
From Findings to Action: How SecurityBridge Is Bringing Trusted AI Into SAP Security
SecurityBridge has launched the AI Companion, the first AI‑powered security assistant built specifically for SAP environments. Leveraging a proprietary, continuously enriched SAP security knowledge base, the tool transforms thousands of technical findings into context‑aware, actionable recommendations delivered via natural‑language interaction. It reduces dependence on scarce SAP security specialists while preserving human oversight, operating in an advisory capacity. General availability is slated for Q1 2026 and the AI Companion is included at no extra charge within the standard SecurityBridge subscription.
Forex Today: Japanese GDP Data Underwhelms
Japan’s Q4 GDP expanded only 0.1% YoY, well below the 0.4% consensus, nudging the economy away from a technical recession but dampening reflation hopes. The weak data erased much of the yen’s recent 3% rally sparked by the new government’s...
Nearshoring and Logistics Upgrades Position the Caribbean as a New Regional Hub
The Caribbean is repositioning as a regional supply‑chain hub as nearshoring gains traction and governments fund logistics upgrades. High logistics costs—16 to 25 percent of GDP—have spurred port expansions in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guyana and Belize, backed by investors such as DP World...
EQS-CMS: Henkel AG & Co. KGaA: Release of a Capital Market Information
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA disclosed its weekly share‑buyback activity for 9‑13 February 2026, repurchasing 17,000 preferred shares and 18,000 ordinary shares on the XETR. The preferred‑share buyback cost €1.37 million at an average price of €80.56, while the ordinary‑share buyback cost €1.34 million...

Milan-Based Contents Secures €5.9 Million for AI Workflow Platform, Sets up Doha Hub for Middle East Expansion
Italian AI workflow startup Contents announced a €5.9 million Series B extension, bringing its total financing to €21 million. The round was led by Qatar Development Bank with participation from Alkemia Capital, and will fund the launch of a Doha‑based hub serving the...
Why Doing Less Is the Smartest Strategy for Bootstrapped AI Startups
Bootstrapped AI startups achieve greater traction by deliberately limiting scope rather than chasing broad scale. By concentrating on a single, well‑defined use case, founders can allocate scarce capital to refine data, model performance, and user experience. This focused approach creates...

Ashish Goel to Take on CHRO Role at Kajaria Ceramics
Kajaria Ceramics announced the appointment of Ashish Goel as chief human resources officer, effective 13 February 2026. Goel arrives from Essel Group|Zee Media, where he has served as CHRO since 2018, and brings more than two decades of HR leadership...
Strategies and Opportunities for Corporate Clients
In a recent interview, MUFG Managing Director Manoj S. Bhatia highlighted the bank’s focus on bespoke, empathetic relationships with corporate clients, driven by a decentralized, sector‑specialist approach. This model enables MUFG to stay nimble amid volatile market conditions and deliver...

Amazon Deemed Seller VAT Fraud Reform Would Raise Tax Revenues and Tackle Fraud
UK policymakers are considering extending the VAT deemed‑seller rules to cover both overseas and domestic sellers on online marketplaces. Amazon argues that the change would close a loophole exploited by fraudulent sellers, streamline VAT collection and generate roughly £700 million in...

Govt Aims to Revive Private Investment in Highway Construction
India’s government plans to award ₹1 lakh crore of highway projects to private developers by fiscal year 2027, aiming to raise private sector participation to 25 % of highway development next year from the current low single digits. The budget allocates ₹12.2 lakh crore to...

Bestselling Author Paulo Andrez Joins the EU-Startups Summit 2026 on May 7-8 in Malta
Bestselling author, angel investor and serial entrepreneur Paulo Andrez will join the EU-Startups Summit 2026 in Malta on May 7-8. Known for backing unicorn Sword Health and earning the 2012 Best European Angel Investment award, Andrez brings decades of early‑stage...

Firms Report Improved Financial Performance Linked to Use of Embedded Finance
A new PYMNTS Intelligence study of 515 senior leaders shows embedded finance is now a strategic imperative for mid‑size and large firms. Nearly 90% of respondents prioritize strengthening customer and employee relationships, while 75% plan technology upgrades within the next...

