French AI startup LightOn launched an initial public offering (IPO) on the Euronext Growth market in Paris, with its debut trading expected later this month. The company, known for its large language model (LLM) software used by businesses and the French government, will be Europe’s first publicly listed generative AI startup, a significant milestone as France aims to position itself as a leader in AI within Europe.
LightOn’s co-CEOs Igor Carron and Laurent Daudet emphasised that the IPO provides a ‘unique opportunity’ for investors to support a growing French tech company with a track record of success both in France and internationally. Shares are priced at 10.35 euros, valuing the company at around 50 million euros, and LightOn aims to raise roughly 10.4 million euros through the capital increase. The subscription period will run until November 20, with shares expected to trade beginning 26 November.
This move aligns with France’s broader push to close the innovation gap with the US and the UK, with ambitions for 100 tech ‘unicorns’ by 2030. LightOn’s listing could signal an opening for more European AI firms to seek public funding, offering investors access to an evolving tech market in the region.
Amazon is reportedly in advanced talks for a second multi-billion dollar investment in the AI startup Anthropic, building on its previous $4 billion commitment made in 2023. This new investment would not only bolster Amazon’s growing ties with Anthropic but also help enhance its strategic position in the highly competitive AI sector. Anthropic, which is using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to power its AI model training, has become a key player in the AI race.
In addition to providing financial backing, Amazon has reportedly asked Anthropic to utilise its servers, which are powered by Amazon’s custom-designed chips. However, sources note that Anthropic has a preference for using Nvidia-designed chips, which are widely recognised as the industry standard for AI processing. This dynamic highlights the ongoing competition between Amazon and Nvidia in the AI hardware space, as both tech giants vie for dominance in the rapidly expanding market.
Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, has attracted significant interest from other major players in the tech industry. The startup secured a $500 million investment from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, last year, with Alphabet pledging an additional $1.5 billion over time. Despite these investments, both Amazon and Anthropic have declined to comment on the specifics of the latest talks regarding the new investment, underscoring the confidential nature of these high-stakes negotiations.
India’s antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has found that food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy violated competition laws by favouring select restaurants on their platforms. According to the CCI’s investigation, Zomato used ‘exclusivity contracts’ to offer lower commissions to certain partners, while Swiggy promised growth to restaurants that listed exclusively with them. These practices, the report states, hinder market competition, as they prevent smaller players from gaining a fair foothold.
The investigation, which began in 2022 following a complaint by the National Restaurant Association of India, also highlights restrictive pricing practices on both platforms. Zomato imposed conditions to maintain price and discount parity across online platforms, even threatening penalties for non-compliance. Swiggy, on the other hand, pressured some partners by suggesting their ranking on the app would drop if they failed to match prices elsewhere. Swiggy later claimed that it discontinued its exclusivity program in 2023 but has plans to launch similar initiatives in smaller cities.
The probe has potential implications for Swiggy’s $1.4 billion IPO and lists the CCI investigation as an “internal risk” in its prospectus. Both companies have faced additional scrutiny recently, as India’s largest retail distributors have urged the CCI to investigate alleged predatory pricing in their quick-commerce grocery services. The CCI’s final decision on penalties or required changes to Zomato’s and Swiggy’s business practices is expected in the coming weeks, though the companies may challenge the findings.
Nvidia’s stock surged to new highs on Thursday, pushing its market value to an unprecedented $3.65T, fueled by a broad rally following Donald Trump’s presidential election win. Investors, optimistic about potential tax cuts and deregulation under the renewed Republican administration, helped boost Nvidia shares by 2.2%, establishing the AI chipmaker as the most valuable company worldwide, surpassing Apple’s previous record of $3.57T.
Since the beginning of November, Nvidia’s stock has climbed 12%, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s leadership in artificial intelligence technology. Demand for Nvidia’s AI chips from tech giants like Microsoft and Google has kept its growth momentum strong, with analysts expecting Nvidia to report an 80% revenue increase to $32.9B in the upcoming quarterly results.
As the tech sector overall continues to benefit from Trump’s anticipated policies, Nvidia’s valuation has also outpaced the combined worth of industry heavyweights such as Walmart, JPMorgan, and UnitedHealth. This significant milestone highlights Nvidia’s dominant role in the AI chip industry amid intense competition to build computing power for AI applications.
GlobalWafers has expressed optimism that the US Chips and Science Act will continue to provide strong support for chip manufacturers under the new administration. This landmark act, aimed at boosting domestic semiconductor production, offers financial incentives to encourage companies to invest in US facilities—a vital step toward securing supply chains and reducing reliance on foreign manufacturing.
In a recent statement, GlobalWafers noted that programs of this scale and duration are typically supported across different US administrations, given their importance to economic and national security. The company sees the CHIPS Act as essential for driving investments in semiconductor production and also for advancing technological innovation within the industry. They anticipate that the act’s stability under a Trump administration will allow businesses to plan long-term investments in US operations without interruption.
By fostering consistent investment in chip manufacturing, GlobalWafers believes the CHIPS Act will help ensure a robust, self-reliant US semiconductor ecosystem. The program’s continuation is seen as crucial for sustaining growth in the industry, creating jobs, and advancing the global competitiveness of the US in semiconductor technology.
