Nscale and Microsoft strike a landmark deal to deploy 200,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs across four data centres, three in Europe, one in the U.S., in one of the largest AI infrastructure partnerships to date.
Lendable becomes the first UK fintech to launch a mobile plan, offering unlimited 5G for £20/month.
Capita is fined £14 million after a 2023 cyberattack exposed 6.7 million people’s data.
And Anthropic releases Claude Haiku 4.5, delivering Sonnet-level performance at one-third the cost.
Waymo confirms London robotaxi launch in 2026, setting up a showdown with Wayve.
And Apple’s M5 MacBook Pro arrives with 3.5x faster AI performance.
All that and more. Let’s dive in…
DRIVING THE CONVERSATION TODAY
Nscale, Microsoft to deploy 200,000 GPUs across four sites
UK-based startup Nscale, which operates and leases data center capacity for AI companies, has seen explosive growth, reaching $14 billion in revenue just 18 months after launching.
The company recently raised $1.5 billion in new funding, valuing it at approximately $3 billion, and announced a massive $14 billion contract with Microsoft to deploy roughly 200,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs across the UK, Europe, and the US , one of the largest GPU rollouts in history.
Of these, 104,000 GPUs will power a new 240MW AI campus in Texas, with additional deployments planned at Nscale’s facilities in Portugal, the UK, and through a joint venture in Norway with Aker ASA.
These moves position Nscale at the heart of a new AI infrastructure economy, providing the computing power needed to drive next-generation AI applications.
CEO Josh Payne confirmed the company’s ambitions to go public, saying, “We have public market ambitions, and execution is an enormous focus of mine. We hope to go public in the back end of next year.”
Waymo to launch robotaxis in London in 2026
Waymo will launch its self-driving taxi service in London in 2026, its first UK entry. The Alphabet-owned firm, valued at $33.6 billion, will partner with fleet operator Moove and work with local authorities. It already has engineering hubs in London and Oxford and collaborates with Jaguar Land Rover.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander welcomed the move for its jobs, investment, and accessibility benefits. Waymo’s entry sets up direct competition with Wayve, the UK-based autonomous startup backed by Microsoft, Nvidia, and Uber.
Capita fined £14M after 6.7M-person data breach
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined outsourcing giant Capita £14 million for failing to protect personal data during a 2023 cyberattack that exposed 6.7 million records. Regulators found Capita ignored security alerts and lacked basic safeguards.
The company, which serves government and corporate clients, had previously estimated the breach’s cost at up to £20 million. It says it has since strengthened cybersecurity.
The fine concludes a two-year investigation and comes as UK cyber incidents double year-on-year, per the National Cyber Security Centre. Capita now forecasts £59–79 million in 2025 cash outflows.
Anthropic debuts Haiku 4.5: Sonnet performance at 1/3 the cost
Anthropic has released Claude Haiku 4.5, a lightweight AI model that matches Sonnet 4 in performance, at one-third the cost and over twice the speed.
Internal benchmarks show it scoring 73% on SWE-Bench and 41% on Terminal-Bench, rivaling GPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 in coding, tool use, and visual reasoning.
Now free on all Anthropic plans, Haiku 4.5 is ideal for low-latency applications or as a “sub-agent” supporting larger models.
CPO Mike Krieger said it enables “new categories of what’s possible” in production. The launch follows Sonnet 4.5 and Opus 4.1, accelerating Anthropic’s model cadence.
FUNDING FLASH
Dexory raises $165M for AI-powered warehouses
London logistics startup Dexory has secured $165 million, including a $100 million Series C led by Eurazeo, to scale its self-optimising warehouse platform. Its autonomous robots and DexoryView software create digital twins that forecast inventory flow, reduce downtime, and optimise resources.
Trusted by GXO, Maersk, DHL, Stellantis, and GE Appliances, Dexory has conducted 500 million+ warehouse scans and expanded across Europe, North America, and APAC, with a new HQ in Nashville. CEO Andrei Danescu said the funding will accelerate agentic AI systems that turn “systems of record into systems of action.”
Odyssey Ventures launches $75M fund to close EU–US valuation gap
New VC firm Odyssey Ventures has launched with a $75 million fund to tackle the 52% average valuation gap between European and U.S. startups. Founded by ex-EQT and AP Ventures leaders Ali Mitchell and Michelle Robson, it operates from London and San Francisco.
