AI startup Simile has raised $100 million (₹905 crore) in a new round of funding to help companies predict human behaviour, including by guessing items customers might purchase and questions that might get asked on earnings calls. The financing was led by Index Ventures, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, A* and Hanabi Capital. Simile is based in the US.

Apple's next generation AirPods Pro, expected to be launched this year, may feature a built-in infrared-based camera, reports said. The camera will be used to power visual intelligence tasks, including understanding the user's surroundings and movements, instead of capturing photos and videos. Apple's current AirPods Pro 3 has a built-in heart rate sensor to track health during workouts.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri told a US court that using Instagram 16 hours/day is "problematic", not "addiction". A person identified as KGM had sued Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms for their addictive usage. One could use Instagram "more than you and feel good", Mosseri said, as Meta lawyers noted KGM was hurt by other things in her life.

India is set to inaugurate its first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) on a highway in Dibrugarh, Assam, located near the border with China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land on the newly constructed 4.2-kilometre airstrip, with an airshow featuring 16 aircraft from the Indian Air Force, including Rafale and Sukhoi jets, scheduled to take place.

Russia has blocked Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp, the Kremlin confirmed to news agency AFP on Thursday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC that the decision was made "due to Meta's unwillingness to comply with the norms and the letter of Russian law". He said Meta could resume operations if it "complies with [the law] and enters into dialogue".

Elon Musk has been named 'America's Greatest Innovator' on the 'Forbes 250' list, which describes him as the "only person in history" to build five multibillion-dollar firms, including Tesla and SpaceX, across industries. Further, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, George Lucas, and Jensen Huang occupied the top five spots. Indian-origin billionaire Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, ranked 10th.

Mahindra Group CEO Anish Shah said the recent selloff in Indian IT stocks was an "overreaction" to the disruption caused by AI. He dismissed fears that tools by US-based startup Anthropic will decimate the sector's business models. Notably, Tech Mahindra's shares have fallen about 10% in February, wiping out roughly ₹1.8 lakh crore in market value.

Security risks are prompting India to pull out of a lithium project in Mali backed by Russia's state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, as New Delhi seeks to safeguard its investments. Western nations have urged citizens to leave the landlocked nation as security concerns rise in its battle with al Qaeda-linked militants targeting economic assets and foreign investment.

NASA has rescheduled the launch of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission due to unfavourable weather, setting a new window for 5:15 AM EST on February 13 from Cape Canaveral. The mission involves NASA and international astronauts staying aboard the ISS for eight months, and preparations continue while monitoring conditions that could impact liftoff.

Samsung Electronics has started mass production of its next-generation HBM4 high-bandwidth memory chips designed for AI data centres. Samsung said the chips are over 40% faster than older models and has already shipped them to customers. Nvidia is expected to be key buyer. Samsung shares rose over 6% after the announcement as global demand for AI memory continues to surge.