Nebius Group has secured $700 million through a private placement, attracting investors such as Nvidia, Accel, and Orbis Investments. The AI infrastructure firm, founded by former Yandex CEO Arkady Volozh, aims to enhance its capabilities to serve artificial intelligence developers globally.
The funding will enable Nebius to accelerate its investments in GPU clusters, cloud platforms, and other AI development tools. Having already committed $1 billion in investments by mid-2025, the firm hinted at potential further expansion. With more than half its clientele based in the United States, Nebius is leasing data centre space in Kansas City, Missouri, and exploring additional growth opportunities.
As part of the placement, Nebius issued 33,333,334 Class A shares at $21 per share, reflecting a slight premium to recent Nasdaq trading averages. The financing was oversubscribed, leading to a revised annualised revenue projection of $750 million to $1 billion by the end of 2025.
Nebius also announced it would no longer pursue a previously approved share buyback, citing strong investor interest and favourable market conditions. Chairman John Boynton stated that shareholders who wished to exit had ample opportunity to do so at competitive prices.
Amazon is developing an AI-designed material aimed at reducing carbon emissions in its data centres. Created by Orbital Materials, the carbon-filtering substance acts like a sponge on an atomic level, selectively capturing CO2. The material represents a step towards Amazon’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Orbital Materials claims the new material could add just 10% to hourly GPU training costs for AI, significantly cheaper than traditional carbon offsets. Data centres increasingly demand more energy and water for cooling, posing sustainability challenges. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s largest cloud-computing provider, plans to trial the innovation in 2025 at a single facility.
The partnership with Orbital spans three years, aiming to explore additional AI-designed materials for water and cooling needs. Orbital uses AI to simulate and develop these substances, with the material being synthesised in its lab established last year. The collaboration also includes making Orbital’s open-source AI tools available to AWS customers.
Orbital, co-founded by Jonathan Godwin, operates from Princeton and London and is backed by Radical Ventures and Nvidia’s venture arm. Godwin, formerly with DeepMind, emphasised the importance of sustainable innovations in addressing growing environmental concerns linked to AI-driven energy demands.
Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest, is trialling an advanced AI system named ‘Amy’ to assist air traffic controllers in managing its crowded airspace. Handling nearly half a million flights annually, Heathrow aims to improve safety and efficiency through real-time data and advanced tracking capabilities provided by the AI system.
Amy integrates radar and 4K video data to give controllers a detailed visualisation of aircraft positions, even when out of sight. Designed by NATS, the UK’s air traffic management agency, the system offers vital information such as flight numbers and aircraft types, helping controllers make faster, more informed decisions. After testing on over 40,000 flights, NATS plans to fully operationalise a ‘digital contingency tower’ by 2027 to ensure backup in emergencies.
Despite its promise, experts caution against over-reliance on AI. They highlight potential limitations, such as insufficient contextual judgment and challenges in handling unexpected scenarios. Colin Rigby from Keele University emphasised that AI should complement human operators rather than replace them.
The adoption of similar AI-driven solutions is being explored by major airports worldwide, including those in Singapore, New York, and Hong Kong, signaling a shift toward digital transformation in air traffic management.
A team from Johns Hopkins and Stanford has trained robotic systems to perform surgical tasks with human-like precision. Using a da Vinci Surgical System, the researchers applied ‘imitation learning,’ where robots observe recorded surgical videos to replicate complex movements like suturing and tissue manipulation. This innovative method eliminates the need for manual programming and allows robots to learn from the combined expertise of skilled surgeons.
The AI-powered system combines imitation learning with advanced machine learning techniques, enabling it to convert visual data into precise robotic actions. Not only does it perform surgical tasks proficiently, but it can also self-correct in real time, such as retrieving a dropped needle without human intervention. Such adaptability could reduce complications and enhance patient outcomes.
This breakthrough accelerates the path toward autonomous robotic surgery. Researchers believe robots can now learn new procedures in days rather than months. While full autonomy in surgery remains a future goal, this advancement marks a significant step toward safer and more accessible healthcare worldwide.
Ann Jensen, a woman from Salisbury, was deceived into losing £20,000 through an AI-powered investment scam that falsely claimed endorsement by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The scammers used deepfake technology to mimic Starmer, promoting a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment opportunity. After persuading her to invest an initial sum, they convinced her to take out a bank loan, only to vanish with the funds.
The scam left Ms. Jensen not only financially devastated but also emotionally shaken, describing the experience as a “physical reaction” where her “body felt like liquid.” Now facing a £23,000 repayment over 27 years, she reflects on the incident as a life-altering crime. “It’s tainted me for life,” she said, emphasising that while she doesn’t feel stupid, she considers herself a victim.
