China has blocked Meta's roughly $2 billion acquisition of Manus, the AI agent startup, ordering the deal to be unwound after a months-long regulatory probe. The move is a direct setback to Mark Zuckerberg's effort to build out Meta's AI agent capabilities through acquisition. Manus, which gained attention for its autonomous task-completion features, was seen as a way for Meta to accelerate its position in the fast-moving AI agent space. China's veto adds to a growing pattern of cross-border tech deals facing scrutiny from Beijing, even when the target company has limited direct ties to Chinese operations. For Meta, losing Manus means rebuilding that capability organically or finding an alternative target, both of which take time and money. The broader signal to the AI sector is that Chinese regulators are willing to block deals involving companies with any meaningful China nexus, raising the cost and uncertainty of international M&A in AI.
Apple has raised MacBook and iPad prices in India by 20% to 42%, citing a sharp surge in memory chip costs driven by AI data centre demand. Micron, the leading memory supplier, reported 86% gross margins, confirming that supply pressures have fundamentally shifted component pricing across the consumer electronics
India's central government will take a 1-2% stake in AI unicorn Sarvam once its $300 million funding round closes, converting compute subsidies provided under the IndiaAI Mission into equity. The move sets a precedent for how the government accounts for public support given to homegrown AI startups.
Apple announced iOS 27 at WWDC 2026, featuring a redesigned Siri as a standalone app with chat history, apps launching up to 30 percent faster, and a refined Liquid Glass interface. A developer preview is live now, with public release expected around September 2026.
Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote unveiled a fully redesigned Siri and confirmed iOS 27 alongside updates for iPadOS, visionOS, watchOS, and macOS. The Siri overhaul is the most strategically significant move, targeting a competitive gap with Google and Microsoft in AI assistants.
