It’s time for Bits & Bytes…
… where we bring you news, innovations, and thought-provoking insights from AI, IT, and beyond. In this week’s newsletter we’re looking at:
- Google’s Free Coding Assistant Challenges GitHub
- Huawei’s AI Chip Breakthrough Challenges Nvidia
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
💻 Google Challenges GitHub with Free AI Assistant
Google unveils Gemini Code Assist for Individuals, a free AI coding tool offering 90 times more completions than GitHub Copilot’s free tier. This strategic move, led by former GitHub Copilot chief Ryan Salva, directly targets Microsoft’s dominance in developer tools with superior usage caps and a massive 128,000-token context window.
Alongside the individual tool, Google launches Gemini Code Assist for GitHub, an automated code review agent that scans pull requests for bugs, signaling Google’s comprehensive push to capture both individual developers and enterprise customers in the increasingly competitive AI coding space.
TL;DR
- Free tool with 180,000 monthly completions.
- 4x larger context window than competitors.
- Integrates with VS Code and JetBrains.
- Led by former GitHub Copilot chief.
TECH HEADLINES FROM ACROSS THE WEB
🚀 DeepSeek Resumes API Services After Capacity Crunch
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has reopened access to its cloud API after a three-week pause caused by overwhelming demand. While still facing daytime capacity constraints, the company now allows developers to purchase credits for building applications on its competitive models, including the powerful R1 reasoning AI that rivals OpenAI’s offerings.
⚡ Anthropic Unifies Reasoning and AI in Claude 3.7
Anthropic releases Claude 3.7 Sonnet, a breakthrough AI that integrates reasoning capabilities directly into the model rather than offering it as a separate tool. Available immediately across multiple platforms at the same price as its predecessor, the model excels at complex tasks like coding and finance while also introducing Claude Code, a powerful coding assistant that can edit files and push to GitHub.
⚖️ Chegg Sues Google Over AI Search Summaries
Educational technology company Chegg has filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming the tech giant’s AI-generated search summaries have damaged Chegg’s traffic and revenue. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the suit accuses Google of unfair competition, monopoly maintenance, and unjust enrichment.
TECH FOR GOOD
🔧 Huawei Doubles Chip Production Efficiency
Chinese tech giant Huawei has achieved a significant manufacturing breakthrough, doubling the yield of its advanced Ascend 910C AI processors to nearly 40% – a critical milestone that makes its production line profitable for the first time. The company now aims to produce 100,000 of these chips in 2025, supporting China’s push for semiconductor independence amid U.S. export restrictions.