Cybersecurity expert Dr. Jan Collie highlighted how AI tools are weaponised by criminals to clone well-known figures’ voices and mannerisms, making scams appear authentic. She advises vigilance, suggesting people look for telltale signs like mismatched movements or pixelation in videos to avoid falling prey to these sophisticated frauds.
The PongBot, a cutting-edge AI-powered tennis robot, is revolutionising solo tennis practice. Unlike traditional ball machines, this smart device uses a clip-on sensor to track your court position and adjusts its shots in real-time. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player, it simulates match conditions by varying ball speed, spin, and placement, offering a dynamic training experience anytime.
Players can personalise their sessions via the PongBot app, which features up to 300 preprogrammed drills and custom sequences. With speeds of up to 80 mph and an eight-hour battery life, the AI robot provides intense training tailored to skill level. Advanced AI match training makes it feel like playing against a real opponent, pushing players to improve their game.
Initially funded through a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, the PongBot comes in two models priced at $699 and $899. With seamless integration with smart devices like Apple Watch and support from tech giant Qualcomm, this high-tech training partner is set to ship in December, perfect for off-season practice.
French startup Linkup is reshaping how AI applications access web content by creating a marketplace for licensed material. Unlike traditional web scraping, Linkup partners with publishers to fetch content directly through integrated systems, ensuring intellectual property rights are respected. The platform caters to developers enriching large language models (LLMs) with high-quality, fresh data.
CEO Philippe Mizrahi highlighted Linkup’s focus on licensing deals that benefit both publishers and AI developers. The service targets business applications, such as corporate insights or sales tools, utilising databases like Statista and news sources.
With €3 million in seed funding, Linkup aims to expand its team and services, standing out in the growing market of ethical content acquisition for generative AI. Competitors like ScalePost also focus on licensing, indicating a shift in how AI firms source data amid tightening regulations.
Researchers in Canada are using AI to address the accelerating mass extinction of insects. Led by the Montreal Insectarium, the Antenna project combines solar-powered camera traps, high-resolution imaging, and AI algorithms to monitor biodiversity in regions spanning from the Arctic to the Panamanian rainforests. The project aims to double the biodiversity data collected over the last century within five years.
Insects, crucial for global ecosystems, face unprecedented decline due to climate change, habitat destruction, and pesticides. However, the scope of these losses remains difficult to quantify. AI‘s ability to process vast amounts of data offers hope, with early tests in Panama uncovering 300 previously unknown species in a single week.
Focusing initially on moths, the project uses open-source AI models to encourage public participation and collaboration. Researchers aim to expand applications to discover deep-sea species and monitor pests threatening agriculture. Education also plays a role, with museum visitors using apps to identify species.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated an antitrust investigation into Microsoft, examining its software licensing, cloud computing operations, and AI-related practices. Sources indicate the probe, approved by FTC Chair Lina Khan before her anticipated departure, also investigates claims of restrictive licensing aimed at limiting competition in cloud services.
Microsoft is the latest Big Tech firm under regulatory pressure. Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and Amazon face similar lawsuits over alleged monopolistic practices in markets ranging from app stores to advertising. Penalties and court rulings loom as regulators focus on digital fairness.
The FTC’s probe highlights growing concerns about the influence of Big Tech on consumer choice and competition. As scrutiny intensifies, the outcomes could reshape the technology sector’s landscape, impacting businesses and consumers alike.
Luxembourg’s Gcore and the Middle East’s first Edge data centre provider, Qareeb Data Centres, have partnered to deliver AI, cloud, and Edge computing solutions across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. As Qareeb continues its rapid expansion, it is deploying Edge data centres across GCC countries and beyond, with an initial capacity exceeding 50MW.
Notably, its first data centre in Bahrain, developed in collaboration with Batelco and Beyon Group’s Data Oasis, marks a major milestone in its regional growth. At the same time, Gcore leverages its global reach, encompassing 180 points of presence, $60 million in Series A funding, and significant projects such as a GPU cluster at Telia’s Helsinki data centre.
By combining their strengths, the partnership aims to foster innovation, drive economic growth, and accelerate digital transformation in the Middle East, empowering businesses to meet the region’s evolving digital needs. Furthermore, this collaboration aligns with Gcore’s broader initiatives, including its joint venture with Ezditek to establish an AI factory in Saudi Arabia.
By integrating Qareeb’s localised expertise in Edge infrastructure with Gcore’s advanced technologies, the alliance is well-positioned to enhance regional technological capacity, support economic development, and address the increasing demand for digital infrastructure in the GCC and neighbouring markets.
