Meta layoffs have started. As widely speculated, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta began laying off hundreds of employees Wednesday, March 25. As per reports, Meta layoffs are said to be part of a larger company reorganization. The cuts will impact employees in the U.S. and other international markets. Earlier this month, Meta reportedly asked some managers to prepare cost-cutting plans. Also, some Meta employees in the company’s wearables and ads units received a message on Tuesday, March 24, instructing them to work from home on Wednesday. This led to speculation that layoffs are coming very soon. Commenting on layoffs, a Meta spokesperson said in a statement, “Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they’re in the best position to achieve ‌their ⁠goals. Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted.” The layoffs will also reportedly affect employees across Meta’s recruiting, sales, global operations and Facebook social teams. The job cuts across these divisions are reportedly unrelated to one another. While most of the impacted workers were notified Wednesday, others might be informed in the coming weeks, depending on circumstances such as location. Some employees are being offered new roles, while others may have the option to relocate. The layoffs mark the second time Meta has trimmed its workforce in 2026. In January, Meta laid off 10% of its staff in the Reality Labs division. The new job cuts will affect fewer than 1,000 employees. Meta employed nearly 79,000 workers as of December, a 6% increase year-over-year.

Making for rise in Meta’s capital expenditure

The Facebook parent is seeking to offset rising ⁠costs tied to massive investments in artificial intelligence, having forecast total expenses of $162 billion to $169 billion in 2026, and rising employee compensation ⁠as the company spends millions to hire top AI talent.Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg signaled more investment and a shift toward greater reliance on AI. In a January Facebook post following the announcement of the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, Zuckerberg said that AI is going to make a significant impact on the business in 2026. “We’re starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person,” he said.

Mark Zuckerberg’s January Facebook post where he hinted ‘job cuts are coming’

I just shared Meta’s quarterly earnings report. We had strong business performance in 2025 and I’m looking forward to advancing personal superintelligence for people around the world in 2026. Here’s the transcript of what I said on the call:We ended 2025 strong with more than 3.5 billion people now using at least one of our apps every day. That includes more than 2 billion daily actives each on Facebook and WhatsApp — and just shy of that on Instagram. Our business also performed very well thanks to record-breaking holiday demand and AI-driven performance gains.We are now seeing a major AI acceleration. I expect 2026 to be a year where this wave accelerates even further on several fronts. We’re starting to see agents really work. This will unlock the ability to build completely new products and transform how we work.In ’25 we rebuilt the foundations of our AI program. Over the coming months we’re going to start shipping our new models and products. I expect our first models will be good but, more importantly, will show the rapid trajectory that we’re on. And then I expect us to steadily push the frontier over the course of the year as we continue to release new models.I’m very excited about the products we’re building. Our vision is building personal superintelligence. We’re starting to see the promise of AI that understands our personal context, including our history, our interests, our content, and our relationships. A lot of what makes agents valuable is the unique context that they can see, and we believe that Meta will be able to provide a uniquely personal experience.We’re also working on merging LLMs with the recommendation systems that power Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and our ads system. Our world class recommendation systems are already driving meaningful growth across our apps and ads business, but we think the current systems are primitive compared to what will be possible soon. Today our systems help people stay in touch with friends, understand the world, and find interesting and entertaining content. But soon, we’ll be able to understand people’s unique personal goals, and tailor feeds to show each person content that helps them improve their lives in the ways that they want. This also has implications for commerce. Our ads today help businesses find just the right very specific people who are interested in their products. New agentic shopping tools will allow people to find just the right very specific set of products from the businesses in our catalogue. We’re focused on making these experiences work across both our feeds and across business messaging — significantly increasing the capabilities of WhatsApp over time.New kinds of content will soon be possible as well. People want to express themselves and experience the world in the most immersive and interactive ways possible. We started with text, and then moved to photos when we got phones with cameras, and then moved to video when mobile networks got fast enough. Soon we’ll see an explosion of new media formats that are more immersive and interactive, and only possible because of advances in AI.Our feeds will become more interactive overall. Today our apps feel like algorithms that recommend content. Soon, you’ll open our apps and you’ll have an AI that understands you, and also happens to be able to show you great content or even generate great personalized content for you. Glasses are the ultimate incarnation of this vision. They’re going to be able to see what you see, hear what you hear, talk to you and help you as you go about your day, and even show you information or generate custom UI right there in your vision. Sales of our glasses more than tripled last year, and we think that they’re some of the fastest growing consumer electronics in history. Billions of people wear glasses or contacts for vision correction. I think we’re at a moment similar to when smartphones arrived, and it was clearly only a matter of time until all those flip phones became smartphones. It’s hard to imagine a world in several years where most glasses aren’t AI glasses.For Reality Labs, we’re directing most of our investment towards glasses and wearables going forward, while focusing on making Horizon a massive success on mobile and making VR a profitable ecosystem over the coming years. I expect Reality Labs losses this year to be similar to last year, and this will likely be the peak as we start to gradually reduce our losses going forward while continuing to execute on our vision.As we plan for the future, we will continue to invest very significantly in infrastructure to train leading models and deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people and businesses around the world. I recently announced Meta Compute with the belief that being the most efficient at how we engineer, invest, and partner to build our infrastructure will become a strategic advantage. Dina Powell McCormick also joined us as President and Vice Chairman, and she will lead our efforts to partner with governments, sovereigns, and strategic capital partners to expand our long-term capacity, including ensuring positive economic impact in the communities that we operate in around the world. An important part of Meta Compute will be making long term investments in silicon and energy. We will continue working with key partners while advancing our own silicon program. We’re architecting our systems so that we can be flexible in the systems we use, and we expect the cost per gigawatt to decrease significantly over time through optimizing both our technology and supply chain.The last thing I want to mention is that I think 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work. As we navigate this, our north star is building the best place for individuals to make a massive impact. So to do this, we’re investing in AI-native tooling so individuals at Meta can get more done, we’re elevating individual contributors, and flattening teams. We’re starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person. I want to make sure as many of these very talented people as possible choose Meta as the place they can make the greatest impact — to deliver personalized products to billions of people around the world. And if we do this, then I think we’ll get a lot more done and it’s going to be a lot more fun.Alright, that’s everything I wanted to cover. This is going to be a big year for delivering personal superintelligence, accelerating our business, building infrastructure for the future, and shaping how our company will work going forward. As always, I’m grateful for all of the hard work of our teams and to all of you for being on this journey with us.

