Perplexity has unveiled new privacy features for its AI-powered browser, Comet, designed to give users clearer control over their data. The updates include a new homepage widget called Privacy Snapshot, which allows people to review and adjust privacy settings in one place.
The widget provides a real-time view of how Comet protects users online and simplifies settings for ad blocking, tracker management and data access. Users can toggle permissions for the Comet Assistant directly from the homepage.
Comet’s updated AI Assistant settings now show precisely how data is used, including where it is stored locally or shared for processing. Sensitive information such as passwords and payment details remain securely stored on the user’s device.
Perplexity said the changes reinforce its ‘privacy by default’ approach, an important principle in EU data protection law, combining ad blocking, safe browsing and transparent data handling. The new features are available in the latest Comet update across desktop and mobile platforms.
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Europe raised €13.7bn across just over 1,300 rounds in Q3, the strongest quarter since Q2 2024. September alone brought €8.7bn. July and August reflected the familiar summer slowdown.
Growth equity provided €7bn, or 51.6% of the total, with two consecutive quarters surpassing 150 growth rounds. Data centres, AI agents, and GenAI led the activity, with more AI startups scaling with larger cheques.
Early-stage totals were the lowest in 12 months, yet they were ahead of Q3 last year. Lovable’s $200 million Series A at a $1.8 billion valuation stood out. Seven new unicorns included Nscale, Fuse Energy, Framer, IQM, Nothing, and Tide.
ASML led the quarter’s largest deal, investing €1.3bn in Mistral AI’s €1.7bn Series C. France tallied €2.7 billion, heavily concentrated in Mistral, while the UK reached €4.49 billion. Germany followed with just over €1.5bn, ahead of the Netherlands and Switzerland.
AI-native funding surpassed all verticals for the first time on record, reaching €3.9 billion, with deeptech at €2.6 billion. Agentic AI logged 129 rounds, sharply higher year-over-year, while data centres edged out agents for capital. Defence and dual-use technology attracted €2.1 billion across 44 rounds.
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A new joint study by the University of Maryland and Microsoft has found that Polish is the most effective language for prompting AI, outperforming 25 others, including English, French, and Chinese.
The researchers tested leading AI models, including OpenAI, Google Gemini, Qwen, Llama, and DeepSeek, by providing identical prompts in 26 languages. Polish achieved an average accuracy of 88 percent, securing first place. English, often seen as the natural choice for AI interaction, came only sixth.
According to the study, Polish proved to be the most precise in issuing commands to AI, despite the fact that far less Polish-language data exists for model training. The Polish Patent Office noted that while humans find the language difficult, AI systems appear to handle it with remarkable ease.
Other high-performing languages included French, Italian, and Spanish, with Chinese ranking among the lowest. The finding challenges the widespread assumption that English dominates AI communication and could reshape future research on multilingual model optimisation.
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China’s Ministry of Commerce announced plans to exempt specific Nexperia orders from its export ban, aiming to stabilise the global semiconductor supply chain after the Netherlands seized control of the Chinese-owned Dutch chipmaker.
The ministry stated that exemptions would be granted when the criteria were met, encouraging affected firms to apply.
A move that follows a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Busan, where both sides reached a framework allowing Nexperia to resume shipments under eased restrictions.
Washington reportedly agreed to pause the 50 percent subsidiary rule, which restricts exports from companies half-owned by entities on its trade blocklist. Wingtech Technology, Nexperia’s Chinese parent, has been under these restrictions since December.
Beijing’s export ban, introduced after the Dutch takeover citing national security concerns, disrupted supplies from Nexperia’s Dongguan factory, which assembles about 70 percent of its products.
China condemned the Netherlands for intervening in corporate affairs, warning that such actions deepen global supply chain instability.
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NVIDIA and Hyundai Motor Group will build a Blackwell-powered AI factory for autonomous vehicles, smart plants and robotics. The partners will co-develop core physical AI, shifting from tool adoption to capability building across mobility, manufacturing and on-device chips.
The programme targets integrated training, validation and deployment on 50,000 Blackwell GPUs. In parallel, both sides will back the physical AI cluster in South Korea with about $3 billion, creating an NVIDIA AI Technology Center, Hyundai’s Physical AI Application Center and regional data centres.
Hyundai will use NVIDIA DGX for model training, Omniverse and Cosmos on RTX PRO Servers for digital twins and simulation, and DRIVE AGX Thor in vehicles and robots for real-time intelligence. The stack underpins design, testing and deployment at an industrial scale.
