Russians Plan to Launch Alternative to Google Play on Victory Day

The logo of Google Play is displayed at Tokyo Game Show 2019 in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan, September 12, 2019. (Reuters)
The logo of Google Play is displayed at Tokyo Game Show 2019 in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan, September 12, 2019. (Reuters)
TT
20

Russians Plan to Launch Alternative to Google Play on Victory Day

The logo of Google Play is displayed at Tokyo Game Show 2019 in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan, September 12, 2019. (Reuters)
The logo of Google Play is displayed at Tokyo Game Show 2019 in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan, September 12, 2019. (Reuters)

Russian tech developers are building an alternative to Alphabet Inc's Google Play store and plan to launch it on May 9, a national holiday in Russia that celebrates victory in World War Two, the organization behind the initiative said on Tuesday.

YouTube and Google Play this month suspended all payment-based services in Russia, including subscriptions, as Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine started to pose banking challenges in the country.

"Unfortunately, Russians can no longer normally use Google Play to buy apps and developers have lost their source of income," said Vladimir Zykov, director of projects at Digital Platforms, an organization focused on digital development.

"This is why we have created a Russian app shop, NashStore," Zykov said in a statement.

NashStore, which translates into English as "OurStore", will serve Android mobile devices and should ultimately be compatible with Russian Mir bank cards, the statement said.

Russia traditionally holds a patriotic display of raw military power on May 9 with a parade that passes through Moscow's Red Square commemorating the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.



Meta Reportedly Poaches Three OpenAI Researchers

FILE PHOTO: A Meta logo is pictured at a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Meta logo is pictured at a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo/File Photo
TT
20

Meta Reportedly Poaches Three OpenAI Researchers

FILE PHOTO: A Meta logo is pictured at a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Meta logo is pictured at a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo/File Photo

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hired three OpenAI researchers to join his "superintelligence" team, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, days after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman accused the Facebook owner of trying to poach its employees.

An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the departure of the three employees from the company, without giving further details. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

Meta hired Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov and Xiaohua Zhai, who were all working at the ChatGPT-owner's Zurich office, the WSJ reported, citing sources.

Last week, Altman said Meta had offered his employees bonuses of $100 million to recruit them.

Once recognized as a leader in open-source AI models, Meta has suffered from staff departures and postponed launches of new open-source AI models that could rival competing models from Google, OpenAI, and China's DeepSeek.

"I've heard that Meta thinks of us as their biggest competitor," Altman had said.

Meta recently hired 28-year-old Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to work on its "superintelligence" efforts. The company also took a 49% stake for $14.3 billion in Scale AI.

Meta is now trying to paint a turnaround as reports suggest Zuckerberg is setting up a team of experts to achieve so-called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI).