Orange Business and Toshiba Europe have launched France’s first commercial quantum-safe network service in Paris.
The Orange Quantum Defender, now living in the greater Paris region, aims to shield organisations from cyber threats posed by future quantum computing capabilities.
The service combines Toshiba’s Quantum Key Distribution and Post-Quantum Cryptography technologies to protect sensitive data with a multi-layered approach. A major French financial institution already uses the network to safeguard its critical infrastructure.
After years of testing, the partners confirmed the system works over existing fibre networks, cutting costs and easing enterprise adoption.
Leaders at both companies say the launch marks a turning point in cybersecurity preparedness for the quantum age.
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The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged Congress to centre AI policy on human dignity and the common good.
Their message outlines moral principles rather than technical guidance, warning against misuse of technology that may erode truth, justice, or the protection of the vulnerable.
The bishops caution against letting AI replace human moral judgement, especially in sensitive areas like family life, work, and warfare. They express concern about AI deepening inequality and harming those already marginalised without strict oversight.
Their call includes demands for greater transparency, regulation of autonomous weapons, and stronger protections for children and workers in the US.
Rooted in Catholic social teaching, the letter frames AI not as a neutral innovation but as a force that must serve people, not displace them.
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Global R&D spending now exceeds $2 trillion a year, yet many companies still rely on intuition rather than evidence to shape innovation strategies—often at great cost.
TechNext, co-founded by Anuraag Singh and MIT’s Prof. Christopher L. Magee, aims to change that with a newly patented system that delivers data-driven forecasts for technology performance.
Built on large-scale empirical datasets and proprietary algorithms, the system enables organisations to anticipate which technologies are likely to improve most rapidly.
‘R&D has become one of the fastest-growing expenses for companies, yet most decisions still rely on intuition rather than data,’ said Singh. ‘We have been flying blind’
The tool has already drawn attention from major stakeholders, including the United States Air Force, multinational firms, VCs, and think tanks.
By quantifying the future of technologies—from autonomous vehicle perception systems to clean energy infrastructure—TechNext promises to help decision-makers avoid expensive dead ends and focus on long-term winners.
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Meta Platforms is set to acquire a 49 percent stake in Scale AI for nearly $15 billion, marking its largest-ever deal.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees The agreement as a significant move to accelerate Meta’s push into AI instead of relying solely on in-house development.
Scale AI, founded in 2016, supplies curated training data to major players such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Meta. The company expects to more than double its revenue in 2025 to around $2 billion.
Once the deal is finalised, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang is expected to join Meta’s new AI team focused on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI).
The effort aligns with Meta’s broader AI plans, including capital expenditure of up to $65 billion in 2025 to expand its AI infrastructure instead of falling behind rivals in the AI race.
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A recent study by Apple researchers exposed significant limitations in the capabilities of advanced AI systems and huge reasoning models (LRMs).
Apple’s team suggested this may point to a fundamental limit in how current AI models scale up to general reasoning.
These models, designed to solve complex problems through step-by-step thinking, experienced what the paper called a ‘complete accuracy collapse’ when faced with high-complexity tasks. Even when given an algorithm that should have ensured success, the models failed to deliver correct solutions.
The study found that LRMs performed well with low- and medium-difficulty tasks but deteriorated sharply as the complexity increased.
Rather than increasing their effort as problems became harder, the models reduced their reasoning paradoxically, leading to complete failure.
Experts, including AI researcher Gary Marcus and University of Surrey’s Andrew Rogoyski in the UK, called the findings alarming and indicative of a potential dead end in current AI development.
The study tested systems from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and DeepSeek, raising serious questions about how close the industry is to achieving AGI.
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OpenAI has revealed that its annualised revenue has surged to $10 billion as of June 2025, nearly doubling since December 2024, when it stood at $5.5 billion.
The rapid growth is driven by the widespread adoption of its ChatGPT AI models across consumer and business markets, putting the company on course to meet its earlier goal of $12.7 billion in revenue for the whole year.
