The Dutch government has proposed new legislation requiring background checks for thousands of researchers working with sensitive technologies. The plan, announced by Education Minister Eppo Bruins, aims to block foreign intelligence from accessing high-risk scientific work.
Around 8,000 people a year, including Dutch citizens, would undergo screenings involving criminal records, work history, and possible links to hostile regimes.
Intelligence services would support the process, which targets sectors like AI, quantum computing, and biotech.
Universities worry the checks may deter global talent due to delays and bureaucracy. Critics also highlight a loophole: screenings occur only once, meaning researchers could still be approached by foreign governments after being cleared.
While other countries are introducing similar measures, the Netherlands will attempt to avoid unnecessary delays. Officials admit, however, that no system can eliminate all risks.
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OpenAI is reportedly in talks to acquire io Products, an AI hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a deal that could exceed $500 million.
Instead of focusing solely on software like ChatGPT and API tools, OpenAI appears to be eyeing consumer devices as a way to diversify its revenue.
io Products is said to be working on AI-powered consumer tech, including a screenless smartphone and smart home gadgets.
The company’s team includes several former Apple designers, such as Tang Tan and Evans Hankey. Instead of traditional screens, these new devices are expected to explore more ambient and context-aware ways of interaction.
Jony Ive, best known for his role in designing iconic Apple products like the iPhone and iMac, left Apple in 2019 to launch his design consultancy, LoveFrom.
His collaboration with Altman on io Products was publicly confirmed last year and has already drawn interest from high-profile backers, including Laurene Powell Jobs. Funding for the startup was projected to reach $1 billion by the end of 2024.
The move echoes Altman’s previous investments in AI hardware, such as Humane Inc., a wearable tech startup that also focused on screenless interaction. Instead of scaling that venture, however, HP acquired some of Humane’s assets for $166 million earlier this year.
OpenAI’s potential acquisition of io Products could mark a significant shift toward physical consumer products in the AI space.
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New Jersey has become the first US state to criminalise the creation and sharing of AI-generated nude images of minors, following a high-profile campaign led by 14-year-old Francesca Mani. The US legislation, signed into law on 2 April by Governor Phil Murphy, allows victims to sue perpetrators for up to $1,000 per image and includes criminal penalties of up to five years in prison and fines of up to $30,000.
Mani launched her campaign after discovering that boys at her school had used an AI “nudify” website to target her and other girls. Refusing to accept the school’s minimal disciplinary response, she called for lawmakers to take decisive action against such deepfake abuses. Her efforts gained national attention, including a feature on 60 Minutes, and helped drive the new legal protections.
The law defines deepfakes as media that convincingly depicts someone doing something they never actually did. It also prohibits the use of such technology for election interference or defamation. Although the law’s focus is on malicious misuse, questions remain about whether exemptions will be made for legitimate uses in film, tech, or education sectors.
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A Slovenian-US biotech company, Genialis, is harnessing AI to revolutionise cancer treatment by tackling a major obstacle: the lack of reliable biomarkers to predict how patients will respond to therapy. Using an AI-driven model developed from over a million global samples, the company aims to personalise treatment with far greater accuracy.
Founded nine years ago as a spin-off from the University of Ljubljana, Genialis is now headquartered in Boston but maintains strong ties to Slovenia, employing 22 local experts. Initially focused on tools for biologists, the firm shifted towards personalised medicine six years ago, now offering diagnostic insights that predict whether a patient is likely to respond to a specific cancer drug or treatment.
Genialis’ proprietary “Supermodel” analyses RNA data from a diverse range of patients using machine learning, boosting the likelihood of treatment success from 20–30% to as high as 65% when paired with their biomarkers. While the software is already used in research settings, the ultimate goal is to integrate it into routine clinical care. Despite the promise, challenges remain, including securing quality data and investment. Co-founders Rafael Rosengarten and Miha Štajdohar remain optimistic, believing AI-powered precision medicine is the future of effective cancer therapy.
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Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has unveiled a new method to improve LLM reasoning skills, claiming it offers more accurate and faster responses than current technologies. The approach, developed with researchers from Tsinghua University, combines generative reward modeling (GRM) with a self-principled critique tuning technique.
The method aims to refine how AI LLMs respond to general queries by better aligning their outputs with human preferences. According to a paper published on the arXiv scientific repository, the resulting DeepSeek-GRM models showed stronger performance than existing methods and proved competitive against widely accepted public reward models.
