Tech

• Le département de la Défense des États-Unis a annoncé des contrats d'approvisionnement en IA avec sept entreprises : Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, SpaceX et Reflection AI, laquelle a levé 2 milliards de dollars de fonds l'année dernière. • Les produits d'IA seront déployés dans les systèmes de niveau d'impact 6 et 7 du département de la Défense, capables de stocker des informations classifiées, avec un accès via un portail interne nommé GenAI.mil. • Anthropic a été notablement exclue des contrats après que l'administration Trump l'a désignée comme un risque pour la chaîne d'approvisionnement en février, bien que le Pentagone continuerait d'utiliser le modèle Claude Mythos Preview d'Anthropic.

• Deep Tech Week met en lumière The AI Collective, décrite comme la plus grande communauté d'IA au monde, qui connecte plus de 100 000 développeurs, chercheurs et professionnels de l'IA via des événements, des forums et du réseautage. • Ce rassemblement réunit des startups, des laboratoires d'entreprises et des groupes académiques pour présenter les avancées en machine learning fondamental, en robotique et en IA appliquée, tout en mettant l'accent sur l'interopérabilité et le déploiement responsable. • La participation des États-Unis est forte, de nombreux laboratoires de recherche en IA de pointe et des startups financées par le capital-risque utilisant cet événement pour annoncer de nouvelles collaborations, des lancements de modèles et des outils open‑source.

• La startup de paytech transfrontalière Latitude a quitté le mode furtif cette semaine avec un financement d'amorçage de 8 millions de dollars mené par NEA pour s'attaquer aux transferts d'argent commerciaux lents et coûteux. • Ce financement soutient la mission de Latitude de rationaliser les paiements internationaux, la positionnant comme un challenger dans l'espace fintech face à la demande croissante de transferts B2B efficaces. • Le lancement coïncide avec l'essor de la fintech d'avril 2026, soulignant la confiance des investisseurs dans les innovations paytech malgré les incertitudes économiques liées aux prix de l'énergie et à la politique de la Fed.

L'acteur et présentateur s'est fracturé la hanche, la jambe droite, le bassin et les côtes lors d'une intervention au festival CogX à l'O2 Arena en 2023 Stephen Fry poursuit deux entreprises ayant organisé une conférence tech où il a été blessé en 2023 après être tombé de la scène, selon des documents de la Haute Cour. L'acteur et présentateur s'est cassé la hanche et a subi plusieurs fractures à la jambe droite, au bassin et aux côtes lorsqu'il a assisté au festival CogX à l'O2 Arena, où il a prononcé un discours sur l'intelligence artificielle le 14 septembre 2023. Continuer la lecture...

• Des chercheurs du MIT ont découvert que la lumière laser chaotique peut s'auto-organiser en un « faisceau crayon » hautement focalisé sous des conditions précises, permettant une imagerie 3D rapide de la barrière hémato-encéphalique. • La nouvelle méthode permet une imagerie 25 fois plus rapide que les techniques actuelles et suit en temps réel le mouvement des médicaments dans les cellules cérébrales. • Cette percée pourrait accélérer les traitements des maladies neurologiques en permettant l'observation de haute précision de l'absorption des protéines dans les cellules.

• Anthropic announced the acquisition of Coefficient Bio, a U.S.-based AI startup specializing in biological modeling, on April 27, 2026. • The deal aims to integrate Coefficient's protein design AI tools with Anthropic's Claude models for advanced drug discovery applications. • This move positions Anthropic in the competitive AI-biotech space amid rising investments, potentially accelerating personalized medicine breakthroughs.

• The European Union announced new provisional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle batteries and solar components Monday, citing unfair state subsidies and predatory pricing that undercut European manufacturers. • Beijing warned the tariffs violate World Trade Organization rules and threatened retaliatory measures on European agricultural imports, escalating trade friction between the two economic blocs. • U.S. officials expressed support for the EU's move, viewing it as necessary protection for clean energy industries while signaling potential alignment on China trade policy.