European Tech Weekly Recap: More than 65 Tech Funding Deals Worth over €3.4B
European venture capital activity surged last week, with more than 65 tech funding deals totaling over €3.4 billion. Cloud startups captured €1.2 billion, followed closely by space ventures at €1.1 billion, while healthtech secured €214.4 million. The United Kingdom led the regional tally with...
Five MCP Servers to Rule the Cloud
Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) is being adopted by the major hyperscalers as a native interface for AI agents to manage cloud resources via natural language. AWS leads with a catalog of over 60 MCP servers covering its entire service...
Anthropic Valued at $380Bn as It Raises $30Bn Series G
Anthropic secured $30 billion in a Series G round led by GIC and Coatue, lifting its post‑money valuation to $380 billion. The funding backs rapid expansion of its enterprise AI suite, including Claude, Claude Code, and the newly launched Opus 4.6 model, which now leads...
Rethinking SARs in the Fight Against Financial Crime
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) remain the cornerstone of global AML frameworks, yet many institutions misunderstand their purpose, treating them as accusations rather than suspicion flags. Regulatory pressure and soaring transaction volumes have driven firms to prioritize filing speed over narrative...

Legora and Tandem Health CEOs Reject Anthropic and OpenAI Threat
Swedish AI startups Legora and Tandem Health said they do not view US frontier AI labs such as Anthropic and OpenAI as threats to their business models. Legora, a legal‑tech platform serving over 400 firms and valued at $1.8 billion, argues...
The Spreadsheet Trap in Financial Crime Risk
Spreadsheets have long been the default tool for financial crime risk assessments, prized for their flexibility and low cost. However, they cannot enforce governance, version control, or audit trails required by modern compliance frameworks. As institutions expand across products and...
AI Success That Feels Real
The article argues that AI delivers real business value when organizations focus on small, well‑defined projects rather than grand transformation programs. By targeting high‑friction processes, firms can achieve measurable gains such as a 30% drop in rework, improved data accuracy,...
Ankler Taps New Publisher
Ankler Media Group announced the appointment of Lynne Segall as its new publisher, joining CEO Janice Min and sales head London Sanders. Segall brings experience from The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and The Wrap to steer sales, advertising, podcasts, and live events....
Oak Furnitureland Boosted by Sales Growth and Reduced Losses
Oak Furnitureland reported a 5% rise in like‑for‑like sales over the seven months to 31 January 2026, driven by expanded product ranges and store‑online improvements. Group revenue for the year to 30 June 2025 increased 2% to £240.5 million, while operating losses shrank 66% to...

Exclusive: Tiger Global-Backed Kutumb Enters Gay Dating Space with Polo
Bengaluru‑based Kutumb has entered the LGBTQ+ dating market with Polo, a new gay‑focused app now live on Google Play. Polo offers selfie‑based verification, AI‑driven matchmaking, instant messaging and audio‑video calls, plus private photo albums and interest filters. The launch follows...
Henri-Lloyd Appoints Former Rapha Executive as Chief Marketing Officer
Henri‑Lloyd has created a chief marketing officer role and hired Tom McMullen, a former Rapha CMO, to fill it. McMullen brings nearly a decade of experience at the premium cycling brand and a stint as brand director at Montane, plus...

Google Patches First Chrome Zero-Day Exploited in Attacks This Year
Google has issued emergency updates to patch CVE‑2026‑2441, a high‑severity use‑after‑free flaw in Chrome’s CSSFontFeatureValuesMap implementation. The vulnerability, confirmed to be exploited in the wild, can cause crashes, rendering issues, or data corruption. Google back‑ported the fix to stable desktop...
Fitch, Afreximbank, and Africa's Development Sovereignty
Afreximbank terminated its credit rating relationship with Fitch after the agency reclassified the bank as high‑risk for providing debt relief to Ghana. Fitch argued the support indicated a lack of preferred‑creditor status, a claim the bank disputes, citing treaty‑based protections...

