Starting this month, millions of Indians are getting a year of free access to ChatGPT’s new “Go” chatbot. This came after similar offers from Google and Perplexity AI. Each has partnered with India’s largest telecoms (Reliance Jio, Airtel) to bundle AI access into data plans.
At first glance, it looks generous. However, according to analysts, it’s a strategic land grab:
- India has 900+ million internet users, most of whom are under 24.
- It’s an open market, unlike China’s tightly regulated tech space.
- Every “free” chat is first-hand data feeding global AI models.
The playbook feels familiar: hook users early, then monetize the habit. Analysts call it a “calculated investment in India’s digital future,” with data and engagement as the real currencies.
The catch? India still lacks a full AI governance law. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) is in place but not yet enforced. Until it is, global AI firms can experiment freely at a national scale — a regulatory gray zone that might soon tighten.
What do you think of this big move?
Amazon sued Perplexity AI, claiming its Comet browser — an AI assistant that compares prices and can even auto-purchase items — was secretly accessing Amazon accounts and disguising itself as a human shopper.
Amazon says Comet ignored repeated warnings to identify itself as a bot, violating its terms of service. “Using code instead of a lockpick doesn’t make it lawful,” Amazon’s lawyers wrote.
Perplexity fired back with a blog post titled “Bullying Is Not Innovation”, accusing Amazon of using its dominance to “block innovation and make life worse for people.” The startup says user credentials stay local, not on its servers, and that users, not corporations, should decide what their AI can do online.
The broader issue goes beyond one lawsuit:
- Amazon’s view: AI agents must respect platform boundaries.
- Perplexity’s stance: AI browsers should act freely on behalf of users.
- The reality: both are building AI shopping assistants; Amazon with “Buy For Me” and “Rufus,” Perplexity with Comet.
For now, Amazon’s drawing the line around its data, while Perplexity’s betting on user autonomy as the future of browsing. One side calls it security, the other calls it control. It’ll be interesting to see how cases like this shape the next era of web browsing and online shopping.
3. Meta’s $600B AI Bet to Turn Data Centers Into Local Economies
Meta is going all in on AI infrastructure, committing over $600 billion by 2028 to build what it calls “industry-leading AI data centers” across the U.S. The company says this isn’t just a tech play, but an economic one.
Since 2010, Meta’s data center projects have already supported more than 30,000 skilled trade jobs and 5,000 operational roles, generated $20 billion in business for U.S. subcontractors, and added 15 gigawatts of new energy capacity to national power grids.
Beyond the hardware, Meta is leaning into community optics, funding road improvements, restoring watersheds, and investing $58M in grants for local schools and nonprofits. It’s also pledging to be water positive by 2030, a nod to growing sustainability scrutiny in AI infrastructure.
The subtext is that as AI models scale, so does the physical footprint needed to run them. Data centers are the new oil rigs, only cleaner, cooler, and politically friendlier.
