Tamar Eilam, a leading scientist at IBM, is pushing boundaries in sustainable computing. With 24 years at the company, she serves as an IBM fellow and chief scientist for sustainable computing, tackling one of AI’s most pressing challenges its immense energy consumption. Eilam’s work includes spearheading projects like Kepler, an open-source tool that quantifies the energy usage of applications, helping teams adopt greener AI practices.
AI’s energy demands are staggering, with reports showing that a single ChatGPT search consumes ten times more electricity than a typical Google search. Eilam envisions AI as a double-edged sword—capable of aiding sustainability efforts like decarbonising power grids while also requiring extensive resources to function. To address these issues, her team focuses on efficient AI training methods, high-quality data use, and platform optimisations to reduce resource drain.
Eilam advocates for transparency and trust in AI development. IBM’s approach ensures energy-efficient models, like its Granite line, while addressing intellectual property concerns with verifiable data sources. She also highlights the need for startups and companies to prioritise openness about energy impacts and guardrails to prevent misuse.
Beyond technical achievements, Eilam is a vocal advocate for gender diversity in AI. She emphasises breaking unconscious biases and encourages women to persist in leadership roles. Her passion for merging climate solutions with cutting-edge technology continues to shape sustainable computing innovations.
Italian startup iGenius and Nvidia are teaming up to launch one of the largest deployments of Nvidia’s advanced servers by mid-2025. The ‘Colosseum’ data centre in southern Italy will house around 80 GB200 NVL72 servers, each powered by 72 of Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips, enabling unprecedented AI computing capabilities.
iGenius, a European AI unicorn with over €650 million in funding this year, specialises in open-source AI models for industries like banking and healthcare, prioritising strict data security. The Colosseum system will leverage Nvidia’s tools, including the NIM software platform, to simplify AI model distribution for businesses using Nvidia hardware.
Nvidia executives lauded the partnership, with VP Charlie Boyle highlighting its scale and uniqueness. Multiple Nvidia teams are working closely with iGenius to bring the cutting-edge system online, marking a significant milestone in AI infrastructure development.
OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Pro, a premium version of its chatbot priced at $200 per month, designed for engineering and research applications. The new subscription tier joins the company’s existing lineup, including ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise, signalling OpenAI’s drive to broaden its technology’s industry adoption.
ChatGPT Pro offers users cutting-edge tools like OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model, o1 mini, GPT-4o, and an advanced voice interface. It also includes o1 pro mode, a high-performance feature utilising extra computational power to tackle complex queries, making it especially valuable for technical professionals.
According to OpenAI, o1 pro mode significantly outperforms earlier iterations like o1 and o1-preview on benchmarks for tasks in mathematics, science, and coding. This launch underscores OpenAI’s commitment to delivering sophisticated AI solutions tailored to specialised and demanding fields.
Former PayPal COO David Sacks has been named as President-elect Donald Trump’s advisor on cryptocurrency and AI policy. Trump announced the appointment on Truth Social, stating Sacks would focus on creating a legal framework to support the US cryptocurrency industry and foster growth.
Sacks, a prominent venture capitalist and co-founder of Yammer, has been a longtime advocate for cryptocurrencies, describing them as aligning with PayPal’s original vision of a ‘database of money.’ His firm, Craft Ventures, has invested in major startups like SpaceX and Reddit.
While Sacks’ cryptocurrency stance is clear, his approach to AI policy remains less defined. However, his deregulatory leanings suggest a shift from the stricter policies of the outgoing Biden administration.
Asia’s data centre market is attracting global investors despite sky-high valuations, thanks to surging demand driven by artificial intelligence services. Industry leaders expect the sector to remain lucrative, with data centres critical for housing the infrastructure needed to support AI and other digital technologies.
Recent deals highlight this growth, including Blackstone’s $15.5b acquisition of Australia’s AirTrunk, which set a benchmark with valuations exceeding 20 times core earnings. Similarly, Indonesia’s NeutraDC is drawing interest from major players like Singapore Telecommunications and BDx Data Centres, with a partial sale valuing it at over $1b.
Australia has also seen significant activity, with the DigiCo IPO increasing by $100 million to meet strong investor demand. This trend underscores Asia’s AI dominance in global data centre transactions, representing over half of 2024’s deal value. However, some experts warn of risks in markets lacking robust infrastructure to keep up with capacity expansion.
