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Meta faces backlash over Llama 4 release

Over the weekend, Meta unveiled two new Llama 4 models—Scout, a smaller version, and Maverick, a mid-sized variant it claims outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash across multiple benchmarks.

Maverick quickly climbed to second place on LMArena, an AI benchmarking platform where human evaluators compare and vote on model outputs. Meta proudly pointed to Maverick’s ELO score of 1417, placing it just beneath Gemini 2.5 Pro, instead of trailing behind the usual leaders.

However, AI researchers noticed a critical detail buried in Meta’s documentation: the version of Maverick that ranked so highly wasn’t the one released to the public. Instead of using the standard model, Meta had submitted an ‘experimental’ version specifically optimised for conversations.

LMArena later criticised this move, saying Meta failed to clearly indicate the model was customised, prompting the platform to update its policies to ensure future evaluations remain fair and reproducible.

Meta’s spokesperson acknowledged the use of experimental variants, insisting the company frequently tests different configurations.

While this wasn’t a violation of LMArena’s existing rules, the episode raised concerns about the credibility of benchmark rankings when companies submit fine-tuned models instead of the ones accessible to the wider community.

Independent AI researcher Simon Willison expressed frustration, saying the impressive ranking lost all meaning once it became clear the public couldn’t even use the same version.

The controversy unfolded against a backdrop of mounting competition in open-weight AI, with Meta under pressure following high-profile releases like China’s DeepSeek model.

Instead of offering a smooth rollout, Meta released Llama 4 on a Saturday—an unusual move—which CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained simply as ‘that’s when it was ready.’ But for many in the AI space, the launch has only deepened confusion around what these models can genuinely deliver.

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Llama 4 Maverick and Scout challenge top AI benchmarks

Meta has officially launched two of its new Llama 4 AI models, Maverick and Scout, following reported delays earlier in the year.

The release forms part of Meta’s wider ambition to build and open-source the world’s most powerful AI systems. Llama 4 Behemoth, another model announced alongside them, has yet to become available.

The newly released models go head-to-head with Google’s latest AI offerings. According to Meta, Llama 4 Maverick surpasses Gemini 2.0 (Flash) in benchmarks such as coding, reasoning, and image tasks, while Llama 4 Scout outperforms both Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite and Gemma 3 in summarisation and code analysis.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai offered unexpected congratulations to the Llama 4 team on social media, reflecting the high-profile nature of the launch.

Llama 4 Maverick features 17 billion active parameters and 128 experts, making it a versatile choice for general-purpose AI assistants and creative tasks.

Llama 4 Scout shares the same number of active parameters but with a leaner expert setup, tailored for more focused tasks like document summarisation and code reasoning. Meta plans to release additional advanced models, including Llama Behemoth and Llama Reasoning, in the near future.

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Digital Morocco 2030 strategy focuses on tech-driven transformation

Morocco has set ambitious goals to boost its economy through investment in emerging technologies, aiming for a 10% increase in GDP by 2030. As part of its Digital Morocco 2030 strategy, the government is committing over 11 billion dirhams ($1.1 billion) by 2026 to drive digital transformation, create more than 240,000 jobs, and train 100,000 young people annually in digital skills.

The roadmap prioritises digitising government services through a Unified Administrative Services Portal, with the long-term goal of placing Morocco among the world’s top 50 tech nations. Blockchain plays a central role in this vision, being adopted to improve transparency and efficiency in public services, and already undergoing trials in private sectors like healthcare and finance.

Despite an ongoing official ban, digital asset ownership has surged, more than six million Moroccans now hold such assets, representing over 15% of the population. In parallel, the country is rapidly expanding its use of AI. Notably, Morocco has introduced AI into its judiciary, launched an AI-powered university learning system, and trained over 1,000 small- and medium-sized businesses in AI adoption through partnerships with LinkedIn and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

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Scientists achieve breakthrough in quantum computing stability

A new study by researchers from the University of Oxford, Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, and Quantum Machines has made a major step forward in quantum computing.

The team has found a way to make Majorana zero modes (MZMs)—special particles crucial for quantum computers—far more stable, bringing us closer to building error-free, scalable machines.

Quantum computers are incredibly powerful but face a key challenge: their basic units, qubits, are highly fragile and easily disrupted by environmental noise.

MZMs have long been seen as a potential solution because they are predicted to resist such disturbances, but stabilising them for practical use has been difficult until now.

The researchers created a structure called a three-site Kitaev chain, which is a simplified version of a topological superconductor.

By using quantum dots to trap electrons and connecting them with superconducting wires, they created a stable ‘sweet spot’ where MZMs could be farther apart, reducing interference and enhancing their stability.

Lead author Dr. Greg Mazur believes this breakthrough shows that it is possible to keep MZMs stable as quantum systems grow. With further research, the team aims to build longer chains to improve stability even more, potentially opening the door to reliable, next-generation quantum materials and devices.

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MIT uses photons to link quantum processors directly

MIT researchers have created a new device that could transform the way quantum computers communicate.

By enabling quantum processors to send data directly using microwave photons, the system eliminates the need for complex, error-prone point-to-point connections.

Two modules, each containing four qubits, were linked via a superconducting waveguide, allowing them to exchange information without a physical link.

Key to the breakthrough was the creation of remote entanglement — a quantum effect that synchronises two particles across a distance. Instead of firing full photons, the researchers halted photon emission halfway, placing the system in a strange quantum state.

The receiving module then absorbed the ‘half-photon,’ successfully entangling the processors. To improve photon capture, an algorithm reshaped the photons, achieving a 60-percent success rate.

Unlike current quantum computing setups, the MIT system supports ‘all-to-all’ connectivity, allowing any number of processors to communicate.

