Data centre planning applications rocketed more than 60 per cent in 2025 January 13, 2026 Data centre planning applications hit an all-time high in the UK in 2025, City AM can reveal, as investors rushed to gain a foothold in the burgeoning AI market. More than 60 separate planning applications for the construction of new data centres were filed in England and Wales over the course of the year, according [...]
OpenAI could face more hurdles for IPO than Anthropic January 12, 2026 As artificial intelligence giants inch towards the public markets, copyright litigation is becoming an increasingly influential factor in how investors assess risk. And with that in mind, Anthropic appears to be starting from a less complicated position than its larger rival, OpenAI. Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence have said the Claude founder faces “significantly less legal [...]
Grok scandal exposes Online Safety Act flaws January 7, 2026 The UK’s relatively new Online Safety Act was sold as its long-overdue answer to the alarming harms of social media. Brits were promised a framework tough enough to bar Silicon Valley access, tough enough to promote innovation, and strong enough to keep its users, particularly children, from digital abuse. Barely months into its rollout, controversial [...]
British shoppers turn to AI as London high street sales falter January 7, 2026 As our beloved high streets grapple with rising business costs, decaying consumer confidence and yet another bout of tax uncertainty, AI agents are reshaping how consumers shop. A report published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) warns that that so-called ‘agentic AI’, a quasi-autonomous form of artificial intelligence, could shift from novelty to norm within [...]
Universal partners with Nvidia to prevent AI ‘slop’ in music January 7, 2026 Universal Music Group has struck a historical deal with AI chip giant Nvidia to “pioneer responsible AI for music discovery, creation, and engagement”, the companies announced on Tuesday. Combining Nvidia’s advanced AI infrastructure alongside Universal’s vast catalogue of tracks, the partnership aims to explore tools that elevate artist creativity, while ensuring copyright compliance and proper [...]
Fashion giant Zara holds a mirror up to retail disruption January 5, 2026 Zara is on a mission to be more digital. From AI generated models, to reduced production timelines, to a new AI-powered virtual try-on feature, the moves point to a wider shift within the sector. The Spanish retail giant has spent the last few weeks modernising its strategy, fully embracing AI adoption to cut costs and [...]
Why 2026 is the year sport needs to confront the man vs machine question January 1, 2026 Man vs machine is the future of sport, whether we like it or not, but what do we want it to look like? If you want to understand where sport is heading, don’t look at the Olympic programme or the Premier League fixture list. Look instead at the strange, noisy, algorithm‑friendly world growing just outside [...]
Why 2025 in sport marketing was the year that changed everything December 30, 2025 For much of the last decade, sports marketing followed a familiar script: globalisation, digital scale and steadily inflating rights fees. In 2025, that script broke. This year forced brands, rights-holders and investors to confront harder truths about attention, technology and value, and in doing so, it reset how sport is bought, sold and measured. From [...]
UK firms eye AI spending in 2026, but skills gap threatens rollout December 30, 2025 A third of British businesses plan to invest in AI in 2026, yet new data suggests the bigger challenge may be readying staff for the technology, rather than rolling it out at speed. Research from Lloyds Bank’s recent business barometer revealed that 33 per cent of firms intend to invest in AI tools next year, [...]
Who still gets hired in the 2026 workplace? December 28, 2025 Britain’s labour market has probably never felt more precarious than it does now, as the struggling economy and the rapid rise of AI take effect. Redundancies are at their highest since the pandemic, unemployment has risen to 5.1 per cent, and entry-level opportunities, the traditional stepping stones for grads and young workers, have all but [...]