Economic

Grok gets a boost: xAI secures $10 billion for AI expansion

xAI, founded by Elon Musk, has secured $10 billion in fresh funding to strengthen its position in the competitive AI landscape. The investment consists of $5 billion in secured loans arranged by Morgan Stanley and a further $5 billion in strategic equity investment.

Morgan Stanley announced the deal on Monday, noting that global investors oversubscribed the debt offering. The firm described the transaction as a strong show of confidence in xAI’s long-term mission to accelerate scientific discovery and deepen humanity’s understanding of the universe.

The newly raised capital will support xAI’s development of a large-scale data centre and continued improvements to its flagship Grok platform. Grok is a conversational AI assistant integrated into Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), and is designed to rival systems from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

Morgan Stanley highlighted that the funding structure—blending debt and equity—lowers xAI’s cost of capital and provides access to a broader pool of long-term funding. The firm also said the financing gives xAI greater flexibility as it scales its infrastructure and operations.

xAI has grown rapidly since its launch, raising $6 billion in a Series B round last year, which valued the company at approximately $24 billion. The additional $10 billion signals growing ambition as it prepares to compete with the most prominent players in AI development.

The Grok platform differentiates itself through its real-time access to social media content and a more informal tone, positioning it as a potentially unique alternative in the generative AI space. With expanded funding, xAI is expected to further invest in data training, hardware, and software refinement.

The funding boost comes as rivals also raise capital to stay ahead in the AI race. In March, OpenAI announced a record-setting $40 billion round led by SoftBank, with Microsoft, Altimeter, and Thrive also participating. The round valued OpenAI at $300 billion post-money.

OpenAI said the funds would allow it to enhance research, expand computing power, and improve products like ChatGPT, now used by over 500 million people weekly. Other firms, including Google and Meta, are also increasing investments in pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

As the battle to dominate AI intensifies, xAI’s latest funding round may mark a turning point, with the firm now better equipped to compete for market share, talent, and technological breakthroughs in an increasingly crowded field.

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AI rock band’s Spotify rise fuels calls for transparency

A mysterious indie rock band called The Velvet Sundown has shot to popularity on Spotify, and may be powered by AI. Their debut track, Dust on the Wind, has racked up over 380,000 plays since 20 June and helped attract more than 470,000 monthly listeners.

The song bears a resemblance to the 1977 Kansas hit Dust in the Wind, prompting suspicion from Reddit users. The band’s profile picture and Instagram photos appear AI-generated, while the band members listed — such as ‘Milo Rains’ and ‘Rio Del Mar’ — have no online trace.

Despite the clues, Spotify does not label the group as AI-generated. Their songs are appearing in curated playlists like Discover Weekly. Only Deezer, a French streaming service, has identified The Velvet Sundown as likely created by generative AI models like Suno or Udio.

Deezer began tagging AI music in June and now detects over 20,000 entirely artificial tracks each day. Another AI band, The Devil Inside, has also gained traction. Their song Bones in the River has over 1.6 million plays on Spotify, but lacks credited creators.

On Deezer, the same track is labelled as AI-generated and linked to Hungarian musician László Tamási — a rare human credit for bot-made music. While Deezer takes a transparent approach, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music have not announced detection systems or labelling plans.

Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier said AI is ‘not inherently good or bad,’ but called for transparency to protect artist rights and user trust. Legal battles are already underway. US record labels have sued Suno and Udio for mass copyright infringement, though the companies argue it falls under fair use.

As AI-generated music continues to rise, platforms face increasing pressure to inform users and draw more precise lines between human and machine-made art.

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Apple may use ChatGPT or Claude to power Siri

Apple is reportedly in talks with OpenAI and Anthropic as it considers outsourcing AI technology for its voice assistant, Siri.

The discussions are said to include the possibility of training versions of ChatGPT or Claude to run on Apple’s cloud infrastructure. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is currently leaning towards Anthropic’s Claude as a better fit for Siri, although no final decision has been made.

While Apple already allows users to access ChatGPT through its Apple Intelligence platform, the integration is currently optional and user-driven.

What is now under consideration would mark a significant shift, such as choosing a third-party model to power Siri directly. The initiative comes as the company struggles to keep pace in a rapidly advancing AI market dominated by Google, OpenAI, and others.

Apple is still developing its large language models under a project codenamed LLM Siri. However, these in-house systems are reportedly lagging behind leading models already available.

