OpenAI’s Quiet Hardware Revolution: A Screenless AI Device May Arrive in 2026

 For years, OpenAI has lived almost entirely on screens—inside browsers, apps, and developer dashboards. That’s about to change.

Behind closed doors and guarded conversations at Davos, OpenAI has confirmed what the tech world has been whispering for months: the company is preparing to launch its first-ever AI device, with a tentative unveiling planned for the second half of 2026.

The confirmation came from Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, during discussions at Axios House. He didn’t show a prototype. He didn’t drop specs. But the message was clear—OpenAI no longer sees AI as just software. It wants AI to live with you.

Not a Phone. Not a Screen. Something Else.

This isn’t another smartphone, and it’s definitely not trying to replace one. In fact, the device is expected to move in the opposite direction—away from screens altogether.

That philosophy traces back to Jony Ive, the former Apple design chief whose company OpenAI acquired last year. Ive has described the project as a “peaceful” AI device—one designed to reduce digital noise rather than add to it. No endless scrolling. No app clutter. Just an intelligent presence that works quietly in the background.

A teaser video released by Ive’s design studio hinted at a 2026 debut, reinforcing the timeline now echoed by OpenAI leadership.

What Might It Look Like?

For now, OpenAI is keeping the form factor deliberately vague. Early reports suggest the company has been experimenting with small, screenless prototypes, possibly wearables. Think less “gadget” and more “companion.”

Whether it ends up as an earpiece, a pin, or something entirely new remains an open question. Lehane has only said that details will come “much later,” suggesting the company is still refining how humans should physically interact with advanced AI.

Why 2026 Matters

The timing isn’t accidental. The AI hardware market is finally starting to find its footing after a few high-profile missteps. Devices like Humane’s AI Pin struggled to resonate, but industry leaders believe the real wave is just beginning.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon recently revealed that around 10 million AI-powered smart glasses are already shipping annually—and that number could jump tenfold in the near future. From smart glasses and camera-equipped earbuds to AI-infused jewellery, the industry is searching for a post-smartphone interface.

OpenAI clearly wants to be at the center of that shift.

Partners, Chips, and the Bigger Vision

While it’s still unclear which chips will power OpenAI’s device, Qualcomm has confirmed ongoing collaboration with the company on hardware initiatives. That alone signals how seriously OpenAI is taking this transition.

More importantly, OpenAI sees devices not as side projects, but as a core pillar of its future. Software may remain its foundation, but hardware could become the bridge between powerful AI models and everyday human life.

A New Way to Meet AI

If OpenAI gets this right, its first device won’t just be another piece of consumer electronics. It could redefine how people meet AI—less typing, less tapping, more listening, speaking, and understanding.

In an industry obsessed with screens, OpenAI’s boldest move may be building something you barely notice at all.

And that might be exactly the point.

By- Nirosha Gupta

India’s AI Spending Surge Signals Confidence—But the Real Battle Is Human, Not Digital

 As India steps into 2026, one thing is clear: artificialintelligence has moved from boardroom buzzword to business backbone. Corporate India is spending with confidence, scaling budgets, and placing AI squarely at the centre of growth strategies. This is no longer about testing what’s possible—it’s about building what’s next. Yet behind the bullish outlook sits a quieter concern that refuses to be automated away: people.

Accenture’s latest Pulse of Change survey captures this contradiction perfectly. Almost nine in ten Indian C-suite leaders plan to raise AI investments in the coming year, signalling a belief that AI will unlock new revenue streams rather than merely optimise costs. Even amid geopolitical instability and economic headwinds, Indian enterprises are choosing to push forward, not pause.

Big Vision, Fragile Foundations

The ambition is undeniable. The readiness, less so.

Over a quarter of Indian executives admit that shortage of skilled AI talent is the biggest obstacle preventing them from extracting real value from their AI initiatives. What makes this especially striking is that this gap persists even as AI tools become easier to access and deploy.

Most organisations are still stuck in training-lite mode. Only 24% have made continuous AI learning part of everyday work, and fewer than one in ten are rethinking job roles for an AI-first future. The result is a pattern many enterprises know too well: successful pilots that never quite graduate into enterprise-wide impact.

No Fear of the Bubble Bursting

Unlike past tech cycles, Indian business leaders appear unfazed by talk of an AI bubble. Six out of ten CXOs say they would keep increasing AI spending even if the hype deflates, and half would continue hiring regardless.

The confidence runs deeper. 79% expect to grow their workforce in 2026, while 76% are betting on faster revenue growth, despite anticipating more disruption than this year. AI, in this context, is no longer a gamble—it’s seen as essential infrastructure, much like cloud or broadband once were.

