According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is weighing partnerships in India to build a data centre of at least 1 gigawatt capacity as part of its Stargate project. Such a facility would represent one of Asia’s most significant AI infrastructure investments.
The company recently registered as a legal entity in India and is recruiting a local team. It also announced plans in August to open its first office in New Delhi later this year, highlighting the importance of India’s second-largest market by user base.
The prospective data centre is linked to Stargate, a private-sector AI investment programme valued at up to $500 billion and backed by SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle. The project was first introduced in January by US President Donald Trump.
Details on the timing and location of the Indian facility remain unclear. Reports suggest that OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman could provide further information during a visit to India in September.
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have announced a joint effort to clarify spot cryptocurrency trading. Regulators confirmed that US and foreign exchanges can list spot crypto products- leveraged and margin ones.
The guidance follows the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets recommendations, which called for rules that keep blockchain innovation within the country.
Regulators said they are ready to review filings, address custody and clearing, and ensure spot markets meet transparency and investor protection standards.
Under the new approach, major venues such as the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, CME Group and Cboe Global Markets could seek to list spot crypto assets. Foreign boards of trade recognised by the CFTC may also be eligible.
The move highlights a policy shift under President Donald Trump’s administration, with Congress and the White House pressing for greater regulatory clarity.
In July, the House of Representatives passed the CLARITY Act, a bill on crypto market structure now before the Senate. The moves and the regulators’ statement mark a key step in aligning US digital assets with established financial rules.
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A top European regulator has warned that tokenised stocks could mislead investors and undermine confidence in financial markets. Natasha Cazenave of ESMA said many tokenised stocks, like voting or dividends, lack shareholder rights.
Unlike traditional equities, tokenised stocks are typically issued through intermediaries and merely track share prices. Cazenave cautioned that retail investors may wrongly believe they own company shares, exposing them to a risk of misunderstanding.
Her warning follows the expansion of tokenised stock services on platforms like Robinhood and Kraken.
The World Federation of Exchanges recently echoed these concerns, urging regulators to strengthen oversight. Without intervention, the group warned that tokenised products could threaten market integrity and heighten investor risks.
Although advocates say tokenisation could cut costs and widen access, Cazenave noted most projects remain small, illiquid, and far from delivering promised efficiency. Regulators, she added, remain focused on balancing innovation with investor protection.
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Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares rose over 15%, their most significant single-day gain since early 2023, following strong AI revenue growth. AI-related sales surged triple digits, and the cloud division grew 26% to 33.4 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), exceeding expectations and driving expansion.
The results underline Alibaba’s transformation from a retail-heavy company into a diversified technology player. Analysts say AI is now a central growth driver, with cloud and AI offerings boosting investor confidence despite price war pressures from JD.com and Meituan.
Alibaba is investing in AI hardware and developing proprietary chips to reduce reliance on foreign semiconductors. The strategy aims to build faster, cheaper, and more secure AI systems for domestic and international markets, including Lazada and AliExpress.
Experts view this calculated self-reliance and strong cloud and AI services as a long-term growth driver.
While retail rivals continue to struggle with profit pressure, Alibaba’s leadership has emphasised AI as a core strategic focus.
CEO Eddie Wu emphasised ambitions in artificial general intelligence, with analysts noting AI could protect Alibaba from price wars and support growth across multiple business areas.
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OpenAI is preparing to build a significant new data centre in India as part of its Stargate AI infrastructure initiative. The move will expand the company’s presence in Asia and strengthen its operations in its second-largest market by user base.
OpenAI has already registered as a legal entity in India and begun assembling a local team.
The company plans to open its first office in New Delhi later this year. Details regarding the exact location and timeline of the proposed data centre remain unclear, though CEO Sam Altman may provide further information during his upcoming visit to India.
The project represents a strategic step to support the company’s growing regional AI ambitions.
OpenAI’s Stargate initiative, announced by US President Donald Trump in January, involves private sector investment of up to $500 billion for AI infrastructure, backed by SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle.
The initiative seeks to develop large-scale AI capabilities across major markets worldwide, with the India data centre potentially playing a key role in the efforts.
The expansion highlights OpenAI’s focus on scaling its AI infrastructure while meeting regional demand. The company intends to strengthen operational efficiency, improve service reliability, and support its long-term growth in Asia by establishing local offices and a significant data centre.
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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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