Partners

Former chief of staff who helped bring Mandelson out of Labour shadows for Washington post to be questioned by MPs on vetting processLike many Labour stories, Peter Mandelson’s and Morgan McSweeney’s both start at Lambeth council.Mandelson was in his mid-20s. It was 1979, and he was a new councillor under the leadership of “Red” Ted Knight. He came to despise the local party, describing the Lambeth Labour party’s leadership as “contributing very little to the economic development of south London, instead politicising everything, attacking the police and the Tory government, and making the council go broke.” Continue reading...

• OpenAI and Microsoft announced an expanded cybersecurity partnership aimed at combating emerging cyber threats in the AI era. • The two companies plan to deploy advanced artificial intelligence tools to enhance security capabilities across their platforms. • This collaboration reflects the growing recognition that AI-powered security solutions are essential to address increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

• Anthropic announced Project Glasswing, a collaborative initiative involving Amazon Web Services, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CrowdStrike, Google, JPMorganChase, the Linux Foundation, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Palo Alto Networks to secure critical software infrastructure. • The initiative provides select firms access to Claude Mythos2 preview model for defensive cybersecurity work, which has reportedly identified thousands of severe vulnerabilities in major operating systems and browsers. • The program aims to give defenders a durable advantage in the AI-driven cybersecurity era while controlling access to prevent misuse by attackers.

• OpenAI is finalizing an advanced cybersecurity product designed to defend critical systems, planning to release it first to a limited set of partners as reported by Axios. • The move represents a strategic shift for frontier AI firms to demonstrate their ability to support defensive security infrastructure amid growing concerns about offensive AI misuse. • AI companies face mounting pressure to prove their models can protect critical systems rather than enable attackers, reshaping how they frame commercial opportunities in the security sector.

• Anthropic launched Project Glasswing, collaborating with Apple, Google, and Microsoft to deploy Claude Mythos Preview in identifying and patching critical software vulnerabilities preemptively. • The initiative unites rivals to leverage AI against cyber threats targeting US software infrastructure. • By fixing flaws before exploitation, the project aims to bolster national cybersecurity amid escalating AI-driven attacks.

• Anthropic secured $8 billion in its Series E funding round on April 9, 2026, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from US-based investors including Amazon and Google. • The funds will accelerate development of Claude 4 AI models and expand enterprise AI infrastructure in US data centers. • This round values Anthropic at $61.5 billion post-money, solidifying its position as a leading US AI challenger to OpenAI amid intensifying competition.

• Presidents of Brazil and Argentina held high-level talks on April 6 to establish a new bilateral trade framework reducing tariffs and increasing agricultural and technology sector cooperation, aiming to strengthen Mercosur. • The leaders agreed to coordinate regional responses to global economic pressures and announced plans for joint infrastructure investments; discussions included currency stabilization mechanisms to address exchange rate volatility. • Both nations emphasized commitment to democratic governance and rule of law amid regional concerns about institutional challenges; the initiative signals Latin American countries seeking greater economic autonomy.

• Eli Lilly announced a collaboration with Nvidia to establish a co-innovation AI lab combining computing power with scientific expertise for faster drug discovery. • The partnership targets AI applications in identifying drug candidates, optimizing clinical trials, and reducing failure rates in biotech development. • This non-tech firm's AI push exemplifies how pharma giants are leveraging partnerships to lead in AI-driven innovation beyond traditional tech sectors.

• Yubico announced partnerships with HYPR and Nametag on April 3, 2026, to embed verified identities in passkey systems from onboarding. • Integration ties biometric and hardware verification for phishing-resistant authentication. • Initiative advances passwordless security standards for enterprises.

Figures shows 42% of callers to Refuge identify former partner as abuser, but only 12% of adults recognise this possibilityThe risk posed to women by ex-partners in cases of abuse is underestimated by large swathes of the British public, according to the charity Refuge.Data from the charity’s helpline found that 42% of people who call Refuge for help identify a former partner as their abuser, a statistic which underlines how common it is for an ex to be a cause of harm after a relationship has ended. Continue reading...

• Taiwan-based DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology secured NT$78.72 billion (US$2.47 billion) through private share placements from SK Hynix subsidiary Solidigm, Japan's Kioxia, and U.S. companies Cisco Systems and SanDisk Technologies. • Following the investment, SK Hynix will hold a 2 percent stake, Kioxia 2 percent, SanDisk 4 percent, and Cisco 2 percent in Nanya Technology, positioning the company strategically amid the AI boom. • The capital will be directed toward investing in advanced memory manufacturing facilities and production equipment, strengthening Nanya's competitive position in the high-demand semiconductor market.

• Technology companies are collaborating with the energy industry to address surging electricity demands, announcing new ideas on March 25, 2026, in Houston. • Big Tech is shifting its approach by offering high-tech solutions to prevent grid failures amid rising power needs from data centers and AI. • The partnership aims to enhance grid reliability, countering previous calls for simply more electricity generation.

• OpenAI announced on March 25, 2026, it is discontinuing support for its Sora video generation model and ending its collaboration with Disney. • The move follows challenges in scaling the technology amid competition and resource constraints in AI media tools. • This reflects broader pressures on AI firms to prioritize core models over experimental features, impacting Hollywood's generative AI adoption.

• Baker Hughes announced a collaboration with Google Cloud on March 24, 2026, to develop AI-enabled power optimization and sustainability solutions for data centers. • The Houston-based initiative targets efficiency in high-demand AI computing environments using advanced cloud technology. • This partnership addresses growing energy challenges in U.S. data centers powering AI workloads.

FoI request reveals no evidence of testing despite ministers hailing agreement as key to delivering AI-led public service reformWhen the UK government signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI, the tech firm behind ChatGPT, the partnership was hailed as one that could harness artificial intelligence to “address society’s greatest challenges”.But eight months on from the fanfare of that announcement, the government has yet to hold any trials involving the firm’s tech. Continue reading...

Paul Griggs says senior staff at consulting firm who are not ‘paranoid about being AI-first’ are likely to be replacedBusiness live – latest updatesThe US boss of PricewaterhouseCoopers has warned that partners who do not get to grips with AI have no future at the consulting firm.Paul Griggs said senior staff who were not “paranoid about being AI-first” would probably be replaced by others who were ready to embrace the technology. Continue reading...

• OpenAI signed a new contract with Amazon Web Services on March 18, 2026, to provide AI tools to US government customers for both classified and unclassified projects. • The deal, confirmed by AWS, expands OpenAI's federal footprint and offers an alternative procurement path amid tensions with other providers like Anthropic. • This move reduces OpenAI's reliance on single cloud vendors and targets core government sectors including defense and intelligence.

Uber announced a partnership with autonomous vehicle startup Motional to deploy commercial robotaxis in Las Vegas starting this year, marking a major expansion in US self-driving technology. The service will initially operate with safety drivers before progressing to fully driverless rides, integrating with Uber's ride-hailing app for seamless user access. This launch positions Las Vegas as a key testing ground for robotaxi scalability amid competition from Waymo and Cruise. Industry observers anticipate broader US rollouts by 2027 as regulatory hurdles ease under the Trump administration.