While execution risks remain, Asia’s data centre market is poised for continued growth, fueled by both technological advances and the expanding needs of hyperscale customers.
Anduril Industries and OpenAI have announced a partnership to advance AI applications for US national security. The collaboration will focus on enhancing counter-unmanned aircraft systems (CUAS), crucial for detecting and neutralising airborne drone threats.
By leveraging Anduril’s extensive CUAS data, AI models will be trained to respond to aerial threats in real time. OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, highlighted the goal of safeguarding military personnel through these advanced AI solutions.
This partnership reflects the escalating global competition in AI-powered autonomous defence technologies, as nations like the United States and China race to innovate in automated military systems. Founded in 2017, Anduril specialises in autonomous systems, including drones and other tactical assets.
Cleerly, an AI-driven cardiovascular imaging startup, has raised $106 million in a Series C extension round led by Insight Partners. The company, founded by cardiologist James Min, uses advanced software to analyze CT scans and detect early-stage coronary artery disease before symptoms appear. This innovative approach aims to improve preventive care for heart conditions, which remain the leading cause of death in the US.
The technology has already received FDA clearance for diagnosing symptomatic patients and recently gained Medicare approval for its plaque analysis test. Cleerly’s software provides a less invasive and more accurate alternative to traditional diagnostics like stress tests or angiograms. With a compounded annual growth rate exceeding 100% over the past four years, the company is poised to expand further as health insurers increasingly cover its tests.
The latest funding will support Cleerly’s ongoing multi-site clinical trials and future growth. Insight Partners’ involvement highlights the growing confidence in AI-driven solutions for healthcare. While facing competition from companies like HeartFlow and Elucid, Cleerly’s goal of screening the global population for heart disease positions it as a potential leader in this emerging market.
Apple and Baidu are collaborating to bring AI features to iPhones in China, leveraging Baidu’s Ernie 4.0 language model. However, technical challenges, including the AI’s response accuracy and understanding of prompts, have slowed progress.
Sales pressures in China are mounting for Apple, with its market share slipping and Huawei reporting significant growth. Criticism of the iPhone 16‘s lack of AI features has further strained Apple’s competitive position in the region.
Privacy policies also pose hurdles, as Apple’s restrictions prevent Baidu from collecting data from AI interactions, potentially limiting the effectiveness of these features. Siri is expected to incorporate Baidu’s AI models.
Citigroup has launched new AI tools to enhance workplace efficiency for 140,000 employees across eight countries. The tools, named Citi Assist and Citi Stylus, aim to simplify tasks such as navigating internal policies and analysing multiple documents. Initially available in countries including the US, UK, and India, the tools will be gradually introduced in more markets.
Citi Assist functions like a highly knowledgeable colleague, guiding users through HR, compliance, finance, and risk procedures. Citi Stylus, on the other hand, allows employees to summarise, compare, or search through multiple documents simultaneously, improving productivity and workflow.
Tim Ryan, Citigroup’s Head of Technology and Business Enablement, explained that staff can propose new uses for the tools, ensuring they evolve alongside employees’ needs. While separate from the bank’s broader efforts to enhance data management, the AI tools are expected to contribute to overall operational improvement.
Chief Technology Officer David Griffiths emphasised that the AI rollout aligns with Citigroup’s commitment to innovation and efficiency in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.
With organisations facing an average of 1,300 cyberattacks per week, Axiado is stepping up with a novel defence: a specialised security chip designed to protect digital infrastructure. Founded in 2017, the Silicon Valley-based startup recently secured $60M in Series C funding led by Maverick Silicon, with participation from Samsung Catalyst Fund and other investors. This brings Axiado’s total funding to $140M.
Axiado’s chip defends against boot-level and runtime security threats, ensuring the integrity of devices from data centres to 5G base stations. It uses root-of-trust technology to prevent hardware tampering and leverages AI-powered analytics to detect malicious data patterns. The company’s chip is positioned as a complement to existing software-based cybersecurity measures, acting as a last line of defence against sophisticated attacks.
The new funds will support Axiado’s go-to-market efforts and help transition its products into mass production by 2025. CEO Gopi Sirineni highlights the growing need for hardware-based security solutions, particularly as the stakes rise in the fight against cybercrime. With partnerships like the one with Jabil to develop server cybersecurity solutions, Axiado is set to expand its reach while competing with industry heavyweights and open-source projects such as Google’s OpenTitan.