The $10 billion figure excludes licensing income from Microsoft, a major investor, and some large one-off contracts, according to an OpenAI spokesperson. Despite recording a loss of about $5 billion last year, OpenAI’s impressive revenue scale places it well ahead of many rivals benefiting from the AI boom.
Other players in the AI space are also seeing strong growth. For instance, Anthropic recently surpassed $3 billion in annualised revenue, driven by startup demand using its code-generation models. Meanwhile, OpenAI plans to raise up to $40 billion in new funding, valuing the company at $300 billion.
Since launching ChatGPT over two years ago, OpenAI has expanded its offerings with various subscription plans and services. The company reported 500 million weekly active users as of March 2025, underscoring its dominant position in the AI market.
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XRobotics, a San Francisco-based startup, is gaining traction in the food tech sector with its compact pizza-making robot, the xPizza Cube. Roughly the size of a washing machine, the machine uses AI to apply sauce, cheese and toppings, producing up to 100 pizzas per hour.
At $1,300 monthly on a three-year lease, it’s designed to fit seamlessly into existing kitchens and support, not replace, staff. Unlike failed predecessors such as Zume, XRobotics has found success by offering assistive rather than disruptive technology.
Their initial, larger model proved impractical, but the current compact version, launched in 2023, now produces 25,000 pizzas each month across an undisclosed number of customer locations. Both small pizzerias and large chains use the robot to cut labour time and improve consistency.
With over 73,000 pizza outlets in the US, XRobotics plans to stay focused on pizza for now. Its founders, self-professed pizza lovers, say customer response has confirmed that a well-targeted tool can significantly impact even the most traditional kitchens.
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Apple has unveiled a range of AI features at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, focusing on tighter privacy, enhanced user tools and broader integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. These updates will appear across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 and visionOS 26, set to launch in autumn.
While Apple Intelligence was first teased last year, the company now allows third-party developers to access its on-device AI models for the first time.
CEO Tim Cook and software chief Craig Federighi outlined how these features are intended to offer more personalised, efficient apps. Users of newer iPhones will benefit from tools such as live translation in Messages and FaceTime, and AI-powered image analysis via Visual Intelligence.
Apple also enables users to blend emojis creatively and use ChatGPT through its Image Playground to stylise photos. Enhancements to the Wallet app will help summarise order tracking from emails, and AI-generated voices will offer fitness updates.
Despite these innovations, Apple’s redesign of Siri remains incomplete and is not expected to launch soon.
The event failed to deliver major surprises, as many details had already been leaked. Investors responded cautiously, sending Apple shares down by 1.2%. The firm has lost 20% of its value in the year and no longer holds the top spot as the world’s most valuable company.
Nonetheless, Apple is expected to reveal more AI advancements in 2026.
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China has proposed creating a ‘green channel’ for rare earth exports to the EU, aiming to ease the impact of its recent restrictions. These materials, vital to electric vehicles and household appliances, have been under stricter export controls since April.
During recent talks, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič warned Chinese officials that the curbs had caused major disruptions across Europe, describing the situation as alarming. While some progress in licence approvals has been noted, businesses argue it remains inadequate.
The talks come as both sides prepare for a high-stakes EU-China summit and continue negotiations over tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Brussels has imposed duties of up to 35.3%, citing unfair subsidies, while Beijing is pushing for a deal involving minimum pricing to avoid the tariffs.
China’s commerce ministry confirmed the discussions are in their final stage but acknowledged that more work is needed to reach a resolution.
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Plans for a vast AI data hub in the UAE have raised security concerns in Washington due to the country’s close ties with China.
The $100 billion Stargate UAE campus, aims to deploy advanced US chips, but US officials are scrutinising potential technology leakage risks.
Although the Trump administration supports the project, bipartisan fears remain about whether the UAE can safeguard US-developed AI and chips from foreign adversaries.
A final agreement has not been reached as both sides negotiate export conditions, with possible restrictions on Nvidia’s hardware.
The initial phase of the Stargate project will activate 200 megawatts of capacity by 2026, but the deal’s future may depend on the UAE’s willingness to accept strict US oversight.
Talks over potential amendments continue, delaying approval of what could become a $500 billion venture.
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