DeepSeek has announced intentions to release these models as open source, though no release date has been set. The move follows increased global interest in the company, which had earlier gained attention for its V3 foundation model and R1 reasoning model.
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French shipping heavyweight CMA CGM has announced a major partnership with tech firm Mistral AI, committing €100 million over five years to develop custom AI solutions across its logistics, shipping, and media divisions.
A dedicated team of Mistral AI experts will be stationed at CMA CGM’s Marseille headquarters and Grand Central, the base for its media arm.
The collaboration will focus on automating customer services, improving e-commerce tools, and creating smarter document systems to streamline operations.
CMA CGM’s CEO, Rodolphe Saadé, described the deal as a key step in reinventing the group’s core businesses with artificial intelligence, while aligning with the company’s values and goals for responsible innovation.
CMA CGM has already committed €500 million to advancing AI, with prior partnerships including Google and Perplexity, and investments in firms like PoolSide and Dataiku.
The group also launched Kyutai, a nonprofit AI research lab, in 2023. The latest collaboration with Mistral AI reinforces CMA CGM’s ambition to lead digital transformation in maritime logistics through generative AI.
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Osney Capital has launched the UK’s first specialist cybersecurity seed fund, focused on investing in promising cybersecurity startups at the Pre-Seed and Seed stages.
The fund, which raised more than its initial £50 million target, will write cheques between £250k and £2.5 million and has the capacity for follow-on investments in Series A rounds.
Led by Adam Cragg, Josh Walter, and Paul Wilkes, the Osney Capital team brings decades of experience in cybersecurity and early-stage investing. Instead of relying on generalist investors, the fund will offer tailored support to early-stage companies, addressing the unique challenges in the cybersecurity sector.
The UK cybersecurity industry has grown to £13.2 billion in 2025, driven by complex cyber threats, regulatory pressures, and the rapid adoption of AI. The fund aims to capitalise on this growth, tapping into the strong talent pipeline boosted by UK universities and specialised cybersecurity programs.
Supported by cornerstone investments from the British Business Bank and accredited by the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund, Osney Capital’s mission is to back the next generation of cybersecurity founders and help them scale globally competitive businesses.
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Thailand’s National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) has joined forces with Google Cloud to strengthen the country’s cyber resilience, using AI-based tools and shared threat intelligence instead of relying solely on traditional defences.
The collaboration aims to better protect public agencies and citizens against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
A key part of the initiative involves deploying Google Cloud Cybershield for centralised monitoring of security events across government bodies. Instead of having fragmented monitoring systems, this unified approach will help streamline incident detection and response.
The partnership also brings advanced training for cybersecurity personnel in the public sector, alongside regular threat intelligence sharing.
Google Cloud Web Risk will be integrated into government operations to automatically block websites hosting malware and phishing content, instead of relying on manual checks.
Google further noted the impact of its anti-scam technology in Google Play Protect, which has prevented over 6.6 million high-risk app installation attempts in Thailand since its 2024 launch—enhancing mobile safety for millions of users.
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Israel’s high-tech sector surged into 2025 with remarkable momentum, instead of continuing the two-year slump in funding.
According to new figures from Startup Nation Central, private Israeli tech firms raised $3.2 billion through 185 deals in the first quarter, rather than declining as in previous periods. This marked a 12% rise from the previous quarter and a 14% increase year on year.
The most striking figure came from mergers and acquisitions, which reached a record-breaking $35.9 billion across 38 deals.
Even excluding the Wiz acquisition, the M&A volume still hit $3.9 billion—its highest since the third quarter of 2023. Instead of reflecting a single outlier, the strong figures suggest a broader resurgence in investor confidence and corporate activity.
It signals that global interest in Israel’s innovation sector is gaining strength again, instead of continuing to wane as seen over the past two years.
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Spotify has announced a suite of new advertising tools and features, including generative AI capabilities, at its recent Spotify Advance event in New York.
Designed to simplify ad creation and targeting, the initiative, branded as Spotify GenAI Ads, aims to help advertisers generate scripts and voiceovers at no extra cost.
Advertisers can also collaborate with Spotify’s in-house creative agencies to develop campaigns, while upgraded tools on the Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX) offer access to logged-in users through real-time auctions.
Integration with platforms such as Google Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk, Magnite, and Yahoo DSP further enhances reach and targeting options.
A new Spotify Ads Manager tool is also being rolled out in the US and Canada, providing advanced audience segmentation and performance tracking for tailored campaigns. These innovations reflect Spotify’s growing focus on personalisation and automation in digital advertising.
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