What’s New Today: Low-end and mid-range smartphones may soon get costlier as chipmakers shift focus to AI server memory, reducing supply for regular devices and raising memory prices.
Fast-Track Insights: Modular furniture maker Spacewood is closing a Rs. 300 crore funding deal with A91 Partners, aiming to strengthen manufacturing and branding and expand stores across India.
Here’s a quick rundown of the top tech stories making buzz today - from rising smartphone costs due to AI chip demand to Spacewood’s new funding push driving its national expansion.
Manufacturers of entry-level and mid-range smartphones are facing cost pressures as chipmakers focus production on high-bandwidth memory for AI servers, reducing the supply of components such as LPDDR4X and NAND flash. The increase in memory chip prices has been in double digits, and storage costs have risen too; hence, smartphone brands may either limit features or pass on the costs to consumers by increasing prices.
Modular-furniture maker Spacewood Furnishings is finalising a Rs. 300 crore funding deal with A91 Partners, valuing the company around Rs. 1,200 crore. The funding includes fresh equity and secondary share sales and will support increased store expansion, a stronger manufacturing push, and wider dealer reach across India.
The tech-services firm Cognizant is adapting to AI’s influence on hiring by broadening its talent search beyond traditional STEM backgrounds. Recognising that AI tools change the nature of work, the company now values graduates from non-STEM fields - such as liberal arts and social sciences - alongside technical skills, in order to build more diverse and adaptable teams.
The article explains how the tool DeepSeek uses AI-based writing prompts to help writers move past blank pages, build story ideas, shape blog posts, and plan social media. It outlines 10 example prompts focused on rewriting for clarity, organizing content calendars, improving email open rates, and creating outlines. The aim is to keep the writing process smooth, idea-rich, and efficient.
A recent report reveals that North Korea is using cryptocurrency and covert IT labour to evade United Nations sanctions. The regime arranges for workers to secure foreign remote tech jobs under false identities and channels those salaries back to fund strategic programmes. Simultaneously, it uses crypto-assets to trade raw materials and weapons, sidestepping conventional financial controls.