SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is planning to borrow $16 billion to expand the company’s investments in AI, with a possible additional $8 billion loan in early 2026.
The financing plan was discussed with banks last week, according to sources cited by The Information.
The Japanese tech conglomerate has already committed $15 billion to the Stargate venture, a partnership with Oracle and OpenAI aimed at maintaining United States dominance in AI development.
Reports suggest SoftBank may invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI, further solidifying its position in the sector.
DeepSeek’s progress is a clear sign of the growing influence of Chinese companies in the AI sector, according to a spokesperson for China’s parliament. Lou Qinjian, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, praised the achievements of DeepSeek’s young team, describing their work as ‘commendable’.
He highlighted the company’s open-source approach and its efforts to spread AI technology globally, contributing ‘Chinese wisdom’ to the world.
The AI startup has been widely celebrated in China, particularly for rolling out AI models that offer a significantly lower cost than those developed by US rivals like OpenAI.
While some countries, including South Korea and Italy, have removed DeepSeek’s chatbot from their app stores over privacy concerns, it has been embraced within China, where local governments and tech firms are integrating it into their systems.
Based in Hangzhou, DeepSeek is rapidly advancing its next-generation model, set to succeed its R1 release from January, as it continues to make waves in the global tech sector.
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A group of researchers from Hao AI Lab at the University of California San Diego has suggested that Super Mario Bros. might actually be a tougher challenge for AI than Pokémon. In a recent experiment, AI models were tasked with playing the game, and while Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 performed the best, models like Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro and OpenAI’s GPT-4o struggled. The game was not the original 1985 version but instead ran in an emulator integrated with GamingAgent, a framework that provided basic instructions and screenshots for the AI to control Mario.
The AI had to generate inputs, such as Python code, based on the given instructions to navigate Mario through the game’s challenges. The researchers found that while the game required models to plan complex manoeuvres and strategies, reasoning models like OpenAI’s o1 performed worse than non-reasoning models. This is because reasoning models typically take longer to decide on actions, and in a real-time game like Super Mario Bros., timing is critical.
While games have long been used to benchmark AI, some experts question the relevance of gaming skills as a measure of technological advancement. Andrej Karpathy, a research scientist at OpenAI, has expressed concerns over the current AI evaluation process, calling it an ‘evaluation crisis.’ Despite these concerns, watching AI take on Super Mario Bros. provides an interesting glimpse into how far AI has come, even if the benchmarks remain unclear.
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Amazon has announced plans to use AI to help reduce flood risks in Spain’s northeastern region of Aragon, where it is building new data centres.
As part of its $17.9 million investment, Amazon’s cloud computing unit AWS will modernise infrastructure and optimise agricultural water use to tackle flood concerns.
The move follows catastrophic floods that impacted large areas around Valencia and comes as AWS continues its €15.7 billion expansion in the region’s cloud infrastructure.
The region is prone to flooding, especially along the Ebro River, highest-flow river in Spain, which crosses through Aragon on its way to the Mediterranean.
Amazon will deploy advanced cloud computing technologies to create an early warning system combining real-time data collection, sensor networks, and AI-powered analysis.
However, this system will help Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon, monitor flood risks more effectively and provide timely warnings to emergency services.
In addition to its technological investment, local authorities in Zaragoza are building flood defences at the Barranco de la Muerte, or Death Ravine, to mitigate future flood damage.
With these combined efforts, Amazon aims to contribute to reducing the region’s vulnerability to floods while supporting its own expanding data infrastructure.
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The University of Cambridge is set to open a new department, The Bennett School of Public Policy, later this year, dedicated to exploring how AI can improve both business and public sector operations.
However, this marks the university’s first major new academic department in the 21st century, with research priorities focused on harnessing AI to address pressing policy challenges.
Professors from a wide range of disciplines, including economics, social sciences, and medical fields, will collaborate to investigate the potential benefits and risks of AI adoption across sectors.
The school’s leadership aims to foster a generation of ‘tech-savvy’ policymakers who can effectively manage AI’s role in society while promoting sustainable and inclusive growth.
In addition to investigating AI’s economic impact, researchers will work closely with the Civil Service to develop AI workflows and help local government leaders address geographical inequality.
With a focus on cross-disciplinary expertise, the Bennett School plans to train policymakers who can tackle the complex issues of today’s world.
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Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek has revealed that its theoretical profit margins could reach 545 percent, shedding light on the financial potential of its innovative approach to AI. The Hangzhou-based company said its V3 and R1 models’ cost-to-sales ratio during 24 hours in February highlighted the massive profitability of its AI services.
