This Week in Tech: Nvidia's Quantum AI, Amazon's $11.6B Satellite Deal, Meta to Dethrone Google & More

A lot happened last week. Nvidia open-sourced a quantum AI model, Amazon's $11.6 billion deal to challenge Starlink, Meta is on track to beat Google in ad revenue and more. Here's the rundown.

Nvidia's Open-Source Quantum AI

Nvidia released Ising, the first open-source family of quantum AI models. It's designed to be the operating system for quantum processors, handling calibration and error correction, and the stock market ate it up. Major labs and quantum companies have already adopted Ising.

Amazon Buys Globalstar for $11.6B

Amazon announced a deal to buy satellite operator Globalstar for $11.6 billion. It's not final, the agreement is expected to close in 2027, and would give Amazon access to Globalstar's network of two dozen satellites, plus its spectrum licenses and ground infrastructure. Amazon is also planning to team up with Apple, which has invested about $1.5 billion in Globalstar, to keep powering satellite safety features like Emergency SOS. If regulators say go, Amazon will be strapping on its space boots to compete directly with Starlink.

OpenAI's Cybersecurity Model

OpenAI released GPT-5.4-Cyber, a version of its model fine-tuned specifically for cybersecurity defense. It can analyze compiled software without access to source code, helping security teams find potential malware risks and vulnerabilities. They dropped this just one week after Anthropic's Project Glasswing announcement. The AI security race is officially on.

Meta Surpassing Google in Ads

For the first time ever, Meta is expected to beat Google in global digital advertising revenue by the end of 2026. Emarketer puts Meta's net ad revenue at $243.5 billion, just ahead of Google's $239.5 billion. The growth is coming from Reels, Threads, and WhatsApp, plus AI-powered ad tools that let advertisers automate campaigns. Meta's ad growth is accelerating at 24.1%, nearly double Google's 11.9%.

Booking.com Data Breach

Booking.com confirmed a breach where customer names, emails, phone numbers, and booking details were exposed, but financial data wasn't touched. The attack happened in three stages. Hackers sent fake complaint emails to hotel employees, stole their Booking.com login credentials, and exported guest data. Then they used that info to send targeted WhatsApp messages demanding payment, complete with real booking details to make the scams believable. Over 150 phishing domains were registered in 30 days.

UK Quantum Summit

Thirteen nations met in London for the Quantum Development Group meeting. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the US, and the UK were there. They agreed to focus on three things: research security, investment security, and supply chain resilience. The UK recently committed £2 billion to quantum tech. The group also agreed to help quantum companies scale and commercialize their products. Honestly giving international besties.

That's the week. Enjoy.