Author: Art Ryan

G42 and Banco Santander have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore strategic cooperation in artificial intelligence. This is a major step toward AI-powered banking at global scale. The agreement unites G42, the Abu Dhabi-based technology group, and Santander, the Madrid-based global banking group. They will explore and develop AI initiatives for financial services, customer advisory, savings solutions, agentic banking and large-scale AI infrastructure. The G42 Santander AI partnership is expected to focus on building intelligent banking systems. These systems will support customers with more personalised, proactive and automated financial services. AI Partnership to Target Banking Intelligence G42 and Santander…

Hasbro is taking a major step into the AI era with the launch of Sixth Wall, a new AI studio created to bring the company’s iconic characters into interactive digital experiences. The toy and entertainment giant has also announced a strategic partnership with ElevenLabs, the AI audio company known for voice generation technology. Through the partnership, selected Hasbro characters will become available for authorized AI-powered experiences, including voice-based interactions, storytelling, games, digital companions, and brand engagement tools. The move could reshape how major entertainment companies license their characters in the age of artificial intelligence. Hasbro Launches Sixth Wall AI Studio…

The European Union is moving to reduce its dependence on foreign technology providers with a new “Made in Europe” push focused on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, semiconductors, and critical digital infrastructure. The initiative is part of a broader effort to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty at a time when AI development is becoming increasingly tied to access to chips, cloud platforms, data centers, and secure computing power. For years, much of Europe’s digital infrastructure has relied heavily on major technology companies from outside the bloc, particularly U.S. cloud and platform providers. EU officials now want to ensure that European businesses, governments,…

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has reportedly increased its equity offering to $84.75 billion as it looks to finance one of the largest artificial intelligence infrastructure rollouts in the tech industry. The fundraising plan underscores the increasing cost of competing in the AI arena as top tech firms race to build data centers, add cloud capacity, train advanced models and acquire the computing power required to deploy next-generation AI services. The move comes as Alphabet has ramped up its investment across its AI ecosystem, including Google Cloud, Gemini, custom AI chips and the infrastructure needed to support AI products…

Meta is making a bigger push into the business AI market with the launch of Meta Business Agent, an artificial intelligence tool designed to help companies communicate with customers, recommend products, qualify leads, and close sales across Meta’s messaging platforms. The new AI agent is being expanded globally to businesses of all sizes and will work across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Meta says the tool is designed to help companies deliver faster, more personalized customer support while reducing the need for manual responses to routine sales and service inquiries. For businesses that already rely on Meta’s platforms to reach customers,…

ChatGPT has reportedly hit 1 billion global monthly active users, the fastest app in history to hit the milestone and a major moment in the rise of consumer artificial intelligence. Data cited by PYMNTS found that the ChatGPT app reached 1 billion users in May 2026, about three years after OpenAI launched its mobile app experience. The milestone highlights how quickly AI tools have moved from experimental technology to everyday digital infrastructure for consumers, workers, students, developers, and businesses. The achievement also places ChatGPT ahead of some of the world’s biggest consumer apps in terms of adoption speed. ChatGPT Hits…

Chinese Artificial Intelligence startup DeepSeek is reportedly close to a $7.4 billion funding round. This would be one of the largest startup funding rounds in China’s technology sector. The reported financing would give DeepSeek significant new resources. As a result, it could continue to focus on open-source AI development, advanced research, and long-term artificial general intelligence goals. The funding round is said to include major backers such as Tencent and China’s government-supported National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund. In addition, DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng is also reportedly participating in the round. DeepSeek Pushes Research-First AI Strategy DeepSeek has told potential…

Anthropic is expanding its cybersecurity initiative, Project Glasswing, to more countries, including India. The company gives selected organizations access to one of its most powerful and closely controlled AI models, Claude Mythos Preview. The expansion marks a major step in Anthropic’s effort to use advanced artificial intelligence to strengthen global cyber defense. Project Glasswing is designed to help trusted organizations identify software vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. Claude Mythos Preview is not being released publicly. Instead, Anthropic is offering access only to vetted partners and institutions. This reflects growing concerns about how powerful AI systems could be misused if…

UK regulators have ordered Google to give online publishers more control over how their content is used in artificial intelligence search features. This includes AI Overviews and AI Mode. The decision marks a major step in the growing global debate over AI scraping, search traffic, publisher rights, and the future of online content. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said Google must provide publishers with “effective tools” that allow them to prevent their content from being used to power Google’s generative AI services. In addition, this applies to AI-powered search features. Google Must Give Publishers More Control Over AI Content…

Lighthouse has acquired Hotelrank.ai, an AI visibility and optimisation platform built for the hotel industry. This move expands its Connect AI solution for hospitality businesses. The acquisition adds AI visibility intelligence to Lighthouse’s commercial platform. As a result, hotels receive new tools to track how they appear, rank, and perform across AI-powered travel platforms. These platforms include ChatGPT and Gemini. Announced on 28 May 2026, the deal highlights the growing importance of AI-driven travel discovery. Hotels are searching for new ways to increase direct bookings and reduce reliance on online travel agencies. Lighthouse Adds AI Visibility Intelligence to Connect AI…