Swiss bank UBS has successfully tested a new blockchain-based payment system, UBS Digital Cash, aimed at streamlining cross-border transactions. The pilot, which included multinational corporations and banks, processed both domestic and international payments in currencies like the US dollar, Swiss franc, euro, and Chinese yuan. This move marks a significant step in UBS’s efforts to enhance payment efficiency and transparency for its clients.
Andy Kollegger, head of UBS Institutional & Multinational Banking, emphasised that cross-border blockchain payments are a strategic priority for the bank, as they offer a more efficient and visible way to handle international transfers. The UBS Digital Cash pilot also allowed liquidity transfers between various UBS entities, demonstrating the system’s capability to improve internal cash management.
UBS plans to further develop UBS Digital Cash, which operates on a private blockchain network accessible only to authorised clients. By using smart contracts, the system automatically settles payments once specific conditions are met, providing clients with enhanced control over intraday liquidity and account buffers through real-time cash position tracking.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged Sitejabber, an online review platform, for violating its new rules on fake reviews. This marks one of the agency’s first enforcement actions under updated regulations designed to curb deceptive practices. The FTC alleges that Sitejabber misled consumers by using point-of-sale reviews—feedback collected before customers had received any products or services—to falsely inflate businesses’ review scores.
The company allowed its clients to publish these premature reviews, giving a false impression that they reflected actual customer experiences. The FTC has now ordered Sitejabber to stop this practice and prohibited it from assisting other businesses in misrepresenting reviews. The new rules, which took effect last month, aim to tackle deceptive online review practices, including those involving AI-generated reviews and fake review websites masquerading as independent.
The FTC’s crackdown is part of a broader effort to address the rising problem of fake reviews on e-commerce platforms like Amazon. With the new regulations in place, the agency intends to prevent misleading online content that could deceive consumers into making purchasing decisions based on false information.
Apple has launched the AI-powered version of iOS 18.2, bringing new features to public beta users. These include tools like Genmoji, an AI-powered emoji generator, Image Playground for creating AI-generated images and ChatGPT integration with Siri. The update also introduces Visual Intelligence, which uses the iPhone 16’s camera for real-time object and place identification. These features were previously available only to developers but are now open to select users, with some requiring a waitlist for access.
The new capabilities, grouped under “Apple Intelligence,” promise to enhance Siri’s functionality, including offering writing and proofreading assistance across apps. Apple plans to extend these AI tools to third-party developers, potentially increasing their impact. For now, users can experiment with ChatGPT for text generation and image creation, as well as generate custom emojis and edit rough sketches using Image Wand.
While Apple Intelligence is enabled by default on some devices, others will need to sign up for the new features. However, there’s a waitlist for certain tools, which Apple is managing to ensure a safe rollout. Concerns over misuse, like the creation of NSFW emojis, have contributed to the cautious approach.
The update follows AI improvements introduced in iOS 18.1, such as enhanced writing tools and updated Siri features. Alongside iOS 18.2, Apple also released public betas for iPadOS 18.2, macOS Sequoia 15.2, and tvOS 18.2, continuing to expand its AI-driven ecosystem.
Donald Trump is expected to scale back some of the antitrust policies introduced under President Joe Biden, including potentially softening the approach to breaking up large tech companies like Google. While Trump is likely to continue pursuing cases against Big Tech, such as the ongoing Department of Justice (DOJ) cases against Google and Apple, his recent comments indicate a more cautious stance. Trump questioned whether breaking up Google would destroy the company, suggesting that fairer practices could be achieved without drastic measures like a breakup.
The DOJ’s cases against Google over its dominance in online search and advertising technology are still in progress, with potential remedies, including divesting parts of its business, yet to be decided. The trial over these remedies won’t happen until 2025, providing Trump the opportunity to influence how the cases proceed. Additionally, Trump is expected to ease policies that have frustrated dealmakers, including the Biden administration’s strict merger review guidelines.
Trump’s approach to antitrust enforcement is likely to be less aggressive than Biden’s, especially regarding mergers and acquisitions. While he may ease restrictions on noncompete clauses and other regulatory measures, such as those championed by FTC Chair Lina Khan, his policies are expected to maintain some level of antitrust action.
Microsoft is introducing AI-powered text editing to Notepad, allowing users to rewrite text with ease. The new feature, called Rewrite, is now available in preview for Windows Insiders. It lets you modify text by rephrasing sentences, adjusting the tone, and changing the length of content. To use it, simply highlight the text you want to adjust, right-click, and select the ‘Rewrite’ option. You can choose from three different reworded versions to replace the original text.
The Rewrite feature requires a Microsoft account for authentication and is available in select countries including the US, UK, and Germany. This feature is part of a broader update to Microsoft’s productivity tools, including improvements to Notepad, such as spell check and autocorrect, rolled out in July.
In addition to updates in Notepad, Microsoft is also testing AI-powered tools in Paint. The Generative Fill feature lets users add new content to images based on a text prompt, while the Generative Erase tool removes parts of an image and blends in the surrounding space. These tools are available to Windows Insiders, with some features rolling out on specific devices.
