Firm says its RTX Spark PC chip for Microsoft Windows will let AI agents replace the mouse and keyboard
A new front has opened up in the battle for dominance in AI chips, as Nvidia said its latest development could replace the mouse and keyboard in how people use computers.
The $5tn (£3.7tn) US semiconductor company has launched a “superchip” that puts AI capabilities into laptops and desktop computers, a move that will pit it against Intel, Apple, Qualcomm and AMD.
Continue reading...Proposal requires Rene Haas to steer US-listed British company to ‘exceptional growth metrics’
The chief executive of Arm is in line for a pay package that would make him a billionaire if he hits targets to turn the microchip firm into the UK’s first trillion-dollar company.
Arm, which is listed in New York but retains its global headquarters in Cambridge, has proposed a pay scheme for Rene Haas in which he will receive generous annual share awards plus a maximum bonus of $800m if he can hit certain “exceptional growth metrics”.
Continue reading...The US president’s reversal on calling for a safety review of new AI models is a green light for tech’s unchecked power
Only hours before Donald Trump was set to sign a long-awaited executive order on Thursday that would have called for a government safety review of new artificial intelligence models before their release, the president abruptly backed out. Despite growing public backlash to the technology and experts warning new models will pose critical security risks, Trump vowed the US government would not slow down the AI race.
During a meeting with reporters on Thursday, Trump cited both American dominance and competition with China and as his reasoning behind the reversal.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Varun Chandra’s talks with Google, Meta, Apple and others raise fears of ‘lobbying behind closed doors’
An influential government adviser close to Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves held 16 undisclosed meetings with top US tech executives, the Guardian can reveal.
The No 10 business aide Varun Chandra discussed regulatory changes, AI and Donald Trump’s second administration with tech corporations during confidential meetings between October 2024 and October 2025. In one meeting he offered to help a top executive meet the prime minister directly.
Continue reading...Adult video platform to sell minority stake to increase stability after death of its founder Leonid Radvinsky
OnlyFans, the UK adult video platform, is in talks to sell a minority stake to a US investor that will value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The London-based company is in advanced talks to sell a stake of less than 20% to the San Francisco-based investment firm Architect Capital, according to the Financial Times. Sources familiar with the process confirmed the talks to the Guardian.
Continue reading...European Commission says social messaging app is exposing children to grooming and sexual exploitation
Brussels has opened an investigation into Snapchat over concerns the social messaging app is exposing children to grooming, sexual exploitation and other criminality.
In a separate decision on Thursday, the European Commission also said four pornographic websites were failing to prevent minors seeing adult content, harming young people’s mental health and fuelling negative gender attitudes.
Continue reading...Investors shifting to ‘heavy-asset, low-obsolescence’ companies insulated from disruption, says Goldman Sachs
Investors have a new mantra as they prepare for AI to shake up the global economy – the Halo trade.
Interest in Halo – short for “heavy assets, low obsolescence” - has risen as investors seek out companies with tangible, productive assets, which might be insulated from AI disruption, such as energy and transport infrastructure companies.
Continue reading...Firm’s automated warehouses are struggling to compete against swift deliveries from stores by bike riders
Only six years ago, the boss of Ocado Group was writing the obituary for supermarkets as he predicted that a surge in online grocery shopping during the pandemic had brought forward the hi-tech future.
“Not every store will disappear, but there will be a dramatic shift,” Tim Steiner said at the height of the Covid pandemic, when shopping from the sofa became the only option for many.
Continue reading...Major restructure by retail technology business will lead to reduction of about 5% of global workforce
Ocado is to cut 1,000 jobs as the retail technology business attempts to slash costs by £150m in a major restructure.
The group confirmed about 5% of its global workforce is being cut, with about two-thirds of the job losses affecting its UK operations.
Continue reading...Consulting firm keen to increase uptake of technology and is reportedly monitoring adoption by workforce
Accenture has reportedly started tracking staff use of its AI tools and will take this into consideration when deciding on top promotions, as the consulting company tries to increase uptake of the technology by its workforce.
