Zain Kuwait supports Injaz student competition
KUWAIT 15 JUN

Zain Kuwait supports Injaz student competition

Zain Kuwait has supported the 20th annual company programme competition for high school and university students, organised by Injaz Kuwait. This year's high school category had around 100 pupil participants from various public and private schools competing in twelve teams through projects focusing on AI, sustainability, digital transformation and smart community services. The university category featured ten teams who competed through entrepreneurial projects and innovative ideas designed to address real-wo

Meta rolls out VR, AI concessions at Best Buy stores
NORTH AMERICA 15 JUN

Meta rolls out VR, AI concessions at Best Buy stores

Meta has announced a partnership with North American retailer Best Buy, preceding the roll-out of 50 in-store concessions in the US and Canada to highlight AI and VR experiences from its Meta Lab subsidiary. The collaboration envisages a 900 square foot (84 square metres) format that lets consumers try out Meta's AI glasses and VR headsets. These products will be configured for interactive demos and personalised content, with support on hand from a dedicated Meta sales team. The first concession launches la

OpenText confirms EUR 105 million new investment in Ireland
IRELAND 15 JUN

OpenText confirms EUR 105 million new investment in Ireland

OpenText, Canadian enterprise software company specialising in information management and AI, will invest EUR 105 million over the next three years to create 400 new jobs at its Cork and Galway sites in Ireland. This doubles the company's investment in Ireland, and will expand its agentic AI, cyber security, sovereign cloud and digital operations capabilities for customers across the EMEA region. The investment is supported by the Irish government through IDA Ireland. 

Almost eight in ten CSPs have commercial leads on sovereign AI
GLOBAL 15 JUN

Almost eight in ten CSPs have commercial leads on sovereign AI

A majority of communication service providers (CSPs) polled by TM Forum are forging ahead with sovereign AI projects, though a full consensus is yet to emerge on the right approach. The figures, published ahead of TM Forum's flagship DTW Ignite event, indicate 77 percent of the panel had commercial leads lined up to monetise sovereign AI and related capabilities, targeting strict performance criteria such as governance, infrastructure autonomy and data sovereignty.

Brazil and EU forge digital partnership
BRAZIL 15 JUN

Brazil and EU forge digital partnership

Brazil and the European Union have formalised a Digital Partnership to establish international cooperation in critical areas such as data governance, AI, 5G and 6G network infrastructure development, high-capacity connectivity, and digital public goods and services platforms. Beyond bilateral initiatives, the partnership will also involve political coordination in major global forums like the UN, G20, ITU, Unesco and ICANN, as well as technical standardisation bodies such as ISO, IEEE and 3GPP.

Swedish tech research university KTH joins Telia-Brookfield sovereign AI partnership
SWEDEN 15 JUN

Swedish tech research university KTH joins Telia-Brookfield sovereign AI partnership

Telia Company has announced memorandum of understanding with Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Brookfield to form a partnership to develop sovereign artificial intelligence services and applications. Telia and Brookfield had already declared a sovereign AI tie-up in March this year. They will now leverage KTH's position at the centre of Sweden's innovation ecosystem.

Anthropic withdraws top AI models after US security objections
GLOBAL 15 JUN

Anthropic withdraws top AI models after US security objections

Anthropic has withdrawn access to its most advanced AI models following security concerns expressed by the US government. The US authorities issued an export ban on the company's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, meaning no foreigners, in the US or elsewhere, even those working at Anthropic, can use the models legally. Anthropic says this means it must block use of the models for everyone in order to ensure compliance. Its other models are unaffected. 

Korea Telecom rolls out multilingual AI counsellors in retail stores
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 15 JUN

Korea Telecom rolls out multilingual AI counsellors in retail stores

Korea Telecom (KT) has introduced a new multilingual AI counsellor service in its retail stores to improve support for foreign customers and streamline in-store consultations. The AI-powered system supports more than 20 languages, including English, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese, and provides information on mobile plans, value-added services, subscription procedures and membership benefits. The service is designed to help customers better understand KT's telecommunications products and terms of service in th

Naver Cloud outlines sovereign AI strategy for defence applications
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 15 JUN

Naver Cloud outlines sovereign AI strategy for defence applications

Naver Cloud has outlined its approach to deploying AI in defence environments, highlighting multimodal AI, edge infrastructure and field-based engineering support as key components of its strategy. The company presented its plans during a defence AI transformation seminar held at the InLEX Korea Defence Industry Development Expo in Daejeon, attended by representatives from the defence, defence industry and ICT sectors.

Kainos to create over 300 new jobs in N Ireland
UNITED KINGDOM 12 JUN

Kainos to create over 300 new jobs in N Ireland

Kainos, Belfast-based digital transformation and IT services group, plans to create 341 new jobs in Northern Ireland over the next three years. The new jobs will support an expansion of its AI capabilities in response to rising demand from customers. Most of the new roles will be located in Belfast, with 32 based at the company's Derry/Londonderry office. The the Northern Ireland government is supporting the expansion with GBP 1.5 million of funding through Invest NI. 

China Mobile and 21st Century Technologies form partnership at Lekki data centre
NIGERIA 12 JUN

China Mobile and 21st Century Technologies form partnership at Lekki data centre

Nigeria's 21st Century Technologies has begun an AI-ready sovereign cloud platform in partnership with China Mobile International (CMI). The deployment phase is under way at 21st Century's primary data centre footprint in Lekki, Lagos.Wale Ajisebutu, chairman and CEO of 21st Century Technologies, said the partnership combines his company's nearly 30 years of digital infrastructure investments in Nigeria with China Mobile International's advanced products.