The architecture is potentially expandable to different types of quantum computers and future quantum internet systems. The research was funded by several United States agencies and published in Nature Physics.

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Osney Capital invests in the UK’s cybersecurity innovation

Osney Capital has launched the UK’s first specialist cybersecurity seed fund, focused on investing in promising cybersecurity startups at the Pre-Seed and Seed stages.

The fund, which raised more than its initial £50 million target, will write cheques between £250k and £2.5 million and has the capacity for follow-on investments in Series A rounds.

Led by Adam Cragg, Josh Walter, and Paul Wilkes, the Osney Capital team brings decades of experience in cybersecurity and early-stage investing. Instead of relying on generalist investors, the fund will offer tailored support to early-stage companies, addressing the unique challenges in the cybersecurity sector.

The UK cybersecurity industry has grown to £13.2 billion in 2025, driven by complex cyber threats, regulatory pressures, and the rapid adoption of AI. The fund aims to capitalise on this growth, tapping into the strong talent pipeline boosted by UK universities and specialised cybersecurity programs.

Supported by cornerstone investments from the British Business Bank and accredited by the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund, Osney Capital’s mission is to back the next generation of cybersecurity founders and help them scale globally competitive businesses.

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Thailand strengthens cybersecurity with Google Cloud

Thailand’s National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) has joined forces with Google Cloud to strengthen the country’s cyber resilience, using AI-based tools and shared threat intelligence instead of relying solely on traditional defences.

The collaboration aims to better protect public agencies and citizens against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

A key part of the initiative involves deploying Google Cloud Cybershield for centralised monitoring of security events across government bodies. Instead of having fragmented monitoring systems, this unified approach will help streamline incident detection and response.

The partnership also brings advanced training for cybersecurity personnel in the public sector, alongside regular threat intelligence sharing.

Google Cloud Web Risk will be integrated into government operations to automatically block websites hosting malware and phishing content, instead of relying on manual checks.

Google further noted the impact of its anti-scam technology in Google Play Protect, which has prevented over 6.6 million high-risk app installation attempts in Thailand since its 2024 launch—enhancing mobile safety for millions of users.

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Meta unveils Llama 4 models to boost AI across platforms

Meta has launched Llama 4, its latest and most advanced family of open-weight AI models, aiming to enhance the intelligence of Meta AI across services like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger.

Instead of keeping these models cloud-restricted, Meta has made them available for download through its official Llama website and Hugging Face, encouraging wider developer access.

Two models, Llama 4 Scout and Maverick, are now publicly available. Scout, the lighter model with 17 billion active parameters, supports a 10 million-token context window and can run on a single Nvidia H100 GPU.

It outperforms rivals like Google’s Gemma 3 and Mistral 3.1 in benchmark tests. Maverick, the more capable model, uses the same number of active parameters but with 128 experts, offering competitive performance against GPT-4o and DeepSeek v3 while being more efficient.

Meta also revealed the Llama 4 Behemoth model, still in training, which serves as a teacher for the rest of the Llama 4 line. Instead of targeting lightweight use, Behemoth focuses on heavy multimodal tasks with 288 billion active parameters and nearly two trillion in total.

Meta claims it outpaces GPT-4.5, Claude Sonnet 3.7, and Gemini 2.0 Pro in key STEM-related evaluations.

These open-weight AI models allow local deployment instead of relying on cloud APIs, though some licensing limits may apply. With Scout and Maverick already accessible, Meta is gradually integrating Llama 4 capabilities into its messaging and social platforms worldwide.

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Google’s Wiz acquisition propels Israel’s tech sector to new heights

Israel’s high-tech sector surged into 2025 with remarkable momentum, instead of continuing the two-year slump in funding.

According to new figures from Startup Nation Central, private Israeli tech firms raised $3.2 billion through 185 deals in the first quarter, rather than declining as in previous periods. This marked a 12% rise from the previous quarter and a 14% increase year on year.

The most striking figure came from mergers and acquisitions, which reached a record-breaking $35.9 billion across 38 deals.

It was driven by Google’s $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz—the biggest tech exit in Israeli history and one of the largest globally, instead of a more modest transaction typical of previous years.

Even excluding the Wiz acquisition, the M&A volume still hit $3.9 billion—its highest since the third quarter of 2023. Instead of reflecting a single outlier, the strong figures suggest a broader resurgence in investor confidence and corporate activity.

It signals that global interest in Israel’s innovation sector is gaining strength again, instead of continuing to wane as seen over the past two years.

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Aetherflux raises $50 million for space solar power project

Aetherflux, the space solar startup founded by Baiju Bhatt, the billionaire co-founder of Robinhood, has secured $50 million in Series A funding to advance its first low Earth orbit demonstration scheduled for 2026.

The California-based startup, which emerged from stealth in October, plans to deploy a constellation of satellites capable of collecting solar energy and transmitting it to Earth.

The concept, inspired by Isaac Asimov’s 1941 short story ‘Reason,’ is set to change the way power is sourced globally. Bhatt is dedicated to transforming this science fiction-inspired idea into reality.

With the newly raised capital, Aetherflux aims to hire more engineers and build the technology needed for its missions. The company will use the funds to develop its satellite payload and improve infrastructure.

The satellites will send power back to Earth via lasers, with energy captured by ground stations featuring photovoltaic arrays. These stations will store energy for future use and may one day deliver electricity to remote areas.

Bhatt’s team, consisting of experts from NASA, SpaceX, and the US Navy, is also focused on building the first ground station. While a location hasn’t been chosen, military sites are being considered for their controlled airspace.

If successful, Aetherflux will pave the way for scalable space-based solar power systems.

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