The AI search startup once predicted advertising would be a massive business. Perplexity is abandoning plans to put ads in its AI search product as the industry looks for sustainable business models that won't hurt user trust. The changes are part of a larger strategic shift for the company, which has long focused on disrupting Google Search's business. Google is changing to be like Perplexity more than Perplexity is trying to take on Google, said a Perplexity executive at a press briefing on Tuesday. Executives spoke to the press on the condition of anonymity.

Sales of the iPhone hit an all-time high in the final three months of last year, tech firm Apple reported on Thursday. Revenue rose by 16% compared to the same period last year to $144bn (£82.5bn) - the strongest growth since 2021 - thanks to a jump in sales in China, as well as Europe, the Americas, and Japan. However, sales in other parts of the company were less positive. Wearables and accessories, which include things like the Apple Watch and AirPods, fell by roughly 3%. Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the iPhone's boost in sales meant the firm was in supply chase mode.

Google's Smart Glasses Will Have the Best Software. But They'll Have to Win on Style Too When Google releases its smart glasses in the coming months, the strength of its AI-powered software will be its biggest leg up on its rivals. But will people want to be seen wearing them? When Google ships its newly refreshed smart glasses this year--as the rumor mill is predicting, and as the hands-on demos posted just last week have all but confirmed it will--the company's tech will be joining a crowded field. But whether this rebirth of Glass will pop or fizzle comes down to whether Google can best its main competitor: Meta .

Apple's Google artificial intelligence partnership will launch a Siri overhaul using Gemini's large language models, the tech giants announced.

No one can truly have it. The world is too interconnected for nations to go it alone. Governments plan to pour $1.3 trillion into AI infrastructure by 2030 to invest in "sovereign AI," with the premise being that countries should be in control of their own AI capabilities. The funds include financing for domestic data centers, locally trained models, independent supply chains, and national talent pipelines. This is a response to real shocks: covid-era supply chain breakdowns, rising geopolitical tensions, and the war in Ukraine. But the pursuit of absolute autonomy is running into reality.

Wing's drone deliveries are coming to 150 more Walmarts The service expansion will reach Walmart customers in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Miami and other US metro areas. Don't be surprised if you see even more drones delivering groceries across the US since the Alphabet-owned Wing announced another service expansion with Walmart over the next year. The partnership said that drone delivery services will be available at 150 more Walmart locations in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Miami and more metros that have yet to be announced. According to Wing, its top 25 percent of customers have ordered its delivery drones up to three times a week. To meet growing demand, Wing and Walmart said it will serve up to 40 million US customers and build up a network of 270 delivery locations by 2027.

The partnership between Uber, Lucid and Nuro plans to launch its robotaxi fleet in San Francisco later this year. Waymo is getting a good look at the competition as Uber revealed the design of its robotaxi that's due to launch in San Francisco later this year. The upcoming robotaxi is a result of a partnership announced in July between Uber, Lucid and Nuro. The plan is still to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid EVs that will use the Nuro Driver autonomous driving tech and be available through the Uber platform. It's important to note that the robotaxi reveal will be a production intent design, so there may be some modifications to the version that will eventually hit the streets.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper .

Chinese robotaxis could be set to hit UK roads in 2026 as ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft announce partnerships with Baidu to trial the tech. The two companies are hoping to obtain approval from regulators to test the autonomous vehicles in London. Baidu's Apollo Go driverless taxi service already operates in dozens of cities, mostly in China, and has accrued millions of rides without a human behind the wheel. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the news was another vote of confidence in our plans for self-driving vehicles - but many remain sceptical about their safety. We're planning for self-driving cars to carry passengers for the first time from spring, under our pilot scheme - harnessing this technology safely and responsibly to transform travel, Ms Alexander said in a post on X .

Elon Musk attends the Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, on 19 November, in Washington DC. Elon Musk attends the Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, on 19 November, in Washington DC. President Nayib Bukele entrusting chatbot known for calling itself'MechaHitler' to create'AI-powered' curricula Elon Musk is partnering with the government of El Salvador to bring his artificial intelligence company's chatbot, Grok, to more than 1 million students across the country, according to a Thursday announcement by xAI. Over the next two years, the plan is to "deploy" the chatbot to more than 5,000 public schools in an "AI-powered education program". Over the past year, the chatbot has spewed various antisemitic content, decried "white genocide" and claimed Donald Trump won the 2020 election .