Future of work

OpenAI and Microsoft sign new $135 billion agreement to deepen AI partnership

Microsoft and OpenAI have signed a new agreement that marks the next phase of their long-standing partnership, deepening ties first formed in 2019.

The updated deal builds on years of collaboration in advancing responsible AI, positioning both organisations for long-term success while introducing new structural and operational changes.

Under the new arrangement, Microsoft supports OpenAI’s transition into a public benefit corporation (PBC) and recapitalisation. The technology giant now holds an investment valued at around $135 billion, representing about 27 percent of OpenAI Group PBC on an as-converted diluted basis.

Despite OpenAI’s recent funding rounds, Microsoft previously held a 32.5 percent stake in the for-profit entity.

The partnership maintains Microsoft’s exclusive rights to OpenAI’s frontier models and Azure API until artificial general intelligence (AGI) is achieved, but also introduces several new terms. Once AGI is declared, an independent panel will verify it.

Microsoft’s intellectual property rights are extended through 2032, including models developed after AGI with safety conditions. OpenAI may now co-develop certain products with third parties, while retaining the option to serve non-API products on any cloud provider.

OpenAI will purchase an additional $250 billion worth of Azure services, although Microsoft will no longer hold first-refusal rights for compute supply. The new framework allows both organisations to innovate independently, with Microsoft permitted to pursue AGI independently or with other partners.

The updated agreement reflects a more flexible collaboration that balances independence, growth, and shared innovation.

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Yuan says AI ‘digital twins’ could trim meetings and the workweek

AI could shorten the workweek, says Zoom’s Eric Yuan. At TechCrunch Disrupt, he pitched AI ‘digital twins’ that attend meetings, negotiate drafts, and triage email, arguing assistants will shoulder routine tasks so humans focus on judgement.

Yuan has already used an AI avatar on an investor call to show how a stand-in can speak on your behalf. He said Zoom will keep investing heavily in assistants that understand context, prioritise messages, and draft responses.

Use cases extend beyond meetings. Yuan described counterparts sending their digital twins to hash out deal terms before principals join to resolve open issues, saving hours of live negotiation and accelerating consensus across teams and time zones.

Zoom plans to infuse AI across its suite, including whiteboards and collaborative docs, so work moves even when people are offline. Yuan said assistants will surface what matters, propose actions, and help execute routine workflows securely.

If adoption scales, Yuan sees schedules changing. He floated a five-year goal where many knowledge workers shift to three or four days a week, with AI increasing throughput, reducing meeting load, and improving focus time across organisations.

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Amazon plans up to 30,000 corporate job cuts as AI automation expands

Beginning Tuesday, Amazon plans to cut up to 30,000 corporate roles, nearly 10% of its white-collar workforce, to reduce costs after pandemic over-hiring.

Cuts may hit human resources, operations, devices and services, and Amazon Web Services. According to people familiar with the policy, the company has also tightened office-attendance rules; employees who are not swiping in daily have been told they are considered to have resigned without severance.

Analysts say AI-driven productivity gains and the need to fund long-term AI infrastructure are key factors behind the reductions in staff. Executives have indicated that greater use of automation and AI to handle routine tasks will drive further reductions.

Internal planning papers reported in US media suggest the company could avoid hiring more than 500,000 US workers by 2033, yielding around $12.6 billion in savings between 2025 and 2027.

The scale and timing of the layoffs could change as financial priorities evolve. Separately, Amazon still expects a busy holiday period and plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers for warehouses and fulfilment roles unrelated to the corporate cuts.

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A generative AI model helps athletes avoid injuries and recover faster

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have developed a generative AI model designed to prevent sports injuries and assist rehabilitation.

The system, named BIGE (Biomechanics-informed GenAI for Exercise Science), integrates data on human motion with biomechanical constraints such as muscle force limits to create realistic training guidance.

BIGE can generate video demonstrations of optimal movements that athletes can imitate to enhance performance or avoid injury. It can also produce adaptive motions suited for athletes recovering from injuries, offering a personalised approach to rehabilitation.

The model merges generative AI with accurate modelling, overcoming limitations of previous systems that produced anatomically unrealistic results or required heavy computational resources.

To train BIGE, researchers used motion-capture data of athletes performing squats, converting them into 3D skeletal models with precise force calculations. The project’s next phase will expand to other types of movements and individualised training models.

Beyond sports, researchers suggest the tool could predict fall risks among the elderly. Professor Andrew McCulloch described the technology as ‘the future of exercise science’, while co-author Professor Rose Yu said its methods could be widely applied across healthcare and fitness.

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FDA and patent law create dual hurdles for AI-enabled medical technologies

AI reshapes healthcare by powering more precise and adaptive medical devices and diagnostic systems.

Yet, innovators face two significant challenges: navigating the US Food and Drug Administration’s evolving regulatory framework and overcoming legal uncertainty under US patent law.

These two systems, although interconnected, serve different goals. The FDA protects patients, while patent law rewards invention.

The FDA’s latest guidance seeks to adapt oversight for AI-enabled medical technologies that change over time. Its framework for predetermined change control plans allows developers to update AI models without resubmitting complete applications, provided updates stay within approved limits.

An approach that promotes innovation while maintaining transparency, bias control and post-market safety. By clarifying how adaptive AI devices can evolve safely, the FDA aims to balance accountability with progress.

Patent protection remains more complex. US courts continue to exclude non-human inventors, creating tension when AI contributes to discoveries.

Legal precedents such as Thaler vs Vidal and Alice Corp. vs CLS Bank limit patent eligibility for algorithms or diagnostic methods that resemble abstract ideas or natural laws. Companies must show human-led innovation and technical improvement beyond routine computation to secure patents.

