Google and Blackstone unveil $5 billion AI cloud venture
Google and Blackstone announced a new AI cloud venture worth $5 billion, aiming to accelerate enterprise-grade AI adoption. The venture will rely on Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and its software stack to provide compute as a service to businesses worldwide. Blackstone will invest about $5 billion, making it one of the largest private capital commitments in AI infrastructure this year. The project is designed to expand capacity beyond existing cloud platforms, offering scalable, secure, and cost-effective access to powerful AI hardware without firms bearing the full cost of building data centers. Indian technology firms are watching the development closely for potential partnerships and supply-chain implications.
Investment amount: $5 billion from Blackstone.
Uses Google's TPUs to offer compute-as-a-service model.
Aims to expand capacity beyond existing cloud platforms and challenge Nvidia-dominated segments.
First-phase data center capacity context not specified in detail here.
India: Indian tech firms watching for partnerships and supply-chain implications.
AI and Quantum Technology Collaboration MoU between Indian and Vietnamese institutions
India and Vietnam renewed science and technology collaboration with an MoU on AI and quantum technology between India’s Military College of Telecommunications Engineering and Vietnam’s Telecommunications University on 19 May 2026. The agreement envisions joint research, student exchanges, and capacity-building in AI, machine learning, quantum computing and quantum sensing for defence applications. Officials described the partnership as a practical step within the broader defence technology cooperation under the ECS framework. The collaboration aims to strengthen both nations’ capabilities in secure communications, data analytics and advanced sensing for future security operations and academic exchange.
MoU between MCTE and Vietnam’s Telecommunications University.
Focus on AI, quantum tech for defence applications.
Includes joint research and student exchanges.
Part of broader India-Vietnam tech cooperation.
Aims to enhance secure communications and sensing capabilities.
Sweden joins India’s Venus orbiter mission Shukrayaan
Sweden has joined India’s planned Venus orbiter mission, Shukrayaan. ISRO’s project aims to study Venus’s atmosphere, exosphere, surface, weather systems and cloud dynamics. The mission will carry 19 payloads, including a Venusian Neutrals Analyser developed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics to examine how solar particles interact with Venus’s atmosphere. The Union Cabinet approved the mission in 2024 with a budget of Rs 1,236 crore. The spacecraft will launch on an LVM-3 rocket and shift from an initial elliptical orbit to a Venus orbit, with a 500 km periapsis and 60,000 km apoapsis. The mission seeks to understand Venus’s climate history and past potential for liquid water.
Sweden collaborates on Shukrayaan through Swedish Institute of Space Physics.
VNA instrument studies solar particle interaction with Venus’ atmosphere.
Mission profile approved in 2024; budget Rs 1,236 crore.
Launch on LVM-3 rocket; orbital transition to Venus orbit.
Objectives include Venusian atmosphere, surface and cloud dynamics.
May 19, 2026
National AI Doctors Mission Launched in New Delhi
The National AI Doctors Mission (NAIDM) was launched at Health AI Con 2026 in New Delhi on 17 May 2026. The doctor-led initiative, conceived by Medical Dialogues with the National Medical Forum, aims to train India’s medical professionals in artificial intelligence, clinical practices, and ethical use of digital tools. The program covers AI knowledge, practical skills, and an ethical framework for medical professionals. It aligns with Digital India and the National Digital Health Mission, with oversight from the National Medical Commission. The mission seeks standardized learning pathways, governance norms, and clinical accountability in AI-enabled healthcare.
Launch date: 17 May 2026
Event: Health AI Con 2026, New Delhi
Leading bodies: Medical Dialogues and National Medical Forum
Focus areas: AI knowledge, practical skills, ethics
Governance: National Medical Commission oversight
May 18, 2026
Antarctica yields oldest directly dated ice and air sample
Scientists in Antarctica have identified the oldest directly dated ice and air sample, from the Allan Hills region of East Antarctica. The 6-million-year-old ice contains trapped air bubbles dated by argon isotope analysis, revealing long-term cooling patterns over millions of years. The finding, led by the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) and researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Princeton University, complements the European Beyond EPICA–Oldest Ice project’s findings, which recovered a 2.8-kilometre ice core from Little Dome C dating back 1.2 million years. Together, these records provide rare glimpses into past atmospheric composition and climate change.
