Digital business models Archives | Page 387 of 569

Trump seals $200 billion UAE AI deal

US President Donald Trump has secured €179 billion ($200 billion) in deals with the United Arab Emirates, capping his Persian Gulf tour with plans for the world’s largest AI campus outside the US.

Located in Abu Dhabi and spanning 10 square miles, the facility will be built by UAE-based firm G42 in partnership with American companies, aimed at boosting regional computing capacity while supporting the Global South.

Instead of focusing solely on energy, Trump’s trip saw investments broaden to include AI, aviation, and industrial sectors. In total, his visit to the Gulf states yielded €1.3 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in investment pledges, including major agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Gulf leaders are using AI as a vehicle to diversify their economies, while Trump is turning foreign capital into support for US manufacturing and tech exports.

The UAE deal includes plans to import up to 500,000 Nvidia H100 AI chips annually through 2027, with 20% allocated to G42. US officials, however, continue to express concern over potential Chinese access to advanced American technology.

The US Department of Commerce insists that strict safeguards are in place to prevent any misuse or diversion of AI hardware.

Other agreements include a $14.5 billion aircraft purchase by Etihad Airways from Boeing and GE Aerospace, a $60 billion energy partnership with ADNOC, and aluminium and gallium production deals with Emirates Global Aluminum.

Trump’s push to expand American business influence in the Gulf appears to be paying off, instead of letting China or Europe dominate future AI and industrial markets.

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Meta’s Behemoth AI model faces setback

Meta Platforms has postponed the release of its flagship AI model, known as ‘Behemoth,’ due to internal concerns about its performance, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Instead of launching as planned, engineers are struggling to deliver improvements that would meaningfully advance the model beyond earlier versions.

Behemoth was originally scheduled for release in April to coincide with Meta’s first AI developer conference but was quietly delayed to June. The latest update suggests the launch has now been pushed to autumn or later, as internal doubts grow over whether it is ready for public deployment.

In April, Meta previewed Behemoth under the Llama 4 line, calling it ‘one of the smartest LLMs in the world’ and positioning it as a teaching model for future AI systems. Instead of Behemoth, Meta released Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick as the latest iterations in its AI portfolio.

The delay comes amid intense competition in the generative AI space, where rivals like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic continue advancing their models. Meta appears to be opting for caution instead of rushing an underwhelming product to market.

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Russian Central Bank data shows Bitcoin as top performer

Bitcoin has emerged as Russia’s top-performing investment over the past year, beating out gold, stocks, and bonds, according to the Central Bank of Russia. The report shows that Bitcoin generated a 38% return over 12 months, placing it ahead of all other assets evaluated.

Despite a sharp dip of 18.6% between January and April 2025, Bitcoin recovered strongly in April with an 11.2% gain. It regained the top spot while traditional markets struggled.

Over the longer term, Bitcoin delivered a cumulative return of 121.3% since 2022—far outpacing other asset classes, including the S&P 500.

The bank’s findings reflect Bitcoin’s shift from a niche speculation to a serious contender in global finance. Bitcoin’s rise from under $20,000 to nearly $110,000 was driven by regulation, adoption, and political backing.

Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance has helped drive this momentum, with several governments and firms now eyeing Bitcoin as a potential reserve asset or financial tool.

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Mastercard partners with MoonPay to boost stablecoin payments

Mastercard is expanding its digital asset services through a new collaboration with MoonPay to simplify stablecoin payments worldwide. The partnership will let 150 million businesses accept stablecoin payments, advancing Mastercard’s push to mainstream cryptocurrency.

Central to this initiative is MoonPay’s Iron technology, which offers stablecoin payment APIs. These allow merchants and fintech companies to quickly add crypto payment options using virtual Mastercards.

MoonPay, acquired by Mastercard earlier this year, aims to boost stablecoin adoption by making crypto payments as easy as traditional card transactions.

Stablecoins have grown into a $245 billion market, with transfer volumes in 2024 reaching $27.6 trillion—surpassing combined Visa and Mastercard transactions.

Meanwhile, regulatory progress continues in the US, where Congress considers two bills aimed at stabilising the stablecoin market. Despite ongoing classification uncertainties, recent regulatory actions suggest growing acceptance of the sector.

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CoreWeave shares rebound after $4B OpenAI partnership announcement

Shares of AI cloud infrastructure company CoreWeave recovered on Thursday, gaining around 3% after the firm announced an expanded partnership with OpenAI worth up to $4 billion.

The deal helped ease investor concerns following the company’s earlier dip in trading.

CoreWeave stock had fallen as much as 9.1% earlier in the day after the company projected annual capital expenditures for 2025 would be roughly four times higher than expected revenue.

The forecast was included in CoreWeave’s first earnings report since going public in March.

The expanded agreement with OpenAI appears to have lifted investor sentiment, offsetting concerns about the company’s aggressive spending strategy as it builds out its AI-focused cloud infrastructure.

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OpenAI launches AI safety hub

OpenAI has launched a public online hub to share internal safety evaluations of its AI models, aiming to increase transparency around harmful content, jailbreaks, and hallucination risks. The hub will be updated after major model changes, allowing the public to track progress in safety and reliability over time.

