IT
Google expands AI ad labels to three more markets
The expansion covers California, South Korea and Vietnam, affecting creatives supplied through Google advertising platforms.
Top Stories
Terradot and Microsoft develop AI model for carbon removal estimates
TerraNova predicts soil chemistry after crushed rock is applied. The research still awaits peer review.
IDC: only 61% of surveyed firms are confident measuring AI returns
The Microsoft-commissioned study points to a gap between AI adoption and confidence in measuring its business value.
Google introduces Gemini 4 Hydrogen for coding and AI agents
The model offers four reasoning levels, with Google emphasising speed and practical task execution.
Azerbaijan software and IT consulting services grow 29%
Services reached AZN 641.5 million over ten months, growing faster than the broader information and communication sector.
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Section: IT
IT
Google expands AI ad labels to three more markets
The expansion covers California, South Korea and Vietnam, affecting creatives supplied through Google advertising platforms.
IT
Terradot and Microsoft develop AI model for carbon removal estimates
TerraNova predicts soil chemistry after crushed rock is applied. The research still awaits peer review.
IT
IDC: only 61% of surveyed firms are confident measuring AI returns
The Microsoft-commissioned study points to a gap between AI adoption and confidence in measuring its business value.
IT
Google introduces Gemini 4 Hydrogen for coding and AI agents
The model offers four reasoning levels, with Google emphasising speed and practical task execution.
IT
Azerbaijan software and IT consulting services grow 29%
Services reached AZN 641.5 million over ten months, growing faster than the broader information and communication sector.
IT
Cloud, connectivity and payments reshape business insurance risk
An external service outage can halt a company without damaging its own equipment. Assessing protection requires a dependency map and precise policy terms.
IT
A higher rank does not mean a higher ecosystem value
Indonesia ranks below Malaysia overall but has a higher reported ecosystem value. The measures answer different questions.
IT
What startup rankings measure: funding, companies and outcomes
A closer look at StartupBlink’s methodology, including funding, company activity and the fading contribution of older outcomes.
IT
When fintech ranks above the overall startup ecosystem
Singapore, Georgia and Kazakhstan illustrate why overall rankings cannot replace sector-specific comparisons.
IT
Paris and Berlin lose score points as European startup hubs diverge
Declines in several established hubs do not describe all of Europe. Paris, Berlin, Munich, Brussels and London show different trajectories.
IT
San Francisco retains a wide lead while New York grows faster
The two leading startup ecosystems are separated by a 2.66-fold score gap, while New York records faster growth.
IT
Beyond Silicon Valley: Austin and Miami strengthen their startup positions
Austin entered the US top five and Miami climbed six places globally as growth extends across several American hubs.
IT
Beyond Latin America’s megacities: Medellin and Brazilian hubs gain ground
Medellin, Rio de Janeiro and regional Brazilian centres are improving their startup scores at different speeds.
IT
Africa’s startup hubs: Lagos leads as Cape Town gains momentum
A ranking of ten African cities shows the gap behind the leaders and Cape Town’s strong momentum.
IT
Yandex Cloud restores access to 97.16% of data after data centre damage
Yandex Cloud has restored access to 97.16% of customer data following damage to data centres in October. The remainder cannot be recovered, Russian media report, citing the company.
IT
Lahore overtakes Karachi in a closely matched startup race
Only about 1.4% separates Lahore and Karachi by total score, making Pakistan’s leading startup hubs closely matched.
IT
South Korea’s startup growth extends beyond Seoul
Daegu, Gwangju and Jeju are climbing rapidly, although Seoul remains far larger by ecosystem score.
IT
Australia enters the startup top ten as Melbourne outpaces Sydney
Australia reached ninth place among countries. Sydney remains ahead, while Melbourne is growing faster.
IT
France summons Iranian ambassador over supermarket refrigeration cyberattacks
France summoned Iran’s ambassador over cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration equipment, international media report, citing the French foreign ministry.
IT
India’s startup map expands as Delhi leads Bangalore and Ahmedabad gains
Delhi strengthens its position, Bangalore loses ground and Ahmedabad advances into the global top 100.
IT
China’s leading startup hubs record broad score declines
Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou lost StartupBlink score points while retaining substantial ecosystem scale.
IT
Taiwan enters the world’s top 20 startup ecosystems
Taiwan gained five places as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and India form a tightly packed group in the ranking.
IT
Anthropic could raise up to $64.4 billion in IPO
Claude developer Anthropic could raise up to $64.4 billion through an IPO, international media report, citing a draft prospectus.
IT
Balkan startup ecosystems accelerate across three smaller markets
North Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina each increased their StartupBlink score by more than 69%.
IT
Moldova nearly doubles its startup score from a small base
A 91.9% score increase lifted Moldova eight places. Romania and Bulgaria illustrate the remaining gap to larger ecosystems.
IT
Cyprus gains ground as Limassol enters the global startup top 200
Limassol and Nicosia are advancing in StartupBlink’s ranking, raising the visibility of a small technology market.
IT
Beyond Istanbul: Ankara and Izmir accelerate Türkiye’s startup growth
Ankara and Izmir outpace Istanbul in score growth, broadening Türkiye’s technology map.
IT
Almaty overtakes Astana as Kazakhstan’s startup map shifts
Almaty climbed 62 places to become Kazakhstan’s leading startup city. The country retains two relatively closely matched technology hubs.
IT
Singapore pulls ahead as Southeast Asia’s startup map expands
Singapore enters the global top ten, Ho Chi Minh City joins the top 100 and Surabaya gains momentum. A closer look at Southeast Asia’s startup hubs, with a ranking table and chart.
IT
Riyadh overtakes Dubai: the Arab startup map is changing
The Arab League's top ten cities in StartupBlink 2026: rankings, scores and implications for founders from Azerbaijan.
IT
BT delays launch of Starlink services
The company still plans a launch in the coming months.
IT
Android accounts for 54.99% of measured web traffic in Azerbaijan in October
Statcounter measures website page views across device types, not smartphone sales or the number of unique operating-system users.
IT
Three Baku teams propose ways to connect bus, metro and cycling trips
Fifteen of 510 applicant teams reached the TransportTech final. The winners used public transport data to tackle transfers, fares and passenger feedback.
IT
Data centers accounted for nearly 64% of AMD sales, up from 47% a year earlier
Data center revenue rose by $4.21 billion, more than the increase for AMD as a whole. Embedded chips gained ground, but the PC and gaming segment shrank.
IT
AI for import documents: what Azerbaijan should measure before deployment
Wonderful demonstrated import-document checks. Evaluating a pilot requires time to acceptance, error rates and cost per completed application.
IT
Azerbaijan central bank orders Portmanat operator to remedy breaches
Mobile Payment Solutions received binding instructions following an on-site inspection.
IT
LG CNS completes a 30 MW AI data center in Jakarta
A customer committed to all first-phase capacity before construction finished. Expansion to 400 MW remains a plan, not current capacity.
IT
Cyberattack disrupts refrigeration at European supermarkets
Retailers reported refrigeration failures across several countries. Carrefour confirmed limited disruption at 15 Belgian stores.
IT
Marvell agrees Lumentum combination in $115 billion deal
The all-stock deal would combine Marvell chips with Lumentum optical technology. Shareholder and regulatory approvals are still required.
IT
Prompting as a specification: a framework for more controlled AI workflows
A paper in Acta Innovations sets out the CORE framework for AI prompts. FinFly explains its structure, a newsroom example and the limits of the approach.
IT
Caucasus forum discusses cross-border financial technology testing
A CBA representative joined talks on cross-border payments and regulatory experimentation in Tbilisi. No common testing regime has been launched.
IT
Tesla and Samsung oppose additional US tariffs on Vietnamese goods
The companies highlighted Vietnam's role in US supply chains. The investigation is ongoing and no additional tariff decision has been announced.
IT
Marble raises $3.75 million for AI that learns workplace processes
The Munich startup studies how teams work before proposing automation. Heartcore and Seedcamp co-led the company's pre-seed funding round.
IT
Anthropic plans $3.5 billion share sale to Japanese investors in IPO
The proposed sale forms part of a US IPO. The Japanese tranche does not establish Anthropic's total valuation or the size of the full offering.
IT
ADNOC partners with OpenAI and G42 to bring AI into energy operations
The partnership targets operational and commercial workflows, with human oversight retained for consequential decisions across the business.
IT
Samsung’s chip profits contrast with losses in its device division
Samsung’s results show different economics for component suppliers and finished devices. AI-related demand does not benefit every segment equally.
IT
Microsoft: Azure grows 48% as OpenAI accounting affects profit comparisons
Microsoft’s net income rose 32% under GAAP and 18% excluding OpenAI investment effects. The prior-year comparison explains much of the gap.
IT
AWS growth comes alongside negative free cash flow at Amazon
AWS is growing rapidly, but Amazon’s infrastructure spending exceeds operating cash flow. Profitability and cash generation answer different questions.
IT
More than 70 startups pitch to investors in Baku
Startup School 4 finalists showcased products after three months of training. Projects included a fruit-derived bioenzyme solution for polluted water.
IT
Serval raises $150m as enterprise AI puts implementation economics in focus
Serval’s $3bn valuation and planned automation-engineer hiring highlight the work required to turn enterprise AI into functioning processes.
IT
Kalshi raises $1bn as its $40bn valuation puts the exchange model to the test
Kalshi’s funding supports exchange expansion. Durable fees and market liquidity matter more to the business model than trading volume alone.
IT
China brings AI into manufacturing: how to measure the economic return
Deployment counts do not measure profit. A framework for savings, integration costs and payback, with a clearly illustrative calculation.
IT
Industrial AI in China: assessing borrowers in the technology expansion
Policy supports wider AI use, but lenders still need contracts, cash generation and a credible investment payback.
IT
Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan discuss shared fintech sandbox access
Cooperation between regulators could expand opportunities to test financial products across two markets.
IT
Emden project completes 5G automated vehicle-logistics trials
Volkswagen, Telekom, Unikie and BIBA tested vehicle movements at a logistics site.
IT
Uzcard and Humo integration with Apple Pay is in preparation
Uzbekistan’s central bank says work is under way to connect the national payment systems.
IT
Cydome and partners launch maritime cyber vulnerability database
Cydome, ClassNK, Bureau Veritas, MTS-ISAC and Rakuten Maritime have announced Blue Initiative, an open vulnerability database focused on maritime IT and operational technology.
IT
TruLata launches website builder tied to business owners’ facts
TruLata has launched an AI website builder for small businesses. It drafts pages from owners’ answers, existing websites and Google Business Profile data where TruLata manages that profile.
IT
Poolside to shut down its AI chat service on 31 October
Poolside Chat will shut down on 31 October. Users are being directed to downloadable models that can run on their own infrastructure.
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