The planet GJ 3378b, located approximately 25 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Giraffe, is considered one of the most promising targets for the search for extraterrestrial life. A recent scientific study demonstrated that this planet is situated within its star's habitable zone and has the potential to host liquid water.
According to data from scientists at the University of California, Irvine, GJ 3378b receives about 90% of the thermal radiation and heat that Earth receives from the Sun. This location in a specific region suggests that, provided the necessary conditions are met, liquid water could be maintained on the planet, which is a critical requirement for the emergence of life.
Initially, GJ 3378b was classified as a gas giant. However, after French researchers discovered the object in 2024, they estimated its mass to be approximately 5.26 Earth masses and hypothesized that it was a 'mini-Neptune' with a dense hydrogen atmosphere, precluding the possibility of liquid water.
A new group of scientists, led by Paul Robertson, reviewed this data. They employed more precise spectrometers and concluded that the initial calculations might have been distorted by the influence of the lunar cycle on measurements. The reanalysis showed that the planet's mass is about 2.3 Earth masses, and its orbital period around the star is approximately 21 days. These new parameters indicate that GJ 3378b likely possesses a solid rocky surface rather than being a gas world.
The main open question now concerns the planet's ability to retain its atmosphere under the pressure of radiation and intense particle streams from its parent star. Direct study of the atmosphere is currently impossible because GJ 3378b does not transit in front of its star from the perspective of Earth observers, which hinders the necessary analysis using the James Webb Telescope.
A deeper search for signs of life will only become possible in the future, after the commissioning of new space observatories such as the Habitable Worlds Observatory, which NASA plans to utilize in the 2040s. In the context of space missions, it is mentioned that the crewed Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft previously launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome carried two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut.
Kristina Strimaitė, Marketing Director at Hostinger, believes that artificial intelligence will not lead to job cuts, but rather displace those who refuse to engage with the technology. In an extensive interview with Shraddha Sharma, founder and CEO of YourStory and The Bharat Project, she stated: 'I don't think AI will replace people, but it will replace people who are not curious and who do not use it in any way.'
The interview also covered the journey of the Lithuania-based company—a country rarely mentioned among global startup hubs—which built a web platform serving over 150 countries without venture capital funding. Hostinger was founded in Kaunas in 2004 as a web hosting provider and later transformed into a platform for creating and managing online businesses, centering its operations around an AI website builder and business tools. The company ended 2025 with revenue of €275.4 million, a 51% increase from the previous year, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth above 50%. India is the largest market by active user count, surpassing Brazil, Indonesia, and the United States.
When Shraddha asked what allowed the company to scale from Lithuania, Strimaitė openly discussed the factor that defined their ambition. 'We became global because we had no other choice. Our market was very small, so we could either remain a small local company or go global,' she noted. She compared Vilnius to early Silicon Valley, pointing to the tech community that held over 400 knowledge-sharing sessions last year, where companies openly discussed scaling lessons, failures, and customer interactions.
Regarding building a business without large funding rounds, Strimaitė asserted that maintaining bootstrap status sends a signal to customers, not investors. 'We treat our company's money as our own. We do not engage in reckless behavior,' she said, adding that every marketing employee is expected to understand that every dollar invested must return to the company's bank account. She cited a recent example where, after more than 100 interviews with real customers at the beginning of the quarter, the company concluded its strategy was flawed and quickly adjusted it—flexibility that, in her opinion, is often lacking in funded companies with rigid plans.
A significant part of the conversation focused on the rise of solopreneurship, a trend Shraddha has observed in India. Strimaitė believes this shift will only accelerate. She reported that launching a business, which used to take weeks or months, can now happen with just one request. More complex work has moved down the chain: traffic acquisition, profitability maintenance, and operations management, often utilizing AI as supplementary labor that small teams lack.
She shared an example of a student she mentored who created a working tool for automated test grading in two days—a product now used by four teachers at her school. 'In my early days, it would take me a couple of weeks, if not months. Now we can do it in a couple of days,' she said. When her team of 140 marketers across countries including India, Brazil, and Indonesia was asked how she uses AI within her marketing department, Strimaitė pointed to a culture shaped by an AI-focused product organization. Her creative team produced the company's first fully AI-generated television commercials, including voiceovers and music, which aired in several countries over a couple of months.
