Digital business models Archives | Page 344 of 581

Meta hires Apple’s top AI executive amid tech talent war

Apple has lost a key AI executive to Meta, dealing a fresh blow to the tech giant’s internal AI ambitions.

Ruoming Pang, who led Apple’s foundation models team, is joining Meta’s newly formed superintelligence group, according to people familiar with the matter.

Meta reportedly offered Pang a lucrative package worth tens of millions annually, continuing its aggressive hiring streak.

The company, led by Mark Zuckerberg, has already brought in several high-profile AI experts from Scale AI, OpenAI, Anthropic and elsewhere, with Zuckerberg personally involved in recruitment efforts.

Pang’s team at Apple had been responsible for the core language models behind Apple Intelligence and Siri.

However, internal dissatisfaction has been mounting as the company considered shifting to third-party models, including from OpenAI and Anthropic.

That shift, combined with recent leadership changes and reduced responsibilities for Apple’s AI chief John Giannandrea, has weakened morale across the team.

Following Pang’s exit, the team will now be managed by Zhifeng Chen under a new multi-tier structure.

Several engineers are also reportedly planning to leave, raising concerns about Apple’s ability to retain AI talent as Meta increases its investment and influence in the race for advanced AI development.

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Tether and Binance left out of EU crypto approval list

More than 50 crypto firms are now fully licensed under the European Union’s MiCA framework, six months after it came into effect. The list names 14 stablecoin issuers and 39 service providers, all approved to operate across the EU’s 30 member states.

Leading platforms such as Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, and N26 can now ‘passport’ their services across the bloc without seeking separate national approvals.

Tether and Binance remain absent from the approved list. Tether’s lack of a MiCA licence has already triggered delistings on major platforms, while Binance continues to face regulatory scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions.

In contrast, stablecoins issued by Circle, Société Générale-Forge, and Membrane Finance have gained approval, most of which are euro-denominated.

No company has yet registered to issue asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), reflecting low market demand under current compliance costs. Meanwhile, over 35 firms have been marked non-compliant, with Italy’s CONSOB actively pursuing enforcement.

As firms race to meet rising regulatory standards, a fresh update on MiCA licensing is due in September.

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BTC and ETH hold key levels as traders eye next breakout

Bitcoin is holding firm above $108,000, trading at $108,387 as of 8 July. Despite a slight daily dip, longer-term indicators support a bullish trend.

The Relative Strength Index remains neutral at 58.7, while the Stochastic RSI indicates short-term overbought conditions, hinting at a potential pause in momentum.

Shorter timeframes reveal signs of indecision. On the hourly chart, over half of key moving averages lean bearish, and the 4-hour chart shows converging exponential moving averages and tightening Bollinger Bands.

Such patterns often suggest an incoming burst of volatility. Bitcoin faces immediate resistance at $109,700 and $110,000, with a breakout possibly clearing the path to $112,000 or even $137,000. On the downside, traders closely watch support at $107,000 and $105,400, with further risk below $102,000.

Ethereum remains steady at nearly $2,555, trading within a narrow range of $2,500 to $2,600. All major moving averages signal a continued bullish bias, although oscillators such as the RSI (54) and Stochastic RSI (near 85) show signs of exhaustion.

Resistance levels lie between $2,600 and $2,620, with a more decisive breakout potentially driving ETH toward $3,000 or even $4,100. Key support zones are found at $2,500 and $2,440. While short-term caution is warranted, overall, the structure remains optimistic as institutional support strengthens ETH’s position.

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Experts gather in Malta to address digital risks in insurance

Malta is leading in the insurance sector’s response to digital transformation and emerging global risks.

At the centre of this push was a high-level forum, Innovating Insurance: Malta’s Digital Shift and Emerging Risks, hosted by FinanceMalta and the University of Malta’s Department of Insurance and Risk Management.

The event gathered regulators, professionals, academics, and students from across Europe and beyond to examine the future of insurance.

Two panel sessions addressed how technological innovations are reshaping the insurance landscape, focusing on the role of AI, cyber threats, and climate-related risks.

Speakers praised AI’s ability to enhance fairness and transparency by processing large data sets, warning of the need to retain human oversight for accountability.

Cyber insurance was highlighted as a fast-growing necessity, though panellists underlined it should complement—not replace—strong internal risk management and resilience strategies.

Regulatory authorities welcomed a growing cultural shift towards more proactive risk governance, encouraging businesses to match their investment in digital tools with equal commitment to cybersecurity.

Discussions also explored new digital models’ legal and regulatory consequences, reaffirming Malta’s role as a serious contributor to global insurance dialogue.

The event formed part of an international course on insurance regulation, underlining Malta’s strong academic–industry–regulator collaboration.

Organisers and speakers expressed confidence that Malta, despite its size, is playing a meaningful part in shaping a resilient and future-oriented insurance ecosystem.

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Scammers shift focus to businesses amid surge in attacks

Businesses increasingly fall prey to scams, with more than 74,000 attacks reported to the FBI between 2023 and 2024. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns that companies face significant threats from data breaches, impersonation, and fake services.

In the US, losses from data breaches alone averaged $4.9 million per company in 2024, up to $1.4 billion. Scammers use familiar tactics, such as posing as trusted individuals and making urgent demands for payment or sensitive data.