Factory digital twins will unify data, enable virtual commissioning and improve predictive maintenance, supporting safer human-robot work. Isaac Sim will validate tasks and ergonomics before line deployment, speeding robot integration and lifting throughput, quality and uptime.
Vehicles will gain evolving features via Nemotron and NeMo, from autonomy to personalised assistants and adaptive comfort. DRIVE AGX Thor with safety-certified DriveOS will power driver assistance and next-generation safety, linking car and factory into one intelligent ecosystem.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Asia Pacific economies to boost cooperation in digital innovation, green development, and inclusive growth at the 32nd APEC meeting in Gyeongju.
He said the region faces slowing economic growth and widening inequality, but also holds new opportunities through emerging technologies such as AI.
Xi proposed three areas of action. First, he urged countries to embrace digital and innovative technologies to boost innovation-driven growth. He called for responsible AI development and proposed the establishment of a World AI Cooperation Organisation to set standards and ensure regional access.
Second, Xi emphasised the importance of green and low-carbon development, highlighting China’s rapid progress in renewable energy and its significant contribution to global climate goals. He urged developed economies to aid developing ones with technology, funding, and capacity development for sustainable progress.
Finally, he stressed the importance of inclusive development and poverty reduction. Xi said APEC economies should advance digital literacy, enhance cooperation in sectors such as health and education, and promote equality for women and older people.
He reaffirmed China’s readiness to work with all nations to create a sustainable and shared future for the region.
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In a recent interview, Tim Cook confirmed that Apple plans to integrate more third-party AI systems into its new Apple Intelligence offering, describing the ambition as ‘over time’ and indicating both internal development and potential mergers and acquisitions.
Cook referenced existing integrations, such as the embedding of ChatGPT into Siri, and confirmed that other models like Google Gemini are under consideration.
He also emphasised that Apple remains open to acquiring AI companies that align with its roadmap for Apple Intelligence.
However, this announcement marks Apple’s strategic pivot in the AI era, shifting from a primarily closed system to one that supports a pluralistic ecosystem of AI tools.
The move has implications for how we think about platform-economy power, AI governance and interoperability.
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In response to the UK’s new age-verification law, Pornhub reports that visits from UK users have fallen by about 77 %.
The change comes following legislation designed to block under-18s from accessing adult sites via mandatory age checks.
The company states that it began enforcing the verification system early in October, noting that many users are now turned away or fail the checks.
According to Pornhub, this explains the significant decrease in traffic from the UK. The platform emphasised that this is a reflection of compliance rather than an admission of harm.
Critics argue that the law creates risks of overblocking and privacy concerns, as users may turn to less regulated or unsafe alternatives. This case also underscores tensions between content regulation, digital rights and the efficacy of age-gating as a tool.
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OpenAI will build a new campus in Saline Township, Michigan, as part of a 4.5 GW partnership with Oracle. Planned US capacity now exceeds 8 gigawatts. Investment over the next three years is expected to surpass $450 billion.
Leaders frame Stargate as a path to reindustrialise the United States while expanding access to AI benefits. Projects generate jobs during buildout and strengthen supply chains. Communities are intended to share gains.
Related Digital will develop the Michigan site, with construction expected in early 2026. More than 2,500 union construction roles are planned. A closed-loop cooling system will significantly reduce on-site water consumption.
DTE Energy will utilise existing excess transmission capacity to serve the campus. The project, not local ratepayers, will fund any required upgrades. Local energy supplies are expected to remain unaffected.
Expansion builds on previously announced sites in Texas, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Ohio. Programmes aim to bolster modern energy and manufacturing systems. Michigan’s engineering heritage makes it a focal point for future AI infrastructure.
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University report that stronger-reasoning language models (LLMs) act more selfishly in groups, reducing cooperation and nudging peers toward self-interest. Concerns grow as people ask AI for social advice.
In a Public Goods test, non-reasoning models shared 96 percent; a reasoning model shared 20 percent. Adding a few reasoning steps cut cooperation nearly in half. Reflection prompts also reduced sharing.
Mixed groups showed spillover. Reasoning agents dragged down collective performance by 81 percent, spreading self-interest. Users may over-trust ‘rational’ advice that justifies uncooperative choices at work or in class.
Comparisons spanned LLMs from OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, and Anthropic. Findings point to the need to balance raw reasoning with social intelligence. Designers should reward cooperation, not only optimise individual gain.
The paper ‘Spontaneous Giving and Calculated Greed in Language Models’ will be presented at EMNLP 2025, with a preprint on arXiv. Authors caution that more intelligent AI is not automatically better for society.
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