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Google blends AI mode with Lens

Google is enhancing its experimental AI Mode by combining the visual power of Google Lens with the conversational intelligence of Gemini, offering users a more dynamic way to search.

Instead of typing queries alone, users can now upload photos or take snapshots with their smartphone to receive more insightful answers.

The new feature moves beyond traditional reverse image search. For instance, you could snap a photo of a mystery kitchen tool and ask, ‘What is this, and how do I use it?’, receiving not only a helpful explanation but links to buy it and even video demonstrations.

Rather than focusing on a single object, AI Mode can interpret entire scenes, offering context-aware suggestions.

Take a photo of a bookshelf, a meal, or even a cluttered drawer, and AI Mode will identify items and describe how they relate to each other. It might suggest recipes using the ingredients shown, help identify a misplaced phone charger, or recommend the order to read your books.

Behind the scenes, the system runs multiple AI agents to analyse each element, providing layered, tailored responses.

Although other platforms like ChatGPT also support image recognition, Google’s strength lies in its decades of search data and visual indexing. Currently, the feature is accessible to Google One AI Premium subscribers or those enrolled in Search Labs via the Google mobile app.

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Anthropic grows its presence in Europe

Anthropic is expanding its operations across Europe, with plans to add over 100 new roles in sales, engineering, research, and business operations. Most of these positions will be based in Dublin and London.

The company has also appointed Guillaume Princen, a former Stripe executive, as its head for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This move signals Anthropic’s ambition to strengthen its global presence, particularly in Europe where the demand for enterprise-ready AI tools is rising.

The company’s hiring strategy also reflects a wider trend within the AI industry, with firms like Anthropic competing for global market share after securing significant funding.

The recent $3.5 billion funding round bolsters Anthropic’s position as it seeks to lead the AI race across multiple regions, including the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Instead of focusing solely on the US, Anthropic’s European push is designed to comply with local AI governance and regulatory standards, which are increasingly important to businesses operating in the region.

Anthropic’s expansion comes at a time when AI firms are facing growing competition from companies like Cohere, which has been positioning itself as a European-compliant alternative.

As the EU continues to shape global AI regulations, Anthropic’s focus on safety and localisation could position it favourably in these highly regulated markets. Analysts suggest that while the US may remain a less regulated environment for AI, the EU is likely to lead global AI policy development in the near future.

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Southampton Airport launches AI assistant to support passengers

Southampton Airport has launched an advanced AI-powered digital assistant to enhance passenger experience and accessibility throughout its terminal. The technology, developed in collaboration with Hello Lamp Post, offers real-time flight updates, personalised navigation assistance, and tailored support, especially for those requiring special assistance.

Following a successful trial at Glasgow Airport with Connected Places Catapult, the AI platform demonstrated a 50% reduction in customer service queries and supported over 12,000 additional passengers annually. Passenger satisfaction during the pilot reached 86%, prompting Southampton to expand the tool for all travellers. The assistant is accessible via QR codes placed throughout the terminal, effectively acting as a virtual concierge.

The initiative forms part of the airport’s broader commitment to inclusive and efficient travel. Southampton Airport recently received the Civil Aviation Authority’s top ‘Very Good’ rating for accessibility. Airport Managing Director Gavin Williams praised the new tool’s ability to enhance customer journeys, while Hello Lamp Post’s CEO, Tiernan Mines, highlighted the value in easing pressure on staff by handling routine queries.

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AI tool boosts accuracy of cancer treatment predictions

A Slovenian-US biotech company, Genialis, is harnessing AI to revolutionise cancer treatment by tackling a major obstacle: the lack of reliable biomarkers to predict how patients will respond to therapy. Using an AI-driven model developed from over a million global samples, the company aims to personalise treatment with far greater accuracy.

Founded nine years ago as a spin-off from the University of Ljubljana, Genialis is now headquartered in Boston but maintains strong ties to Slovenia, employing 22 local experts. Initially focused on tools for biologists, the firm shifted towards personalised medicine six years ago, now offering diagnostic insights that predict whether a patient is likely to respond to a specific cancer drug or treatment.

Genialis’ proprietary “Supermodel” analyses RNA data from a diverse range of patients using machine learning, boosting the likelihood of treatment success from 20–30% to as high as 65% when paired with their biomarkers. While the software is already used in research settings, the ultimate goal is to integrate it into routine clinical care. Despite the promise, challenges remain, including securing quality data and investment. Co-founders Rafael Rosengarten and Miha Štajdohar remain optimistic, believing AI-powered precision medicine is the future of effective cancer therapy.

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Osney Capital invests in the UK’s cybersecurity innovation

Osney Capital has launched the UK’s first specialist cybersecurity seed fund, focused on investing in promising cybersecurity startups at the Pre-Seed and Seed stages.

The fund, which raised more than its initial £50 million target, will write cheques between £250k and £2.5 million and has the capacity for follow-on investments in Series A rounds.

Led by Adam Cragg, Josh Walter, and Paul Wilkes, the Osney Capital team brings decades of experience in cybersecurity and early-stage investing. Instead of relying on generalist investors, the fund will offer tailored support to early-stage companies, addressing the unique challenges in the cybersecurity sector.

The UK cybersecurity industry has grown to £13.2 billion in 2025, driven by complex cyber threats, regulatory pressures, and the rapid adoption of AI. The fund aims to capitalise on this growth, tapping into the strong talent pipeline boosted by UK universities and specialised cybersecurity programs.

