The TechWave - Edition 04 | 16-31/03/2025
Welcome to The TechWave by SmartDev, your go-to source for the latest IT news. In today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape, staying informed is key. We break down the biggest updates, making it easier for you to understand the trends shaping the industry.
Amazon unveils Nova Act, an AI agent that can control a web browser
Amazon has introduced Nova Act, an AI agent developed by its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Lab. It is designed to autonomously carry out tasks within web browsers, such as web searches, shopping, and scheduling, improving user productivity. Nova Act is available through an SDK for developers to experiment with.
In internal evaluations, Nova Act outperformed competitors, achieving a 94% score on the ScreenSpot Web Text benchmark, surpassing OpenAI’s CUA (88%) and Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet (90%). This positions Amazon among top AI developers like OpenAI and Anthropic in creating web-interacting AI agents.
Additionally, Nova Act will be integrated into Alexa+, Amazon's upcoming generative AI-enhanced voice assistant, providing users with a more efficient and versatile experience.
ChatGPT’s image-generation feature gets an upgrade
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a major upgrade to ChatGPT’s image-generation capabilities using the GPT-4o model, allowing it to create and modify images. This feature is available to Pro plan subscribers and will soon roll out to Plus, free users, and developers via the API.
GPT-4o offers more detailed and accurate images than the previous model, DALL-E 3, and can edit existing images, including those with people. OpenAI trained GPT-4o on publicly available and proprietary data, like from Shutterstock. To address copyright concerns, OpenAI ensures it doesn’t mimic living artists' work and provides an opt-out for creators to remove their work from training datasets.
This update comes after Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash introduced native image output but faced criticism for lacking sufficient copyright safeguards.
Microsoft adds AI-powered deep research tools to Copilot
Microsoft is launching two AI tools in Microsoft 365 Copilot: Researcher and Analyst. Both leverage advanced reasoning AI models to assist with deep research and data analysis.
Researcher helps with strategy development and report generation, while Analyst focuses on complex data analysis using Python and offers transparency in its process. Both tools access work data and third-party platforms like Confluence and Salesforce.
These tools will be available in April for Frontier program users, providing early access to experimental features.
Google Acquires Wiz to Bolster Cloud Security
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has agreed to acquire cloud security firm Wiz for $32 billion in an all-cash deal. This acquisition is the largest in Google’s history and aims to strengthen its cloud security capabilities, competing with rivals like Amazon and Microsoft.
Wiz will become part of Google Cloud after the acquisition, which is still pending regulatory approval. This move reflects Google’s commitment to expanding its cloud services and enhancing security as businesses increasingly move to the cloud.
AI-Infused Blockchain Ambient to 'Replace Bitcoin,' Says Co-Founder
What to know:
Ambient raised $7.2 million in seed funding from a16z's crypto accelerator program and Delphi Digital
The chain aims to deliver super-intelligent AI quickly, cheaply, and openly.
Ambient, an AI-infused blockchain platform, has raised $7.2 million in seed funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Delphi Digital, and Amber Group. Co-founder Travis Good envisions Ambient as a decentralized alternative to AI companies like OpenAI, aiming to deliver rapid, cost-effective, and transparent AI solutions. He suggests that Ambient could eventually replace Bitcoin, criticizing Bitcoin's encryption mechanisms as outdated and predicting they might become obsolete within five years.
Nvidia Faces New Regulatory Setback in China Over Chip Energy Rules
Nvidia is facing regulatory challenges in China due to new environmental guidelines that could impact its chip sales. The company is working to modify its H20 chip to comply with these regulations. This setback has contributed to a 5% drop in Nvidia’s stock, adding to broader concerns over its ability to navigate stricter regulations in global markets.
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