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Businesses are preparing to sharply increase their investment in artificial intelligence next year, even as concerns around data privacy, regulatory compliance and security risks continue to weigh heavily on IT leaders. New research from enterprise content management platform Storyblok shows that nine in ten companies plan to raise their AI budgets in 2026, with more than half expecting a “significant” uplift. Only 2% anticipate cutting their AI spending. The survey of 200 senior IT and...

Disabled consumers across the UK continue to face significant barriers when trying to access products, services and customer support, according to new research published today by the Business Disability Forum (BDF). The findings, based on an Opinium survey of 1,073 disabled adults, reveal that more than a third (37%) believe their experience as customers would improve if staff had a better understanding of disability and how different conditions affect their needs. The study points to...

NatWest has surpassed its headline commitment to lend £2 billion to women-led businesses by the end of 2025, announcing that it has already delivered £2.84 billion in funding across more than 55,900 loans. The achievement comes a full year ahead of schedule and reinforces the bank’s role as one of the UK’s largest backers of female entrepreneurship. The average loan size stood at around £50,700, with high demand seen across a wide variety of sectors....

The Trump administration is preparing to impose one of the most stringent travel-screening requirements in modern US history, with foreign tourists set to be required to hand over five years of their social media history before they are allowed to enter the country. The proposal, filed quietly this week in the Federal Register by US Customs and Border Protection, would apply to all foreign nationals, including travellers from visa-waiver countries such as the UK and...

SpaceX is gearing up for what could become one of the largest stock market debuts in history, with Elon Musk reportedly preparing to take the rocket maker public as early as next year at a valuation of around $1.5 trillion. If the flotation proceeds as planned, it would sit just below Saudi Aramco’s record-setting $1.7 trillion IPO in 2019. According to reporting from Bloomberg, SpaceX executives and advisers are advancing plans for the listing, which...

Small manufacturers across the capital are set for a major digital upgrade after London awarded more than £300,000 in grants through the first round of the Made Smarter London programme. Delivered by London & Partners, the fund is designed to help locally based makers adopt new technologies, improve productivity and strengthen their resilience amid rising demand and global competition. Twenty small manufacturers have secured grants ranging from £4,500 to £20,000, enabling investment in artificial intelligence...