However, DeepSeek clarified that actual revenues are much lower, as many services remain free or discounted during off-peak hours, and the calculations exclude research and development costs. Despite the hypothetical nature of these margins, the disclosure comes as AI start-ups worldwide struggle to prove their business models can turn sustainable profits.
Giants like OpenAI and Anthropic experiment with various revenue streams — from subscriptions to licensing fees — while investors increasingly question how soon these companies can achieve lasting profitability. What makes DeepSeek stand out is its commitment to transparency and open-source innovation.
The company publicly shared insights into its infrastructure, explaining how it optimises server loads, reduces latency, and maximises data processing efficiency. This openness contrasts sharply with many US-based competitors’ secretive, proprietary strategies, signalling DeepSeek’s confidence in its long-term vision.
Why does it matter?
In an industry racing to build more powerful AI, DeepSeek’s willingness to share its methods and potential profitability sparks an important debate: Can a balance between innovation, openness, and sustainable revenue reshape the future of AI?
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Samsung has unveiled its latest Galaxy A-series lineup, introducing the Galaxy A56, A36, and A26, packed with new AI-powered features. One of the standout additions is the ‘awesome intelligence’ suite, which brings advanced image editing capabilities.
Among these features is Best Face, allowing users to swap facial expressions in group photos — similar to Google Pixel’s Best Take. These tools, first seen in the Galaxy S25, aim to simplify capturing and editing moments.
The Galaxy A56 has performance upgrades, including an Exynos 1580 chip and a larger vapour chamber for better cooling. It features a 6.7-inch full HD Plus display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide sensor, and a 5MP macro lens. Priced at $499, the A56 is set to launch in the US later this year, while the A36 and A26 will hit shelves in late March, costing $399 and $299, respectively.
Buyers in the UK can get their hands on the new devices starting 19 March, with prices beginning at €299 for the Galaxy A26. The series also promises long-term value, offering up to six years of Android OS and security updates, plus IP67 dust and water resistance on the A26, making these phones a compelling choice for budget-conscious consumers looking for modern features.
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Chinese AI startup Zhipu AI has raised over 1 billion yuan ($137.22 million) in new funding, following a previous 3 billion yuan investment in December. The latest funding round comes amid growing competition in China’s AI sector, particularly with rival DeepSeek’s large language models, which claim to rival Western models at a lower cost.
Investors in the new round include the state-backed Hangzhou City Investment Group Industrial Fund and Shangcheng Capital. Zhipu AI plans to use the funds to enhance its GLM language model and expand its AI ecosystem, with a focus on businesses in Zhejiang province and the Yangtze River Delta region.
Founded in 2019, Zhipu AI has completed 16 funding rounds and is considered one of China’s leading AI startups. The company aims to release a range of new AI models, including foundation and multimodal models, as part of its open-source strategy. The funding comes as competitors like DeepSeek continue to disrupt the AI landscape with open-source models that challenge established platforms.
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British startup Wayve has announced plans to open a new testing and development hub in Germany, deploying a fleet of test vehicles in the Stuttgart region. The self-driving technology firm aims to enhance features like lane change assistance at the new facility, which will focus on improving its “Embodied AI” system that learns from human behaviour.
Wayve, which operates in the UK and the US, is expanding into Germany as part of its strategy to enter the European market, particularly Germany, the continent’s largest automotive hub. The company received a boost earlier this year, with Uber investing in August and SoftBank leading a $1 billion funding round in May, supported by Nvidia.
Despite the significant investments in autonomous vehicle technology, self-driving systems still face challenges in predicting and assessing risks as accurately as human drivers. Wayve’s technology is already integrated into six vehicle platforms, including electric models like the Jaguar I-PACE and Ford Mustang Mach-E, as part of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
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Singapore‘s government is investigating a fraud case involving servers supplied by US companies, potentially containing Nvidia’s advanced chips. Three men, including a Chinese national, were charged last week in connection with the alleged illegal transfer of these AI chips from Singapore to Chinese firm DeepSeek. Singapore’s Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam confirmed that the servers were provided by Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer to local firms before being sent to Malaysia.
Authorities are still unsure whether Malaysia was the final destination, but they are working with US officials to determine if the servers contained restricted US export-controlled items. The US is already investigating whether DeepSeek has used banned Nvidia chips, which could lead to violations of export laws. The case forms part of a broader probe into suspected smuggling activities linked to AI chips being moved from countries like Singapore to China.
Singapore, a key market for Nvidia, is also examining allegations that DeepSeek may have acquired thousands of advanced Nvidia chips illegally. However, DeepSeek has denied these claims, stating that it only used legally purchased chips, including the Nvidia H800 model. The investigation is ongoing, with Singapore continuing to cooperate with US authorities.
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