Author: Art Ryan

A sea of red engulfed the FinTech IPO Index through the past week, as earnings season kicked off with reports from the big banks. A volatile market tied to the on-again trade war with China sent overall markets on a roller coaster ride, and the FinTech IPO Index sank 5.3%. Katapult gave up a chunk of recent gains on the heels of a credit agreement waiver, diving more than 26%, followed by Chime Financial, which lost 17.4%. Oportun has added a new $247 million revolving warehouse facility (with Citizens Financial and Community Investment Management) and extended its existing warehouse lines backed by Goldman Sachs and Jefferies by 12 months. These changes…

Alibaba Group said its artificial intelligence (AI) spending in core eCommerce operations is already breaking even, marking a rare point of measurable return in large-scale AI investment, according to a CNBC report. The company said AI has boosted its return on advertising spend by 12% across Taobao and Tmall, citing gains from smarter ad matching, dynamic pricing, and personalized product recommendations. The results, executives said, reflect progress toward achieving self-sustaining profitability from AI in retail. Alibaba’s broader plan calls for 380 billion yuan (about $53 billion) in investment over the next three years, focused on algorithms, data centers and AI-driven commerce infrastructure. The company previously detailed this commitment in internal presentations reported by PYMNTS, noting that AI…

Equifax on Thursday (Oct. 16) launched Equifax Ignite AI Advisor, a generative AI solution that helps lenders analyze portfolio performance, identify growth opportunities, and improve decision making through conversational data insights, according to a company press release. Built on the Equifax Cloud and powered by its Amplify AI engine, the tool merges lenders’ internal data with Equifax’s proprietary credit and risk analytics. It allows financial institutions of all sizes to interact with data through natural language queries and visual dashboards, without requiring advanced technical expertise or dedicated data science teams. Felipe Castillo, Equifax’s U.S. chief product officer, said the solution “democratizes analytics,” helping lenders gain…

BNY increased the number of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions deployed throughout the company by 75% during the third quarter. The bank now has 117 AI solutions in production and more than 100 AI agents in use, BNY CEO Robin Vince said Thursday (Oct. 16). Speaking during the bank’s quarterly earnings call, Vince said the number of AI solutions in production at the end of the third quarter was 75% higher than the number during the previous quarter. “At BNY, AI is for everyone, everywhere, and for everything,” Vince said during the call. “The investments we’ve made have been focused on creating the technology foundation…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Huawei has officially unveiled its AI-Powered Resilient Network Integration Solution at GITEX Global 2025, redefining the boundaries of digital infrastructure and connectivity through AI-native resilience, autonomous optimization, and end-to-end intelligence. The announcement marks a pivotal milestone in Huawei’s global mission to build networks that think, learn, and evolve — networks capable of adapting in real time to the demands of an AI-driven world. Huawei’s latest innovation combines AI-driven architecture, predictive analytics, and self-healing orchestration into a single, unified framework, empowering governments, telecom operators, and enterprises to achieve zero downtime, maximum performance, and trusted digital sovereignty.…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The Government of Sharjah reaffirmed its position as a regional and global benchmark in digital governance at GITEX Global 2025, unveiling a comprehensive suite of smart solutions, AI-driven government platforms, and citizen engagement systems designed to advance efficiency, transparency, and accessibility across all public services. Under the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the emirate continues to strengthen its digital governance framework — combining innovation, human development, and sustainability to create a truly inclusive digital society. “Sharjah’s digital transformation is built…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The Abu Dhabi Emergencies, Crises, and Disasters Management Centre (ADCMC) has unveiled its cutting-edge AI-powered Jaheziya Platform at GITEX Global 2025, redefining the way cities anticipate, manage, and recover from emergencies. The Jaheziya Platform represents a technological milestone in crisis governance, combining artificial intelligence, digital twin simulation, and predictive analytics to create a real-time, integrated command environment capable of supporting decision-makers with unprecedented speed, accuracy, and situational awareness. This groundbreaking system reflects Abu Dhabi’s unwavering commitment to data-driven resilience, aligning with the UAE’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031 and its vision to become a global…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — In a landmark recognition of technological excellence and visionary entrepreneurship, AIM Intelligence, a rising force in artificial intelligence and data innovation, has been crowned the winner of the prestigious Supernova Challenge 2.0 at GITEX Global 2025 — the world’s largest and most influential technology event. The win cements AIM Intelligence’s position among the most promising AI startups globally, showcasing the UAE’s thriving innovation ecosystem and its leadership in nurturing future-ready technologies. 🚀 Championing the Future of AI and Data Intelligence Hosted as part of Expand North Star and GITEX Global 2025, the Supernova Challenge 2.0…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — At GITEX Global 2025, Shaffra, the UAE-based deep-tech innovator in enterprise AI and immersive technologies, unveiled its Full-Stack AI Employee Platform — a groundbreaking solution designed to empower organizations to build, manage, and interact with intelligent AI employees across every business function. The announcement marks a major leap in enterprise digital transformation, introducing a platform that merges cognitive intelligence, automation, and human-like digital engagement — all built to operate securely within sovereign AI ecosystems. 🧩 A Full-Stack Revolution: Build | Work | Talk Shaffra’s AI Employee Platform is a modular, end-to-end ecosystem composed of three…

Google said its open-source Gemma AI model helped scientists identify a potential new biological pathway for cancer therapy, according to a release by Google. The company said the finding demonstrates how smaller, open models can play a role in high-impact scientific research typically dominated by large, proprietary systems. The effort also marks one of Google’s most concrete applications of open-weight AI in healthcare to date. The discovery came from a collaboration between Google’s health research teams and external scientists using Gemma, a lightweight generative AI model released earlier this year. Researchers found that Gemma could analyze large genomic and biomedical datasets to…

