Indonesia will deploy an AI-driven maritime surveillance network to combat piracy and other illegal activities across its vast waters.
The Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard Unit has signed a 10-year agreement with UK-based SRT Marine Systems for its SRT-MDA platform. The system, to be known locally as the National Maritime Security System, will integrate terrestrial, mobile and satellite surveillance with AI-powered analytics.
Fifty command posts will be digitised under the plan, enabling authorities to detect, track and predict activities from piracy to environmental violations. The deal, valued at €157.9m and backed by UK Export Finance, has been strongly supported by both governments.
Piracy remains a pressing issue in Indonesian waters, particularly in the Singapore Strait, where opportunistic thefts against slow-moving ships quadrupled in the first half of 2025 compared with last year. Analysts warn that weak deterrence and economic hardship are fuelling the rise in incidents.
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Funding season is restarting in Europe, with investors expecting to add several new unicorns in the coming months. Despite fewer mega-rounds than in 2021, a dozen startups passed the $1 billion mark in the first half of 2025.
AI, biotech, defence technology, and renewable energy are among the sectors attracting major backing. Recent unicorns include Lovable, an AI coding firm from Sweden, UK-based Fuse Energy, and Isar Aerospace from Germany.
London-based Isomorphic Labs, spun out of DeepMind, raised $600 million to enter unicorn territory. In biotech, Verdiva Bio hit unicorn status after a $410 million Series A, while Neko Health reached a $1.8 billion valuation.
AI and automation continue to drive investor appetite. Dublin’s Tines secured a $125 million Series C at a $1.125 billion valuation, and German AI customer service startup Parloa raised $120 million at a $1 billion valuation.
Dual-use drone companies also stood out. Portugal-based Tekever confirmed its unicorn status with plans for a £400 million UK expansion, while Quantum Systems raised €160 million to scale its AI-driven drones globally.
Film-streaming platform Mubi and encryption startup Zama also joined the unicorn club, showing the breadth of sectors gaining traction. With Bristol, Manchester, Munich, and Stockholm among the hotspots, Europe’s tech ecosystem continues to diversify.
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Sales of AI chips by Nvidia rose strongly in its latest quarter, though the growth was less intense than in previous periods, raising questions about the sustainability of demand.
The company’s data centre division reported revenue of 41.1 billion USD between May and July, a 56% rise from last year but slightly below analyst forecasts.
Overall revenue reached 46.7 billion USD, while profit climbed to 26.4 billion USD, both higher than expected.
Nvidia forecasts sales of $54 billion USD for the current quarter.
CEO Jensen Huang said the company remains at the ‘beginning of the buildout’, with trillions expected to be spent on AI by the decade’s end.
However, investors pushed shares down 3% in extended trading, reflecting concerns that rapid growth is becoming harder to maintain as annual sales expand.
Nvidia’s performance was also affected by earlier restrictions on chip sales to China, although the removal of limits in exchange for a sales levy is expected to support future revenue.
Analysts noted that while AI continues to fuel stock market optimism, the pace of growth is slowing compared with the company’s earlier surge.
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South Korean company, Samsung Electronics, has integrated Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant into its newest TVs and monitors, aiming to provide more personalised interactivity for users.
The technology will be available across models released annually, including the premium Micro RGB TV. With Copilot built directly into displays, Samsung explained that viewers can use voice commands or a remote control to search, learn and engage with content more positively.
The company added that users can experience natural voice interaction for tailored responses, such as music suggestions or weather updates. Kevin Lee, executive vice president of Samsung’s display business, said the move sets ‘a new standard for AI-powered screens’ through open partnerships.
Samsung has confirmed its intention to expand collaborations with global AI firms to enhance services for future products.
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Google Cloud is creating its own blockchain platform, the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), targeting the financial sector. The network provides a neutral, compliant infrastructure for payment automation and digital asset management through a single API.
GCUL allows financial institutions to build Python-based smart contracts, with support for various use cases such as wholesale payments and asset tokenisation. Although called a Layer 1 network, its private, permissioned design raises debate over its status as a decentralised blockchain.
