Coca-Cola Automates Custom Drinks to Capture the Next Beverage Boom

Coca-Cola is moving beyond the traditional soda fountain as changing consumer tastes push restaurants toward customized, visually distinctive and higher-value beverages. Inside its innovation facilities, the company is developing equipment that can automate products such as dirty sodas, refreshers and customized energy drinks, allowing restaurant workers to offer drinks that appear handcrafted without requiring the…

Meta $17.1 billion Settlement Forces a New Model for Child Safety Online

Meta’s agreement to pay up to $17.1 billion and impose sweeping new protections for young users marks a significant turning point in the legal battle over children’s safety on social media. The settlement, announced after a federal trial had already begun, does more than put a financial value on years of allegations against Facebook and…

India Targets Firebase as Cybercriminals Exploit Cloud Infrastructure

India’s latest action against fraudulent websites hosted on Google’s Firebase platform reflects a significant change in the country’s fight against digital financial crime. Instead of pursuing only the websites, phone numbers and bank accounts used by individual scammers, authorities are increasingly targeting the digital infrastructure that allows fraudulent operations to function. The Indian Cyber Crime…

Global Banks Turn to Alternative Assets as Wealth Faces Volatility

Standard Chartered is expanding its use of hedge fund strategies for wealthy clients as financial markets become more difficult to navigate, reflecting a broader shift among global wealth managers toward alternative investments. The bank’s move is significant not because hedge funds are new to private wealth, but because banks are increasingly presenting them as an…

Meta Trial Could Force Social Media to Abandon Addictive Design

Meta is facing a legal challenge that could affect far more than the future of Facebook and Instagram. A major trial underway in California is testing whether social media companies can be held responsible for deliberately designing platforms to encourage prolonged use among children and teenagers. The case is important because the allegations focus not…

Alibaba’s AI Funding Drive Tests The Economics Of Big Tech

Alibaba is turning to the stock market to finance an artificial intelligence expansion that is already reshaping the company’s finances. The Chinese technology group has launched an HK$80 billion share placement, worth about US$10.2 billion, with all net proceeds earmarked for its artificial intelligence capabilities. The move is significant not simply because of its size,…

Chinese Robots Break Usain Bolt’s Sprint Records But Face A Harder Test

A Chinese humanoid robot running 100 metres faster than the fastest human in history is an extraordinary demonstration of engineering progress, but the significance of the achievement lies less in beating a sporting record than in what it reveals about the direction of China’s robotics industry. Tiangong Ultra completed the distance in 9.39 seconds at…

Moderna Ebola Trial Tests a Vaccine Gap Exposed by Congo Outbreak

Moderna has begun the first human trial of its experimental vaccine against Bundibugyo virus disease at a moment when the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing one of the fastest-growing Ebola outbreaks ever recorded. The trial is significant because the strain driving the outbreak has no licensed vaccine specifically approved against it, leaving health authorities…