• The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.48% to 16,240.35 on Monday, April 26, driven by weakness in mega-cap technology stocks including Apple (down 1.2%) and Microsoft (down 0.9%), as investors reassess growth expectations ahead of the Federal Reserve's May meeting. • Treasury yields climbed to 4.35% for the 10-year note amid inflation concerns, pressuring valuations of rate-sensitive tech companies and spurring profit-taking after recent market gains. • The decline reflects growing caution among portfolio managers about earnings sustainability in the second quarter, with earnings guidance from major tech firms expected to dominate trading through early May.

• The White House stated China steals US AI technology at industrial scale via joint ventures, cyber intrusions, talent poaching, and front companies targeting universities and labs. • Tactics include spear-phishing, zero-day exploits in software pipelines, and supply chain diversion of AI hardware like GPUs, fueling China's surveillance and weapons programs. • Impacts could erode US AI competitive advantage, raise R&D costs for cybersecurity, and devalue intellectual property incentives for American firms.

• TTM Technologies achieved a 214.4% increase in earnings over the past year, substantially exceeding the electronic industry average of 15.7%. • The company's exceptional performance reflects strong execution and market demand within the technology sector. • TTM's growth trajectory positions it among elite performers in the high-growth tech space.

• The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the launch of the 2026 class of Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF), showcasing its commitment to hiring top technology talent. • The new PIF class will focus on key Administration priority projects, including developing AI-powered tools to accelerate infrastructure permitting processes. • The initiative demonstrates the federal government's strategy to leverage specialized technology expertise for modernizing government operations and infrastructure development.

More than 200,000 have signed petitions urging the government to break contracts, amid concerns about the company’s ‘supervillain’ manifestoOver 200,000 people have called on ministers to break contracts with Palantir in an apparent groundswell of public concern about the US tech company’s role in the NHS, police, military and councils.Two petitions have attracted 229,000 signatures, one calling for the government to end all public contracts with the firm, whose software is used by Donald Trump’s ICE immigration enforcement programme and the Israeli military, and another urging the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to cancel its £330 patient data contract with the NHS. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Internal concerns over allowing US firm linked to ICE and Israeli military to process highly sensitive data The Metropolitan police has held talks with Palantir that could lead to the London force buying the US spy-tech company’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysis for criminal investigations, the Guardian has learned.Palantir, whose software is used by Donald Trump’s ICE immigration enforcement programme and the Israeli military, demonstrated its systems to senior officers in the intelligence division at the UK’s largest police force last month. Intelligence staff have been tasked with finding intelligence systems that AI could automate to increase productivity. Continue reading...

• The FDA granted accelerated approval to a CRISPR-based gene therapy for severe sickle cell disease on April 20, marking the first approved genetic treatment editing patient blood cells to produce functional hemoglobin. • Clinical trials demonstrated 95% of treated patients experienced elimination or near-elimination of vaso-occlusive crises within 12 months, with durable responses observed for over two years post-treatment. • The therapy addresses a disease affecting approximately 100,000 Americans, primarily of African descent, offering potential cure for patients previously reliant on pain management and blood transfusions.

• Georgia Tech softball (28-23, 9-11 ACC) defeated No. 10 Virginia Tech (38-7, 12-5 ACC) 6-2 on Saturday night in Blacksburg, Virginia, marking the program's highest-ranked true road win in history. • The victory was Georgia Tech's first top 10 win and third top 25 victory of the season, demonstrating significant progress for the Yellow Jackets. • The Yellow Jackets remain in Blacksburg to conclude the ACC conference road series against Virginia Tech on April 19.

• Fraud incidents continue climbing at US banks even with substantial spending on advanced detection tools and analytics. • The gap highlights limitations in current tech defenses against evolving fraudster tactics. • This trend matters as it pressures financial institutions to innovate faster, amid rising economic impacts from cyber fraud.

• Oil prices dropped significantly, providing tailwinds for technology companies as lower energy costs reduce operational expenses and improve profit margins across the sector. • Constellation Research founder R 'Ray' Wang discussed the direct relationship between Big Tech performance and oil and gas pricing, highlighting how the energy market collapse supports tech stock rebounds. • The decline in energy costs removes a key headwind for capital-intensive tech operations and data centers, contributing to the broader market rally.

