The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs has invoked the Goods Availability Act in response to serious governance issues at semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia.
The measure, announced on 30 September 2025, seeks to ensure the continued availability of the company’s products in the event of an emergency. Nexperia, headquartered in Nijmegen, will be allowed to maintain its normal production activities.
A decision that follows recent indications of significant management deficiencies and actions within Nexperia that could affect the safeguarding of vital technological knowledge and capacity in the Netherlands and across Europe.
Authorities view these capabilities as essential for economic security, as Nexperia supplies chips for the automotive sector and consumer electronics industries.
Under the order, the Minister of Economic Affairs may block or reverse company decisions considered harmful to Nexperia’s long-term stability or to the preservation of Europe’s semiconductor value chain.
The Netherlands government described the use of the Goods Availability Act as exceptional, citing the urgency and scale of the governance concerns.
Officials emphasised that the action applies only to Nexperia and does not target other companies, sectors, or countries. The decision may be contested through the courts.
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Google faces new regulatory scrutiny in the UK after the competition watchdog designated it with strategic market status under a new digital markets law. The ruling could change how users select search engines and how Google ranks online content.
The Competition and Markets Authority said Google controls more than 90 percent of UK searches, giving it a position of unmatched influence. The designation enables the regulator to propose targeted measures to ensure fair competition, with consultations expected later in 2025.
Google argued that tighter restrictions could slow innovation, claiming its search tools contributed £118 billion to the UK economy in 2023. The company warned that new rules might hinder product development during rapid AI advancement.
The move adds to global scrutiny of the tech giant, which faces significant fines and court cases in the US and EU over advertising and app store practices. The CMA’s decision marks the first important use of its new powers to regulate digital platforms with strategic control.
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US CEOs prioritise cost reduction and AI integration amid global economic uncertainty. According to KPMG’s 2025 CEO Outlook, leaders are reshaping supply chains while preparing for rapid AI transformation over the next three years.
Tariffs are a key factor influencing business strategies, with 89% of US CEOs expecting significant operational impacts. Many are adjusting sourcing models, while 86% say they will increase prices where needed. Supply chain resilience remains the top short-term pressure for decision-making.
AI agents are seen as major game-changers. 84% of CEOs expect a native AI company to become a leading industry player within 3 years, displacing incumbents. Companies are accelerating investment returns, with most expecting payoffs within one to three years.
Cybersecurity is a significant concern alongside AI integration. Forty-six percent have increased spending on digital risk resilience, focusing on fraud prevention and data privacy. CEOs recognise that AI and quantum computing introduce both opportunities and new vulnerabilities.
Workforce transformation is a clear priority. Eighty-six percent plan to embed AI agents into teams next year, while 73% focus on retaining and retraining high-potential talent. Upskilling, governance, and organisational redesign are emerging as essential strategies.
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Musk said Grok will analyse bitstreams for AI signatures and scan the web to verify the origins of videos. Grok added that it will detect subtle AI artefacts in compression and generation patterns that humans cannot see.
AI tools such as Grok Imagine and Sora are reshaping the internet by making realistic video generation accessible to anyone. The rise of deepfakes has alarmed users, who warn that high-quality fake videos could soon be indistinguishable from real footage.
A user on X expressed concern that leaders are not addressing the growing risks. Elon Musk responded, revealing that his AI company xAI is developing Grok’s ability to detect AI-generated videos and trace their origins online.
@grok will be able to analyze the video for AI signatures in the bitstream and then further research the Internet to assess origin
The detection features aim to rebuild trust in digital media as AI-generated content spreads. Commentators have dubbed the flood of such content ‘AI slop’, raising concerns about misinformation and consent.
Concerns about deepfakes have grown since OpenAI launched the Sora app. A surge in deepfake content prompted OpenAI to tighten restrictions on cameo mode, allowing users to opt out of specific scenarios.
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The US AI company, OpenAI, has met with the European Commission to discuss competition in the rapidly expanding AI sector.
A meeting focused on how large technology firms such as Apple, Microsoft and Google shape access to digital markets through their operating systems, app stores and search engines.
During the discussion, OpenAI highlighted that such platforms significantly influence how users and developers engage with AI services.
The company encouraged regulators to ensure that innovation and consumer choice remain priorities as the industry grows, noting that collaboration between major and minor players can help maintain a balanced ecosystem.
An issue arises as OpenAI continues to partner with several leading technology companies. Microsoft, a key investor, has integrated ChatGPT into Windows 11’s Copilot, while Apple recently added ChatGPT support to Siri as part of its Apple Intelligence features.
Therefore, OpenAI’s engagement with regulators is part of a broader dialogue about maintaining open and competitive markets while fostering cooperation across the industry.
Although the European Commission has not announced any new investigations, the meeting reflects ongoing efforts to understand how AI platforms interact within the broader digital economy.
OpenAI and other stakeholders are expected to continue contributing to discussions to ensure transparency, fairness and sustainable growth in the AI ecosystem.