Should Apple proceed with a third-party integration, it would signal a rare admission that its internal AI efforts are not enough to compete at the highest level.

Once celebrated for breakthrough innovations like the iPhone, Apple has faced growing criticism for a lack of fresh ideas. With rivals embedding generative AI into everyday tools, the pressure is mounting.

If Siri remains limited — still unable to answer basic questions — Apple risks alienating even its most loyal users. Whether through partnership or internal progress, the company now faces a narrowing window to prove it still leads, instead of follows.

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Meta’s Facebook uses phone photos for AI if users allow it

Meta has introduced a new feature that allows Facebook to access and analyse users’ photos stored on their phones, provided they give explicit permission.

The move is part of a broader push to improve the company’s AI tools, especially after the underwhelming reception of its Llama 4 model. Users who opt in will be agreeing to Meta’s AI Terms of Service, which grants the platform the right to retain and use personal media for content suggestions.

The new feature, currently being tested in the US and Canada, is designed to offer Facebook users creative ideas for Stories by processing their photos and videos through cloud infrastructure.

When enabled, users may receive suggestions such as collages or travel highlights based on when and where images were captured, as well as who or what appears in them. However, participation is strictly optional and can be turned off at any time.

Facebook clarifies that the media analysed under the feature is not used to train AI models in the current test. Still, the system does upload selected media to Meta’s servers on an ongoing basis, raising privacy concerns.

The option to activate these suggestions can be found in the Facebook app’s settings, where users are asked whether they want camera roll data to inform sharing ideas.

Meta has been actively promoting its AI ambitions, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushing for the development of ‘superintelligence’. The company recently launched Meta Superintelligence Labs to lead these efforts.

Despite facing stiff competition from OpenAI, DeepSeek and Google, Meta appears determined to deepen its use of personal data to boost its AI capabilities.

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Africa risks being left behind in global AI development

Africa is falling far behind in the global race to develop AI, according to a new report by Oxford University.

The study mapped the location of advanced AI infrastructure and revealed that only 32 countries — just 16% of the world — currently operate major AI data centres.

These facilities are essential for training and developing modern AI systems. In contrast, most African nations remain dependent on foreign technology providers, limiting their control over digital development.

Rather than building local capacity, Africa has essentially been treated as a market for AI products developed elsewhere. Regional leaders have often focused on distributing global tech tools instead of investing in infrastructure for homegrown innovation.

One notable exception is Strive Masiyiwa’s Cassava Technologies, which recently partnered with Nvidia to launch the continent’s first AI factory, which is located in South Africa. The project aims to expand across Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria.

Unlike typical data centres, an AI factory is explicitly built to support the full AI lifecycle, from raw data to trained models. Nvidia’s GPUs will power the facility, enabling ‘AI as a service’ to be used by governments, businesses, and researchers across the continent.

Cassava’s model offers a more sustainable vision, where African data is used to create local solutions, instead of exporting value abroad.

Experts argue that Africa needs more such initiatives to reduce dependence and participate meaningfully in the AI economy. An AI Fund supported by leading African nations could help finance new factories and infrastructure.

With time running out, leaders must move beyond surface-level engagement and begin coordinated action to address the continent’s growing digital divide.

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OpenInfra Summit Europe brings focus on AI and VMware alternatives

The OpenInfra Foundation and its global community will gather at the OpenInfra Summit Europe from 17 to 19 October in Paris-Saclay to explore how open source is reshaping digital infrastructure.

It will be the first summit since the Foundation joined the Linux Foundation, uniting major projects such as Linux, Kubernetes and OpenStack under the OpenInfra Blueprint. The agenda includes a strong focus on digital sovereignty, VMware migration strategies and infrastructure support for AI workloads.

Taking place at École Polytechnique in Palaiseau, the summit arrives at a time when open source software is powering nearly $9 trillion of economic activity.

With over 38% of the global OpenInfra community based in Europe, the event will focus on regional priorities like data control, security, and compliance with new EU regulations such as the Cyber Resilience Act.

Developers, IT leaders and business strategists will explore how projects like Kata Containers, Ceph and RISC-V integrate to support cost-effective, scalable infrastructure.

The summit will also mark OpenStack’s 15th anniversary, with use cases shared by the UN, BMW and nonprofit Restos du Coeur.

