This Week in AI & Tech
Welcome to the latest edition of the NexaQuanta Weekly Newsletter, where we bring you the most impactful stories shaping the future of artificial intelligence, cloud, and digital innovation.
From major corporate alliances to groundbreaking research, this week is packed with updates that highlight the pace at which AI is reshaping industries worldwide.
In this issue, we cover Microsoft and OpenAI’s latest step toward deepening their partnership, IBM’s recognition as a leader in cloud financial management tools, and Amazon’s rollout of agentic AI to transform the seller experience.
We also dive into OpenAI’s largest study on ChatGPT adoption and its economic value, and Google’s launch of a new AI payments protocol bridging traditional finance and stablecoins.
Together, these stories reflect the growing momentum of AI—from enterprise strategy and financial management to e-commerce, consumer productivity, and digital payments.
Microsoft and OpenAI Sign MOU to Expand AI Partnership
Microsoft and OpenAI have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), setting the stage for a new phase in their strategic partnership. The agreement is non-binding but reflects the intent of both companies to deepen collaboration in the field of artificial intelligence.
The partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI has already been central to major advances in generative AI. Under the new understanding, both firms aim to further develop AI tools that can be widely adopted across industries and by individual users. Accessibility and innovation remain at the forefront of this effort.
Discussions are still underway to finalize a definitive agreement that will outline the full terms of cooperation. However, the MOU itself signals a strong commitment from both sides to accelerate AI development while keeping safety and ethical use as core principles.
This move underscores Microsoft and OpenAI’s shared ambition to scale AI responsibly, ensuring that future innovations are both powerful and aligned with global standards of trust and safety.
To read more about this, click here.
IBM Named Leader in 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud Financial Management Tools
IBM has been recognized as a Leader for the second year in a row in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud Financial Management Tools. The company was positioned highest for Execution and furthest for Vision, reflecting the strength and innovation of its FinOps suite.
The IBM FinOps suite, built on IBM Cloudability, helps organizations track, manage, and optimize multi-cloud spending.
With IBM Kubecost, engineering teams gain visibility into their containerized environments, enabling them to improve efficiency and reduce costs. IBM Turbonomic further supports automation by dynamically adjusting application resources to ensure consistent performance.
This recognition highlights IBM’s continued role in shaping financial management tools for complex cloud environments. Gartner’s report offers insights into vendor capabilities and provides guidance for businesses navigating this evolving market.
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Amazon Introduces Agentic AI to Transform Seller Experience
Amazon has unveiled a major update to its Seller Assistant, enhancing it with agentic AI capabilities. Powered by Amazon Bedrock and supported by Amazon Nova and Anthropic Claude, the tool evolves from a question-answering assistant into a proactive partner that can reason, plan, and take action with a seller’s permission. The upgrade marks a significant step in how independent sellers manage their businesses on Amazon.
Smarter Business Management
The new Seller Assistant can handle both routine tasks and complex strategies. It actively monitors account health, identifies potential risks, and recommends solutions before issues impact performance. Sellers can also receive detailed sales, inventory, and compliance guidance tailored to their needs.
Inventory and Compliance Support
With intelligent inventory monitoring, the system can flag slow-moving products, recommend markdowns, and forecast demand to reduce storage costs and prevent stockouts. For compliance, it analyzes product listings to detect missing certifications or regulatory risks, guiding sellers through documentation step by step.
Creative Advertising and Growth Strategy
Agentic AI now extends to advertising through Creative Studio. Sellers can create professional-quality ads using conversational prompts, reducing production time from weeks to hours. Early adopters have reported sharp increases in ad performance.
The system also develops personalized growth strategies, from exploring new product categories to preparing seasonal campaigns.
Shaping the Future of Selling
Independent sellers generate more than 60% of Amazon’s store sales, contributing $2.5 trillion in revenue. By expanding Seller Assistant into a proactive AI partner, Amazon aims to help these entrepreneurs focus on product innovation and customer relationships, while the AI takes on operational complexity.
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Largest Study of ChatGPT Usage Reveals Broadening Adoption and Economic Value
OpenAI, in collaboration with Harvard economist David Deming, has released the most comprehensive study yet on the consumer usage of ChatGPT.
The analysis, published as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, draws on 1.5 million anonymized conversations and offers a detailed view of how people use ChatGPT in both personal and professional settings.
Closing Demographic Gaps
The research shows that adoption has expanded far beyond the initial user groups. Gender gaps have narrowed significantly—by mid-2025, more than half of users had typically feminine names, up from 37% in early 2024.
Usage has also grown rapidly in low- and middle-income countries, with adoption rates in the lowest income nations rising four times faster than in the highest income countries.
Everyday Tasks Drive Engagement
Most ChatGPT conversations are focused on practical needs. Writing, planning, and information-seeking dominate usage, with writing emerging as the leading work-related activity. Researchers categorized usage into Asking (49%), Doing (40%), and Expressing (11%). This highlights ChatGPT’s dual role as both an advisor and a productivity tool.
Economic Value Across Work and Life
Roughly 30% of consumer usage is work-related, while 70% supports personal tasks. Both categories continue to grow, underscoring ChatGPT’s impact on decision-making, productivity, and everyday problem-solving. Researchers note that much of the economic value created may not be captured in traditional measures, such as GDP.
This landmark study demonstrates how ChatGPT is evolving into an essential technology—broadly accessible, increasingly democratized, and central to how people work, learn, and live.
To read more about this, click here.
Google Launches AI Payments Protocol
Google has introduced a new open-source payments protocol designed to make it easier for AI applications to send and receive money. The framework supports traditional payment methods such as credit and debit cards, as well as stablecoins, marking a significant step in merging AI systems with digital finance.
Partnerships and Collaboration
To build the protocol, Google worked closely with Coinbase, which has developed its own AI-crypto payments scheme. The Ethereum Foundation and more than 60 other organizations, including Salesforce, American Express, and Etsy, were also involved in shaping the initiative. The approach combines legacy payment systems with emerging digital options.
AI Agents and Financial Transactions
The protocol supports direct transactions between AI agents—specialized algorithms that can perform tasks like shopping, coding, or financial advising. Google’s goal is to ensure these agent-to-agent payments remain secure, reliable, and aligned with user intent. This development builds on Google’s earlier work in creating a communication standard for AI agents.
Growing Role of Stablecoins
Google’s move reflects Big Tech’s increasing interest in stablecoins. Companies including Apple, Airbnb, Meta, and Shopify are exploring similar integrations. With stablecoins gaining traction in both Silicon Valley and global markets, the new protocol positions Google at the center of a potential shift in how AI systems exchange value.
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