Wise denied US banking licence in blow to expansion plans July 24, 2026 Shares in Wise plunged on Friday after the firm was denied a US banking licence by regulators, setting back the payments giant in its biggest growth market just months after it switched its primary stock market listing to New York. The London-founded fintech said the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had [...]
Burnham accused of gutting tech department’s ‘biggest strength’ July 23, 2026 Andy Burnham’s decision to abolish the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will split up the teams it was created to bring together, according to its former top civil servant. A leaked internal government document shows AI, digital and science responsibilities being divided between three departments as ministers begin dismantling DSIT less than three [...]
AI spending overshadows Alphabet and Tesla earnings July 23, 2026 Wall Street’s biggest tech companies delivered another round of strong earnings on Wednesday, but the primary focus for investors is the growing cost of the artificial intelligence race. Alphabet and Tesla beat revenue expectations, yet their shares fell in after-hours trading after both companies signalled another year of heavy spending on AI infrastructure. Google-owner Alphabet [...]
BT braces for loss of 800,000 customers as it banks on fibre to keep turnaround ‘on track’ July 23, 2026 BT stuck to its cash targets despite another quarter of flat sales and falling profit, as the telecoms giant pointed to growing demand for its fibre network. The FTSE 100 firm held guidance for around £2bn of free cash flow this year after revenue edged little changed to £4.3bn in the first quarter. Pre-tax profit [...]
UK government probes OpenAI breach after ‘unprecedented’ hack July 22, 2026 The UK government is probing the first known case of an artificial intelligence model breaking out of a controlled test by itself and hacking another company’s systems. Officials at the government-backed AI Security Institute (AISI) are investigating the security breach at OpenAI and whether similar incidents could occur at other top developers, a spokesperson told [...]
Anthropic payout piles pressure on UK ministers in AI copyright row July 22, 2026 The publishing industry has urged ministers to force AI companies to license copyrighted content after Anthropic agreed a record $1.5bn (£1.1bn) settlement over its use of pirated books to train AI models. Dan Conway, chief executive of the Publishers Association, told City AM the agreement should serve as a warning to AI developers operating in [...]
AI reduces founders’ need for capital, says Revolut Business July 22, 2026 AI is reducing the amount of capital startups need to build global businesses, shifting the battle for founders away from funding and towards which countries offer the best environment to scale, according to the head of Revolut Business. Speaking to City AM, James Gibson said AI had dramatically lowered the cost of building and operating [...]
Tiktok pledges three-stage age checks as it pilots alcohol sales July 22, 2026 Tiktok will strictly enforce age checks to block under-18s from buying or even viewing alcohol on Tiktok Shop, City AM understands, as it expands into one of retail’s most tightly regulated categories. The social media giant said its ecommerce platform is strictly for adults and that alcohol sales are being piloted only with a small [...]
‘Phenomenal waste of time’: Burnham slammed over plans to dismantle tech department July 21, 2026 Andy Burnham faced immediate questions over his decision to abolish the tech department on Tuesday, as peers warned the move risked disrupting Britain’s AI strategy. Ministers were hauled before the House of Lords less than a day after the machinery of government changes to the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) were announced, where [...]
‘Fantastic news’ as Burnham brings Britain’s AI minister into Cabinet July 21, 2026 Andy Burnham has promoted Kanishka Narayan to a Cabinet position as Britain’s AI minister as part of his first major government reshuffle, handing artificial intelligence its first dedicated seat at the Cabinet table. Narayan will attend Cabinet for the first time after surviving Burnham’s sweeping reshuffle, which saw several senior ministers leave government and the [...]