The move follows growing criticism about the company’s testing methods, especially after inappropriate ChatGPT responses surfaced in late 2023. Instead of waiting for backlash, OpenAI is now introducing an optional alpha testing phase, letting users provide feedback before wider model releases.

The hub also marks a departure from the company’s earlier stance on secrecy. In 2019, OpenAI withheld GPT-2 over misuse concerns. Since then, it has shifted towards transparency by forming safety-focused teams and responding to calls for open safety metrics.

OpenAI’s approach appears timely, as several countries are building AI Safety Institutes to evaluate models before launch. Instead of relying on private sector efforts alone, the global landscape now reflects a multi-stakeholder push to create stronger safety standards and governance for advanced AI.

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Pi Network launches $100 million fund to back startups

Pi Network has launched a $100 million venture fund to boost its ecosystem and promote real-world adoption of its crypto. The fund, named Pi Network Ventures, aims to invest in startups that integrate Pi tokens or use Pi Network technology.

It targets a broad range of sectors including generative AI, gaming, fintech, ecommerce, payments, marketplaces, and social networks.

Operating like a traditional Silicon Valley venture capital firm, the fund will follow standard sourcing, selection, and vetting processes. Investments will cover startups at all stages, from early seed rounds to later Series B and beyond.

However, unlike most funds focused solely on profit, Pi Network Ventures emphasises value creation and ecosystem utility.

The initiative aims to drive demand for the Pi token by supporting projects that add real-world value and foster innovation. Pi Network hopes to expand its reach beyond purely crypto-native companies and grow adoption across multiple industries.

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TikTok adds AI tool to animate photos with realistic effects

TikTok has launched a new feature called AI Alive, allowing users to turn still images into dynamic, short videos. Instead of needing advanced editing skills, creators can now use AI to generate movement and effects with a few taps.

By accessing the Story Camera and selecting a static photo, users can simply type how they want the image to change — such as making the subject smile, dance, or tilt forward. AI Alive then animates the photo, using creative effects to produce a more engaging story.

TikTok says its moderation systems review the original image, the AI prompt, and the final video before it’s shown to the user. A second check occurs before a post is shared publicly, and every video made with AI Alive will include an ‘AI-generated’ label and C2PA metadata to ensure transparency.

The feature stands out as one of the first built-in AI image-to-video tools on a major platform. Snapchat and Instagram already offer AI image generation from text, and Snapchat is reportedly developing a similar image-to-video feature.

Meanwhile, TikTok is also said to be working on adding support for sending photos and voice messages via direct message — something rival apps have long supported.

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Tether unveils new AI platform to challenge Big Tech

Tether challenges Big Tech’s AI control with QVAC, a platform that runs AI agents on personal devices. Unlike traditional AI using centralised data centres, QVAC runs directly on devices like smartphones and brain-computer interfaces.

The company plans to release an open-source software development kit later this year to support developers.

Named after the AI in Isaac Asimov’s 1956 story The Last Question, QVAC aims to create a decentralised AI ecosystem. Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino said the platform gives users control over their data and computation, not large corporations.

The system can potentially support trillions of AI agents functioning autonomously and transacting in Bitcoin and USDT.

Tether positions QVAC as a framework to break the centralised dominance of tech giants such as Google and Meta.

The release date and price are unknown, but Ardoino says QVAC aims to be an ‘infinite intelligence platform’ that runs independently, boosts privacy, and ushers in a new AI era.

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Tencent sees strong Q1 growth as gaming rebounds, AI ads boost sales

Tencent Holdings, China’s largest tech company by market capitalisation, reported a 13% year-on-year revenue increase in the first quarter of 2025, driven by strong growth in gaming and AI-powered advertising.

The company posted revenue of 180 billion yuan ($24.97 billion) for the quarter ending March 31, surpassing analysts’ expectations of 174.6 billion yuan. Net profit reached 47.8 billion yuan, slightly below the forecast of 52.2 billion yuan, according to LSEG data.

Tencent’s domestic gaming revenue surged 24% to 42.9 billion yuan, while international gaming revenue rose 23% to 16.6 billion yuan. Key titles driving the growth included Dungeon & Fighter Mobile and Delta Force.

Advertising revenue climbed 22% year on year, helped by the rollout of AI-driven ad tech upgrades, delivering more targeted and efficient marketing tools across platforms.

The company’s Fintech and Business Services division, which covers cloud services, loans, and wealth management, also grew 16% to 27.6 billion yuan.

Tencent continues to invest heavily in AI. In March, the company said it would devote a low double-digit share of its 2025 revenue to AI-related capital expenditures. That follows 39 billion yuan spent on AI in Q4 2024.

Its proprietary large language model, Hunyuan, received a public release as version T1 in March. Tencent also became the first major Chinese firm to integrate technology from DeepSeek, a fast-rising AI startup.

DeepSeek’s models now power features within Tencent’s core services, including WeChat and its AI assistant, Yuanbao.

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