AI Grows Up: From Trials to Transformation

Read Also :Iron Mountain Starts Building 85MW AI-Focused HyperscaleData Center in Mumbai

India’s AI journey is also maturing. About 41% of enterprises are already deploying AI agents across multiple functions, while 24% are redesigning entire processes with AI at the core. For senior leaders, AI is becoming part of daily work—nearly four in ten Indian C-suite executives now use generative AI tools regularly.

What’s surprising is the alignment between leadership and the workforce. Executives are confident their teams are AI-ready, and employees largely echo that sentiment. Nearly half already use AI to boost productivity, and a strong majority believe it can deliver meaningful business impact.

Why Skills Will Separate Leaders from Laggards

Indian leaders feel well-prepared to handle technological disruption, with AI and digital investments topping their priority list. Confidence dips, however, when it comes to environmental and geopolitical uncertainty—areas where adaptability, judgment, and leadership skills matter as much as algorithms.

As Saurabh Kumar Sahu, MD and Lead for India Business at Accenture, notes, the equation has changed. The challenge is no longer about access to cutting-edge AI—it’s about whether employees feel empowered, prepared, and included as work itself is redefined.

Heading into 2026, India’s AI narrative is shifting gears. The question is no longer who is adopting AI, but who can translate it into sustained value. Turning ambition into execution. Turning technology into outcomes. And above all, turning investment into skills. Those who get the human side right won’t just use AI—they’ll shape the future of India Inc.

By Advik Gupta

Iron Mountain Starts Building 85MW AI-Focused Hyperscale Data Center in Mumbai

Iron Mountain has taken a decisive step in strengthening India’s AI and cloud infrastructure by beginning construction on a large-scale hyperscale data center campus in Mumbai. Built specifically for the demands of the AI era, the new facility will deliver a substantial 85 MW of IT load, catering to power-hungry, compute-intensive workloads. The campus is expected to go live in 2027.

This upcoming Mumbai site isn’t just about raw capacity—it’s about readiness. Drawing on Iron Mountain’s global experience in building carrier-neutral and sustainability-focused data centers, the campus is being designed from the ground up to handle extreme power densities and advanced cooling requirements. That makes it a natural fit for hyperscalers, AI platforms, and enterprises running next-generation workloads.

A strong emphasis has also been placed on reliability and governance. The facility is being engineered for industries with strict regulatory requirements, ensuring continuous uptime while meeting global compliance benchmarks such as HIPAA, FISMA, and ISO standards. For customers operating in finance, healthcare, or government-linked sectors, this translates into a highly secure and regulation-ready environment.

Sustainability is another key pillar of the project. Through Iron Mountain’s Green Power Pass, customers will be able to match their energy usage entirely with renewable sources—helping them move closer to their ESG goals without added operational burden.

Read also : Vertiv has identified artificial intelligence (AI), digitaltwins, and advanced liquid cooling technologies

Speaking on the development, Rajesh Tapadia, CEO of Iron Mountain Data Centers India, described the Mumbai campus as a clear signal of the company’s long-term vision for the region. He highlighted that the project is designed to deliver the scale, rapid deployment, and sustainable performance that global hyperscalers expect—while also forming a backbone for India’s growing AI ecosystem.

The Mumbai hyperscale campus is part of Iron Mountain’s broader expansion strategy across the country. The company already operates data centers in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, and Noida, with additional locations planned in Chennai and Noida. Once fully built out, Iron Mountain’s India footprint is expected to reach 152 MW of potential capacity, positioning it strongly to meet the nation’s accelerating demand for AI, cloud, and digital services.

As India pushes forward in its ambition to become a global AI and data hub, projects like Iron Mountain’s Mumbai campus could play a pivotal role in shaping the country’s digital future.

  By Advik Gupta

Vertiv has identified artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, and advanced liquid cooling technologies

 Vertiv has identified artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, and advanced liquid cooling technologies as the primary forces redefining the design, deployment, and operation of next-generation data centers, according to its newly released Vertiv™ Frontiers report.

The report examines how accelerating AI adoption, combined with increasing compute density and rapid deployment requirements, is fundamentally transforming global data center infrastructure—trends that are becoming increasingly relevant for the UAE and wider Middle East, where large-scale digital transformation and AI investments are underway.

AI Workloads Driving Structural Change

Vertiv notes that AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads are placing unprecedented demands on power and thermal management systems. Traditional hybrid AC/DC power architectures are reaching their operational limits as rack densities increase, prompting a gradual shift toward higher-voltage DC power systems that offer improved efficiency, reduced conversion losses, and greater scalability.

