthesize hundreds of digital sources into analytical reports. The OpenAI deal is just one of many such AI promotions going around campuses.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decide that its official stance towards AI-use in films is to take no stance at all, according to a statement the organization shared outlining changes to voting for the 98th Oscars. The issue of award-nominated films using AI was first raised in 2024 when the productions behind Best Picture nominees The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez admitted to using the tech to alter performances. "With regard to Generative Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools used in the making of the film, the tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination, " AMPAS writes. "The Academy and each branch will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award." While the organization at least reaffirms that human involvement is their primary concern, they also don't seem to believe that using AI -- potentially trained on the ill-gotten work of their membership -- is an existential problem.

If you thought bipedal robots were limited to the somewhat creepy and sweet breakdancing moves of Boston Dynamics' Atlas, think again, because the robots are now coming for your marathon medals. More than 20 robots took to the streets of China over the weekend to compete against real people in the first-ever human-humanoid half-marathon. The robots were from various manufacturers, and, like people, came in all different sizes. Some wore running shoes for the 13-mile trek, some ran on their bare feet. Some had eerily human-looking heads, some had traditional robotic, metallic heads.

Even if you've already scrubbed the winter grime from your floors, Spring is undeniably the dirtiest season. Right now, Walmart has Ninja-Shark vacuums and floor cleaners at clearance prices, with some more than half off their original price. The sale includes stick vacuums, robot vacuums, and even steam mops for deep cleaning those hard surfaces. There are tons of models on sale, but the most popular ones will sell out soon enough, so don't hesitate if you see a rig that fits your home cleaning needs. Pet hair plays havoc with vacuum cleaners.

Need a new laptop but don't have the budget to buy one? We've found the next best thing: updating your operating system. If your PC could use an upgrade, Windows 11 Pro is now just 14.97, 175 off the usual price. But you'll want to act fast because this deal ends soon. Curious what Windows 11 Pro brings to the table?

The U.S. still has its sights on winning the global AI race. First stop: Commandeering AI manufacturing. Announced just last week, a 500 billion infrastructure investment from artificial intelligence giant Nvidia will bring domestic AI manufacturing to the U.S. -- that's half a trillion dollars going toward mass production of the the country's own AI supercomputers as well as NVIDIA's Blackwell chips. The AI supercomputers will take over a million square feet of manufacturing space in Texas, while factories and manufacturing partners across Arizona -- operated by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which landed a similar deal in March -- will be tasked with building and testing chips. Proponents say it's a welcome investment in the country's growing AI economy, potentially boosting jobs and aiding in the development of an AI workforce.

Just like AI models, AI news never sleeps. Every week, we're inundated with new models, products, industry rumors, legal and ethical crises, and viral trends. If that weren't enough, the rival AI hype/doom chatter online makes it hard to keep track of what's really important. But we've sifted through it all to round up the most notable AI news of the week from the heavyweights like OpenAI and Google, as well as the AI ecosystem at large. As of this writing, the popular AI leaderboard LMArena ranks Gemini 2.5 Pro as the model to beat, followed by ChatGPT 4o, and Grok-3 Preview.