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Google is seeking permission to bundle its Gemini AI application with long-standing services such as YouTube and Maps, even as US regulators press for restrictions to curb its dominance in search.
At a recent court hearing, Google’s lawyer John Schmidtlein told Judge Amit Mehta that tying Gemini to its core apps is vital to delivering a consistent AI experience across its ecosystem.
He insisted the courts should not treat the AI market as a settled domain subject to old rules, and claimed that neither Maps nor YouTube is a monopoly product justifying special constraints.
The government’s position is more cautious. During the hearing, Judge Mehta questioned whether allowing Google to require its AI app to be installed to access Maps or YouTube would give it unfair leverage over competitors, mirroring past practices that regulators found harmful in search and browser markets.
This moment frames a broader tension: how antitrust frameworks will adapt (or not) when dominant platforms seek to integrate generative AI across many services. The outcome could shape the future of bundling practices and interoperability in AI ecosystems.
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Nvidia is reportedly investing up to $2bn in Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, as part of a $20bn funding round aimed at scaling its Colossus 2 data centre in Memphis. The capital will be used to buy Nvidia GPUs, essential for powering xAI’s next generation of AI models.
The funding package combines about $7.5bn in equity and up to $12.5bn in debt, structured through a special purpose vehicle that will lease the hardware to xAI over five years. The debt is secured by the GPUs themselves, allowing investors to recover their costs through chip rentals.
xAI faces mounting financial pressure, with reports indicating a cash burn of around $1bn per month. The firm raised $10bn earlier in the year and continues to draw on capital from Musk’s other ventures, including SpaceX.
The move comes amid an intense funding surge across the AI sector, as OpenAI, Meta and Oracle also announce multi-billion-dollar investments in infrastructure. Nvidia’s latest deal with xAI further cements its position at the centre of the global AI hardware ecosystem.
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Researchers are using satellite imagery and AI modelling to map global mining activity and close critical data gaps. Transition minerals, such as lithium and copper, are vital for renewable technologies but often come from ecologically sensitive regions, raising concerns about both environmental and social impacts.
Project lead Victor Maus from the Vienna University of Economics and Business said many new projects overlap with areas of high biodiversity or Indigenous lands. Over half of transition mineral resources are on or near Indigenous or subsistence farming territories, according to earlier studies.
Previous mapping efforts have struggled to document small-scale and informal mining, which remains unregulated despite its impact. Maus’s team compared satellite images of 120,000 square kilometres of mine footprints with the S&P Capital IQ Pro database and found over half missing.
To close these gaps, the team is creating a mining database under the EU-funded Mine the Gap initiative. By combining multispectral, radar, and hyperspectral imagery with AI, they aim to monitor land use, waste generation, and environmental degradation.
Experts say the database could support policymakers and increase transparency. Maus emphasised that global reporting standards are crucial for enhancing accountability and informing decisions on managing the environmental and social impacts of mining.
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Countries are racing to harness AI, and the European Commission has unveiled two strategies to maintain Europe’s competitiveness. Apply AI targets faster adoption across industries and the public sector, while AI in Science focuses on boosting Europe’s research leadership.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Europe must shape AI’s future by balancing innovation and safety. The European Commission is mobilising €1 billion to boost adoption in healthcare, manufacturing, energy, defence, and culture, while supporting SMEs.
Measures include creating AI-powered screening centres for healthcare, backing frontier models, and upgrading testing infrastructure. An Apply AI Alliance will unite industry, academia, civil society, and public bodies to coordinate action, while an AI Observatory will monitor sector trends and impacts.
The AI in Science Strategy centres on RAISE, a new virtual institute to pool and coordinate resources for applying AI in research. Investments include €600 million in compute power through Horizon Europe and €58 million for talent networks, alongside plans to double annual AI research funding to over €3 billion.
The EU aims to position itself as a global hub for trustworthy and innovative AI by linking infrastructure, data, skills, and investment. Upcoming events, such as the AI in Science Summit in Copenhagen, will showcase new initiatives as Europe pushes to translate its AI ambitions into tangible outcomes.
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The US startup OpenAI has broadened access to its affordable ChatGPT Go plan, now available in 16 additional countries across Asia, including Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Thailand.
Priced at under $5 per month, the plan offers local currency payments in select regions, while others will pay in USD with tax-adjusted variations.
ChatGPT Go gives users higher message and image-generation limits, increased upload capacity, and double the memory of the free plan.
A move that follows significant regional growth (Southeast Asia’s weekly active users increasing fourfold) and builds on earlier launches in India and Indonesia, where paid subscriptions have already doubled.
The expansion intensifies competition with Google, which recently introduced its Google AI Plus plan in more than 40 countries. Both companies are vying to attract users in fast-growing markets with low-cost AI access, each blending productivity and creative tools into subscription offerings.
At OpenAI’s DevDay 2025 in San Francisco, CEO Sam Altman announced that ChatGPT’s global weekly active users have reached 800 million.
OpenAI is also introducing in-chat applications from partners like Spotify, Zillow, and Coursera, signalling a shift toward transforming ChatGPT into a broader AI platform ecosystem.
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