Sharjah is moving faster toward an AI-powered public sector after Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairman of the Sharjah Executive Council, ordered the accelerated integration of artificial intelligence assistants across government operations. The directive aims to improve government efficiency, raise the quality of public services, and support Sharjah’s wider transition toward an AI-assisted government model. Sharjah Accelerates AI-Enabled Government Services The emirate is integrating artificial intelligence into the heart of its digital transformation strategy. Sharjah intends to deploy AI assistants within government operations to speed up departmental processes. Additionally, they…

The UAE Government Media Office has rolled out new government media guidelines. This comes as the country moves to accelerate the shift to Agentic AI across public sector services, operations and communications. This step is part of the UAE’s wider plan to improve government communication and increase public confidence. It also prepares official media teams for a future where artificial intelligence has a bigger role in producing, checking and sharing public information. The new guidelines are designed to support government entities in producing clear, accurate, and responsible media content. They arrive at a time when the UAE is pushing ahead…

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged one of the biggest concerns facing the artificial intelligence industry today: companies are investing massive amounts of money into AI, but many still cannot clearly measure the return on that spending. This uncertainty contributes to the problem of enterprise AI waste. Companies are investing heavily in AI services, but many remain unsure of when these investments will translate into higher revenues, better productivity or lower operating costs. As companies rush to implement AI tools, build out infrastructure, buy chips and roll out automation systems, a major problem is becoming harder and harder to ignore,…

Microsoft Build 2026 is happening today, and the company’s biggest developer conference is expected to focus heavily on artificial intelligence. The annual event is ongoing in San Francisco and is being streamed online for free. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella opened the conference with a keynote focused on the company’s AI plans, developer platforms, and new opportunities for building in the AI era. Build 2026 runs through June 3, giving developers, businesses, and tech watchers a closer look at Microsoft’s latest updates across AI, Windows, Azure, Copilot, and its broader software ecosystem. Microsoft Build 2026 Is an AI-Focused Event This year’s…

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful forces in global cybersecurity, and the UK’s top cyber intelligence chief is warning that governments, businesses, and the public must act quickly to keep up. Anne Keast-Butler, director of GCHQ, described AI as an “unstoppable force” with major opportunities but also serious risks. Speaking at Bletchley Park, the historic home of Britain’s World War Two codebreakers, she warned that AI is increasingly being used in ways that blur the line between peace and war. The UK and its allies are now in a dangerous “grey zone”, where hostile states can…

Microsoft Project Solara wants to put AI on the employee badge Microsoft is exploring a new frontier for workplace artificial intelligence with Project Solara, an experimental platform that will power AI-first devices beyond traditional PCs and smartphones. One of the most attention-grabbing concepts attached to Project Solara is an AI-supported employee badge — a wearable workplace device that could double as a personal AI assistant, security tool and productivity partner. The vision, however, is not simply AI that employees access through a laptop or a chat window, but rather AI embedded into the everyday workplace hardware, included in badges, devices…

Artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing beyond chatbots, image generators and productivity-boosting tools on the job. Its next big act may be in one of the most consequential areas of public life: economic policy. Central banks, finance ministries and government agencies use vast amounts of data to make decisions about inflation, interest rates, employment, financial stability and economic growth. But the traditional models of economics can struggle to keep up with the rapid changes in the real world. AI might change that. AI can assist policy makers in observing what is happening in the economy earlier than traditional reports by examining…

OpenAI is pushing Codex beyond its original role as a coding assistant. The company is introducing new features designed to help business teams use AI for everyday work across sales, finance, analytics, design, and creative production. The company announced that Codex is gaining role-specific plugins, interactive Sites, and annotation tools that make the AI agent more useful for non-technical professionals. While Codex started as a tool for software development, OpenAI says it is now being adopted by analysts, marketers, operators, designers, researchers, investors, and bankers. According to OpenAI, more than 5 million people use Codex every week. Furthermore, non-developers now…

Wayve is expanding its artificial intelligence ambitions beyond self-driving cars with the launch of Wayve Labs. This is a new research unit focused on building AI systems that can better understand and operate in the physical world. The UK-based autonomous driving startup is best known for developing AI software for driverless vehicles. But with Wayve Labs, the company is now looking at a broader frontier. Embodied intelligence is a field of AI focused on machines that can perceive, reason, move, and respond to real-world environments. The new lab will be led by Jamie Shotton, Wayve’s chief scientist and a former…

The New Zealand tourism sector is stepping up its efforts to remain competitive as artificial intelligence transforms the way travellers discover destinations, compare options and plan trips. AI travel planning is quickly becoming an essential tool for many when organising their next adventure. “AI travel planning is pushing destinations to rethink how they appear online,” tourism and aviation leaders at TRENZ 2026 in Auckland said. Travel brands must now make sure their content is understandable, trustworthy and recommendable by AI-powered tools, rather than relying on traditional search engines. AI Is Changing How Travellers Choose Destinations Air New Zealand CEO Nikhil…