Artificial intelligence

Guardz doubles down on SMB protection with $56M funding boost

Cybersecurity startup Guardz has secured $56 million in Series B funding to expand its AI-native platform designed for managed service providers (MSPs).

The round was led by ClearSky, with backing from Phoenix Financial, Glilot Capital Partners, SentinelOne, Hanaco Ventures, and others, bringing the company’s total funding to $84 million in just over two years.

Since emerging from stealth in early 2023, Guardz has built a global presence, partnering with hundreds of MSPs to secure thousands of small and mid-sized businesses.

With the new capital, the company aims to accelerate go-to-market efforts and enhance its platform with more automation, compliance tools, and cyber insurance capabilities.

The Guardz platform integrates threat protection across identities, email, endpoints, cloud, and data into a single engine. Combining AI-driven automation with human-led Managed Detection and Response (MDR), it provides 24/7 monitoring and rapid response to threats.

Seamless integrations with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace allow MSPs to pre-emptively detect suspicious activity and respond in real time.

‘Our goal is to empower MSPs with enterprise-grade security tools to protect the global economy’s most vulnerable targets — small and mid-sized businesses,’ said Guardz CEO and co-founder Dor Eisner. ‘This funding allows us to further that mission and help businesses thrive in a secure environment.’

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

UK government backs AI to help teachers and reduce admin

The UK government has unveiled new guidance for schools that promotes the use of AI to reduce teacher workloads and increase face-to-face time with pupils.

The Department for Education (DfE) says AI could take over time-consuming administrative tasks such as lesson planning, report writing, and email drafting—allowing educators to focus more on classroom teaching.

The guidance, aimed at schools and colleges in the UK, highlights how AI can assist with formative assessments like quizzes and low-stakes feedback, while stressing that teachers must verify outputs for accuracy and data safety.

It also recommends using only school-approved tools and limits AI use to tasks that support rather than replace teaching expertise.

Education unions welcomed the move but said investment is needed to make it work. Leaders from the NAHT and ASCL praised AI’s potential to ease pressure on staff and help address recruitment issues, but warned that schools require proper infrastructure and training.

The government has pledged £1 million to support AI tool development for marking and feedback.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the plan will free teachers to deliver more personalised support, adding: ‘We’re putting cutting-edge AI tools into the hands of our brilliant teachers to enhance how our children learn and develop.’

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

OpenAI launches powerful o3-Pro model with steep price cuts

OpenAI has rolled out its most advanced AI model yet, o3-Pro, delivering significant improvements in reasoning and task complexity while introducing steep price reductions.

The model is now available to ChatGPT Pro and Team users, with Enterprise and Education access coming next week. Developers can also access it via OpenAI’s API.

O3-Pro is designed for high-performance use across technology, education, and science sectors. It supports advanced capabilities such as web browsing, code execution, file analysis, and memory retention during conversations.

Despite these upgrades, pricing has been reduced drastically—87% lower than o1-Pro—costing just $20 per million input tokens and $80 per million output tokens. The base o3 model has also seen an 80% price cut.

Evaluators consistently rated o3-Pro higher than previous models for clarity, instruction-following, and accuracy, with standout results in benchmarks like AIME 2024 and GPQA Diamond, where it beat Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro and Claude 4 Opus, respectively.

Although the model lacks image generation and Canvas support, its reasoning capabilities mark a major step forward in OpenAI’s AI offerings.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Meta strikes $15B deal with Scale AI

Meta Platforms is set to acquire a 49 percent stake in Scale AI for nearly $15 billion, marking its largest-ever deal.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees The agreement as a significant move to accelerate Meta’s push into AI instead of relying solely on in-house development.

Scale AI, founded in 2016, supplies curated training data to major players such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Meta. The company expects to more than double its revenue in 2025 to around $2 billion.

Once the deal is finalised, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang is expected to join Meta’s new AI team focused on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI).

According to Bloomberg, Zuckerberg is hiring around 50 people for a ‘superintelligence’ team.

The effort aligns with Meta’s broader AI plans, including capital expenditure of up to $65 billion in 2025 to expand its AI infrastructure instead of falling behind rivals in the AI race.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Sam Altman predicts AI will discover new ideas

In a new blog post titled The Gentle Singularity, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted that AI systems capable of producing ‘novel insights’ may arrive as early as 2026.

While Altman’s essay blends optimism with caution, it subtly signals the company’s next central ambition — creating AI that goes beyond repeating existing knowledge and begins generating original ideas instead of mimicking human reasoning.

Altman’s comments echo a broader industry trend. Researchers are already using OpenAI’s recent o3 and o4-mini models to generate new hypotheses. Competitors like Google, Anthropic and FutureHouse are also shifting their focus towards scientific discovery.

Google’s AlphaEvolve has reportedly devised novel solutions to complex maths problems, while FutureHouse claims to have built AI capable of genuine scientific breakthroughs.

