Canadian quantum computing company Photonic has raised $130 million in the first close of a new investment round led by Planet First Partners. New backers include RBC and TELUS, alongside returning investors.
The funding brings Photonic’s total capital raised to $271 million and supports the development of fault-tolerant quantum systems. The company combines silicon-based qubits with built-in photonic connectivity.
Photonic’s entanglement-first architecture is designed to scale across existing global telecom networks. The approach aims to enable large, distributed quantum computers rather than isolated machines.
Headquartered in Vancouver, Photonic plans to utilise the investment to accelerate key product milestones and expand its team. Investors see strong potential across finance, sustainability, telecommunications and security sectors.
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Canopy Healthcare, one of New Zealand’s largest private medical oncology providers, has disclosed a data breach affecting patient and staff information, six months after the incident occurred.
The company said an unauthorised party accessed part of its administration systems on 18 July 2025, copying a ‘small’ amount of data. Affected information may include patient records, passport details, and some bank account numbers.
Canopy said it remains unclear exactly which individuals were impacted and what data was taken, adding that no evidence has emerged of the information being shared or published online.
Patients began receiving notifications in December 2025, prompting criticism over the delay. One affected patient said they were unhappy to learn about the breach months after it happened.
The New Zealand company said it notified police and the Privacy Commissioner at the time, secured a High Court injunction to prevent misuse of the data, and confirmed that its medical services continue to operate normally.
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Luxembourg has hosted its largest national cyber defence exercise, Cyber Fortress, bringing together military and civilian specialists to practise responding to real-time cyberattacks on digital systems.
Since its launch in 2021, Cyber Fortress has evolved beyond a purely technical drill. The exercise now includes a realistic fictional scenario supported by media injections, creating a more immersive and practical training environment for participants.
This year’s edition expanded its international reach, with teams joining from Belgium, Latvia, Malta and the EU Cyber Rapid Response Teams. Around 100 participants also took part from a parallel site in Latvia, working alongside Luxembourg-based teams.
The exercise focuses on interoperability during cyber crises. Participants respond to multiple simulated attacks while protecting critical services, including systems linked to drone operations and other sensitive infrastructure.
Cyber Fortress now covers technical, procedural and management aspects of cyber defence. A new emphasis on disinformation, deepfakes and fake news reflects the growing importance of information warfare.
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is consulting Canada and Australia on a coordinated response to concerns surrounding social media platform X, after its AI assistant Grok was used to generate sexualised deepfake images of women and children.
The discussions focus on shared regulatory approaches rather than immediate bans.
X acknowledged weaknesses in its AI safeguards and limited image generation to paying users. Lawmakers in several countries have stated that further regulatory scrutiny may be required, while Canada has clarified that no prohibition is currently under consideration, despite concerns over platform responsibility.
In the UK, media regulator Ofcom is examining potential breaches of online safety obligations. Technology secretary Liz Kendall confirmed that enforcement mechanisms remain available if legal requirements are not met.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also raised broader concerns about social responsibility in the use of generative AI.
X owner Elon Musk rejected accusations of non-compliance, describing potential restrictions as censorship and suppression of free speech.
European authorities requested the preservation of internal records for possible investigations, while Indonesia and Malaysia have already blocked access to the platform.
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India’s Financial Intelligence Unit has tightened crypto compliance, requiring live identity checks, location verification, and stronger Client Due Diligence. The measures aim to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and misuse of digital asset services.
Crypto platforms must now collect multiple identifiers from users, including IP addresses, device IDs, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, and timestamps.
Verification also requires users to provide a Permanent Account Number and a secondary ID, such as a passport, Aadhaar, or voter ID, alongside OTP confirmation for email and phone numbers.
Bank accounts must be validated via a penny-drop mechanism to confirm ownership and operational status.
Enhanced due diligence will apply to high-risk transactions and relationships, particularly those involving users from designated high-risk jurisdictions and tax havens. Platforms must monitor red flags and apply extra scrutiny to comply with the new guidelines.