Ice sample age: about 6 million years; location: Allan Hills, East Antarctica.
Dating method: argon isotope analysis of trapped air.
Research teams: COLDEX; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Princeton University.
Related work: EPICA–Oldest Ice project; Little Dome C core dating 1.2 million years.
Implication: informs understanding of long-term Antarctic climate history.
World AIDS Vaccine Day 2026 observed on 18 May to promote HIV vaccine research
World AIDS Vaccine Day 2026 was observed worldwide on 18 May, underscoring the urgent need for an effective HIV vaccine and continued research to end AIDS. The day, also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, honours scientists, healthcare workers, volunteers and community organisations advancing HIV vaccine work. The observance traces back to 18 May 1997 when former United States President Bill Clinton delivered a speech at Morgan State University calling for a preventive HIV vaccine; the first official World AIDS Vaccine Day followed on 18 May 1998. Governments, researchers and civil society groups participate in awareness campaigns, education drives and fundraising to sustain global HIV vaccine development.
World AIDS Vaccine Day 2026 is observed on 18 May worldwide.
The day is also called HIV Vaccine Awareness Day.
Origin: 18 May 1997, Bill Clinton's Morgan State University speech.
First official World AIDS Vaccine Day was on 18 May 1998.
Observance honours scientists, healthcare workers, volunteers and community organisations involved in HIV vaccine work.
May 16, 2026
Anthropic and Gates Foundation announce $200 million AI partnership
Anthropic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a $200 million four-year partnership to advance artificial intelligence for global health, education and agriculture. Gates provides grants, programme design and expertise; Anthropic supplies Claude AI usage credits and technical staff. Focus areas include vaccine and therapy development, outbreak detection, and diagnostic support in health; education targets K-12 performance and curriculum design; agriculture includes AI-guided farming for farmers and language accessibility improvements for dozens of Indian languages. The collaboration aims to benefit low- and middle-income countries, including India, by expanding access to AI-enabled public goods.
Partnership size: $200 million over four years.
Participants: Anthropic and Gates Foundation.
Health focus: vaccines, therapies, outbreak detection, diagnostics.
Agriculture: AI-guided farming; language accessibility.
May 15, 2026
BIRSA 101 workshop on indigenous CRISPR gene therapy for Sickle Cell disease
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, with CSIR and CSIR-IGIB, organized a workshop titled 'BIRSA 101' on 14 May 2026 in New Delhi under Janjatiya Garima Utsav 2026. The event highlights India’s first indigenous CRISPR-based gene therapy for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and supports tribal welfare. The project received about Rs 3.75 crore in financial assistance. The festival emphasizes technology as a development driver and aligns with broader tribal health and research goals, fostering genomic research and affordable healthcare interventions for tribal communities. Experts discussed privacy, ethics, and regulatory oversight in implementation.
BIRSA 101 workshop conducted on 14 May 2026 in New Delhi.
Showcases indigenous CRISPR-based gene therapy for SCD.
Rs 3.75 crore support; part of Janjatiya Garima Utsav 2026.
Technology as a development driver highlighted.
Discourse on privacy, ethics, and regulatory oversight.
IMD launches AI weather forecasting products for monsoon regions
The India Meteorological Department introduced two AI-based weather forecasting products aimed at monsoon regions dependent on rain-fed agriculture. The NCMRWF-developed product for Uttar Pradesh offers 1 km resolution rainfall forecasts with lead times up to 10 days, using data from rain gauges, weather stations, satellites, and Doppler radars. The IITM Pune-developed product tracks monsoon progression at district level and covers 3,196 blocks across 16 states and one Union Territory, with updates every Wednesday. Operated under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the tools support agriculture, water resource management, and disaster planning.
Two AI-based forecasting tools for monsoon regions.
NCMRWF product: 1 km resolution, up to 10-day lead time for UP.
IITM product: district-level tracking across 3,196 blocks in 16 states + UT.
Updates provided weekly; overseen by Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Aims to aid agriculture, water management, and disaster planning.
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