Despite the optimism, experts remain sceptical. Critics argue that AI still struggles to ask meaningful questions, a key ingredient for genuine insight.

Former OpenAI researcher Kenneth Stanley, now leading Lila Sciences, says generating creative hypotheses is a more formidable challenge than agentic behaviour. Whether OpenAI achieves the leap remains uncertain, but Altman’s essay may hint at the company’s next bold step.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Apple study finds AI fails on complex tasks

A recent study by Apple researchers exposed significant limitations in the capabilities of advanced AI systems and huge reasoning models (LRMs).

Apple’s team suggested this may point to a fundamental limit in how current AI models scale up to general reasoning.

These models, designed to solve complex problems through step-by-step thinking, experienced what the paper called a ‘complete accuracy collapse’ when faced with high-complexity tasks. Even when given an algorithm that should have ensured success, the models failed to deliver correct solutions.

The study found that LRMs performed well with low- and medium-difficulty tasks but deteriorated sharply as the complexity increased.

Rather than increasing their effort as problems became harder, the models reduced their reasoning paradoxically, leading to complete failure.

Experts, including AI researcher Gary Marcus and University of Surrey’s Andrew Rogoyski in the UK, called the findings alarming and indicative of a potential dead end in current AI development.

The study tested systems from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and DeepSeek, raising serious questions about how close the industry is to achieving AGI.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

Teachers get AI support for marking and admin

According to new government guidance, teachers in England are now officially encouraged to use AI to reduce administrative tasks. The Department for Education has released training materials that support the use of AI for low-stakes marking and routine parent communication.

The guidance allows AI-generated letters, such as those informing parents about minor issues like head lice outbreaks, and suggests using the technology for quizzes or homework marking.

While the move aims to cut workloads and improve classroom focus, schools are also advised to implement clear policies on appropriate use and ensure manual checks remain in place.

Experts have welcomed the guidance as a step forward but noted concerns about data privacy, budget constraints, and potential misuse.

The guidance comes as UK nations explore AI in education, with Northern Ireland commissioning a study on its impact and Scotland and Wales also advocating its responsible use.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

OpenAI’s revenue almost doubles to $10 billion

OpenAI has revealed that its annualised revenue has surged to $10 billion as of June 2025, nearly doubling since December 2024, when it stood at $5.5 billion.

The rapid growth is driven by the widespread adoption of its ChatGPT AI models across consumer and business markets, putting the company on course to meet its earlier goal of $12.7 billion in revenue for the whole year.

The $10 billion figure excludes licensing income from Microsoft, a major investor, and some large one-off contracts, according to an OpenAI spokesperson. Despite recording a loss of about $5 billion last year, OpenAI’s impressive revenue scale places it well ahead of many rivals benefiting from the AI boom.

Other players in the AI space are also seeing strong growth. For instance, Anthropic recently surpassed $3 billion in annualised revenue, driven by startup demand using its code-generation models. Meanwhile, OpenAI plans to raise up to $40 billion in new funding, valuing the company at $300 billion.

Since launching ChatGPT over two years ago, OpenAI has expanded its offerings with various subscription plans and services. The company reported 500 million weekly active users as of March 2025, underscoring its dominant position in the AI market.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

AI chip boom fuels TSMC revenue surge

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s leading contract chipmaker, reported a significant 39.6% year-over-year surge in May revenue, reaching NT$320.52 billion ($10.70 billion).

This robust growth is primarily attributed to sustained high demand for its AI chips. The company, a key supplier to tech giants like Apple and Nvidia, has seen its US-listed shares rise over 2% in premarket trading, extending their 5% gain so far this year.

Despite May’s revenue being down 8% from April’s figure, the chipmaker’s January-to-May revenue climbed nearly 43% compared to the same period last year, reaching NT$1.51 trillion.

This strong performance underpins TSMC’s ambitious expansion plans, including a previously announced intent to invest $100 billion in U.S.-based chip-manufacturing facilities.

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei reiterated the company’s full-year 2025 revenue projection in April, anticipating an increase of ‘close to mid-20s percent in US dollar terms.’

The continued strong demand for AI chips is expected to be a major driver in achieving these financial targets, solidifying TSMC’s critical role in the global technology landscape.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!

New London HQ marks TikTok’s UK growth

TikTok has announced plans to expand its UK operations significantly, adding over 500 new jobs and investing in a significant new office in London.

Despite ongoing scrutiny from Western governments over data security and alleged ties to the Chinese state, TikTok insists it invests heavily in trust and safety.

The company already employs 2,500 people in the country and will bring its UK workforce to 3,000 by the end of 2025.

The announcement coincides with London Tech Week, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed major global tech firms to showcase innovation and economic commitment.

TikTok’s UK director, Adam Presser, described the country as the platform’s largest user community in Europe, with over 30 million monthly users.

He emphasised that the company’s growth strategy includes commitments to digital safety and economic support for local creators and entrepreneurs.

Company leaders have reiterated that they aim to create a secure space while supporting the broader economy through innovation and job creation.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!