Supported by cornerstone investments from the British Business Bank and accredited by the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund, Osney Capital’s mission is to back the next generation of cybersecurity founders and help them scale globally competitive businesses.

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Thailand strengthens cybersecurity with Google Cloud

Thailand’s National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) has joined forces with Google Cloud to strengthen the country’s cyber resilience, using AI-based tools and shared threat intelligence instead of relying solely on traditional defences.

The collaboration aims to better protect public agencies and citizens against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

A key part of the initiative involves deploying Google Cloud Cybershield for centralised monitoring of security events across government bodies. Instead of having fragmented monitoring systems, this unified approach will help streamline incident detection and response.

The partnership also brings advanced training for cybersecurity personnel in the public sector, alongside regular threat intelligence sharing.

Google Cloud Web Risk will be integrated into government operations to automatically block websites hosting malware and phishing content, instead of relying on manual checks.

Google further noted the impact of its anti-scam technology in Google Play Protect, which has prevented over 6.6 million high-risk app installation attempts in Thailand since its 2024 launch—enhancing mobile safety for millions of users.

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Meta unveils Llama 4 models to boost AI across platforms

Meta has launched Llama 4, its latest and most advanced family of open-weight AI models, aiming to enhance the intelligence of Meta AI across services like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger.

Instead of keeping these models cloud-restricted, Meta has made them available for download through its official Llama website and Hugging Face, encouraging wider developer access.

Two models, Llama 4 Scout and Maverick, are now publicly available. Scout, the lighter model with 17 billion active parameters, supports a 10 million-token context window and can run on a single Nvidia H100 GPU.

It outperforms rivals like Google’s Gemma 3 and Mistral 3.1 in benchmark tests. Maverick, the more capable model, uses the same number of active parameters but with 128 experts, offering competitive performance against GPT-4o and DeepSeek v3 while being more efficient.

Meta also revealed the Llama 4 Behemoth model, still in training, which serves as a teacher for the rest of the Llama 4 line. Instead of targeting lightweight use, Behemoth focuses on heavy multimodal tasks with 288 billion active parameters and nearly two trillion in total.

Meta claims it outpaces GPT-4.5, Claude Sonnet 3.7, and Gemini 2.0 Pro in key STEM-related evaluations.

These open-weight AI models allow local deployment instead of relying on cloud APIs, though some licensing limits may apply. With Scout and Maverick already accessible, Meta is gradually integrating Llama 4 capabilities into its messaging and social platforms worldwide.

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GenAI comes to Spotify ads in US and Canada

Spotify has announced a suite of new advertising tools and features, including generative AI capabilities, at its recent Spotify Advance event in New York.

Designed to simplify ad creation and targeting, the initiative, branded as Spotify GenAI Ads, aims to help advertisers generate scripts and voiceovers at no extra cost.

Advertisers can also collaborate with Spotify’s in-house creative agencies to develop campaigns, while upgraded tools on the Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX) offer access to logged-in users through real-time auctions.

Integration with platforms such as Google Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk, Magnite, and Yahoo DSP further enhances reach and targeting options.

A new Spotify Ads Manager tool is also being rolled out in the US and Canada, providing advanced audience segmentation and performance tracking for tailored campaigns. These innovations reflect Spotify’s growing focus on personalisation and automation in digital advertising.

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Tech giants face pushback over AI and book piracy

Meta and Anthropic’s recent attempts to defend their use of copyrighted books in training AI tools under the US legal concept of ‘fair use’ are unlikely to succeed in UK courts, according to the Publishers Association and the Society of Authors.

Legal experts argue that ‘fair use’ is far broader than the UK’s stricter ‘fair dealing’ rules, which limit the unauthorised use of copyrighted works.

The controversy follows revelations that Meta may have used pirated books from LibraryGenesis to train its AI model, Llama 3. Legal filings in the US claim the use of these books was transformative and formed only a small part of the training data.

However, UK organisations and authors insist that such use amounts to large-scale copyright infringement and would not be justified under UK law.

Calls for transparency and licensing reform are growing, with more than 8,000 writers signing a petition and protests planned outside Meta’s London headquarters.

Critics, including Baroness Beeban Kidron, argue that AI models rely on the creativity and quality of copyrighted content—making it all the more important for authors to retain control and receive proper compensation.

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Aetherflux raises $50 million for space solar power project

Aetherflux, the space solar startup founded by Baiju Bhatt, the billionaire co-founder of Robinhood, has secured $50 million in Series A funding to advance its first low Earth orbit demonstration scheduled for 2026.

The California-based startup, which emerged from stealth in October, plans to deploy a constellation of satellites capable of collecting solar energy and transmitting it to Earth.

The concept, inspired by Isaac Asimov’s 1941 short story ‘Reason,’ is set to change the way power is sourced globally. Bhatt is dedicated to transforming this science fiction-inspired idea into reality.

With the newly raised capital, Aetherflux aims to hire more engineers and build the technology needed for its missions. The company will use the funds to develop its satellite payload and improve infrastructure.

The satellites will send power back to Earth via lasers, with energy captured by ground stations featuring photovoltaic arrays. These stations will store energy for future use and may one day deliver electricity to remote areas.

Bhatt’s team, consisting of experts from NASA, SpaceX, and the US Navy, is also focused on building the first ground station. While a location hasn’t been chosen, military sites are being considered for their controlled airspace.

If successful, Aetherflux will pave the way for scalable space-based solar power systems.

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