Economic Archives | Page 179 of 683 | Digital Watch Observatory

Nexos.ai raises €30 m to ease enterprise AI adoption

The European startup Nexos.ai, headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, has closed a €30 million Series A funding round, co-led by Index Ventures and Evantic Capital, valuing the company at about €300 million (~US $350 million).

Founded by the duo behind cybersecurity unicorn Nord Security (Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas), Nexos.ai aims to solve what they describe as the ‘enterprise AI adoption crisis’. In their view, many organisations struggle with governance, cost control, fragmentation and security risks when using large-language models (LLMs).

Nexos.ai’s platform comprises two main components: an AI Workspace for employees and an AI Gateway for developers.

The Gateway offers orchestration across 200+ models, unified access, guardrails, cost monitoring and compliance oversight. The Workspace enables staff to work across formats, compare models and collaborate in a secure interface.

The company’s positioning as a neutral intermediary, likened to ‘Switzerland for LLMs’, underscores its mission to allow enterprises to gain productivity with AI without giving up data control or security.

The new funds will be used to extend support for private model deployment, expand into regulated sectors (finance, public institutions), grow across Europe and North America, and deepen product capabilities in routing, model fallback, and observability.

It’s an illustration of how investors are backing infrastructure plays in the enterprise-AI space: not just building new models, but creating the scaffolding for how organisations adopt, govern and deploy them safely.

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Meta’s ‘Vibes’ feed lets users scroll and remix entirely AI-generated videos

Meta Platforms has introduced Vibes, a new short-form video feed built entirely around AI-generated content, available within its Meta AI app and on the meta.ai website.

The feed allows users to browse videos generated by creators and communities, start videos from scratch via text prompts or upload visual elements, and remix existing videos by adding music or changing styles. Users can then publish these clips to the Vibes feed or cross-post to Instagram Stories, Facebook, and Reels.

Meta says the goal is to make the Meta AI app a hub for creative video generation: ‘You can bring your ideas to life … or remix a video from the feed to make it your own.’ While Meta noted the feature is launching as a preview, it also points to broader ambitions in generative video as part of its AI strategy.

However, media commentary is already acknowledging scepticism. Early feedback has labelled some of the feed’s output as ‘AI slop’, mass-produced synthetic videos that lack authentic human creativity, fueling questions about quality and user demand.

Meta’s timing comes amid heavy investment in its AI efforts and a drive to monetise generative video content and new creator tools. The company sees this as more than experiment, potentially a new vector for engagement and distribution inside its social ecosystem.

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Adobe unveils AI Foundry for enterprise model building

Adobe has launched a new enterprise service allowing firms to build custom AI models. The platform, called Adobe AI Foundry, lets companies train generative AI on their branding and intellectual property.

Based on Adobe’s Firefly models, the service can produce text, images, video, and 3D content. Pricing depends on usage, offering greater flexibility than Adobe’s traditional subscription model.

Adobe’s Firefly technology, first introduced in 2023, has already helped clients create over 25 billion assets. Foundry’s tailored models are expected to speed up campaign production while maintaining consistent brand identity across markets.

Hannah Elsakr, Adobe’s vice president for generative AI ventures, said the tools aim to enhance, not replace, human creativity. She emphasised that Adobe’s mission remains centred on supporting artists and marketers in telling powerful stories through technology.

The company believes its ethical approach to AI training and licensing could set a standard for enterprise-grade creative tools. Analysts say it also positions Adobe strongly against rivals offering generic AI solutions.

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OpenAI strengthens controls after Bryan Cranston deepfake incident

Bryan Cranston is grateful that OpenAI tightened safeguards on its video platform Sora 2. The Breaking Bad actor raised concerns after users generated videos using his voice and image without permission.

Reports surfaced earlier this month showing Sora 2 users creating deepfakes of Cranston and other public figures. Several Hollywood agencies criticised OpenAI for requiring individuals to opt out of replication instead of opting in.

Major talent agencies, including UTA and CAA, co-signed a joint statement with OpenAI and industry unions. They pledged to collaborate on ethical standards for AI-generated media and ensure artists can decide how they are represented.

The incident underscores growing tension between entertainment professionals and AI developers. As generative video tools evolve, performers and studios are demanding clear boundaries around consent and digital replication.

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Roblox faces Dutch investigation over child welfare concerns

Dutch officials will study how the gaming platform affects young users, focusing on safety, mental health, and privacy. The assessment aims to identify both the benefits and risks of Roblox. Authorities say the findings will help guide new policies and support parents in protecting their children online.

Roblox has faced mounting criticism over unsafe content and the presence of online predators. Reports of games containing violent or sexual material have raised alarms among parents and child protection groups.

The US state of Louisiana recently sued Roblox, alleging that it enabled systemic child exploitation through negligence. Dutch experts argue that similar concerns justify a thorough review in the Netherlands.

Previous Dutch investigations have examined platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat under similar children’s rights frameworks. Policymakers hope the Roblox review will set clearer standards for digital child safety across Europe.

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Judge bars NSO Group from using spyware to target WhatsApp in landmark ruling

A US federal judge has permanently barred NSO Group, a commercial spyware company, from targeting WhatsApp and, in the same ruling, cut damages owed to Meta from $168 million to $4 million.

