विज्ञान

By Jaspreet Kalra and Ashwin Manikandan MUMBAI (Reuters) -India will allow users to approve payments made through popular domestic payments network, the Unified Payments Interface, using facial recognition and fingerprints starting October 8, three sources directly familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Authentications will be done using biometric data stored under the Government of India's unique identification system – Aadhar, one of the sources said. The move follows recent guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India permitting alternative methods of authentication and will mark a departure from the current system, which requires a numeric PIN for payment authentication. The National Payments Corporation of India, which operates UPI, plans to showcase this new biometric feature at the ongoing Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai, the sources said on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media. NPCI did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. (Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra and Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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By Sudip Kar-Gupta BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Dutch cryptocurrency company Amdax, which plans to launch a bitcoin treasury company called AMBTS on the Dutch exchange, has raised 30 million euros ($35 million) in financing, it said on Tuesday, highlighting the persistent appeal of Bitcoin. Amdax said the closing of its initial financing round for AMBTS meant it was ready to start its programme of buying Bitcoin, which has hit record highs this month, breaching through the $125,000 price level. "The closing of this round is an important milestone," said CEO and AMBTS co-founder Lucas Wensing. "We now move forward with our bitcoin strategy, aiming to offer investors transparent access to this unique asset class," he added in a statement. Amdax will join a host of companies buying bitcoin for their treasury reserves, such as Dutch-based firm Treasury, backed by the U.S. billionaire Winklevoss twins, Strive, which is backed by former Republican U.S. presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Michael Saylor's company Strategy. ($1=0.8554 euros) (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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By Sudip Kar-Gupta BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Dutch cryptocurrency company Amdax, which plans to launch a bitcoin treasury company called AMBTS on the Dutch exchange, has raised 30 million euros ($35 million) in financing, it said on Tuesday, highlighting the persistent appeal of Bitcoin. Amdax said the closing of its initial financing round for AMBTS meant it was ready to start its programme of buying Bitcoin, which has hit record highs this month, breaching through the $125,000 price level. "The closing of this round is an important milestone," said CEO and AMBTS co-founder Lucas Wensing. "We now move forward with our bitcoin strategy, aiming to offer investors transparent access to this unique asset class," he added in a statement. Amdax will join a host of companies buying bitcoin for their treasury reserves, such as Dutch-based firm Treasury, backed by the U.S. billionaire Winklevoss twins, Strive, which is backed by former Republican U.S. presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Michael Saylor's company Strategy. ($1=0.8554 euros) (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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(Reuters) -Elon Musk has named Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker who advised him on the acquisition of X, as the new chief financial officer of his artificial intelligence group xAI, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Armstrong will lead the finance operations for both xAI and social media platform X, the report said, citing several people familiar with the matter. Veteran dealmaker Armstrong has been working with xAI for several weeks and was formally appointed the CFO in recent days, the newspaper said. xAI and X did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Armstrong could not be immediately reached. Musk launched xAI in 2023 to challenge Big Tech's AI push, accusing industry leaders of excessive censorship and lax safety standards. Armstrong will also be responsible for steering the social media business back to financial stability following an exodus of advertisers after Musk relaxed its content moderation standards. As Morgan Stanley's global head of tech M&A, Armstrong was part of the team Musk enlisted to manage the $44 billion purchase of Twitter in 2022. As the Morgan Stanley-financed deal took shape, Armstrong and Musk developed a close relationship, according to the report. Earlier this year, Armstrong helped Musk oversee the Office of Personnel Management during his stint in Washington at the Department of Government Efficiency. Armstrong will replace Mike Liberatore as finance chief of xAI. Liberatore left the artificial intelligence startup this year following clashes with members of Musk's inner circle over corporate structure and aggressive financial targets, the FT report said. Armstrong's X account now features the xAI logo next to his name, indicating his new role as an employee. His appointment as CFO comes amid a broader wave of executive departures. In July, X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned, and over the summer, xAI's Liberatore and general counsel Robert Keele also left the company. Additionally, X's finance chief Mahmoud Reza Banki exited after less than a year in the role, the FT report said. xAI is reportedly in discussions for a new funding round that could value the company at approximately $200 billion, though investors say the deal has not yet been finalized, the report added. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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(Reuters) -Elon Musk has appointed former Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong as the new chief financial officer of his artificial intelligence group xAI, the Financial Times reported on Monday. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Elon Musk has appointed former Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong as the new chief financial officer of his artificial intelligence group xAI, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Armstrong will lead the finance operations for both xAI and social media platform X, the report said, citing several people familiar with the matter. xAI and X did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Armstrong will replace Mike Liberatore as CFO. Liberatore left the artificial intelligence startup this year following clashes with members of Musk's inner circle over corporate structure and aggressive financial targets, the report said. Armstrong has emerged as a close lieutenant in recent years, including during Musk's stint in Washington at the Department of Government Efficiency, the report added. Musk launched xAI in 2023 to challenge Big Tech's AI push, accusing industry leaders of excessive censorship and lax safety standards. