Microsoft is laying off 4,800 workers: 'AI is changing how work gets done' - ABC News

• Microsoft has unveiled new A.I.-powered cybersecurity tools designed to protect organizations from increasingly sophisticated digital threats. • Mustafa Suleyman, who leads Microsoft’s A.I. development, is spearheading the initiative to integrate advanced A.I. capabilities into the company's security suite.

• The European Union is shifting its approach to artificial intelligence, moving beyond digital regulatory policy to treat AI as a critical strategic priority. • Despite producing world-class research and talent, the EU lacks the computing infrastructure and growth-stage capital necessary to compete with non-European frontier AI development.

• Stockholm and New York-based edtech company imagi raised €10.2 million in a seed funding round on July 21, 2026. • The round was led by KT Ventures and Valemount Capital, with additional support from Futury Capital and various private industrial family offices.

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned that companies relying on a single AI model for all operations risk their long-term survival. • He emphasized the necessity of owning proprietary models or implementing "AI gateways" to decouple user prompts from the underlying model infrastructure.

• DeepSeek raised ¥50B and NEURA Robotics secured $1.4B in funding, highlighting the flow of capital into AI and robotics. • Ramp closed a $750M funding round, demonstrating the large scale of investments in key sectors like infrastructure.

• The AI industry is at risk of an economic bubble due to sky-high valuations and soaring costs. • Despite this, AI is expected to transform the global economy and create new applications.

• The week ending 7/25/26 saw notable startup funding rounds for companies like Neo Security, Vikk AI, and Glow. • A total of $3.1B in new funding was raised across twenty-three deals.

• NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has launched the Open Secure AI Alliance in response to an OpenAI testing incident that raised concerns about AI cybersecurity. • The alliance includes over 35 major tech companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco, aiming to address AI security issues.

• Beelzebub has raised €3m in a Seed round from United Ventures to develop AI-powered cyber defence technology. • The startup's technology uses AI decoys to trap AI-powered attackers, and it is also developing new tech to protect AI agents.

• Asian financial markets experienced a sharp decline on Tuesday, led by a selloff in semiconductor and technology stocks. • The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 3.61% to 62,584.24, while the KOSPI in South Korea dropped 7.60% to 6,221.81, with companies like Tokyo Electron, Advantest, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix facing heavy selling.

• DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has suspended its $71 billion funding round due to controversy sparked by its founder and CEO, Liang Wenfeng. • The controversy began after Wenfeng's comments during private meetings with investors were made public on Chinese social media platforms.

• The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has identified a potential boom in AI investments as a key risk to global financial stability. • To address this, MAS and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have set up a task force to enhance cyber and technology resilience against AI-driven threats.