The Aditya Dhar directed movie ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ has been creating quite a buzz right from the word go. The Ranveer Singh starrer enjoyed a massive weekend run at the box office and even broke records with its preview shows. However, as the film entered its first week, a substantial amount of dip in the business was noticed. Since its first Monday, the spy thriller has witnessed a drop in the number, with its Wednesday collection going below Rs 50 crores. Yet, within a span of just seven days, the movie has come very close to Rs 1000 crore gross worldwide.‘‘Dhurandhar The Revenge’ ReviewScroll down to know more about ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ box office performance.

‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ box office collection day 7 update

According to the latest reports by Sacnilk, ‘Dhurandhar 2’ on Tuesday, March 25, 2026, missed the mark of Rs 1000 crore globally just by a whisker. The tally of the Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi and Arjun Rampal starrer stands at Rs 994.58 crore gross worldwide across languages after a box office run of seven days.As we break it down, on March 18, 2026, ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ earned Rs 43 crore net during the preview shows. Then, with over a 50 per cent rise, it collected Rs 102.55 crore on day 1, Thursday. However, day 2 saw a drop in the collection; the film was able to make only Rs 80.72 crore ahead of the debut weekend, where the numbers soared high. The movie made Rs 113.00 crore and Rs 114.85 crore respectively on Saturday and Sunday. Thereafter, on Monday, the collection went down to Rs 65 crore, followed by Rs 56.60 crore on Tuesday, and Rs 47.70 crore net on Wednesday. With this, the India net collection of ‘Dhurandhar 2’ stands at Rs 623.42 crore and gross at Rs 744.58 crore. Further, with the overseas business of Rs. 250 crore, it has made Rs 994.58 crore gross globally.

‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’

Directed by Aditya Dhar, ‘Dhurandhar 2’, is an espionage drama. Ranveer Singh plays the character of Hamza, an undercover Indian agent, on a mission to infiltrate the Lyari underworld. In part one, it is shown how he makes his way to the gang of Rehman Dakait, and the 2026 sequel features his journey ahead of eliminating every potential threat and accomplishing his mission.DISCLAIMER: The box office numbers and data in this article are compiled from diverse public and industry sources. All figures are approximate unless explicitly mentioned, offering a fair representation of the movie’s box office performance. These totals may change as official studio data is updated or as additional international market reports are finalized. This data is provided by us for informational and entertainment purposes only.

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Indian Institutes of Technology continue to anchor the country’s global reputation in engineering, placing multiple disciplines firmly within the world’s top 50 QS rankings by subjects. Close behind, management education is carving out its own space, with institutions such as IIM Ahmedabad pushing into elite global ranks and signalling India’s growing influence in business and strategy education. However, arts and humanities present a more complex picture, an area where progress has been slower, and in some cases, reversed.The latest QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 released Wednesday placed IIT Bombay‘s Computer Science (44), Electrical Engineering (44) and Civil Engineering (42) among the world’s leading technical institutions. IIT Delhi records an equally strong showing, with Electrical Engineering at 36, Mechanical Engineering at 44 and Chemical Engineering entering the top 50 for the first time at 48. IIT Madras, meanwhile, posts four top-50 finishes, led by Petroleum Engineering (29), along with strong returns to the top tier in Civil and Mechanical disciplines.Across the country, nearly 100 institutions now feature in the rankings, marking a 120% increase in five years. More significant is the quality shift: 44% of India’s entries improved their positions this year, the highest proportion among major higher education systems globally.Jessica Turner, CEO, QS Quacquarelli Symonds, said: “India’s rise this year is not just about scale: it’s about momentum in quality and global competitiveness. The breadth of improvement across engineering, technology and business signals a system that is accelerating with intent.”The gains are most visible in engineering. Chemical Engineering alone now has five Indian institutions in the global top 100, up from two. Electrical and Mechanical engineering each have six. Civil engineering has five. In Mineral and Mining Engineering, four institutions sit in the top 50.Computer science, once a thinner area of representation, has expanded rapidly. Ten Indian institutions now feature in the top 200, with IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi leading at 44 and 45 respectively-their highest-ever ranks.Moreover, IIT Kharagpur has entered Petroleum Engineering at 28 on debut and climbed sharply in Mineral and Mining Engineering. Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani has moved into the global top 50 in Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Vellore Institute of Technology has broken into the top 100 in Electrical Engineering for the first time.Beyond engineering. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad has climbed to 21 in Business and Management Studies and made a debut at the same rank in Marketing, the first time an Indian institution has been ranked in that discipline. In medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences has reached its highest-ever global position at 105.

FILE – The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

In what can be termed as a landmark verdict that could reshape the legal landscape for the tech industry, a California jury has found Meta and YouTube liable for harms suffered by a young user. After more than 40 hours of deliberation, jurors determined the social media giants — Meta and Google — were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms, ruling that this negligence was a substantial factor in the mental health struggles and addiction of a 20-year-old woman identified as KGM. The jury found the companies’ negligence was a substantial factor in harms like the mental health issues sustained by Kaley GM, who used Instagram and YouTube.Throughout the month-long trial, lawyers for the plaintiff, led by Mark Lanier, argued that features like infinite scrolls, autoplay, and constant notifications were specifically engineered to “hook” young users. The plaintiff Kaley testified that she began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9, eventually spending nearly all her time on the apps. Kaley and her therapist testified about her struggles with body dysmorphia and compulsive use of the platforms. This decision marks a historic first, as it is the first case of its kind to hold such platforms directly responsible for the impact of their technology on children. The jury’s decision indicates that both Meta and Google-owned YouTube were aware that their platform designs were dangerous for minors yet failed to provide adequate warnings. The jury deliberated for nine days after a five-week trial at Los Angeles Superior Court that featured testimony from company executives including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and ex-employee whistleblowers. The 12 jurors also found that both companies knew or should have known their services posed a danger to minors, that they failed to adequately warn users of that danger, and that a reasonable platform operator would have done so. In closing arguments, plaintiff attorney Mark Lanier cast the case as a story of corporate greed.

Jury calls Instagram ‘much bigger’ culprit than YouTube

Responsibility was not split equally, with the panel heartbeat assigning 70% of the liability to Meta and 30% to YouTube.

