AI & ML Developments: NVIDIA GPUs, Mozambique’s Tax Strategy, and University Partnerships

Today’s top stories in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning feature Lambda’s deployment of Supermicro’s NVIDIA Blackwell GPU servers to expand its AI cloud infrastructure. In other news, Mozambique is adopting a new AI-centric strategy to transform its tax system, and Elizabeth City State University is collaborating with Amazon to advance AI and ML education for its students.

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Waymo Begins Autonomous Vehicle Testing in New York City

Waymo has secured the first-ever permit to test its self-driving cars in New York City, deploying up to eight autonomous vehicles in parts of Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn. This initial testing phase, running until late September, requires a human safety operator in the driver’s seat at all times. The move represents a significant expansion for Waymo, as it tackles one of the most complex urban environments for autonomous driving technology. During this pilot program, the vehicles will not be available for public ride-hailing, as current regulations do not permit it. Waymo already operates fully autonomous services in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

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NVIDIA Launches Jetson Thor to Power Next-Generation AI Robots

NVIDIA has announced the general availability of its Jetson Thor system-on-module, a powerful AI supercomputer designed to be the central ‘brain’ for a new generation of robots. Built on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, the platform can run complex multi-AI workflows for real-time, intelligent interaction. Jetson Thor delivers up to 7.5 times more AI compute power and 3.5 times greater energy efficiency than its predecessor, Jetson Orin. This performance leap enables it to run the latest generative AI models, including large language and vision models, directly on-device. Early adopters of the Jetson Thor platform include leading robotics companies like Figure, Boston Dynamics, and Amazon Robotics.

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OpenAI Releases New Open-Source Models: gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b

OpenAI has expanded its open-source offerings with the release of new generative AI models under the name gpt-oss. The release includes two distinct models, gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b, with a detailed model card published for transparency. This initiative continues the company’s commitment to releasing new and accessible AI technologies to the developer community.

Meta Commits $10 Billion to Google Cloud for AI Infrastructure

Meta has entered into a massive six-year, $10 billion agreement with Google Cloud to significantly enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities. This landmark partnership, one of the largest in Google Cloud’s history, grants Meta access to Google’s servers, storage, and networking services. The deal highlights Meta’s strategy of using external cloud providers to meet the immense computational demands of AI development while it continues to build its own data centers. This follows Meta’s announcement of increased capital expenditures for AI, with costs expected to rise into 2026. For Google, this agreement is a major victory in its competition with cloud market leaders Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

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GitLab 18.3 Released with Enhanced CI/CD and AWS Security Integration

GitLab has launched version 18.3 of its DevOps platform, introducing several key improvements. A major highlight is the new integration with AWS Secrets Manager, allowing secrets to be fetched and used directly in CI/CD jobs. This version also brings compliance and security policy management to beta for self-managed instances, enabling centralized policy enforcement. Furthermore, GitLab 18.3 enhances security with comprehensive audit events for tracking policy modifications and violations. The release also includes the Duo Agent Platform in Visual Studio as a beta feature.

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Quantum Computing Breakthrough: Single-Atom Logic Gate Reduces Qubit Overhead

Physicists at the University of Sydney have achieved a major breakthrough by creating a universal logic gate within a single atom. This innovative method dramatically reduces the number of physical qubits required to build a stable ’logical qubit,’ overcoming a significant hurdle in scaling quantum computers. Using the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) error-correcting code, the team entangled two ‘quantum vibrations’ of a single trapped ion. By encoding and entangling two error-protected logical qubits in one atom, they have demonstrated the first universal logical gate set for GKP qubits, potentially accelerating the development of large-scale quantum machines.

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory to Integrate IQM Quantum Computer with Supercomputers

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is set to integrate its first on-premises quantum computer, an IQM Radiance system. The 20-qubit superconducting quantum computer is scheduled for delivery by Q3 2025 and will be integrated with ORNL’s high-performance computing (HPC) systems. This initiative aims to pioneer the development of hybrid quantum-classical applications by creating a seamless link between quantum hardware and existing supercomputing infrastructure. The IQM Radiance system is also designed to be upgradable to a higher qubit count in the future.

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Elon Musk’s xAI Open Sources Grok 2.5 AI Model on Hugging Face

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has open-sourced its Grok 2.5 model, making its weights and architecture publicly available on the Hugging Face platform. This release empowers developers to build on and experiment with the model. However, the open-source license includes a key restriction: Grok 2.5’s code or weights cannot be used to improve other large language models. This move aims to increase transparency and competition in the AI landscape. Musk also announced that the upcoming Grok 3 model will be made open-source within six months.

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Linux Celebrates 34th Anniversary of its Open-Source Inception

The Linux open-source operating system is celebrating its 34th anniversary. On August 25, 1991, Finnish student Linus Torvalds announced his work on a new, free operating system. What began as a “hobby project” has evolved into a cornerstone of modern computing. The Linux kernel has grown from just over 10,000 lines of code to over 34 million, thanks to a global community of contributors. Today, Linux powers a vast range of systems, from smartphones and web servers to the world’s most powerful supercomputers, demonstrating the success of the open-source development model.

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Linux Foundation Report: Europe’s Open-Source Adoption Lacks Strategic Maturity

The Linux Foundation’s “World of Open Source Europe Report 2025” reveals key insights into the continent’s open-source ecosystem. While adoption is widespread, the report highlights a lack of strategic maturity. Key findings include:

  • Only 34% of European organizations have a formal open-source strategy.
  • Just 22% have a dedicated Open Source Program Office (OSPO). The report also notes a disconnect between executives and employees regarding the value of open source. The study concludes that for Europe to achieve digital sovereignty through open source, greater strategic investment and leadership commitment are essential.

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