ValleyNXT Ventures Launches Rs 400 Cr Early-Stage Fund for Deeptech Startups
ValleyNXT Ventures has launched the Bharat Breakthrough Fund‑I, a SEBI‑registered Category I VC vehicle aimed at seed to pre‑Series A deep‑tech startups. The fund seeks an initial Rs 200 crore raise, with an option to double to Rs 400 crore. It will combine traditional venture capital...

Cadbury 5 Star and Cricket Scotland Celebrate World Cup Qualification With ‘Do Nothing’
Cadbury 5 Star has teamed up with Cricket Scotland to celebrate the team’s unexpected qualification for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The partnership riffs on Cadbury’s long‑running “Eat 5 Star, Do Nothing” slogan, positioning Scotland’s “do nothing” route into the tournament as a...
Startup Nation: What It Really Takes to Build a Resilient Innovation Hub
Governments are seeking ways to build startup ecosystems that can grow even during geopolitical shocks, supply‑chain disruptions, and economic volatility. The article argues that resilience—not branding or isolated reforms—is the key, using Silicon Valley’s ability to compress, recalibrate, and accelerate...

Sitegeist Secures €4M Pre-Seed for AI Modular Robots in Construction
Munich‑based Sitegeist secured €4 million in a pre‑seed round led by b2venture and OpenOcean to develop AI‑driven modular robots for construction. The startup targets the massive concrete‑renovation backlog in Europe and North America, where labor shortages and manual removal methods drive...
Terra Now Valued at over $100 Million, as It Extends Funding to $34 Million
Terra Industries, an African defence‑technology startup, extended its Series A round to $34 million after adding $22 million in fresh capital, pushing its valuation past the $100 million mark. The round was led by Lux Capital and attracted new angel investors such as actor...
Japan's Economy Barely Grows in Oct-Dec Quarter as Exports Slow
Japan’s economy grew a modest 0.2 percent annualised in the October‑December quarter, just enough to avoid a technical recession after a 0.7 percent contraction in the prior quarter. Private consumption rose 0.4 percent, but a 1.1 percent drop in exports dragged overall growth. The...
Quote of the Day by Sanjeev Bikhchandani: ‘Nobody Being Thrown Out… You Should Just Learn 5-15 Useful AI Tools’
Founder of Info Edge, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, says AI isn’t eliminating jobs but requires workers to upskill. He recommends employees master between five and fifteen practical AI tools to stay relevant. The advice emphasizes reskilling rather than fear of displacement. Bikhchandani’s...

LocalHost Raises $2.5 Mn From InVideo, RedBull India, and Others
LocalHost, a startup launchpad, secured $2.5 million in an angel round led by InVideo, RedBull India, Anthropic and Eros International. The capital will fund expansion of its global founder labs, bolstering hardware infrastructure and scaling operational teams across regions. Existing labs...

Why Media Mix Modeling So Rarely Works for B2B
Media mix modeling (MMM) excels for consumer brands with high transaction volume, stable offers, short purchase cycles, and direct paths, but B2B marketers often encounter wide uncertainty intervals and volatile recommendations. The core issue is statistical: B2B deals are few,...

India's Wholesale Inflation Rises to 1.81% in January
India’s wholesale price index (WPI) accelerated to 1.81% year‑on‑year in January, up sharply from 0.53% in December. The rise was led by higher food prices, while falling fuel costs provided a modest offset. Although the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)...

Apple Privacy Labels Often Don’t Match What Chinese Smart Home Apps Do
A new study of 49 Chinese smart‑home apps on Apple’s App Store reveals systematic gaps in by‑stander privacy and frequent mismatches between privacy policies, user‑interface controls, and App Store privacy labels. All apps require real‑name phone registration and collect a...

IT and Administration Jobs Attract Most UK Applications
UK jobseekers are gravitating toward IT and administration positions, with software engineering roles attracting the most applications per vacancy in Q4 2025. The average salary for software engineers was £61,268, the highest among the top‑ten roles, while receptionists earned £30,805....

Arqiva in Uncertainty over DTT Switch Off
Arqiva, the UK's sole national digital terrestrial TV and radio infrastructure provider, faces financial uncertainty as major shareholders reassess their stakes. Macquarie has divested its 26.5% holding, while Digital 9 Infrastructure (DGI9) is reviewing its 51.8% share and may write off...

