The world of tech is always buzzing with new developments, breakthroughs, and trends. As May comes to an end, we’re keeping a sharp eye on the top stories shaping the future of innovation. Here are the top 5 tech stories we’re following this week. Stay tuned as we dive into the latest driving the tech world forward!
NYT Scores AI Content Deal With Amazon
The New York Times has signed a multi-year agreement with Amazon, granting the tech giant access to its editorial content for use across various artificial intelligence platforms. This includes real-time summaries and excerpts integrated into Amazon services like Alexa, as well as training its proprietary AI models.
The deal extends to other New York Times properties, including NYT Cooking and The Athletic. Specific terms were not disclosed.
DeepSeek Welcomes New AI Upgrade
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has quietly released an upgraded version of its R1 reasoning model on Hugging Face without any formal announcement. Known for shaking up the market earlier this year with its open-source model that outperformed giants like Meta and OpenAI, DeepSeek is once again making waves. Its latest model shows significant improvements in logical reasoning, math, and code performance.
xAI’s $300M Telegram Tie-Up Sparks Confusion
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is reportedly paying $300 million to Telegram in a new tech partnership to launch its Grok chatbot on the messaging platform, according to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. He shared that the yearlong deal not only boosts Telegram’s financial stability but also includes a 50% revenue share from xAI subscriptions sold through the app.
However, the announcement took a twist when Musk stated on X that “No deal has been signed,” without elaborating. Despite the mixed messages, Durov claims Telegram users can expect access to top-tier AI technology by summer. Both companies have yet to clarify the conflicting statements.
Meta AI Hits 1B Users
Meta’s AI assistant has surpassed one billion monthly active users across its family of apps, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced during the company’s annual shareholder meeting. The milestone follows the recent launch of a stand-alone Meta AI app, part of the company’s broader push to make its assistant the leading personal AI through enhanced personalization, voice features, and entertainment tech tools.
Joby Soars on $250M Boost From Toyota
Joby Aviation shares surged 29% on Wednesday after the electric air taxi company confirmed it received a $250 million investment from Toyota. The funding is part of a previously announced $500 million commitment aimed at supporting Joby’s aircraft certification and scaling up commercial production.
CEO Joe Ben Bevirt highlighted Toyota’s role in refining manufacturing and design processes, calling the investment a key milestone in their partnership. The news signals growing momentum in the electric aviation sector, as Joby moves closer to bringing electric flight to market.
