Tech News Digest: Thursday, 25 June 2026

Today in tech, we’re looking at OpenAI’s bold leap into custom hardware and a surprise shift in the AI job market. It is a busy Thursday with significant updates for designers and a reality check for corporate AI spending habits.

OpenAI reveals 'Jalapeño' — its first custom AI chip

OpenAI has officially stepped into the hardware game, unveiling a custom-built processor named Jalapeño designed in collaboration with Broadcom. This chip is specifically tuned for LLM inference, marking a massive move towards vertical integration that could eventually reduce the lab's reliance on Nvidia’s hardware for running its most advanced models.

Figma launches major update with AI and code layers

The popular design tool Figma has announced a suite of new features, including dedicated code layers, motion support, and enhanced AI-driven plugins. For UK creatives and developers, these tools aim to significantly reduce the friction between the initial design phase and the final production code, making the collaborative process much more fluid.

Engineers prove to be the most resilient against AI layoffs

Whilst the headlines often suggest AI will replace human coders, fresh data from SignalFire reveals that engineers are actually making up a larger share of new hires than in previous years. It appears that rather than making engineers obsolete, AI is acting as a force multiplier, making those who can manage and integrate these tools more valuable than ever to tech firms.

The 'tokenmaxxing' era ends as firms ration AI usage

Companies are beginning to crack down on employees using expensive AI tokens for trivial tasks, moving away from the 'use it for everything' mindset. We are now entering an era of AI rationing, where businesses are prioritising ROI and teaching staff to be more deliberate with their prompts to keep spiralling cloud costs under control.

Grand Theft Auto VI set to break the £70 price barrier

The highly anticipated GTA VI is expected to cost significantly more than current AAA titles when it finally launches, potentially resetting the standard price for premium gaming. Whilst this might be a tough pill to swallow for gamers, the sheer scale of the production suggests that Rockstar is confident the market will pay a premium for what is likely to be the decade's biggest entertainment release.

That is all for today's roundup—have a cracking Thursday and we will see you tomorrow.