Legally questionable confidentiality clause adopted almost word for word from demands of Microsoft and trade groupsMicrosoft and other US tech companies successfully lobbied the EU to hide the environmental toll of their datacentres, an investigation has found, with demands to block a database of green metrics from public view written almost word for word into EU rules.The secrecy provision, which the European Commission added to its proposal almost verbatim after industry lobbying in 2024, hinders scrutiny of the pollution that individual datacentres emit. It leaves researchers with just national-level summaries of their energy footprints. Continue reading...

• The S&P 500 fell 1.8% Thursday, driven by disappointing earnings from major technology companies that missed analyst expectations on revenue growth and profitability. • Mega-cap tech stocks including those from leading AI companies dropped 2.3% collectively, erasing early-week gains as forward guidance pointed to slowing demand for enterprise AI solutions. • The sell-off extended to semiconductor and cloud infrastructure stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite declining 2.1%, signaling growing investor concerns about the sustainability of recent valuations.

• JPMorgan Chase announced Thursday the acquisition of a fintech startup specializing in regional bank digitalization for $5.2 billion in cash, marking one of 2026's largest financial services M&A deals. • The acquisition will expand JPMorgan's capabilities in serving mid-sized regional banks, addressing a strategic gap as community lenders face increased competition from digital-native competitors. • JPMorgan executives stated the deal is expected to generate $200 million in annual cost synergies by 2028 and will close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

• 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 announced Project Glasswing, a cybersecurity initiative bringing together AWS, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CrowdStrike, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palo Alto Networks to identify and fix software vulnerabilities using its Claude Mythos Preview model. • The Claude Mythos Preview model achieves 93.9% accuracy on SWE-bench Verified, significantly outperforming Opus 4.6's 80.8%, and demonstrated the ability to find thousands of hidden bugs in critical systems. • Anthropic is committing up to $100 million in usage credits for Project Glasswing, plus $4 million in direct donations to open-source security organizations to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure.

• The EU imposed sanctions on three Chinese technology firms and one individual on April 6, accusing them of conducting sophisticated espionage operations targeting European telecommunications infrastructure and government networks. • The targeted companies are suspected of exploiting vulnerabilities in 5G networks; the EU cited evidence of stolen intellectual property and unauthorized access to classified communications. • EU officials stated the move signals zero tolerance for state-sponsored cyber operations; Chinese officials denied accusations and called the sanctions "groundless and provocative."

• AI's growing appetite for compute power is forecasted to hit $100 billion, creating new industrial layers like AI factories and energy-to-intelligence conversion. • This shift is rewriting rules for tech supply chains, with Nvidia at the forefront of the transformation. • The development signals a pivotal moment for US AI infrastructure investment and energy demands.

• Cathie Wood's Ark Innovation ETF bought $6.9 million worth of a surging tech stock amid ongoing market volatility. • As of April 2, 2026, ARKK was down 12% year-to-date compared to the S&P 500's 3.8% decline, with a five-year annualized return of -10.6% versus S&P's 12%. • Wood anticipates a 'great acceleration' in global growth driven by innovation, positioning the purchase as a bet on tech recovery.

• US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on April 4, 2026, announcing plans for bilateral talks on trade imbalances and semiconductor export restrictions amid rising tensions. • The agreement includes a framework for reducing tariffs on $50 billion in goods and joint cybersecurity standards, with Sullivan stating, 'This is a step toward stabilizing our economic relationship without compromising security.' • The deal matters as it averts potential escalation in US-China tech rivalry, potentially boosting global markets and easing supply chain disruptions affecting US consumers.

• Anthropic acquired Coefficient Bio, a startup founded eight months ago with fewer than 10 employees, for roughly $400 million in shares, despite it having no product or revenue. • The platform uses AI for pharmaceutical tasks like drug research planning and identifying new drug opportunities, positioning Anthropic's models for scientific discovery in life sciences. • This bet signals a strategic push into AI-driven biotech, potentially accelerating drug development amid growing competition in applied AI verticals.

• US tech companies cut 52,000 jobs in just three months of 2026, driven by rising AI investments. • Layoffs stem from restructuring for AI priorities, though economic factors also contribute beyond automation. • The trend highlights tensions between AI-driven efficiency gains and workforce displacement in Silicon Valley.