The company told senior managers and associate directors that being promoted to leadership roles would require “regular adoption” of artificial intelligence, according to an internal email seen by the Financial Times.
Continue reading...Tryout of system, which switches between signals from 5G masts to low Earth-orbit satellites, could lead to wider rollout
Train wifi in the UK, long a source of frustration for passengers, is about to get radically faster – for a lucky few at least.
A two-month trial has begun on one Great Western Railway (GWR) train, fitted with technology from Formula One that switches between the signals from 5G masts to low Earth-orbit satellites to provide almost seamless, superfast wifi.
Continue reading...In effort to tackle severe backlog and end resale market, only learner drivers will be able to make bookings
Bots and third parties will be banned from booking driving tests as part of a government shake-up to tackle a severe backlog of almost 670,000 learners booked in for a practical assessment.
The Department for Transport (DfT), which recently consulted on how to crack down on touts reselling test slots at inflated prices, said that only learner drivers themselves and not their instructors would be able to make bookings.
Continue reading...Drop in US, Asia and Europe follows warning from bank bosses that market correction could lie ahead
Global stock markets have fallen sharply amid concerns that a boom in valuations of artificial intelligence (AI) companies could be rapidly cooling.
Markets in the US, Asia and Europe have fallen after bank bosses warned a serious stock market correction could lie ahead, after a run of record stock market highs led some companies to appear overvalued.
Continue reading...Dutch-controlled company informs customers about suspension but is said to want to de-escalate trade war
Nexperia, the EU-based automotive chipmaker at the centre of a geopolitical dispute, has suspended supplies to its Chinese factory, stepping up a trade war that threatens to halt production at carmakers around the world.
The company wrote to customers this week informing them all supplies to a Chinese plant had been suspended.
Continue reading...CIPS survey shows cyber threats have risen up the list of concerns for procurement managers
Almost a third of bosses have reported an increase in cyber-attacks on their supply chains over the past six months, as the fallout from devastating hacks on corporate stalwarts including Jaguar Land Rover highlighted a growing threat to businesses.
Cyber threats have risen up the list of concerns for procurement managers at hundreds of companies worldwide across industries including manufacturing, energy and technology, according to a survey conducted in September by industry body the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips).
Continue reading...MGX, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will take 15% stake, with social media firm valued at $14bn
The Abu Dhabi royal family is to take a stake in TikTok’s US business after Donald Trump signed an executive order brokering a deal valuing the social media company at $14bn (£10.5bn).
MGX, a fund chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will take a 15% stake and gain a board seat when TikTok US is spun out.
Continue reading...Chipmakers agree to deal amid Trump trade war as condition for obtaining export licences for Chinese market
The chipmakers Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenue from advanced chips sold to China in return for export licences to the key market, in an unprecedented move amid Donald Trump’s trade war with China.
The move, an apparent reversal of US national security restrictions on the chip sales, signalled an easing in the US-China trade war.
Continue reading...Whistleblowing complaint warns Alan Turing Institute is in danger of collapse due to government threats over funds
Staff at the UK’s leading artificial intelligence institute have raised concerns about the organisation’s governance and internal culture in a whistleblowing complaint to the charity watchdog.
The Alan Turing Institute (ATI), a registered charity with substantial state funding, is under government pressure to overhaul its strategic focus and leadership after an intervention last month from the technology secretary, Peter Kyle.
Continue reading...Firm says technology used in El Eternauta is chance ‘to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper’
Netflix has used artificial intelligence in one of its TV shows for the first time, in a move the streaming company’s boss said will make films and programmes cheaper and of better quality.
Ted Sarandos, a co-chief executive of Netflix, said the Argentinian science fiction series El Eternauta (The Eternaut) is the first it has made that involved using generative AI footage.
Continue reading...US president talks of low tariff to give pharmaceutical firms a year or so to build, and then making it ‘very high’
Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical products and semiconductors as soon as 1 August, the latest deadline for the introduction of his “reciprocal” levies on individual countries.
The US president told reporters late on Tuesday the taxes on drug imports could be announced “probably at the end of the month, and we’re going to start off with a low tariff and give the pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build, and then we’re going to make it a very high tariff”.
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