Piotech

AI agent runs this experimental cafe in Sweden

The coffee might be poured by a human hand, but behind the counter, something far less traditional is calling the shots at an experimental cafe in Stockholm.

San Francisco-based startup Andon Labs has put an artificial intelligence agent nicknamed “Mona” in charge at the eponymous Andon Cafe in the Swedish Capital. While human baristas still brew the coffee and serve the orders, the AI agent - powered by Google’s Gemini - oversees almost every other aspect of the business, from hiring staff to managing inventory.

It is not clear how long the experiment will last, but the AI agent appears to be struggling to turn a profit in Stockholm’s competitive coffee trade. The cafe has made more than $5,700 in sales since it opened in mid-April, but less than $5,000 remains from its original budget of $21,000-plus. Much of the cash was spent on one-time setup costs, and the hope is that it eventually levels out and makes money.

Many cafe patrons have found it amusing to visit a business that’s run by AI. Customers can pick up a telephone inside the cafe and ask the agent questions.

“It’s nice to see what happens if you push the boundary,” customer Kajsa Norin said. “The drink was good.”

VinFast honoured as EV manufacturer of the year

VinFast India has been honoured with the “EV Manufacturer of the Year” award at the Times Drive Auto Summit & Awards 2026. The recognition reflects the company’s strong progress in the market, its expanding product portfolio, and its long-term commitment to supporting the adoption of electric mobility in India. Hosted by Times Network, the Times Drive Auto Summit & Awards is a flagship industry platform that convenes policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators to shape conversations around the future of mobility. The platform also honours excellence across the automotive sector, recognising organisations that are driving innovation, sustainability, and next-generation mobility solutions.

At the Times Drive Auto Summit & Awards 2026, the “EV Manufacturer of the Year” title was awarded to VinFast, which has demonstrated a clear market presence, a consistent product strategy, and a meaningful contribution to the advancement of electric mobility. VinFast’s recognition reflects its focused approach to building a relevant product lineup while investing in long-term ecosystem development in India. The recognition further adds to the list of accolades VinFast has received in the Indian market, including “EV Champion of the Year” at the Jagran Hi-Tech Awards 2026, “Breakthrough Brand of the Year” at the Car&Bike Awards 2026, along with product honours such as “EV SUV of the Year - Editor’s Choice” for the VF 7 at the BBC TopGear India Awards 2026 and “Value for Money Car of the Year” for the VF 6 at the Autocar India Awards 2026, reflecting continued positive evaluation from industry experts toward the company’s product direction and long-term investment strategy.

Indian banks need AI defence against cyber threats: Barclays

Indian banks need to modernise their technology architecture and build artificial intelligence-based defence systems to counter emerging cyber threats posed by AI tools, Barclays Global Service Centre India, MD & CEO Praveen Kumar said on Monday. Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit here, Kumar said banks have legacy infrastructure, outdated coding systems and multiple software versions, which make them vulnerable to cyber-attacks and advanced AI models such as Anthropic’s Claude models could potentially exploit weaknesses in outdated banking systems.

“With things like Anthropic’s Mythos coming in, which will potentially exploit weaknesses of underlying systems ... How do you move to a much more consistent underlying technology architecture which will then keep the bank safe,” he said. Drawing an analogy with modern warfare, Khanna said traditional war technologies may no longer be adequate against AI-driven threats. “These days, if you have missiles coming in your way, you have to counter them with missiles from your side. You cannot fire with traditional weapons. So, if AI is kind of launching an attack on your enterprise, you’ve got to have AI insight to counter that,” Kumar said, addressing a session on ‘The future of global capability centres in AI era.