Kanishka Narayan becomes the UK’s first cabinet-level AI minister
Kanishka Narayan becomes the UK’s first cabinet-level AI minister

Kanishka Narayan has become the first UK minister for artificial intelligence to sit at the cabinet table, a promotion that arrives as new prime minister Andy Burnham reshapes Whitehall around the technology. Narayan, the MP for the Vale of Glamorgan a…

UK finance chiefs are warming to AI, even as they keep spending in check
UK finance chiefs are warming to AI, even as they keep spending in check

Nearly three-quarters of the finance chiefs at Britain’s largest companies now say they are optimistic that artificial intelligence will improve business performance, a striking figure from a group not given to exuberance. In Deloitte’s latest quarterl…

The UK won’t restrict VPNs after all, and its own research is why
The UK won’t restrict VPNs after all, and its own research is why

The UK looked set to crack down on VPNs as it tightens the rules for children online. Instead it has backed off, and its own research is the reason why. Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan put it plainly on the BBC. “We decided not to limit VPNs,” …

The UK just proposed a midnight social media curfew for teens that they can bypass in seconds

The UK government has proposed a midnight curfew that would lock 16 and 17-year-olds out of apps like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, but the restriction can be switched off with just a few taps.

UK proposes a midnight social media curfew for older teens
UK proposes a midnight social media curfew for older teens

The UK government has proposed a midnight social media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds, plus limits on infinite scrolling. The UK social media curfew would switch on by default, though teens could turn it off. The government set out the measures on Wedn…

Velocity raises $38M to move business money with stablecoins
Velocity raises $38M to move business money with stablecoins

London fintech Velocity has raised a $38 million Series A to help businesses move money with stablecoins. The Velocity Series A, led by Dragonfly and FirstMark, brings the two-year-old company’s total funding to nearly $50 million. Velocity builds trea…

Britain’s flagship AI data centre can’t get the power to switch on
Britain’s flagship AI data centre can’t get the power to switch on

Britain wants to be an AI superpower. One of its flagship data centres cannot get the electricity to switch on. Nscale’s £2bn Essex site has the money, the planning permission, and a grid connection, but no power arriving in time. Nscale has the cash, …

Moneybox is Europe’s newest unicorn, and it’s testing London’s new private market to prove it
Moneybox is Europe’s newest unicorn, and it’s testing London’s new private market to prove it

Moneybox is Europe’s newest unicorn, worth £800m, or $1.1bn. But no fundraise set that price. Staff did, by selling shares on London’s untested new private market. Moneybox, the British savings and investing app, is now a unicorn. It has put a value of…

Valarian raised $50m to help governments use US cloud without losing control of it
Valarian raised $50m to help governments use US cloud without losing control of it

A London startup co-founded by a former Palantir executive has raised $50m to help governments and companies use American cloud and AI without letting America reach inside. The fear driving it stopped being hypothetical this year. Valarian, a London-ba…

The EU has stopped sanctioning Russian hackers and started sanctioning the machine that makes them
The EU has stopped sanctioning Russian hackers and started sanctioning the machine that makes them

The European Union and the United Kingdom have jointly sanctioned Russia’s cyber apparatus for the first time. The EU listed nine individuals and four entities, while the UK went further with 24, Politico reports. The language is what matters here. The…