Attendees will witness a live VMware migration demo featuring companies like Canonical and Rackspace, highlighting real-world approaches to transitioning away from proprietary platforms. Sessions will dive into topics like CI pipelines, AI-powered infrastructure, and cloud-native operations.

As a community-led event, OpenInfra Summit Europe remains focused on collaboration.

With sponsors including Canonical, Mirantis, Red Hat and others, the gathering offers developers and organisations an opportunity to share best practices, shape open source development, and strengthen the global infrastructure ecosystem.

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Lung cancer caught early thanks to AI

A 69-year-old woman from Surrey has credited AI with saving her life after it detected lung cancer that human radiologists initially missed.

The software flagged a concerning anomaly in a chest X-ray that had been given the all-clear, prompting urgent follow-up and surgery.

NHS hospitals increasingly use AI tools like Annalise.ai, which analyses scans and prioritises urgent cases for radiologists.

Dianne Covey, whose tumour was caught at stage one, avoided chemotherapy or radiotherapy and has since made a full recovery.

With investments exceeding £36 million, the UK government and NHS are rapidly deploying AI to improve cancer diagnosis rates and reduce waiting times. AI has now been trialled or implemented across more than 45 NHS trusts and is also used for skin and prostate cancer detection.

Doctors and technologists say AI is not replacing medical professionals but enhancing their capabilities by highlighting critical cases and improving speed.

Experts warn that outdated machines, biassed training data and over-reliance on consumer AI tools remain risks to patient outcomes.

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South Korea pauses central bank digital currency project

South Korea’s central bank has paused its second testing phase for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), initially scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025. Banks in the pilot were told of the temporary halt due to high costs and a lack of a clear commercial plan.

Attention is now shifting towards the regulation and promotion of won-backed stablecoins. The government is fast-tracking legislation under the Digital Asset Basic Act, which would establish licensing, reserve management, and user protection standards for stablecoin issuers.

President Lee Jae-Myung has prioritised developing these digital tokens, aiming to bolster South Korea’s monetary sovereignty.

Domestic lawmakers argue that Korean crypto markets are overly dependent on US dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, which could undermine local financial policy.

Eight central Korean banks, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, and Woori, have launched a joint effort to issue a won-pegged stablecoin, showing strong commercial interest.

Officials caution that South Korea risks falling behind global competitors in stablecoin innovation without swift regulatory action. The market’s potential is seen as vast, possibly surpassing important sectors like AI and semiconductors.

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Balancing security and usability in digital authentication

A report by the FIDO Alliance revealed that 53% of consumers observed an increase in suspicious messages in 2024, with SMS, emails, and phone calls being the primary vectors.

As digital scams and AI-driven fraud rise, businesses face growing pressure to strengthen authentication methods without compromising user experience.

No clear standard has emerged despite the range of available authentication options—including passkeys, one-time passwords (OTP), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and biometric systems.

Industry experts warn that focusing solely on advanced tools can lead to overlooking basic user needs. Minor authentication hurdles such as CAPTCHA errors have led to customer drop-offs and failed transactions.

Organisations are exploring risk-based, adaptive authentication models that adjust security levels based on user behaviour and context. The systems could eventually replace static logins with continuous, behind-the-scenes verification.

AI complicates the landscape further. As autonomous assistants handle tasks like booking tickets or making purchases, distinguishing legitimate user activity from malicious bots becomes increasingly tricky.

With no universal solution, experts say businesses must offer a flexible range of secure options tailored to user preferences. The challenge remains to find the right balance between security and usability in an evolving threat environment.

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Meta expands AI ambitions with more OpenAI hires

According to a report published by The Information on Sunday, Meta Platforms has hired four additional researchers from OpenAI.

The researchers—Shengjia Zhao, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren—are set to join Meta’s AI team as part of a broader recruitment drive. All four were previously involved in AI development at OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed company behind ChatGPT and other generative models.

Earlier in the week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta had hired three more OpenAI researchers—Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov and Xiaohua Zhai—based in the firm’s Zurich office.

The hires reflect Meta’s increased investment in advanced AI research, particularly in ‘superintelligence’, a term CEO Mark Zuckerberg has used to describe future AI capabilities.

Meta and OpenAI have not yet responded to requests for comment. Reuters noted that it could not independently verify the hiring details at the time of reporting.

With growing competition among tech giants in AI innovation, Meta’s continued talent acquisition suggests a clear intention to strengthen its internal capabilities through strategic hiring.

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