Aligning regulatory and intellectual property strategies is now essential. Developers who engage regulators early, design flexible change control plans and coordinate patent claims with development timelines can reduce risk and accelerate market entry.

Integrating these processes helps ensure AI technologies in healthcare advance safely while preserving inventors’ rights and innovation incentives.

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AMD powers US AI factory supercomputers for national research

The US Department of Energy and AMD are joining forces to expand America’s AI and scientific computing power through two new supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Named Lux and Discovery, the systems will drive the country’s sovereign AI strategy, combining public and private investment worth around $1 billion to strengthen research, innovation, and security infrastructure.

Lux, arriving in 2026, will become the nation’s first dedicated AI factory for science.

Built with AMD’s EPYC CPUs and Instinct GPUs alongside Oracle and HPE technologies, Lux will accelerate research across materials, medicine, and advanced manufacturing, supporting the US AI Action Plan and boosting the Department of Energy’s AI capacity.

Discovery, set for deployment in 2028, will deepen collaboration between the DOE, AMD, and HPE. Powered by AMD’s next-generation ‘Venice’ CPUs and MI430X GPUs, Discovery will train and deploy AI models on secure US-built systems, protecting national data and competitiveness.

It aims to deliver faster energy, biology, and national security breakthroughs while maintaining high efficiency and open standards.

AMD’s CEO, Dr Lisa Su, said the collaboration represents the best public-private partnerships, advancing the nation’s foundation for science and innovation.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright described the initiative as proof that America leads when government and industry work together toward shared AI and scientific goals.

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Virginia’s data centre boom divides residents and industry

Loudoun County in Virginia, known as Data Center Alley, now hosts nearly 200 data centres powering much of the world’s internet and AI infrastructure. Their growth has brought vast economic benefits but stirred concerns about noise, pollution, and rising energy bills for nearby residents.

The facilities occupy about 3% of the county’s land yet generate 40% of its tax revenue. Locals say the constant humming and industrial sprawl have driven away wildlife and inflated electricity costs, which have surged by over 250% in five years.

Despite opposition, new US and global data centre projects continue to receive state support. The industry contributes $5.5 billion annually to Virginia’s economy and sustains around 74,000 jobs. Additionally, President Trump’s administration recently pledged to accelerate permits.

Residents like Emily Kasabian argue the expansion is eroding community life, replacing trees with concrete and machinery to fuel AI. Activists are now lobbying for construction pauses, warning that unchecked development threatens to transform affluent suburbs beyond recognition.

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Qualcomm and HUMAIN power Saudi Arabia’s AI transformation

HUMAIN and Qualcomm Technologies have launched a collaboration to deploy advanced AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, aiming to position the Kingdom as a global hub for AI.

Announced ahead of the Future Investment Initiative conference, the project will deliver the world’s first fully optimised edge-to-cloud AI system, expanding Saudi Arabia’s regional and global inferencing services capabilities.

In 2026, HUMAIN plans to deploy 200 megawatts of Qualcomm’s AI200 and AI250 rack solutions to power large-scale AI inference services.

The partnership combines HUMAIN’s regional infrastructure and full AI stack with Qualcomm’s semiconductor expertise, creating a model for nations seeking to develop sovereign AI ecosystems.

However, the initiative will also integrate HUMAIN’s Saudi-developed ALLaM models with Qualcomm’s AI platforms, offering enterprise and government customers tailor-made solutions for industry-specific needs.

The collaboration supports Saudi Arabia’s strategy to drive economic growth through AI and semiconductor innovation, reinforcing its ambition to lead the next wave of global intelligent computing.

Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon said the partnership would help the Kingdom build a technology ecosystem to accelerate its AI ambitions.

HUMAIN CEO Tareq Amin added that combining local insight with Qualcomm’s product leadership will establish Saudi Arabia as a key player in global AI and semiconductor development.

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Anthropic boosts cloud capacity with Google’s AI hardware

Anthropic has struck a multibillion-dollar deal with Google to expand its use of cloud computing and specialised AI chips. The agreement includes the purchase of up to one million Tensor Processing Units, Google’s custom hardware built to train and run large AI models.

The partnership will provide Anthropic with more than a gigawatt of additional computing power by late 2026. Executives said the move will support soaring demand for its Claude model family, which already serves over 300,000 business clients.

Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, has quickly become a major player in generative AI. Backed by Amazon and valued at $183 billion, the company recently launched Claude Sonnet 4.5, praised for its coding and reasoning abilities.

Google continues to invest heavily in AI hardware to compete with Nvidia’s GPUs and rival US tech giants. Analysts said Anthropic’s expansion signals intensifying demand for computing power as companies race to lead the global AI revolution.

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Tech giants push AI agents into web browsing

Tech companies are intensifying competition to reshape how people search online through AI-powered browsers. OpenAI’s new Atlas browser, built around ChatGPT, can generate answers and complete web-based tasks such as making shopping lists or reservations.

Atlas joins rivals like Microsoft’s Copilot-enabled Edge, Perplexity’s Comet, and newer platforms Dia and Neon. Developers are moving beyond traditional assistants, creating ‘agentic’ AI capable of acting autonomously while keeping user experience familiar.

Google remains dominant, with Chrome holding over 70 percent of the browser market and integrating limited AI features. Analysts say OpenAI could challenge that control by combining ChatGPT insights with browser behaviour to personalise search and advertising.

Experts note the battle extends beyond browsers as wearables and voice interfaces evolve. Controlling how users interact with AI today, they argue, could determine which company shapes digital habits in the coming decade.

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