Digital business models

User activity stabilises as TikTok recovers from transition disruption

TikTok has largely recovered from a brief decline in daily active users following its US ownership change, when a group of American investors assumed control of domestic operations. Usage fell temporarily as uncertainty spread among users. Competing video apps saw short-term gains during the disruption.

Data from Similarweb shows TikTok’s US daily active users dropped to between 86 and 88 million after the transition, compared with a typical average of around 92 million. Activity has since rebounded to more than 90 million. Many users who experimented with alternatives have returned.

Platforms rivalling TikTok, including UpScrolled and Skylight Social, experienced rapid but limited growth. UpScrolled peaked at 138,500 daily users before falling back to roughly 68,000. Skylight Social reached 81,200 daily users, then declined to around 56,300.

User concerns were driven less by ownership itself and more by fears around platform changes. An updated privacy policy allowing precise GPS tracking triggered backlash, alongside confusion over language referencing sensitive personal data. Some interpreted the changes as increased surveillance.

A multi-day data centre outage disrupted search, likes, and in-app messaging, resulting in user frustration. Some users attributed the glitches to possible censorship or platform instability. Once services were restored, activity stabilised, and concerns eased.

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UK startup Polaron secures $8m to scale AI materials technology

Fresh investment is fuelling Polaron’s ambition to become the intelligence layer for materials science. The London startup raised $8 million to scale its AI platform and expand deployments across automotive, energy and advanced manufacturing.

Founded after seven years of research at Imperial College London, Polaron applies AI to one of manufacturing’s toughest challenges. Its models analyse microscopy images and material performance data to show how processing affects structure and behaviour.

Engineers are already using the platform to speed up analysis that once took thousands of hours. Early commercial projects, including battery electrode design, have delivered energy density gains of more than 10 per cent.

The company is now focusing on generative materials design to explore optimal configurations. The approach aims to shorten the path from laboratory research to large-scale, reliable manufacturing.

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Hybrid offices evolve as Zoom Spaces introduces agentic AI tools

Zoom is repositioning hybrid offices as intelligent work environments through Zoom Spaces, its AI-first workplace platform for collaboration and space management that gives IT teams centralised oversight while providing employees with consistent tools for meetings, scheduling, and in-office coordination.

New agentic AI features extend Zoom Spaces beyond room booking into proactive workplace assistance. Workspace Reservation now recommends optimal meeting spaces during overlaps, while upcoming voice commands for Zoom Rooms will enable hands-free meeting control and task capture.

Zoom says intelligent offices reduce friction caused by inconsistent technology, double bookings, and disconnected tools. By unifying scheduling and collaboration experiences, the platform aims to streamline movement between remote and in-person work.

The company is also expanding its ecosystem, allowing organisations to run Zoom Meetings on Cisco Rooms and integrate professional production tools through partners such as Vizrt. The strategy focuses on flexibility while maintaining consistent user experiences.

Additional upgrades include premium media capabilities for high-frame-rate video and improved mobile Workspace Reservation features. Zoom says these enhancements position Zoom Spaces as a next-generation hybrid workplace platform built around adaptive AI collaboration.

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The role of AI in car design

Artificial intelligence is transforming car design by generating rapid concept images and exploring new ideas in seconds. Designers can test colours, materials, and forms faster than with traditional sketches.

AI excels at designing components, creating mood boards, and supporting research, yet it struggles with originality. Industry leaders emphasise that developing entirely new models still requires human imagination and creativity.

Many manufacturers have developed internal AI systems trained on their own designs to protect intellectual property. These tools help designers experiment with combinations they might not have considered, offering fresh perspectives while keeping confidential data secure.

While AI is unlikely to replace human designers, it has become an essential tool for staying competitive. By combining computational speed with creative vision, design teams can enhance efficiency, inspire innovation, and explore ideas beyond traditional limits.

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Electronic Arts expands AI push with Stability AI

Electronic Arts has entered a multi year partnership with Stability AI to develop generative AI tools for game creation. The collaboration will support franchises such as The Sims, Battlefield and Madden NFL.

The company said the partnership centres on customised AI models that give developers more control over creative processes. Electronic Arts invested in Stability AI during its latest funding round in October.

Executives at Electronic Arts said concerns about job losses are understandable across the gaming industry. The company views AI as a way to enhance specific tasks and create new roles rather than replace staff.

Stability AI said similar technologies have historically increased demand for skilled workers. Electronic Arts added that active involvement in AI development helps the industry adapt rather than react to disruption.

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AI demand drives record data centre growth for Roxtec

Global infrastructure specialist Roxtec has recorded unprecedented growth in data centre projects as demand accelerates for facilities capable of handling AI workloads and expanding cloud computing.

The company supplies sealing, fire-protection and modular transit systems, critical components that help keep data centres compliant with safety and performance standards.

Roxtec executives say the surge reflects the broader AI infrastructure boom, with organisations investing in new facilities and upgrades to house specialised servers, cooling systems and connectivity required for generative AI applications.

The company’s expanded order book and project pipeline are being attributed directly to heightened capacity planning from hyperscale providers, enterprise cloud tenants and edge-compute deployments.

This growth underscores how AI-driven compute demand is reshaping physical infrastructure markets beyond chips and software, spanning construction, power, cooling, and safety components integrated into modern data centres.

Roxtec sees sustained demand ahead as AI use cases proliferate and organisations prioritise resilient, compliant compute environments.

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UK hospital taps AI to optimise workforce planning and relieve admin burden

In a collaboration between Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Hartree Centre, a new AI-based staff scheduling system has been developed to address the complex task of roster planning in one of Europe’s busiest children’s hospitals.

Clinicians traditionally spend substantial time creating rotas manually, juggling annual leave, absences, working patterns and on-call rules.

The AI system automatically generates balanced on-call schedules by incorporating real-world constraints such as staff skills, availability and patterns, producing fairer and more predictable rotas.

The interface allows clinicians to review and adjust schedules while maintaining human oversight, freeing up time previously spent on spreadsheets and administrative tasks, and potentially improving staff wellbeing and operational efficiency.

Future phases aim to expand the tool toward full workforce management, with the potential for NHS-wide scaling.

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Sportswear brand uses AI to crowdsource design feedback and build community

Global sportswear brand Puma has unveiled a new AI-enabled co-creation platform designed to engage customers more directly in product ideation, feedback and development.

The system uses AI to aggregate community input, analyse preferences and suggest design directions that reflect consumer sentiment, allowing Puma to tailor future products to what users actually want.

By turning static feedback loops into interactive, data-informed dialogues, the platform enhances brand-consumer engagement, unlocks deeper insights into style and function preferences, and enables Puma to respond quickly to trends.

The company sees this as a way to blend creativity with customer insight at scale, combining human design expertise with AI-driven analytics to strengthen loyalty and drive innovation.

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Take-Two confirms generative AI played no role in Rockstar’s GTA VI

Generative AI is increasingly affecting creative industries, raising concerns related to authorship, labour, and human oversight. Companies are under growing pressure to clarify how AI is used in creative production.

Many firms present generative AI as a tool to improve efficiency rather than replace human creativity. This reflects a cautious approach that prioritises human control and risk management.

Take-Two Interactive has confirmed that it is running hundreds of AI pilots focused on cost and time efficiencies. However, the company stresses that AI is used for operational support, not creative generation.

According to CEO Strauss Zelnick, generative AI played no role in the development of Grand Theft Auto VI. Rockstar Games’ worlds are described as fully handcrafted by human developers.

These statements come amid investor uncertainty triggered by recent generative AI experiments in gaming. Alongside this, ongoing labour disputes at Rockstar Games highlight broader governance challenges beyond technology.

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Fitbit founders launch AI health platform for family care

Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman unveiled a new AI startup, Luffu, aimed at helping families monitor and organise health, safety and caregiving information across household members and caregivers.

The platform begins as a mobile app that uses background AI to aggregate data from devices (including Fitbit and Apple Health) and family-entered information like medications, symptoms, lab results and doctor visits.

Luffu’s AI learns everyday patterns, flags notable changes (such as abnormal vitals or sleep shifts), and provides proactive alerts and plain-language insights, easing the administrative and emotional burden of caregiving.

Users can log data by voice, text or photos, and even ask conversational health questions about family members’ well-being.

Currently in private beta with an open waitlist, Luffu is positioned as a family-centric health coordination hub rather than a medical diagnostic tool, with plans to expand into complementary hardware devices in the future.

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