The company also revealed a series of AI-driven security enhancements at its Security Summit 2025.
These include an ‘agentic security operations centre’ for proactive threat detection, the Alert Investigation agent for automated analysis, and Model Armour to prevent prompt injection, jailbreaking, and data leaks.
Currently in a private testnet, GCUL was first announced in March in collaboration with the CME Group, which is piloting solutions on the platform. Google Cloud plans to reveal more details in the future as the project develops.
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AI tools like ChatGPT are becoming essential for researching cryptocurrencies before investing. The platform can simplify white papers, explain tokenomics, and summarise use cases to help investors make informed decisions.
Evaluating the team, partnerships, and security risks remains critical. ChatGPT can guide users in identifying potential scams such as rug pulls, pump-and-dump schemes, or phishing attacks.
It also helps assess regulatory compliance and whether projects have working products. Comparing coins with competitors further highlights strengths and weaknesses within categories like DeFi, NFTs, or Layer 1 blockchains.
Although ChatGPT cannot give real-time data or investment advice, it helps by suggesting research questions, summarising content, and organising insights efficiently. Investors should use it to complement traditional due diligence, not replace critical thinking or careful analysis.
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Donald Trump’s AI Action Plan, released in July 2025, places domestic semiconductor manufacturing at the heart of US efforts to dominate global AI. The plan supports deregulation, domestic production and export of full-stack technology, positioning chips as critical to national power.
Lawmakers and tech leaders have previously flagged tracking chips post-sale as viable, with companies like Google already using such methods. Trump’s plan suggests adopting location tracking and enhanced end-use monitoring to ensure chips avoid blacklisted destinations.
Trump has pressed for more private sector investment in US fabs, reportedly using tariff threats to extract pledges from chipmakers like TSMC. The cost of building and running chip plants in the US remains significantly higher than in Asia, raising questions about sustainability.
America’s success in AI and semiconductors will likely depend on how well it balances domestic goals with global collaboration. Overregulation risks slowing innovation, while unilateral restrictions may alienate allies and reduce long-term influence.
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Netflix has issued detailed guidance for production companies on the approved use of generative AI. The guidelines allow AI tools for early ideation tasks such as moodboards or reference images, but stricter oversight applies beyond that stage.
The company outlined five guiding principles. These include ensuring generated content does not replicate copyrighted works, maintaining security of inputs, avoiding use of AI in final deliverables, and prohibiting storage or reuse of production data by AI tools.
Enterprises or vendors working on Netflix content must pass the platform’s AI compliance checks at every stage.
Netflix has already used AI to reduce VFX costs on projects like The Eternaut, but has moved to formalise boundaries around how and when the technology is applied.
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Bitcoin has slipped below $110,000, and according to Finbold’s use of ChatGPT-5, a further drop could occur in the coming weeks. The model outlined technical resistance and seasonal factors pointing to September weakness.
Key levels around $112,000 and $106,000 are under pressure, with the AI projecting a sharp decline toward $98,000 if support breaks. Historically, September has been one of Bitcoin’s worst-performing months, adding to the bearish outlook.
Despite the short-term caution, demand from ETFs and long-term holders may offer support between $95,000 and $98,000. Longer-term technicals remain intact, with the 200-day average sitting near $95,000.
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ChatGPT is increasingly used as a travel assistant, with some travellers claiming it can save hundreds of pounds on flights. Finance influencer Casper Opala shares cost-saving tips online and said the AI tool helped him secure a flight for £70 that initially cost more than £700.
Opala shared a series of prompts that allow ChatGPT to identify hidden routes, budget airlines not listed on major platforms, and potential savings through alternative airports or separate bookings. He also suggested using the tool to monitor prices for several days or compare one-way fares with return tickets.
While many money-saving tricks have existed for years, ChatGPT condenses the process, collecting results in seconds. Opala says this efficiency is a strong starting point for cheaper travel deals.
Experts, however, warn that ChatGPT is not connected to live flight booking systems. TravelBook’s Laura Pomer noted that the AI can sometimes present inaccurate or outdated fares, meaning users should always verify results before booking.
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