Industry experts have welcomed the updated rules, describing them as a positive step for India’s crypto ecosystem. The measures are viewed as enhancing transparency, protecting users, and aligning the sector with global anti-money laundering standards.
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Malaysia and Indonesia have restricted access to Grok, the AI chatbot available through the X platform, following concerns about its image generation capabilities.
Authorities said the tool had been used to create manipulated images depicting real individuals in sexually explicit contexts.
Regulatory bodies in Malaysia and Indonesia stated that the decision was based on the absence of sufficient safeguards to prevent misuse.
Requests for additional risk mitigation measures were communicated to the platform operator, with access expected to remain limited until further protections are introduced.
The move has drawn attention from regulators in other regions, where online safety frameworks allow intervention when digital services fail to address harmful content. Discussions have focused on platform responsibility, content moderation standards, and compliance with existing legal obligations.
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The US administration’s new AI action plan frames global development as an AI race with a single winner. Officials argue AI dominance brings economic, military, and geopolitical advantages. Experts say competition is unfolding across multiple domains.
The United States continues to lead in the development of advanced large language and multimodal models by firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. American companies also dominate global computing infrastructure. Control over high-end AI chips and data-centre capacity remains concentrated in US firms.
Chinese companies are narrowing the gap in the practical applications of AI. Models from Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Moonshot AI perform well in tasks such as translation, coding, and customer service. Performance at the cutting edge still lags behind US systems.
Washington’s decision to allow limited exports of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to China reflects a belief that controlled sales can preserve US leadership. Critics argue the move risks weakening America’s computing advantage. Concerns persist over long-term strategic consequences.
Rather than a decisive victory for either side in the AI race, analysts foresee an era of asymmetric competition in AI. The United States may dominate advanced AI services, but China is expected to lead in large-scale industrial deployment within the evolving AI race.
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Reports published by cybersecurity researchers indicated that data linked to approximately 17.5 million Instagram accounts has been offered for sale on underground forums.
The dataset reportedly includes usernames, contact details and physical address information, raising broader concerns around digital privacy and data aggregation.
A few hours later, Instagram responded by stating that no breach of internal systems occurred. According to the company, some users received password reset emails after an external party abused a feature that has since been addressed.
The platform said affected accounts remained secure, with no unauthorised access recorded.
Security analysts have noted that risks arise when online identifiers are combined with external datasets, rather than originating from a single platform.
Such aggregation can increase exposure to targeted fraud, impersonation and harassment, reinforcing the importance of cautious digital security practices across social media ecosystems.
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SoftBank Group and OpenAI announced a strategic partnership with SB Energy, involving a combined investment of $1 billion to support the development of large-scale AI data centres and energy infrastructure in the US.
The agreement forms part of the broader Stargate initiative, which aims to expand domestic AI computing capacity.
As part of the arrangement, OpenAI signed a lease for a 1.2 gigawatt data centre project in Milam County, Texas, with SB Energy selected to develop and operate the facility.
The partners stated that the project is designed to support the rising demand for AI computing while minimising water usage and enhancing local energy supply.
SB Energy also secured an additional $800 million in redeemable preferred equity from Ares, strengthening its financial position for further expansion.
The companies stated that the collaboration is expected to generate construction employment, long-term operational roles and investment in grid modernisation, while establishing a scalable model for future AI-focused data centre developments.
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A series of agreements has been announced by Meta to support nuclear energy projects in the US, aiming to secure up to 6.6 gigawatts of clean and reliable electricity for data centres and AI infrastructure by 2035. The company said the move supports grid stability while reinforcing domestic energy capacity.
The agreements include support for existing nuclear facilities operated by Vistra in Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as commitments to advanced reactor developers TerraPower and Oklo.
Meta stated that the arrangements are intended to extend the operational life of current plants while accelerating the deployment of next-generation nuclear technologies.
According to Meta, the projects are expected to generate thousands of construction roles and hundreds of long-term operational jobs, while contributing to the firm’s power to regional electricity grids.
The company added that energy costs associated with its data centres are fully covered through corporate agreements, instead of being passed on to US consumers.
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