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Google owner Alphabet to sell $80bn in stock to fund AI spending spree

Markets take note as world’s biggest equity fundraiser bids to garner more money than three biggest-ever IPOs combined

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has said it plans to raise up to $80bn (£59bn) in equity to fund its vast artificial intelligence infrastructure investments, raising further questions over the economics of the AI boom.

The move, the largest equity fundraising ever according to analysts, includes a $10bn share sale to the US investment group Berkshire Hathaway, which was led until last year by Warren Buffett.

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© Photograph: Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

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Nvidia launches ‘superchip’ putting AI power into laptops and PCs

Firm says its RTX Spark PC chip for Microsoft Windows will let AI agents replace the mouse and keyboard

A new front has opened up in the battle for dominance in AI chips, as Nvidia said its latest development could replace the mouse and keyboard in how people use computers.

The $5tn (£3.7tn) US semiconductor company has launched a “superchip” that puts AI capabilities into laptops and desktop computers, a move that will pit it against Intel, Apple, Qualcomm and AMD.

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© Photograph: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images

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Workers need greater say over AI rollout, says TUC-backed report

Exclusive: IPPR thinktank calls for new measures to boost employees’ influence at ‘pivotal moment’ in history

Workers urgently need more bargaining power over the way AI is adopted in the workplace to ensure the benefits are fairly shared, according to a TUC-backed report from a leading thinktank.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is calling for a package of measures to boost employees’ influence at what it calls a “pivotal moment in the history of work”.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

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How big tech got its way on Trump’s AI executive order

The US president’s reversal on calling for a safety review of new AI models is a green light for tech’s unchecked power

Only hours before Donald Trump was set to sign a long-awaited executive order on Thursday that would have called for a government safety review of new artificial intelligence models before their release, the president abruptly backed out. Despite growing public backlash to the technology and experts warning new models will pose critical security risks, Trump vowed the US government would not slow down the AI race.

During a meeting with reporters on Thursday, Trump cited both American dominance and competition with China and as his reasoning behind the reversal.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

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