What Google and Meta said in their defence

The defense argued that Kaley’s mental health issues stemmed from a turbulent home life and pre-existing conditions, the jury ultimately sided with the argument that the platforms were a “substantial factor” in her decline. “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and are evaluating our legal options,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement.

What makes this ruling ‘historic’

This case serves as a bellwether for thousands of similar lawsuits mounting against tech companies. Despite legal shields like Section 230, which protects platforms from liability regarding user-posted content, this verdict focused strictly on the “defective” nature of the apps’ underlying code and features. As the industry faces comparisons to past litigation against big tobacco and opioid manufacturers, the outcome signals a growing legal reckoning over how digital products are built for and marketed to children.While the initial award stands at $3 million, that figure is expected to rise significantly; because the jury found the companies acted with malice, oppression, or fraud, the trial will now move into a phase to determine punitive damages.In a separate case this week, New Mexico jury found Meta liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms and other dangers. The state had sought the maximum $2.2 billion in damages, but the jury awarded a lesser amount of $375 million. Meta said it would appeal the verdict.

FILE – Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Halter, the New Zealand-based startup specializing in artificial intelligence-powered cow collars, has secured $220 million in fresh capital to scale its technology globally. The global agtech company transforming cattle farming has announced that it has raised $220 million in Series E funding at a $2 billion valuation. The deal was spearheaded by American entrepreneur Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, coming on the heels of a $100 million round led by Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital and Australia’s biggest venture capital firm, Blackbird Ventures.The company’s primary offering consists of solar-powered collars integrated with a mobile app, allowing ranchers to track animal locations, monitor health and breeding cycles, and even move herds remotely via vibrations and audio cues. Halter positions its technology as a solution to these economic pressures by reducing labor costs and catching illnesses early, placing it at the forefront of the “precision farming” movement alongside heavyweights like Merck & Co.

Peter Thiel is a long time investor in New Zealand born, American startup Halter

Thiel is best known for being a member of the so-called “PayPal mafia” and defence intelligence company Palantir Technologies. He is also said to be one of the residents of Miami’s famous ‘Billionaire Bunkers’. Thiel received New Zealand citizenship in the year 2011 and has reportedly backed Halter since 2018. Incidentally, Thiel got New Zealand citizenship despite spending just 12 days in the country. His fast-tracked citizenship, bypassing the standard requirement of 1,350 days of residency, had sparked widespread debate then.

Halter has presence across New Zealand, Australia, and America

Halter claims to serve more than 2000 ranchers and farmers across New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S., with a million of its solar-powered collars now sold. Since launching in the U.S. in 2024, American ranchers using Halter have built 60,000 miles of virtual fencing as part of how they manage their land, with Halter working alongside them.“We started Halter because we believed technology could fundamentally change what it means to run a ranch, and enable ranchers to use innovation to build long-term futures on their land,” said Craig Piggott, CEO and founder of New Zealand-born Halter in a release. “Our ranchers need tools that work, and the fact that they’re using Halter tells us our technology has earned their trust. This raise lets us bring it to far more of them – and faster.”The deep tech company’s GPS-enabled collars use audio cues and gentle vibrations to contain and herd cattle within virtual boundaries, allowing ranchers to move herds from a smartphone – without breaking ground or stringing wire.“Agriculture is a multi-trillion-dollar industry that feeds the world, yet remains one of the least digitized sectors on earth,” said Founders Fund Partner Amin Mirzadegan. “Halter is changing that by bringing software, sensors, and AI directly into livestock operations in a way that ranchers actually adopt. Craig’s deep understanding of the ranchers he serves has enabled the company to build something that’s not just useful, but mission-critical to how ranches run.”Halter will deploy the new capital to grow its commercial and field operations across the U.S., New Zealand, and Australia, while expanding into other international markets, starting with Ireland and the U.K. later this year. The company already has early ranches in Canada and is also exploring further expansion in North and South America this year.Investment will continue across product development, including animal health monitoring and pasture management, shaped by how customers are using the system in the field. The focus remains on supporting the ranchers and farmers building their operations with Halter.Halter plans to hire more than 200 people – said to be its largest-ever hiring effort – with a focus on product, engineering, and customer roles at its Auckland headquarter.