Uber said on Thursday (Oct. 16), that it is introducing a new way for some of its U.S. drivers to earn money by taking on digital tasks tied to the company’s data labeling business, Bloomberg reported. The program, launching later this fall, adds a “digital tasks” category to the Uber driver app. It allows registered drivers to complete short, smartphone-based assignments such as uploading restaurant menus or recording audio samples in multiple languages. Payments will vary by task and time commitment, Chief Product Officer Sachin Kansal told Bloomberg. Uber said the effort aims to give drivers additional ways to earn income when they…

Imagine a phone that hunts for discounts every time you shop, not through an app, but through the device itself. That’s the idea behind Honor’s new Magic8 series, unveiled Wednesday (Oct. 15), which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically search for lower prices and apply coupons across China’s biggest eCommerce platforms. It’s part of the smartphone maker’s latest bid to turn AI from a background feature into a real-world benefit, and it comes as Apple faces growing pressure to prove its own devices can do more than talk about intelligence. According to CNBC, the Magic8’s built-in “Yoyo” assistant allows users to say or type prompts like “find best…

The fraud landscape is changing faster than ever — and increasingly, the bad actors are using artificial intelligence. As deepfakes, synthetic identities and automated social engineering grow more sophisticated, fraud fighters are turning to AI of their own to detect the anomalies hidden in billions of data points. But as Matthew Pearce, vice president of Fraud Risk Management and Dispute Operations at i2c, puts it, “human oversight is not just a compliance checkbox for us — it’s actually a competitive advantage.” Pearce told PYMNTS in an interview that while agentic AI can spot patterns and surface anomalies, there are still contextual errors…

Until now, large language models have relied on human-led retraining to adjust their reasoning and update the parameters that shape their understanding. Once deployed, their weights remain static, they can process new information but cannot internalize it, a limitation that could keep these models reactive when business decisions demand real-time adaptation. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed the Self-Adapting Language Models (SEAL) framework to address that limitation. SEAL helps artificial intelligence (AI) systems get updated and adjust automatically, reducing reliance on manual retraining and improving how models learn from new information. The Problem With Fixed Knowledge Large language models have transformed how quickly organizations can find and interpret information. Systems…

Walmart’s agentic commerce partnership with OpenAI reportedly drove the retailer’s stock 5% higher, marking its biggest one-day gain since April and taking it to a record high. The partnership could also help Walmart, whose shares have already been on the rise for three years, boost its valuation to $1 trillion, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Oct. 15), citing Mizuho analyst David Bellinger. Walmart is “clearly ahead of the curve here, while others have been slow to adapt or even made efforts to block AI web crawlers,” Bellinger said, per the report. The company’s market capitalization is currently at $854 billion, according to the report. Only 11 stocks are currently…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — At GITEX Global 2025, global digital infrastructure leader H3C unveiled a new portfolio of AI-driven technologies designed to power the next era of autonomous, secure, and intelligent enterprise infrastructure. Under the theme “Driving the Synergy of Intelligent Future,” H3C showcased innovations that seamlessly integrate artificial intelligence, cloud computing, networking, and cybersecurity — defining what it calls the “Intelligent Infrastructure 3.0 Era,” where every network, data center, and device learns, predicts, and self-optimizes. The company’s showcase signals its expanded vision for the Middle East, positioning itself as a core partner in the region’s rapid march toward…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — At GITEX Global 2025, iFLYTEK, one of the world’s foremost artificial intelligence technology leaders, unveiled its Multi-Scenario AI Ecosystem, a comprehensive suite of AI products and solutions designed to accelerate digital transformation and expand smart possibilities across the Middle East. Under the theme “AI Connecting Ideas,” the company showcased a full spectrum of innovations spanning AI infrastructure, intelligent hardware, translation technologies, and industry-specific solutions, demonstrating how AI can bridge languages, empower enterprises, and elevate human productivity. The unveiling reinforces iFLYTEK’s vision to establish the Middle East as a regional hub for intelligent systems, deepening partnerships…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — At GITEX Global 2025, the UAE’s leading digital telco du, part of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), in partnership with Emirates NBD, one of the Middle East’s most progressive banking groups, announced the launch of the UAE’s first Enterprise Next-Generation Voice Solution (NGV). This landmark innovation redefines enterprise communication by fusing AI-enhanced voice analytics, cloud architecture, and next-gen collaboration tools into one unified platform — signaling a major step toward intelligent digital ecosystems across government, finance, and industry. 🌐 Reinventing Enterprise Voice in the AI Era The new Next-Gen Voice Solution transforms traditional voice infrastructure…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The UAE Space Agency, in collaboration with Space42, has unveiled the next generation of the GIQ (Geospatial Intelligence Quotient) platform at GITEX Global 2025, setting a new global benchmark for AI-powered satellite data access, analysis, and innovation enablement. This launch represents a transformative leap in the UAE’s commitment to open space intelligence, sustainable innovation, and data sovereignty, aligning with the nation’s “We the UAE 2031” vision to make the UAE a global leader in advanced science, technology, and the digital economy. The upgraded GIQ 2.0 platform brings together cutting-edge artificial intelligence, Earth observation analytics, and…

Walmart’s agentic commerce partnership with OpenAI reportedly drove the retailer’s stock 5% higher, marking its biggest one-day gain since April and taking it to a record high. The partnership could also help Walmart, whose shares have already been on the rise for three years, boost its valuation to $1 trillion, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Oct. 15), citing Mizuho analyst David Bellinger. Walmart is “clearly ahead of the curve here, while others have been slow to adapt or even made efforts to block AI web crawlers,” Bellinger said, per the report. The company’s market capitalization is currently at $854 billion, according to the report. Only 11 stocks are currently…