E& signs innovation and AI partnership with Ajman Transport Authority
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 12 JUN

E& signs innovation and AI partnership with Ajman Transport Authority

E& UAE has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ajman Transport Authority to accelerate digital innovation and integrate artificial intelligence (AI) across the authority's operations. They will explore agentic AI applications that support back-office functions, including automating human resources and finance processes, responding to employee enquiries, supporting leave and payroll management, and contributing to financial reporting. They will optimise bus route planning and scheduling through t

SPAIN 12 JUN

Spanish AI robotics startup Theker raises EUR 73 mln from CRV, Samsung, LVMH

Barcelona-based AI robotics startup Theker has raised EUR 73 million in a Series A funding round led by US venture capital firm CRV, with participation from Samsung and French luxury group LVMH. Founded in 2022 by engineers Jiaqiang Ye Zhu and Carla Gómez, Theker develops robots powered by artificial intelligence, computer vision and deep learning to automate tasks in industrial environments.

UNITED STATES 12 JUN

Google provides USD 50 mln funding for skilled trades development

Google has announced new funding of USD 50 million from the Google.org foundation to support trade skills development for over 300,000 US workers across more than 20 states. The funding will be given to training experts delivering skilled trades training, with their work supporting 14 labour unions and four trade/contractor associations. Google has provided over USD 1 billion since 2022 to support worker training and skilling programmes worldwide. 

FRANCE 12 JUN

OVHcloud in talks to acquire AI speech-to-text start-up in France

OVHcloud has announced exclusive talks to acquire Gladia, a French start-up founded in 2022 that specialises in AI-enabled speech-to-text transcription and similar audio applications. Gladia's capabilities, managed through a single API, enable clients to transcribe conversations in real time and in batch across more than 100 languages. The company serves around 2,000 enterprise customers, while also supporting more than 300,000 developers.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 12 JUN

PNG and Australia review progress on digital partnership initiatives

Papua New Guinea and Australia have reviewed progress on a range of digital cooperation initiatives, including connectivity infrastructure, AI governance, cybersecurity and digital public infrastructure, during discussions held in Port Moresby. Papua New Guinea acting minister for information and communications technology Peter Tsiamalili Jr. met Australia's ambassador for cyber affairs and critical technology Jessica Hunter, Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) CEO Jonathan

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 12 JUN

KT to showcase AI and cloud strategies at Busan Cloud Day 2026

Korea Telecom (KT) will present AI and cloud transformation strategies at Busan Cloud Day 2026, an event being held in partnership with the Busan Information Industry Promotion Agency to support digital transformation among businesses in South Korea's Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongnam regions. The event will take place on 18 June at BEXCO in Busan and is aimed at enterprises and industry stakeholders interested in AI and cloud adoption. KT said the programme will focus on practical implementation approaches and in

JAPAN 12 JUN

Korea advances AI and 6G security standards at ITU-T meeting

South Korea said it has secured approval for 14 new international standardisation projects covering AI, 6G security and digital identity technologies at a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Standardisation Sector (ITU-T) Study Group 17. The ministry of science and ICT said the approvals were achieved during the ITU-T security standards meeting held in Geneva from 1 to 10 June, where experts from 60 countries discussed information security standards. 

GLOBAL 11 JUN

Nvidia, KKR and Vistra launch USD 10 billion data infrastructure venture

Nvidia has backed a USD 10 billion joint venture aimed at providing consistent access to capital for data infrastructure and related investments. The GPU and AI chips market leader will participate alongside the JV's pioneer, New York-based investment firm KKR, as well as the Kuwait Investment Fund and Texas-based electricity firm Vistra.

GLOBAL 11 JUN

TCS teams up with Anthropic to promote business adoption of Claude AI models

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced a strategic deal with Anthropic in a bid to widen enterprise access to the latter's Claude GenAI assistant, including next-generation iterations of its technology. The collaboration will target adoption in regulated industries where AI usage is hindered by strict accuracy thresholds and the need for reliable audits and oversight.

ARMENIA 11 JUN

Team Telecom Armenia to provide 'Firebird' AI data centre with infrastructure

Operator Team Telecom Armenia will provide the AI-focused data centre Firebird with its telecommunications and Internet infrastructure over its fibre-optical backbone network, reports Arka.am. The operator will provide the data centre with its 1 Tbps capacity link. The data centre is currently in the final stage of construction.

GLOBAL 11 JUN

Ensilica progresses edge AI ASIC project after completing design phase and testing

EnSilica revealed it has completed the production tape-out on a contract awarded in July 2024 for edge AI-targeted ASIC chips. The milestone means EnSilica will collect USD 5 million in non-recurring engineering (NRE) revenue and tape-out fees, which will be recognised in its FY26/FY27 statements.

GLOBAL 11 JUN

TensorWave banks USD 350 million in series B round to drive North American GPU cluster buildout

US start-up TensorWave, provider of AI cloud infrastructure powered by AMD's compute hardware, has announced a series B funding round totalling USD 350 million. The round is co-led by AMD's corporate venturing unit, AMD Ventures, and an alternative asset manager Magnetar Capital. Existing investors Maverick Silicon, Nevus Venture Partners and Western Frontier all returned to support TensorWave's series B fundraising.

GLOBAL 11 JUN

Nokia to launch agentic AI layer in IP operations Network Services Platform

Nokia has announced the upcoming launch of an agentic AI operations layer for the Network Services Platform, its carrier-grade management and automation product geared to complex, multi-vendor IP networks. The introduction of an agentic artificial intelligence framework specifically designed for IP network operations promotes agentic deployments based on real network context, while administering actions within a predefined framework of policy and security constraints. This, Nokia says, ensures AI's reasonin

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