Focusing on deep tech, manufacturing, neurotech, and green chemistry, Odyssey offers first checks within hours and direct U.S. market access. Early bets include Flow Engineering (machine design) and Viridi (CO₂-to-surfactants). The firm aims to combine U.S.-style risk appetite with European innovation to help founders scale globally.
CybaVerse raises £5M for SME cybersecurity
UK cybersecurity firm CybaVerse has raised £5 million in Series A funding, co-led by Pembroke VCT and Airbridge Equity Partners, to scale its CybaOps platform, an all-in-one solution for detection, compliance, and testing.
Founded in 2018, the company grew 180% last year with 90% retention and now offers a white-label SaaS model for MSPs. CEO Oliver Spence said the capital will expand AI capabilities and team size, bringing enterprise-grade protection to SMEs at scale.
Ploy secures £2.5M to fight identity breaches
London startup Ploy has raised £2.5 million, led by Osney Capital, to combat identity-based attacks, which affect 93% of organisations.
Its cloud-first Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) platform automates access management across SaaS and collaboration tools, cutting admin time by up to 90%.
With AI assistant Luna, real-time visibility, and 20-minute no-code setup, Ploy serves mid-market firms up to 5,000 employees. It has already secured 1 million+ access entitlements and identified 26,000 SaaS apps across clients like Payfit and ComplyAdvantage.
EQUALLY IMPORTANT
Nvidia overtakes Apple as TSMC’s top client
Nvidia is poised to dethrone Apple as TSMC’s largest customer, per DigiTimes. In Q2 2025, high-performance computing chips made up 60% of TSMC’s revenue, with Nvidia controlling over half of CoWoS advanced packaging capacity for AI GPUs.
While Apple still secured more than half of TSMC’s initial 2nm production and co-develops next-gen modems, analysts estimate Nvidia could represent 19–21% of TSMC’s 2025 revenue, nearly matching Apple’s 24% in 2024. The shift signals TSMC’s future is tied to AI and data centres, not smartphones.
Lendable launches UK’s first fintech mobile plan
London fintech Lendable has become the first UK financial firm to enter the mobile market, launching a £20/month plan with unlimited 5G, calls, texts, and 10GB roaming in 38 countries.
The service, available via its Zable app (2 million users), runs on Vodafone’s network and uses U.S. tech firm Gigs for its OS.
CEO Martin Kissinger called telecoms a “natural next step” in Lendable’s evolution toward a multi-service super-app, following similar moves by Revolut and Klarna. The company remains profitable, well-funded, and has no IPO plans for now.
Sunsave expands solar subscriptions to Scotland
UK solar provider Sunsave, the country’s first FCA-authorised solar subscription firm, has expanded to Scotland following a £100 million funding round. In partnership with Edinburgh’s Snugg, it offers households solar panels for a monthly fee, eliminating upfront costs.
Customers in England and Wales already save up to £700/year. The Scottish rollout aims to replicate those savings, making renewable energy accessible without large capital outlays.
WORTH NOTING
Apple launches M5 MacBook Pro
Apple has unveiled its first M5 MacBook Pro, a 14-inch entry model starting at $1,599. Powered by the new M5 chip (10 CPU, 10 GPU, 16-core Neural Engine), it delivers:
- 20% faster multithreaded CPU
- 1.6x faster graphics
- 3.5x faster AI performance vs. M4
It retains the Liquid Retina XDR display, Thunderbolt 4, SDXC slot, and Center Stage webcam, with up to 2x faster SSD. Configurations range from 16GB/512GB to 32GB/4TB. Pre-orders open now; shipping begins 22 October.
Google DeepMind upgrades Veo 3.1 and Flow
Google DeepMind has launched Veo 3.1, its latest video-generation model, with richer audio, better realism, and stronger prompt adherence. Paired with major Flow platform upgrades, creators can now:
- Add/edit sound across all features
- Use “Ingredients to Video” (multi-image scenes)
- Connect frames with “Frames to Video”
- Extend clips up to 1 minute with “Extend”
Since launch, Flow users have generated 275 million videos. New features remain experimental but will evolve with community feedback.
