The Rundown: Edition 40 – OpenAI, Anthropic, and Artemis II
OpenAI pauses UK Stargate investment project
OpenAI is putting its plan for a major UK infrastructure project on hold due to high energy prices and regulatory concerns. The US startup revealed plans for the large-scale infrastructure project in September, stating it plans to deploy up to 8,000 GPUs. CNBC
Lloyds Bank turns to Quantum to tackle Fraud
In an experiment run in partnership with IBM and Lloyds Bank, a quantum computer has successfully been used to catch a money mule network. The success follows financial institutions investing heavily in quantum capabilities with the aim of cutting losses from fraud. UKTN
Anthropic finds Claude Mythos “too dangerous” for public use
Anthropic has developed a programme it has deemed “too dangerous” to release to the public. The US startup believes the software is a national security risk after the programme broke out of its controlled environment and boasted about its exploits on public-facing websites. Times
UK Government considers testing banks’ AI models
The Government is weighing up plans to independently evaluate the AI models used by all UK lenders, following a warning from the Bank of England. Starling Bank’s CIO, Harriet Rees, submitted the testing proposal to the Government last month. FT
Hermeus raises $350m for unmanned hypersonic fighters
Hermeus, a defencetech building what it calls the “fastest unmanned aircraft”, has raised $350 million at a $1 billion valuation in a round led by Khosla Ventures, with backing from Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, In-Q-Tel, and RTX Ventures. TechCrunch
MillTech secures £45m Apaz deal for US growth
MillTech, a risk management platform which provides foreign exchange hedging and cash investments for fund managers and corporates, has raised £45 million from Apax Partners, valuing the business at $325 million. BusinessCloud
Trent AI bags £9.7m Seed round
Agentic AI startup Trent AI has emerged from stealth with a £9.7 million Seed round led by LocalGlobe and Cambridge Innovation Capital, with participation from OpenAI, Spotify, Databricks and AWS. UKTN
Italian health tech TeiaCare raises €7m
Italy-based TeiaCare, which develops care-monitoring solutions for residential healthcare, has raised €7 million in a funding round led by P101 SGR, with participation from existing shareholders and new investors including Spanish family offices Namarel and Inderhabs. Tech.EU
What’s the best route for pension scheme investment?
Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), highlights the expanding potential of the UK innovation ecosystem and explores how an extra £20–£30 billion in annual domestic institutional investment could accelerate the growth of the UK’s scaling companies. FTAdviser
Happy Birthday, Liberation Day
Just over a year has passed since US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day”. Dr Tim Hames, Senior Adviser to Treble Peak, explains the effects of tariffs and what he dubs “Complication Day” has had on global economic policy. City AM
First-time funds
Europe saw a rebound in first-time VC funds in 2025, with 53 new funds (up from 34 in 2024). This year, several funds are closing, with a focus on climate, deeptech, defence, and supporting female fund managers – theses that reflect key investment trends. Sifted
The rise and rise of corporate venture capital (CVC)
The role of CVC in Europe’s startup ecosystem is increasing, and InMotion Ventures, Semapa Next, and TDK Ventures are among the investors making a difference. Mike Smeed, Managing Director of InMotion Ventures, believes that, with the right mandate, “the CVC becomes a long-term strategic asset, not a nice-to-have.” Tech Funding News
NASA’s Artemis II crew have inadvertently launched (no pun intended) the “best product placement money can’t buy” when a jar of Nutella floated across a livestream to Earth. While Nutella and the internet were eating up (again, no pun intended) the “ad”, the crew set the record for the longest distance travelled from Earth and documented parts of the Moon that had never been seen before. The astronauts celebrated their lunar expedition and hailed the “golden age of space travel”, and are currently embarking on their return. It’s quite the commute to work.
This week’s big question: what’s your AI etiquette? For example, do you give everyone at work a forewarning that your AI notetaker is there? Watching. Listening. Writing. Many people don’t, and so AI has “become the unseen guest in meetings”. Surely that violates some kind of AI privacy law? Right? There is some guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is conducting a survey of SMEs on the EU Cyber Resilience Act and the EU AI Act to identify relevant organisations that will be affected by the legislation. While AI may remain hidden in meetings, businesses are scrambling to be recognised by the technology as AI search – or zero-click search or generative engine optimisation (GEO) – continues its journey to internet domination. Companies now need to be high in the answers given by AI or risk losing market awareness, website traffic, and potential customers.