“The data center industry is rapidly evolving to address the density and speed requirements of AI-driven facilities,” said Scott Armul, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Vertiv. He emphasized that advanced power architectures and liquid cooling solutions are becoming critical enablers of gigawatt-scale AI deployments.

"The data center industry is continuing to rapidly evolve how it designs, builds, operates and services data centers, in response to the density and speed of deployment demands of AI factories," said Vertiv chief product and technology officer, Scott Armul. "We see cross-technology forces, including extreme densification, driving transformative trends such as higher voltage DC power architectures and advanced liquid cooling that are important to deliver the gigawatt scaling that is critical for AI innovation. On-site energy generation and digital twin technology are also expected to help to advance the scale and speed of AI adoption." Global digital infrastructure leader Vertiv has released its latest Vertiv™ Frontiers report, detailing the technology trends and macro forces shaping the evolution of data centers, particularly in response to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI). The report highlights innovations in power, cooling, energy autonomy, and digital twin technology, which are enabling data centers to meet the demands of AI workloads.

Read Also : TRAI’s 1600 Move: How India’s Financial Calls Are Getting aSafety Upgrade in 2026

Scott Armul, Vertiv’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, noted that the industry is evolving rapidly to meet the “density and speed of deployment demands of AI factories.” He highlighted transformative trends including higher-voltage DC power architectures, advanced liquid cooling, on-site energy generation, and digital twin technology, all of which are critical for supporting gigawatt-scale AI deployments.

“The data centre industry is rapidly evolving how it designs, builds, operates and services facilities in response to the density and speed of deployment demands of AI,” Armul said.

“Extreme densification is driving transformative trends such as higher-voltage DC power architectures and advanced liquid cooling, which are critical to achieving the gigawatt-scale capacity needed for AI innovation.”

By Advik Gupta

TRAI’s 1600 Move: How India’s Financial Calls Are Getting a Safety Upgrade in 2026

If you’ve ever hesitated before answering a call claiming to be from your bank, you’re not alone. In a digital economy where financial fraud is evolving faster than ever, India’s telecom regulator is stepping in with a decisive fix — and it’s all about the numbers you see on your phone screen.

On November 19, 2025, the Telecom Regulatory Authority ofIndia (TRAI) issued a landmark Direction that will fundamentally change how banks and financial institutions reach customers over voice calls. Starting in 2026, entities across the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) ecosystem will be required to use a dedicated “1600” numbering series for all service and transactional calls.

Why 1600 Matters

The idea is simple but powerful: clarity equals trust. The 1600 series will act as a visual marker, helping citizens instantly identify legitimate calls from financial institutions — and, just as importantly, spot fraudulent ones. Once the new deadlines kick in, BFSI entities will no longer be allowed to make service or transactional calls from regular 10-digit mobile numbers — even if a customer has given consent.

Adoption Is Already Underway

This isn’t just a theoretical plan. TRAI’s sustained engagement with telecom service providers (TSPs) and financial regulators has already delivered results. Around 485 BFSI entities have migrated to the 1600 series, collectively subscribing to more than 2,800 numbers. With momentum building and fraud risks still high, the regulator believes the ecosystem is now ready for a full, time-bound rollout.

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Who Needs to Migrate — and By When

After consultations with BFSI regulators through the JointCommittee of Regulators (JCoR), TRAI has laid out a phase-wise migration schedule:

Commercial banks (public, private, and foreign): by January 1, 2026

Large NBFCs, payments banks & small finance banks: by February 1, 2026

Mutual funds & AMCs: by February 15, 2026

Central recordkeeping agencies (CRAs) & pension fund managers: by February 15, 2026

Qualified stockbrokers (QSBs): by March 15, 2026

Remaining NBFCs, co-operative banks, RRBs & smaller entities: by March 1, 2026

For the insurance sector, TRAI confirmed that timelines are still being finalised in coordination with IRDAI and will be announced separately. Meanwhile, other SEBI-registered intermediaries are free to adopt the 1600 series voluntarily after verification.

Read Also : ASRock is taking a refreshingly grounded approach with itsnewly unveiled Rock Series lineup.

A Small Change, Big Impact

In a country grappling with impersonation-based scams, the 1600 initiative could become one of the most practical consumer protection measures in recent years. For users, it promises fewer doubts and safer conversations. For the financial sector, it’s a clear signal: trust now begins with the number you dial from.

By Aaradhay Sharma