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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By Abhirup Roy (Reuters) -Tesla is expected to unveil on Tuesday a more affordable version of its best-selling Model Y SUV, as the electric vehicle maker seeks to reverse falling sales and waning market share amid rising global competition. Chief Executive Elon Musk for years has promised mass market vehicles, though last year he canceled plans to build an all-new $25,000 EV, Reuters first reported. The car expected this week is an "affordable" vehicle based on current manufacturing and design platforms. Tesla posted two clips on X over the weekend, igniting excitement among Tesla fans. One video shows headlights peering out of the dark and another shows what looks like a wheel spinning for a few seconds, followed by "10/7", the U.S. format for the date October 7. Neither Tesla nor influencers have indicated that an in-person event is in the works, in contrast to previous major Tesla launches. Still, analysts, investors and fans expect the company to make some kind of announcement. Major questions include the car's price, driving range and efforts to strip down costs. Late last year, Musk said the vehicle would be priced below the "key threshold" of $30,000 including U.S. EV tax credits. In the United States, prices effectively rose by $7,500 at the end of last month, when the credit ended. That helped goose quarterly sales to a record, but expectations are that they will slow down for the rest of the year, unless the affordable car comes to the rescue. "The desire to buy the car is very high. (It's) just (that) people don't have enough money in the bank account to buy it," Musk said in July during Tesla's second-quarter earnings call. "So the more affordable we can make the car, the better." Musk initially promised that production of the vehicle would start by the end of June. But Tesla only made what it called "first builds" of the car, it said in July, adding that it would be available for customers sometime in the last three months of the year. Tesla has already been grappling with slowing sales of its aging lineup as competition has grown rapidly, especially in China and Europe, where Musk's far-right political views also have undermined brand loyalty. Earlier this year, Tesla launched a refreshed version of the Model Y with improvements including new light bars and a rear touchscreen. Musk has been pivoting the company toward artificial intelligence, focusing on robotaxis and humanoid robots. Tesla has said it will launch more affordable vehicles in its lineup but has not provided details. Sources have told Reuters the EV maker also plans to roll out a stripped-down version of its Model 3 midsize sedan. Affordable cars will also be key to Tesla delivering 20 million vehicles over the next decade – one of the several operational and valuation milestones set by the company's board as part of its proposed $1 trillion pay package for Musk. (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; editing by Peter Henderson and Richard Chang)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Abhirup Roy (Reuters) -Tesla is expected to unveil on Tuesday a more affordable version of its best-selling Model Y SUV, as the electric vehicle maker seeks to reverse falling sales and waning market share amid rising global competition. Chief Executive Elon Musk for years has promised mass market vehicles, though last year he canceled plans to build an all-new $25,000 EV, Reuters first reported. The car expected this week is an "affordable" vehicle based on current manufacturing and design platforms. Tesla posted two clips on X over the weekend, igniting excitement among Tesla fans. One video shows headlights peering out of the dark and another shows what looks like a wheel spinning for a few seconds, followed by "10/7", the U.S. format for the date October 7. Neither Tesla nor influencers have indicated that an in-person event is in the works, in contrast to previous major Tesla launches. Still, analysts, investors and fans expect the company to make some kind of announcement. Major questions include the car's price, driving range and efforts to strip down costs. Late last year, Musk said the vehicle would be priced below the "key threshold" of $30,000 including U.S. EV tax credits. In the United States, prices effectively rose by $7,500 at the end of last month, when the credit ended. That helped goose quarterly sales to a record, but expectations are that they will slow down for the rest of the year, unless the affordable car comes to the rescue. "The desire to buy the car is very high. (It's) just (that) people don't have enough money in the bank account to buy it," Musk said in July during Tesla's second-quarter earnings call. "So the more affordable we can make the car, the better." Musk initially promised that production of the vehicle would start by the end of June. But Tesla only made what it called "first builds" of the car, it said in July, adding that it would be available for customers sometime in the last three months of the year. Tesla has already been grappling with slowing sales of its aging lineup as competition has grown rapidly, especially in China and Europe, where Musk's far-right political views also have undermined brand loyalty. Earlier this year, Tesla launched a refreshed version of the Model Y with improvements including new light bars and a rear touchscreen. Musk has been pivoting the company toward artificial intelligence, focusing on robotaxis and humanoid robots. Tesla has said it will launch more affordable vehicles in its lineup but has not provided details. Sources have told Reuters the EV maker also plans to roll out a stripped-down version of its Model 3 midsize sedan. Affordable cars will also be key to Tesla delivering 20 million vehicles over the next decade – one of the several operational and valuation milestones set by the company's board as part of its proposed $1 trillion pay package for Musk. (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; editing by Peter Henderson and Richard Chang)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Elon Musk has appointed former Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong as the new chief financial officer of his artificial intelligence group xAI, the Financial Times reported on Monday. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Elon Musk has appointed former Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong as the new chief financial officer of his artificial intelligence group xAI, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Armstrong will lead the finance operations for both xAI and social media platform X, the report said, citing several people familiar with the matter. xAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)