Beyond content creation, she noted that AI has transitioned from an operational tool to a decision-making assistant. Large volumes of marketing data, which previously required hours of chart analysis, are now summarized quickly, allowing for faster decisions regarding brand spending, digital channels, and performance. Curiosity, she emphasized, is the entry ticket. Since the product is AI-centric, marketers must deeply understand it to sell it authentically.
Strimaitė also discussed her own evolution as a leader, noting that the current CEO, Giedrius Zakaitis, appointed in June 2026 to lead the company's AI-focused strategy, prompted her to move from a hands-on style to what she calls quiet leadership. Her practical takeaway: do not fear silent pauses in meetings, as that is when teams begin to speak. For founders, her advice boils down to three principles: solve a real problem, refuse to limit oneself to a small domestic market, and delegate operational tasks to AI so time can be directed toward customers and the product. As solopreneurs multiply in India and beyond, her final conviction may prove the most enduring: technology will continue to compress what once took months into days, but direct, personal contact with customers, in her view, is something AI will never replace.
Tata Electronics Pvt. is preparing to manufacture the first large-scale semiconductor wafers in India, utilizing a 90-nanometer process technology, which is older than initially planned. This change highlights the difficulties the country faces in attempting to build a domestic microelectronics industry from scratch.
The technology division of the large Tata conglomerate is preparing to build the country's first large-scale chip manufacturing plant, which will primarily be based on 90nm process technology at the Dholera facility in Gujarat, Western India. Sources familiar with the matter reported that this approach differs from initial plans, which called for the use of 28nm technology.
Using such mature technology, applied in low-end industrial applications and automotive sectors, carries the risk of obsolescence in the coming years. Furthermore, it represents a more modest start compared to the 28nm node that Tata Sons Pvt., the group's holding company, advertised in its annual report for the year ending March 2025.
According to sources, Tata's public ambitions may have overstated short-term capabilities. The company has partnered with Taiwanese Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. for its chip manufacturing debut. A representative of Tata Electronics stated that the Dholera plant will produce chips ranging from 28nm to 110nm. He clarified that the initial plan was to start with 55nm and 90nm, followed by a transition to 28nm, noting that 28nm would become 'a key part of our offering.'
A representative from PSMC added that the collaboration covers several technology nodes, with the most advanced process being 28nm, stating that 'typically, the implementation of a technology platform happens gradually, starting with more mature nodes.'
The initial product selection demonstrates that the Tata group, despite its manufacturing capabilities spanning from luxury sedans to industrial chemicals, is still in an early learning phase in the complex field of chip production. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is counting on the conglomerate to reduce India's dependence on imports and secure a place for it in the global semiconductor market.
The group is investing tens of billions of dollars in building semiconductor fabrication plants and chip assembly facilities, overcoming early hurdles in infrastructure, technology, and skilled manpower. On Wednesday, New Delhi approved new government assistance worth 1.28 trillion rupees ($13.3 billion) for chip development, manufacturing equipment, and supply chain development. However, these funds will only apply to future, additional investments and will not compensate for expenses already incurred.
The new incentives supplement a previous $10 billion aid package announced in 2021, which offered to cover half the costs of establishing semiconductor projects, including the Tata plant in Dholera, whose capital expenditure is $10.7 billion and was originally slated to start with 28nm chips. Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran had previously stated in the Tata Sons annual report that 'we decided to start our journey in chips with the 28nm node—it is a stable node,' and that the group would then advance to more complex technologies.
Chip manufacturing leaders like Taiwan and South Korea hold a decades-long advantage over India. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the primary chip producer for Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc., began mass production of 2nm last year and derives the majority of its revenue from 5nm and smaller nodes. Despite this, 28nm remains one of the most commercially vital mature nodes in the semiconductor industry, producing chips used in smartphones, communication equipment, consumer electronics, and increasingly, vehicles. Starting production at 90nm suggests that Tata is initially targeting a less profitable segment of the market.
Although Tata had previously planned to commence commercial production by the end of 2026, India's Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters on Wednesday that the Dholera plant is now expected to begin commercial operations in mid-2028.
