On a March day in 1602, the Dutch Republic tried to solve a problem of commerce with a piece of statecraft. Rival merchant groups were bidding up the cost of spices in Asia, squeezing profits at home, while the war for independence from Spain made overseas trade inseparable from national security.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said 2026 should mark a turning point away from the “slop versus sophistication” debate, urging the tech industry to stop arguing over AI output quality and focus instead on delivering real benefits in everyday life.

Elon Musk's brain-computer interface company Neuralink plans to begin "high-volume production" of its brain implants and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure in 2026, as per a recent post by Musk on X.

2025 delivered some of the most meaningful advances in everyday tech in years. Across phones, wearables, and gaming hardwares, manufacturers leaned into better engineering, more thoughtful design and increasingly practical uses of AI. Not every standout product was flashy. Some of the biggest shifts came from refinements that made technology easier to live with. Here are 5 gadgets that were in the global conversations this year.

2025 was a year where video games felt more expressive and willing to take creative risks. From emotionally heavy narratives and experimental art styles to refined sequels and long-awaited franchise evolutions, this year’s standout titles proved that the medium continues to grow not just in scale, but in ambition. Whether you were drawn to slow-burn psychological horror, tightly designed action, or expansive role-playing worlds shaped by player choice, 2025 had something that left a lasting mark.

As the global technology sector moves deeper into the second half of the decade, 2026 is shaping up as a year of structural transition. The emphasis is shifting from experimentation to systems that can scale, integrate smoothly and operate reliably in everyday life.

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is planning to spend approximately 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) on AI chips from Nvidia in 2026, according to a recent report by Hong Kong-based daily South China Morning Post.

SoftBank Group has finalised a $41 billion investment in OpenAI, acquiring an approximate 11% stake in the ChatGPT developer. The funding round is one of the largest ever private investments.

TikTok has published a list of the most searched words on its platform in Bangladesh in 2025.

Nvidia has completed its purchase of $5 billion worth of Intel shares, finalising a deal first announced in September, as per a recent report by Reuters.

Meta has recently announced it will acquire the China-founded artificial intelligence startup Manus as part of its push to integrate advanced AI into its products.

From artificial intelligence becoming a default workplace tool to geopolitical competition shaping chip manufacturing, this year marked a shift from “emerging tech” to “embedded tech”.

Shane Legg, co-founder and Chief AGI Scientist at Google DeepMind, has recently stated that advancing artificial intelligence will lead to the elimination of many remote and work-from-home jobs.

AI systems may be making a basic error when dealing with humans. They assume people are far more rational and strategically sophisticated than they actually are, according to a new study.

We now live inside a series of dashboards. If Spotify is the most visible example, it is hardly alone. Everything from our sleep to our steps to our language-learning streaks comes with a neatly packaged scorecard at the end of the year.

The sharp year-end drop in cryptocurrency prices has shaken companies that made large investments in bitcoin, causing their stock prices to fall and raising renewed concerns about a market bubble.

Nvidia has entered a non-exclusive agreement to license technology from AI startup Groq. As part of the deal, Groq's founder, president, and several engineers will join Nvidia.

China's internet watchdog released draft regulations on Saturday proposing stricter oversight of AI services that mimic human personalities and form emotional connections with users.

Bangladesh won a total of 11 awards at the 27th International Robot Olympiad (IRO) 2025. Nine students from the country received medals and technical awards in different categories at the international competition.

Japan is preparing to launch a public-private artificial intelligence project worth an estimated 3 trillion yen (approximately $19 billion) to develop the country's largest AI foundation model.