The Rundown: Edition 41 – Sovereign AI Fund, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and energy prices
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UK Government launches £500m Sovereign AI Fund
The Government has launched a £500 million sovereign AI fund to drive the development of British AI companies and enable them to compete on the global stage. The fund will combine capital with access to the UK’s fastest AI supercomputers and R&D support. UKTN
Wise confirms UK to US listing switch
Wise, the fintech unicorn, has confirmed plans to switch its primary listing to the US this quarter. The announcement comes as the company plans to release its latest earnings in dollars, paving the way for a US IPO. City AM
Starmer backs age verification for social media
Sir Keir Starmer has told social media companies to adopt age-verification checks used by adult sites. The move follows growing pressure for the Government to tackle the online dangers platforms such as Meta, TikTok, Snap and X pose to young people. FT
Finance ministers and bankers sound alarm over Mythos AI
Finance ministers and central bankers have expressed serious concern about the potential of the Claude Mythos model, developed by Anthropic, to undermine the security of financial systems. Guardian
Wayve raises additional $60m to take on Alphabet
Wayve, the autonomous driving startup, has raised $60 million from investors including chip giants Qualcomm, AMD and Arm. The funding, which comes two months after it raised $1.2 billion at an $8.6 billion valuation, will enable Wayve to take on rivals such as Alphabet’s Waymo. CNBC
British Business Bank commits £100m to healthcare fund
The British Business Bank (BBB) has invested £100 million in Apposite Healthcare Growth I, a fund investing to bridge the funding gap for UK life sciences companies. It is the BBB’s largest fund commitment to date. Tech.EU
Plymouth’s Altilium awarded £18.5m for EV battery recycling
Altilium, a Plymouth-based clean tech business, has received £18.5 million in grant funding through the UK government’s DRIVE35 Scale-Up Fund to build the UK’s first electric vehicle battery recycling plant. BusinessCloud
Fintech Round raises £4.5m to fuel growth
Round, which automates tasks such as payments, payroll and cash management, has raised £4.5 million in a funding round led by Alstin Capital, with participation from BACKED VC and Love Ventures. UKTN
Pan-seared scallops with a side of VC
In the latest ‘Lunch with The Times’, Sir Nigel Wilson, Chairman of Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), discussed the OxCam cluster, his determination to get more pension funds into private assets, and the importance of encouraging undergraduates to become entrepreneurs. Times
The defence-economy paradox
Higher defence spending may boost growth, but gains are uncertain and often leak abroad, writes Daire MacFadden. Funding it through borrowing raises deficits and debt costs, especially for strained economies. Meanwhile, weak population growth could stall job creation, forcing economies to rely on productivity instead. FT
Hungary moves closer to EU integration
Péter Magyar defeated the incumbent Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a landslide. Mike Rosenberg, Professor at IESE Business School, believes Magyar has “clearly won a mandate from the Hungarian people for closer ties [with the EU].” Times
What do phones and space have in common?
Innovation often starts with legal rules; without them, tech may never take off – just look at smartphones. According to Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, this logic could apply to space: clear property rights today could unlock tomorrow’s space economy. City AM
Sovereign AI fund protects against Trump chaos
The government’s £500 million sovereign AI fund is an important move to avoid reliance on US capital amid the volatile Trump administration, according to Calum Chace, Co-Founder of AI research lab Conscium. UKTN
What goes up must come down, right? I mean, Sir Isaac Newton said so (or something to that effect) with his Law of Universal Gravitation, and so did Tyrone Davis with his 1970s classic song. So, surely energy prices will eventually have to fall? In case they don’t, the EU is planning an emergency change to state aid rules to combat skyrocketing energy costs. However, Wopke Hoekstra, EU Climate Commissioner, has said there is “no financial workaround” for what he describes as “mind-boggling” energy price rises in Europe. Perhaps we’ll see an influx of climate and energy tech companies that can offset the current supply chain issues. Or maybe, we’ll see companies like Ayr Energy thrive. Unlike many new kids on the block, which have tried to reinvent the wheel, Ayr Energy has continued to make transformers with iron cores, the same tech used in the grid for more than 100 years. There might even be more countries like the UK, whose National Energy System Operator will soon pay some households to use more electricity at certain times to utilise surplus power supplies.
Speaking of energy requirements, the proposed Wapseys Wood AI data centre in Buckinghamshire will be powered by gas to provide “a resilient and reliable power supply”. The £2 billion “nationally significant” data centre ever-so-slightly contradicts the UK’s net-zero goals. Previously discussed in The Rundown: Edition 35, this topic shows no signs of slowing down. Without such hyperscale data centres, how else would we frighten the banking industry with Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model, generate false statements to shut down nightclubs, forge bogus insurance claims, or do away with critical thinking? Note, we’re being glib for comedic effect, and understand there are countless benefits of AI – such as creating ‘Fruit Love Island‘, or better yet, saving lives.