Non-Tariff Measures Costing Industry Billions: GA
Grains Australia’s new report quantifies non‑tariff measures (NTMs) as a 20.4% tariff‑equivalent on Australian grain exports, costing the sector about $4.6 billion in forgone revenue each year. The analysis, built on ABARES research and ANU‑led econometric modelling, is the most detailed...
Industrial AI Platform Combines Virtual Twins, Accelerated Computing
Dassault Systèmes and NVIDIA announced a long‑term partnership to build a shared industrial AI architecture that merges Dassault’s virtual twin technology with NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure and accelerated computing libraries. The joint solution aims to deliver physics‑validated Industry World Models that...
A Practical Guide to Completing Identity Verification for Your Clients
In this Accountancy Age episode, the hosts walk listeners through the two‑step Companies House identity verification process that directors and persons with significant control (PSCs) must complete before filing confirmation statements. They explain how ACSPs report verifications, obtain the 11‑character...
EToro Launches Shareholder Engagement Initiative in Partnership with Stockperks
eToro has launched a shareholder engagement initiative in partnership with Stockperks, a loyalty‑rewards marketplace for public companies. The program invites eligible eToro shareholders to receive exclusive educational content, event invitations, and direct access to company leaders and market experts. By...

In GitHub’s Advisory Pipeline, some Advisories Move Faster than Others
A new study of 288,604 GitHub Security Advisories from 2019‑2025 shows that only about 8% (23,563) complete GitHub’s formal review process. Advisories created directly in repositories are reviewed far faster—median under one day—than those imported from the National Vulnerability Database,...
A Blueprint for the Predictive Firm: Moving Beyond Manual Data Reconciliation
The episode explores how leading accountancy firms are shifting from retrospective reporting to predictive, real‑time visibility by consolidating fragmented tech stacks into unified platforms. It highlights the £300k technology investment benchmark needed to eliminate manual data reconciliation, improve margin protection...

Exclusive: UK HealthTech Startup Nul Raises €840k in Seed Funding to Help Nullify Alcohol Dependence
UK‑based health‑tech startup Nul announced a €840,000 seed round led by dmg ventures and BYVP to fund its UK commercial launch and international expansion. The company offers a fully remote, subscription‑based platform that pairs clinical care with the FDA‑approved medication naltrexone...
Lerma Names Its First Chief Strategy Officer as It Builds Out Leadership Team
Dallas‑based agency Lerma has appointed Omar Quiñones as its first Chief Strategy Officer, completing a recent C‑suite expansion. Quiñones joins from Messianu/Edelman/Lerma, where he held the same role, and brings senior strategy experience from Anomaly, CP+B, and YETI. The hire...

IFlytek’s Audio Transcription Tool Reaches 100 Million Users
iFlytek’s iFlyrec audio transcription app has surpassed 100 million users, becoming the company’s second core product to hit nine‑figure adoption. The service relies on a subscription‑based SaaS model rather than advertising or subsidies, delivering over 60% gross‑profit growth for three straight...

EaseMyTrip to Raise Rs 500 Cr to Scale Hotels and Holidays Biz
EaseMyTrip, one of India’s leading online travel platforms, announced plans to raise up to Rs 500 crore through a rights issue, QIP or other approved methods. The capital will be used to deepen its hotel and holiday‑package business, upgrade technology, and pursue...

Genki Forest Calls 2025 a Breakthrough Year, Tightens Ops to Focus on Steady Growth
Genki Forest celebrated its ninth anniversary by declaring 2025 a breakthrough year, achieving its first sustainable profitability and higher‑quality growth. The company credited tighter expense control, disciplined pricing and a trimmed SKU portfolio for the improvement, while deepening channel penetration...

Cisco Set to Release Home-Brew Hypervisor as a VMware Alternative
Cisco is preparing to launch NFVIS‑for‑UC, a purpose‑built hypervisor that runs only its Unified Communications applications, offering a lightweight alternative to VMware. VMware, now owned by Broadcom, has shifted focus to its expensive Cloud Foundation suite, leaving low‑end vSphere customers...