Amazon is set to launch a subscription-based generative AI version of Alexa to rival other digital assistants like OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 Omni and Google's Gemini 1.5. The tech industry is witnessing a wave of layoffs in 2024, with major companies like Tesla, Amazon, and Google announcing 60,000 job cuts, signaling a shift towards AI and automation. Meanwhile, India's startup ecosystem shows promising growth but grapples with high youth unemployment due to skill mismatches and funding challenges.