Smaller businesses are especially at risk, often lacking dedicated IT support or robust security teams. Juggling multiple responsibilities makes them easier targets for sophisticated scam operations.

The BBB advises businesses to train staff to recognise suspicious behaviour and to enforce secure payment processes. Strengthening cybersecurity with tools like firewalls and multi-factor authentication can also reduce the attack risk.

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Reliance set for $50 billion growth with AI and green energy

According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, Reliance Industries is set to grow its market value by $50 billion through large-scale investments in AI infrastructure and new energy. The conglomerate, led by Mukesh Ambani, is retooling its energy and digital units as part of a long-term transformation strategy.

Central to this growth is constructing a generative AI data centre in Jamnagar, India, which will feature 1GW of capacity powered by 1.3GW of green energy. Reliance plans to source this power from its rapidly scaling renewable ecosystem, including solar and green hydrogen.

The firm aims to integrate 10GW of solar capacity by 2026 and has launched lithium battery and green hydrogen projects on a 2,000-acre site in Gujarat. Nvidia’s Blackwell chips will power the upcoming data centres, signalling Reliance’s ambition to make India a hub for next-gen digital infrastructure.

Morgan Stanley estimates up to $60 billion in value creation from the clean energy vertical alone, as Reliance uses electricity to drive data centres, refineries, and chemical facilities. The strategy reflects a broader vision to replace traditional operations with AI-driven, sustainable systems at a global scale.

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Capgemini invests in AI-driven operations with WNS

Capgemini has announced it will acquire Indian IT firm WNS for $3.3 billion to accelerate its leadership in agentic AI. The acquisition will significantly enhance Capgemini’s business process services (BPS) by integrating advanced AI capabilities into core operations.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which offers WNS shareholders a 28% premium over the 90-day average share price. Completion is expected by the end of 2025, pending regulatory approvals.

The company sees strong potential in embedding AI into enterprise operations, with BPS becoming a key showcase. The integration will strengthen Capgemini’s US presence and unlock cross-selling opportunities across the combined client networks.

Both firms emphasised a shared vision of intelligent operations powered by agentic AI, aiming to help clients shift from automation to AI-driven autonomy. Capgemini’s existing partnerships with tech giants like Microsoft, Google and NVIDIA will support this vision.

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Survey reveals sharp rise in cyberattacks on Japan’s small businesses

A May 2025 survey by Teikoku Databank reveals that nearly one in three Japanese companies have experienced a cyberattack. The survey targeted over 26,000 businesses and received 10,645 valid responses.

Among respondents, 32% reported having been targeted by cyberattacks. Large firms in J a pan were more likely to be affected at 41.9%, compared to 30.3% for small and medium-sized businesses and just 28.1% for small firms.

Interestingly, while larger firms showed a higher lifetime rate, cyber incidents over the past month were more common among smaller enterprises. Around 6.9% of SMEs and 7.9% of small firms were affected, compared to the overall rate of 6.7%.

Teikoku Databank warned of a sharp increase in risk for small businesses, which often lack the robust cybersecurity infrastructure of larger corporations.

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Inside Visa’s war room: How AI battles $15 trillion in threats

In Virginia’s Data Centre Alley, Visa operates a high-security fraud command centre to protect $15 trillion in annual transactions — nearly 15% of the global economy. With cybercrime growing more sophisticated, the company has spent $12 billion in five years to bolster its AI-powered defences.

‘From lone hackers to criminal syndicates generating hundreds of millions, fraud today is highly structured,’ said Michael Jabbara, Visa’s global head of fraud solutions. Some groups now operate like corporations, with risk managers and customer support.

Much of today’s fraud preys on emotions. Scammers trick people into making payments by posing as romantic interests or sellers. Victims are often lured into schemes run by trafficked workers in scam centres in Myanmar.

Once card details are stolen, criminals test them across websites using recurring micro-charges. These fly under the radar for months, draining money slowly but steadily. Some operations mimic tech firms, offering fraud-as-a-service tools on the dark web.

‘You can buy a full toolkit — the software, instructions, bot access and even a mule network,’ Jabbara said. Brute-force payment attacks are now industrial in scale, enabled by the same cloud infrastructure that powers startups.

Visa’s defence includes round-the-clock global monitoring centres in Virginia, London and Singapore. Inside its Cyber Fusion Centre, teams handle millions of threats daily, mostly stopped automatically. But it’s an arms race — one that never sleeps.

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TON falls as UAE shuts down visa rumour

TON coin dropped 6% after the United Arab Emirates dismissed claims about a new visa scheme. The authorities denied that staking $100,000 worth of TON for three years could qualify applicants for a 10-year golden visa.

The cryptocurrency briefly surged 10% after The Open Network announced the visa pathway, only to retreat following regulatory clarification.

Several UAE authorities jointly denied that golden visas are granted based on digital asset holdings. They emphasised that investments in cryptocurrencies fall under specific regulations and do not influence visa eligibility.

Investors were urged to rely on official sources to avoid misinformation.

Introduced in 2019, the UAE’s golden visa offers long-term residency to skilled professionals, investors with public investments exceeding 2 million dirhams ($544,000), and recognised tech entrepreneurs.

The programme enables foreign nationals to live, work, and study in the UAE without a national sponsor.

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