⸻ 1/6/2025 ⸻

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🧠 Major Highlights

What were the major tectonic shifts in tech this week ?

⭐ OpenAI Eyes Chrome Integration or Acquisition⭐(speculative)

OpenAI is reportedly in talks to either deeply integrate with or acquire Google Chrome, the world’s most-used web browser. This comes at a time when Google faces antitrust scrutiny for its dominance in web search and browsers.
If successful, this move would let OpenAI embed AI into daily internet experiences, reshaping how people search, browse, and interact online.
It signals a major escalation in the platform war between AI-driven services and traditional web giants, potentially redrawing the digital power map.

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🇺🇸 Trump Bans Chip Design Software Sales to China

The Trump administration has banned U.S. firms from selling semiconductor design software to Chinese companies.
This aims to cripple China’s ability to design advanced chips independently, part of a broader strategy to preserve U.S. tech leadership.
It tightens supply chain restrictions, slows China’s chip ambitions, and ramps up geopolitical tech tensions.

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📺 Amazon Fire Sticks Power Billions in Piracy

A new report reveals that Amazon’s Fire Stick devices are a hotbed for illegal streaming, enabling billions in piracy-related revenue losses.
Tech platforms like Microsoft, Google, and Meta are also under fire for indirectly facilitating large-scale digital theft.
The findings raise pressure on regulators and media firms to crack down on piracy in the streaming era.

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⚖️ Google vs DOJ: The AI Antitrust Battle

The U.S. Department of Justice is taking on Google in court over its search dominance—and how AI might reshape competition on the web.
The DOJ wants to limit Google’s business practices and may even force it to spin off Chrome to break up its monopoly.
This case could define whether AI reinforces or disrupts Big Tech power, shaping the future of web competition and innovation.

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🎮 GeForce NOW Lands Natively on Steam Deck

NVIDIA has launched a native GeForce NOW app for Valve’s Steam Deck, bringing RTX-powered cloud gaming to the popular handheld console.
This marks a milestone in cloud gaming adoption, combining hardware portability with high-end performance for gamers on the go.

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⚡ AI’s Growing Energy Appetite

AI’s explosive growth is creating a massive surge in energy demand, though much of it remains invisible to the public.
New research suggests AI data centers could soon consume over 23 gigawatts—comparable to major global infrastructure.
This raises urgent concerns about sustainability, transparency, and regulatory oversight in the AI boom.

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🔋 Big Tech Bets on Nuclear Fission

To meet soaring energy needs, Big Tech players like Amazon and Google are investing in nuclear fission startups.
These efforts aim to deliver clean, scalable, carbon-free energy by the end of the decade, reviving interest in nuclear as a critical solution for AI-powered infrastructure.

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🌱 Trump Admin to Revoke $3.7B in Clean Energy Awards

The Department of Energy plans to claw back $3.7 billion in clean energy and manufacturing grants awarded under the Biden administration.
This affects 24 projects, reflecting a policy shift in federal energy priorities and creating uncertainty for the green tech sector.

🔄 Week in One Sentence: *"*In the clash of silicon and sovereignty, new powerhouses rise — while the planet and policy race to keep up."

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🏛️ The Biggies of the Tech World

Who moved the chessboard this week ?

Image credits: Bloomberg/Getty Images

🧠 The Big Guy of the Tech World: Elon Musk

This week, Elon Musk dominated headlines with three major developments that could reshape his legacy—and the future of transportation and governance.

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🚖 Tesla Robotaxi Service Gets Green Light in California

Tesla has secured its first permit—a Transportation Charter-Party Carrier (TCP) Permit—from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). This authorizes Tesla to operate a private fleet and transport employees on pre-arranged trips.

However, it does not yet allow public robotaxi rides in autonomous mode. For that, Tesla still needs additional permits from both CPUC and the California DMV.

Despite this limitation, Musk is moving fast:

• Austin launch set for June 12, 2025, with 10–20 Model Y vehicles using Full Self-Driving (FSD) in unsupervised mode

• Targeting 1,000 robotaxis in Austin within months

• Expansion to San Francisco and Los Angeles by 2026

📎 Source

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🏛️ Musk Steps Down from DOGE

After 130 days leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Trump, Elon Musk has stepped down.

At his farewell, Trump hailed him as the “cost-cutter-in-chief,” crediting Musk for saving over $160 billion in taxpayer funds—though some experts challenge that number.

Musk claimed the spirit of DOGE would live on, describing it as “a way of life” aimed at spreading efficiency across all levels of government.
He’ll continue in an advisory role to the president.

📎 Source

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🛣️ Musk Lobbies for Self-Driving Car Legislation

In a strategic move, Musk is personally lobbying U.S. lawmakers to create a federal regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles (AVs).

Why this matters:

• Currently, only 2,500 vehicles without steering wheels or pedals are allowed via special exemptions.

• Tesla—and others—have long pushed for nationwide rules, instead of navigating 50 different state laws.

• A new bill, introduced on May 15, would begin laying the foundation for such a framework.

Musk believes this could unlock Tesla’s ability to deploy autonomous robotaxis at scale, without being bottlenecked by fragmented state-by-state regulations.
He has made it clear on earnings calls: Tesla’s future hinges on autonomy and robotics.

📎 Source

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📈 Market Mood

Tech market moodboard !

International Stocks

Indian Stocks

*THIS SECTION IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION HENCE NO COMMENTARY HAS BEEN GIVEN. MOREOVER THE VALUES HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM CREDIBLE WEBSITES BUT CROSS-CHECK HASN’T BEEN DONE FOR THIS EDITION—NEXT WEEK ONWARDS WE’LL HAVE ALL VALUES VERIFIED AND SOURCE MENTIONED!*

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Other Sections which are being brainstormed right now which will be available from next week onwards are

🌀 Rumor Radar

⭐ Sparks to Watch

India Section — Tech Pulse of India

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🎚️ Oscillation of the Week

“**“This week, AI battled browsers and borders — but beneath it, the new age of infrastructure quietly took root.”**

OpenAI’s Chrome play, the chip design export ban, and the DOJ’s fight with Google dominated the headlines. But the deeper signal lies in the infrastructural re-alignment: cloud gaming expanding, AI’s hunger for energy surfacing, and Big Tech turning to nuclear fission — all hinting at a silent revolution shaping the scaffolding of tomorrow’s internet.