The decision by Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the Northern District of California stems from NSO’s 2019 hack of WhatsApp, when the company’s Pegasus spyware targeted 1,400 users through a zero-click exploit. The injunction bans NSO from accessing or assisting access to WhatsApp’s systems, a restriction the firm previously warned could threaten its business model.

An NSO spokesperson said the order ‘will not apply to NSO’s customers, who will continue using the company’s technology to help protect public safety,’ but declined to clarify how that interpretation aligns with the court’s wording. By contrast, Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, stated on X that the decision ‘bans spyware maker NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and our global users again.’

Pegasus has allegedly been used against journalists, activists, and dissidents worldwide. The ruling sets an important precedent for US companies whose platforms have been compromised by commercial surveillance firms.

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ChatGPT to exit WhatsApp after Meta policy change

OpenAI says ChatGPT will leave WhatsApp on 15 January 2026 after Meta’s new rules banning general-purpose AI chatbots on the platform. ChatGPT will remain available on iOS, Android, and the web, the company said.

Users are urged to link their WhatsApp number to a ChatGPT account to preserve history, as WhatsApp doesn’t support chat exports. OpenAI will also let users unlink their phone numbers after linking.

Until now, users could message ChatGPT on WhatsApp to ask questions, search the web, generate images, or talk to the assistant. Similar third-party bots offered comparable features.

Meta quietly updated WhatsApp’s business API to prohibit AI providers from accessing or using it, directly or indirectly. The change effectively forces ChatGPT, Perplexity, Luzia, Poke, and others to shut down their WhatsApp bots.

The move highlights platform risk for AI assistants and shifts demand toward native apps and web. Businesses relying on WhatsApp AI automations will need alternatives that comply with Meta’s policies.

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Innovation versus risk shapes Australia’s AI debate

Australia’s business leaders were urged to adopt AI now to stay competitive, despite the absence of hard rules, at the AI Leadership Summit in Brisbane. The National AI Centre unveiled revised voluntary guidelines, and Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton said a national AI plan will arrive later this year.

The guidance sets six priorities, from stress-testing and human oversight to clearer accountability, aiming to give boards practical guardrails. Speakers from NVIDIA, OpenAI, and legal and academic circles welcomed direction but pressed for certainty to unlock stalled investment.

Charlton said the plan will focus on economic opportunity, equitable access, and risk mitigation, noting some harms are already banned, including ‘nudify’ apps. He argued Australia will be poorer if it hesitates, and regulators must be ready to address new threats directly.

The debate centred on proportional regulation: too many rules could stifle innovation, said Clayton Utz partner Simon Newcomb, yet delays and ambiguity can also chill projects. A ‘gap analysis’ announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers will map which risks existing laws already cover.

CyberCX’s Alastair MacGibbon warned that criminals are using AI to deliver sharper phishing attacks and flagged the return of erotic features in some chatbots as an oversight test. His message echoed across panels: move fast with governance, or risk ceding both competitiveness and safety.

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AI chats with ‘Jesus’ spark curiosity and criticism

Text With Jesus, an AI chatbot from Ca t loaf Software, lets users message figures like ‘Jesus’ and ‘Moses’ for scripture-quoting replies. CEO Stéphane Peter says curiosity is driving rapid growth despite accusations of blasphemy and worries about tech intruding on faith.

Built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the app now includes AI pastors and counsellors for questions on scripture, ethics, and everyday dilemmas. Peter, who describes himself as not particularly religious, says the aim is access and engagement, not replacing ministry or community.

Examples range from ‘Do not be anxious…’ (Philippians 4:6) to the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12), with answers framed in familiar verse. Fans call it a safe, approachable way to explore belief; critics argue only scripture itself should speak.

Faith leaders and commentators have cautioned against mistaking AI outputs for wisdom. The Vatican has stressed that AI is a tool, not truth, and that young people need guidance, not substitution, in spiritual formation.

Reception is sharply split online. Supporters praise convenience and curiosity-spark; detractors cite theological drift, emoji-laden replies, and a ‘Satan’ mode they find chilling. The app holds a 4.7 rating on the Apple App Store from more than 2,700 reviews.

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AWS outage turned a mundane DNS slip into global chaos

Cloudflare’s boss summed up the mood after Monday’s chaos, relieved his firm wasn’t to blame as outages rippled across more than 1,000 companies. Snapchat, Reddit, Roblox, Fortnite, banks, and government portals faltered together, exposing how much of the web leans on Amazon Web Services.

AWS is the backbone for a vast slice of the internet, renting compute, storage, and databases so firms avoid running their own stacks. However, a mundane Domain Name System error in its Northern Virginia region scrambled routing, leaving services online yet unreachable as traffic lost its map.

Engineers call it a classic failure mode: ‘It’s always DNS.’ Misconfigurations, maintenance slips, or server faults can cascade quickly across shared platforms. AWS says teams moved to mitigate, but the episode showed how a small mistake at scale becomes a global headache in minutes.

Experts warned of concentration risk: when one hyperscaler stumbles, many fall. Yet few true alternatives exist at AWS’s scale beyond Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, with smaller rivals from IBM to Alibaba, and fledgling European plays, far behind.

Calls for UK–EU cloud sovereignty are growing, but timelines and costs are steep. Monday’s outage is a reminder that resilience needs multi-region and multi-cloud designs, tested failovers, and clear incident comms, not just faith in a single provider.

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