Tech in a byte. This week, the tech industry has seen quite a few developments, from the world’s most popular messaging app introducing ads, to Meta’s aggressive AI hiring drive, and Tesla’s robotaxi project facing political pushbacks. Here are some of the stories making headlines in the tech sphere this week.

Ads are coming to WhatsApp: Meta’s WhatsApp earlier this week announced that the app would start rolling out ads for the first time ever, marking a shift from its longstanding promise to keep the platform ad-free. The feature is being rolled out alongside paid channel subscriptions that give users access to exclusive content and promotions that allow users to explore channels that could be of interest as part of the company’s push to monetize the world’s most popular communications app.

That said, there’s a silver lining — the ads won’t appear in your chats and will instead be tucked away in the updates tab. “If you only use WhatsApp to chat with friends and loved ones there is no change to your experience at all,” the announcement reads. The company emphasized that it will use limited information like location, language, and followed channels to show relevant ads in an effort to maintain user privacy.

Meta is also ramping up its AI talent shopping spree. The company has allegedly attempted to poach OpenAI employees by offering signing bonuses of up to USD 100 mn and substantial annual compensation packages, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a recent episode of Uncapped with Jack Altman. “Their current AI efforts have not worked as well as they have hoped and I respect being aggressive and continuing to try new things,” he said, noting that Meta’s offer was turned down by all of the company’s best talents. The recruitment push is part of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s broader strategy to build a world-class AI team for the company’s “superintelligence” lab. Altman’s statement follows Meta’s USD 14.8 bn investment in Scale AI.

That’s not where the recruitment drive stops: The tech giant is also in talks to hire former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and his investment partner Daniel Gross to join the company’s AI initiatives, Reuters reports.

Tesla’s robotaxi launch may hit the brakes: Tesla’s bid to launch driverless cabs on the streets of Austin, Texas, on Sunday may find itself at a roadblock. In a letter sent on Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers in Texas requested that the launch of the autonomous vehicle service be postponed until September when a new autonomous driving law comes into effect, Reuters reports. The legislators argued that holding off on the launch would benefit public safety and build “public trust in Tesla’s operations,” though they requested comprehensive compliance details should the company move forward with its June plans.

Other players are also revving their engines: Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo has applied for a permit to test autonomous vehicles in Manhattan with a trained specialist seated behind the wheel, CNN reports. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Zoox launched its first autonomous taxi service production facility on Wednesday, positioning itself to compete with Tesla and Alphabet.

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