The Rundown: Edition 65 – Cybersecurity, Brexit, and Arm
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Healey rules out aligning Capital Gains Tax with Income Tax
Chancellor John Healey has rejected demands from senior Labour figures to match Capital Gains Tax with Income Tax rates. Instead, the Treasury is drafting capital gains relief measures to incentivise entrepreneurs to reinvest their business sale proceeds in Britain. FT
Brexit support collapses
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has drastically shifted Labour’s stance on Brexit, advocating for closer ties with the EU. The sentiment is echoed by the capital, with 67% of Londoners claiming they would vote in favour of reversing Brexit, according to a new YouGov survey. This compares to 44% in the Midlands, 48% for the rest of the South and 50% in the North. The Standard
Arm ordered to pay Qualcomm $2 in damages
Chip technology supplier Arm has been found guilty of breaching a licensing agreement with Qualcomm and intentionally interfering with the chipmaker’s relationship with Meta Platforms. As a result, a Delaware jury has awarded Qualcomm $2 in nominal damages. Reuters
Publishers demand crackdown on AI ‘stealth bots’
Publishers including The Times and FT have urged the Government to tackle anonymous bots scraping content to train AI. They want legislation requiring bots to reveal who operates them and how the content will be used, helping publishers enforce copyright. Times
CMR Surgical receives $400m investment
CMR Surgical, the Cambridge-based surgical robotics maker, has received a $400 million investment from American medtech giant Stryker. The deal includes an exclusive option for Stryker to buy the remaining CMR equity in the future. Times
Salience Labs raises £125m Series B
Salience Labs, a developer of photonic chips for use in AI data centres, has raised a $125 million Series B round led by Bullhound Capital, with participation from Cambridge Innovation Capital, AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, SBI Group, Hudson River Trading and British Business Bank. Tech Funding News
British Business Bank backs six AI and deeptech VC funds
The British Business Bank is investing £180 million across six AI and deeptech-focused VC funds. The BBB is backing funds run by Crane Ventures Partners, Connect Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Intrepid Growth Partners, Headline and Evantic Fund. FF News
Edtech Sainaptic bags £1m
The UK-based company has secured £1 million in new funding co-led by Cornerstone VC and Ufi Ventures, with participation from Brighteye Ventures and Elm Venture Partners. This investment will drive the expansion of its AI-assisted marking platform and support a strategic partnership with Skilltech Solutions. tech.eu
Scarlet secures £40m Series B
Scarlet, a government-designated certification body for AI and software medical devices, has raised £40 million in a Series B round led by Headline, with participation from Notion Capital, Atomico, Creandum, Kindred Capital, and Entrepreneurs First. Soapbox.VC
How to prevent a global AI catastrophe
Warning of catastrophic cyber risks to global infrastructure, the “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton and nearly 400 scientists have signed an open letter. It calls for an international regulatory body to manage and contain high-powered AI systems. The Independent
Deepfakes in The Bank of England
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has demanded that social media giants face legal liability for online fraud hosted on their platforms, following his own experience as a victim of AI deepfake videos. Bailey highlighted how unchecked AI-driven cybercrime threatens to erode fundamental public trust in money. Times
Blink and you’ll miss EU Inc
Campaigners behind the EU Inc initiative warn that lawmakers have gutted plans for a unified pan-European company structure. They caution that without measures like employee stock option frameworks and a central registry, the region will fail to offer a viable alternative to the US and Delaware, in particular. Sifted
The gap between robot demos and real-world work
True robotic dexterity comes from integrated sensing, closed-loop feedback, and adaptive recovery – not just complex multi-fingered hands. According to Nicolas Sauvage, President and Founder of TDK Ventures, the winning systems will prioritise practical, job-specific forms over hardware that merely mimics human anatomy. The Robot Report
AI security and Britain’s relationship with Europe featured predominantly this week. Ministers outlined plans to strengthen cyber defences and respond to incidents involving AI agents, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed a November UK-EU Summit covering trade, energy and emissions trading.
Meanwhile, the SNP gathered in Aberdeen for its annual conference, with First Minister of Scotland John Swinney announcing a new “Choose Scotland” independence campaign. His keynote speech on Saturday is expected to renew the case for a second referendum.
Alongside these political developments, this week brought quantum, funding, and proposals affecting AI governance and health innovation.
£50m boost for UK quantum innovation
The Government announced £50 million to help UK businesses turn quantum innovation into practical products for healthcare, transport and national security. Supported projects include portable eye scanners, railway fault detectors and navigation systems that work when GPS is unavailable. Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
Government prepares for AI agent incidents
Ministers announced an expansion of the Government’s programme using frontier AI to strengthen cyber defence, alongside plans for responding when AI agents cause serious harm. They are also considering whether the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill should address AI incident reporting and risks from systems acting beyond their instructions. UK Parliament
MHRA sets out plans for AI-era regulation
The MHRA published its 2030 strategy, including plans for a Centre for AI and Digital Health and a more adaptive framework for AI medical devices. It also committed to a targeted voucher scheme for startups and smaller companies, and faster scientific advice and qualifying early-stage clinical trial assessments. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
Members of The Rundown donned their glad rags last night to attend GP Bullhound’s Allstars Awards. Dubbed the “Oscars of the tech world”, the event shouted out powerhouse tech companies such as MAGIC AI and Oxford Ionics. The headline act was Quantexa CEO and Founder Vishal Marria CBE in a live interview with Bloomberg journalist Alex Morgan. We also got to learn the impact the Allstars Charity Football Tournament has on the students it supports through Working Options. While we (with our FieldHouse Associates bowtie on) didn’t win this time, it was an honour to be shortlisted for Professional Services Firm of the Year alongside the likes of A&O Shearman, BlackRock, HSBC Innovation Banking, and Marriott Harrison. There’s always next year.
It’s not all glitz and glamour in the tech world, though. Cyberattacks have been causing nothing short of a ruckus this week. For those of us cool enough to be in the know, tickets for Grammy Award nominee RAYE’s upcoming London concert went on sale this week. However, the majority of the 1.8 million sign-ups trying to get their hands on tickets for the 5,000 seat venue were AI bots. The fake scalpers flooded the site and scuppered RAYE’s pre-sale plans. Now her team will have to “manually review” the registration list to confirm genuine fans. Yikes. Another cybersecurity incident may or may not have resulted in some sour grapes. Literally. Hackers in France raised the temperatures of fridges and freezers in hundreds of supermarkets to nearly 50°C overnight. The cyberattack caused fires and spoilt food. Perhaps the ruse would’ve been better suited for the freezer storing pig kidneys (to a very cool temperature of -150°C). The kidneys have been rewarmed and seem to still work. A novel development which might be able to be replicated with human organs.