In a step towards global innovation collaboration, the Government of Karnataka and the State of Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany, have signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on July 9, 2025.

“This partnership under Karnataka’s Global Innovation Alliance will reduce the distance between Berlin and Bengaluru by enabling startup exchange, soft-landing support and deeper tech and innovation collaboration,” said Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s Minister for IT/BT and rural development, in a LinkedIn post.

He further mentioned that such an initiative is to foster startup exchange, soft-landing support, and deeper collaboration in emerging technologies. 

The agreement was formalised in the presence of Franziska Giffey, mayor and senator for economic affairs, energy and public enterprises, Berlin.

The initiative falls under Karnataka’s global innovation alliance (GIA) and is expected to bridge the innovation ecosystems of Bengaluru and Berlin, two global hubs renowned for their tech capabilities.

The collaboration will focus on fintech, AI, IT/digitalisation, and life sciences, aligning with Bengaluru’s strengths in technology and Berlin’s robust innovation environment.

As reported by Deccan Herald, Berlin will extend its collaboration with Indian startups by offering a range of support services, including seed capital, advisory assistance, networking opportunities with investors, and access to co-working spaces. 

During their two-day visit to Bengaluru, the Berlin delegation is scheduled to visit the Infosys campus, RV College of Engineering, and IIM Bangalore. They will also engage with prominent industry bodies, including NASSCOM, to explore avenues for deeper collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Highlighting the inclusive nature of the initiative, Kharge added, “Both governments are clear that innovation must be equitable, therefore we are placing special emphasis on women-led enterprises and green innovation.”

To ensure effective implementation and measurable outcomes, both governments will soon set up a joint steering committee along with dedicated nodal points on each side. These will be responsible for tracking progress, co-creating programmes, and ensuring outcome-based delivery.

Meta has acquired a minority stake in EssilorLuxottica SA, the world’s leading eyewear manufacturer, which also makes Ray-Ban, for expanding the tech giant’s financial involvement in the smart glasses sector, as reported by Bloomberg.

Meta acquired slightly less than 3% of Ray-Ban producer EssilorLuxottica, a stake currently valued at about $3.5 billion based on market prices.

According to the report, the company is also contemplating additional investments that might boost its ownership to roughly 5% in the future, although these plans could still be subject to change.

Based in Menlo Park, California, Meta’s financial commitment to the eyewear company strengthens the alliance between the two firms, which have collaborated in recent years to create AI-driven smart glasses. Currently, Meta offers a pair of Ray-Ban glasses that launched in 2021, featuring integrated cameras and an AI assistant.

The glasses come with built-in Meta AI, enabling users to interact through voice commands. Users can communicate with phrases like “Hey Meta” to ask questions, stream music or podcasts, make phone calls, and broadcast live on Instagram or Facebook. 

Meta states that the product is intended to help users “stay present and connected to who and what they care about most.”

Last month, the company unveiled Oakley-branded glasses in collaboration with EssilorLuxottica. Francesco Milleri, CEO of EssilorLuxottica, mentioned last year that Meta showed interest in acquiring a stake in the firm, but this plan did not materialise until now.

For EssilorLuxottica, this agreement enhances its involvement in the tech sector, which could be advantageous if Meta’s forward-looking initiatives succeed. Meta is also wagering on the possibility that people will eventually engage in work and leisure activities while using headsets or glasses, Bloomberg reported.

Gnani.ai has launched Inya.ai, a no-code Agentic AI platform designed to help developers and enterprises deploy intelligent voice and chat agents across customer-facing workflows, without writing a single line of code.

The platform is aimed at revenue-critical functions such as lead qualification, payment nudges, abandoned cart recovery, contextual upselling, and multilingual follow-ups. It supports personalised, emotionally intelligent conversations at scale while maintaining contextual memory across sessions. 

To encourage early adoption, Inya.ai is offering $10,000 in free credits to the first 1,000 sign-ups. 

“Inya’s multi-agent orchestration capability, allows businesses to create agents for different teams that can communicate, collaborate, and operate cohesively,” said Ganesh Gopalan, co-founder & CEO, Gnani.ai.

With support for voice, chat, SMS, and WhatsApp, Inya.ai is built on the back of Gnani.ai’s eight years of domain expertise in sectors like BFSI, retail, telecom, automotive, and consumer durables. Its multilingual capabilities and enterprise-friendly integration make it adaptable for diverse business needs.

According to the website, companies like IDFC First Bank, P&G, HDFC Bank, and a few others are already testing and deploying this in their work.

“It is open, developer-friendly, voice-first, and built for seamless enterprise integration,” said Ananth Nagaraj, Co-founder & CTO, Gnani.ai.

Gnani.ai’s momentum also includes its selection under the IndiaAI Mission, where the company is developing India’s first voice-focused LLM with 14 billion parameters covering over 40 languages, including more than 15 Indian languages.