Technology News (Reuters)

France will go ahead with its tax on big digital businesses this year whether there is progress or not towards an international deal on the issue, its finance minister said on Thursday.

Semiconductor firm Nvidia Corp on Thursday announced a new chip that can be digitally split up to run several different programs on one physical chip, a first for the company that matches a key capability on many of Intel Corp's chips.

France will go ahead with plans to apply a tax on digital businesses this year whether or not there is an international deal on the issue, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday.

Nvidia Corp, whose semiconductors power data centers, autonomous cars and robots, said on Thursday it plans to enter the market for technology that helps cars with automated lane-keeping, cruise control and other driver-assistance features.

Zoom Video Communications Inc said Thursday it plans to hire 500 software engineers for research and development locations in Phoenix and Pittsburgh over the next two years, expanding its engineering workforce by about 60%.

India's technology ministry said on Thursday it had rolled out a version of its Bluetooth contact-tracking app for 5 million JioPhones, the cheap internet-enabled devices sold by Reliance Industries' telecoms unit.

India is aggressively pushing a state-backed contact tracing app to fight the spread of COVID-19, raising fears that the world's second-most populous nation is on its way to Chinese-style methods of high tech social control.

Tesla Inc is a leader in electric vehicle battery technology, but the company doesn't do all its own research.

COVID-19 contact-tracing apps must only be used during the pandemic and will need to be automatically de-activated once the crisis is over, EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders said on Thursday in a bid to allay concerns over state surveillance.

U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc said on Thursday it had started producing Long Range Model 3 vehicles in its Shanghai factory and aimed to deliver them to customers soon.

Softbank-backed Grab is preparing for a potentially "long winter", co-founder Tan Hooi Ling said on Thursday, as the ride-hailing firm's revenue takes a hit from the coronavirus outbreak.

Sony Corp on Thursday said it would make its cash-cow image sensors smarter to broaden their application, as the Japanese electronics maker seeks to reduce reliance on a saturated smartphone market.

Chipmaker AT&S has kept core profit stable so far in its financial first quarter, it said on Thursday after reporting a 22% decline for the full year on investment to expand the businesss.

Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia said on Thursday it would buy back 150 million euros ($162 million) of its March 2021 notes as it restructures its finances.

Shares in Norway's Pexip Holding soared by 54% in early trade on Thursday as the video conferencing company made its stock market debut after an initial public offering (IPO) that was more than 12 times oversubscribed.

Tougher scrutiny of foreign investment in India has soured the plans of China's smartphone manufacturers seeking to expand beyond selling hardware for a bigger share of the South Asian country's competitive financial services market.

Jamaica-based mobile phone carrier Digicel Group denied an Australian newspaper report on Thursday and said there is "no basis whatsoever" that it would sell its Pacific unit to state-owned China Mobile Ltd .

Printed circuit boards maker AT&S said on Thursday that core profit and revenue in its current first quarter were on the previous year's level after posting a 22% decline for the financial year due to investments in its expansion.

A group of privacy advocacy organizations is filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday alleging that the popular app TikTok violated a consent decree and a law protecting children's privacy online.

High demand for video games during COVID-19 lockdowns buoyed Tencent Holdings' first-quarter revenue and profits, with blockbuster games PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile and Honor of Kings helping it beat forecasts.