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☆ Uber rival Bolt seeks to turn profitable next year, IPO in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

STOCKHOLM, May 8 (Reuters) - Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery startup Bolt expects to turn profitable in the next 12 months and be ready for an initial public offering in 2025, its Chief Executive Officer Markus Villig said in an interview. The company, a rival of Uber (UBER.N), was valued at over $8 billion when it raised 628 million euros from investors in January last year. "We expect to be the first European mobility platform that will be fully profitable over the next 12 months," said Villig, who doesn't have a driving license. Bolt, run by 29-year-old Villig, does not plan to raise external capital through another funding round but will get ready for an IPO instead. It also expects its grocery business to break even or turn profitable in two or three years.

☆ Pepsi bottler Varun Beverages posts Q1 profit jump; announces stock split
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU/CHENNAI, May 2 (Reuters) - India-based Pepsi bottler Varun Beverages (VARB.NS) on Tuesday reported an about 69% jump in quarterly profit on price increases and steady demand, and said it would split each of its existing shares into two. The company reported a consolidated net profit of 4.29 billion rupees ($52.46 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, compared to 2.54 billion rupees a year earlier. Gurugram-based Varun Beverages, which is PepsiCo's No.2 franchisee outside the United States, packages and distributes beverages under the Pepsi, Mirinda and Tropicana labels. Varun Beverages approved a share split of its existing shares in a ratio of 1:2 to boost its liquidity and make its stock "more attractive" to small investors. The stock was last up marginally at 1,450 rupees and up about 10% so far this year.

☆ G7 should adopt 'risk-based' AI regulation, ministers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan. EU lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft of its upcoming AI Act, including copyright protection measures for generative AI, following a call for world leaders to convene a summit to control such technology. Vestager, EU's tech regulation chief, said the bloc "will have the political agreement this year" on the AI copyright legislation, such as labelling obligations for AI-generated images or music. Japan, this year's chair of G7, meanwhile, has taken an accommodative approach on AI developers, pledging support for public and industrial adoption of AI. Japan will host the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in late May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss AI rules with world leaders.

☆ EU tech tsar Vestager sees political agreement on AI law this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TAKASAKI, April 30 (Reuters) - European Union tech regulation chief Margrethe Vestager said on Sunday the bloc will likely reach a political agreement this year that will pave the way for the world's first major artificial intelligence (AI) legislation. This would follow a preliminary deal reached on Thursday on the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act. In an interview with Reuters at a Group of Seven digital ministers' meeting in Takasaki, Japan, Vestager suggested legislative measures for the use of AI tools, such as "labelling obligations for AI-generated images". "There was no reason to hesitate and to wait for the legislation to be passed to accelerate the necessary discussions to provide the changes in all the systems where AI will have an enormous influence," she added, when asked about steps before any agreement takes force. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Takasaki, Japan; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File PhotoLONDON/STOCKHOLM, April 28 (Reuters) - As recently as February, generative AI did not feature prominently in EU lawmakers' plans for regulating generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as ChatGPT. LAST-MINUTE CHANGESSince launching in November, ChatGPT has become the fastest growing app in history, and sparked a flurry of activity from Big Tech competitors and investment in generative AI startups like Anthropic and Midjourney. THE TERMINATORUntil recently, MEPs were still unconvinced that generative AI deserved any special consideration. In February, Tudorache told Reuters that generative AI was "not going to be covered" in-depth. But Tudorache and his colleagues now agree on the need for laws specifically targeting the use of generative AI.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O)-backed OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy last month after the country's data protection authority, also known as Garante, temporarily banned the chatbot and launched a probe over the artificial intelligence application's suspected breach of privacy rules. Last month, Garante said ChatGPT has an "absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" to "train" the chatbot. Italy was the first western European country to curb ChatGPT, but its rapid development has attracted attention from lawmakers and regulators in several countries. Following Garante's interest in ChatGPT, European Data Protection Board, the body that unites Europe's national privacy watchdogs, set up a task force on the chatbot earlier this month. Garante said it will continue its probe of ChatGPT and will work with the special task force.

☆ EU lawmakers committee reaches deal on artificial intelligence act
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

STOCKHOLM, April 27 (Reuters) - A committee of European Union lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a European Artificial Intelligence Act, which would pave the way to the first ever regulation of AI. "Against conservative wishes for more surveillance and leftist fantasies of over-regulation, parliament found a solid compromise that would regulate AI proportionately, protect citizens’ rights, as well as foster innovation and boost the economy," said Svenja Hahn, a European Parliament deputy. She said there would be a vote at committee level on May 11 followed by a plenary vote in parliament, probably in June. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Foo Yun Chee in BrusselsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Members of the European Parliament agreed to push the draft through to the next stage, the trilogue, during which EU lawmakers and member states will thrash out the final details of the bill. Under the proposals, AI tools will be classified according to their perceived risk level: from minimal through to limited, high, and unacceptable. Companies deploying generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT or image generator Midjourney, will also have to disclose any copyrighted material used to develop their systems. Some committee members initially proposed banning copyrighted material being used to train generative AI models altogether, the source said, but this was abandoned in favour of a transparency requirement. The ensuing race among tech companies to bring generative AI products to market concerned some onlookers, with Twitter-owner Elon Musk backing a proposal to halt development of such systems for six months.

☆ Sweden launches research rocket, accidentally hits Norway
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, April 25 (Reuters) - A research rocket launched by Sweden Space Corp (SSC) early on Monday from Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden malfunctioned and landed 15 km (9.32 miles) inside neighbouring Norway. There are routines in place when things go wrong and we inform both Swedish and Norwegian governments, and other actors, he said. In the event of any border violation, those responsible should immediately inform the relevant Norwegian authorities, which included the foreign ministry, through the right channels, the spokesperson said. The ministry had not received a formal notification of the incident from the Swedish authorities, she added. The Norwegian foreign ministry said it was not aware of whether there was any damage to the surroundings, while a SSC spokesperson said the rocket came down far from any settlement.

☆ Spotify's monthly active users top 500 million, beat estimate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The number of monthly active users rose to 515 million in the first quarter, beating Spotify's guidance and analysts' forecast of 500 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Premium subscribers, who account for most of its revenue, rose 15% to 210 million, topping estimates of 206 million. The company forecast monthly active users of 530 million. Spotify last year laid out plans to get one billion users by 2030 and reach $100 billion in annual revenue. Spotify's current-quarter revenue forecast of 3.2 billion euros also missed expectations of 3.26 billion euros.

The logo of German software group SAP is pictured at the headquarters of SAP (Schweiz) AG in Regensdorf, Switzerland January 22, 2021. Revenue from SAP's lucrative cloud business grew 24% year-on-year, broadly in line with consensus. For the year, SAP expects non-IFRS operating profit in the range of 8.6-8.9 billion euros, 200 million euros less than before. Cloud revenue forecast is seen down by 1.3 billion euros to between 14 and 14.4 billion euros. "Underlying guidance is essentially unchanged, although updated to reflect the disposal of Qualtrics," Jefferies analysts wrote in a client note.

☆ Nokia profit misses forecast, expects stronger second half
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, it kept its full-year outlook unchanged and said it expects profitability in the second half of the year to be stronger than the first half. First-quarter comparable operating profit fell to 479 million euros ($524.94 million) from 583 million euros last year, missing the 532.4 million euro forecast of analysts polled by Refinitiv. Net sales grew 10% in the quarter to 5.86 billion euros, beating estimates of 5.72 billion euros, Nokia said. Lundmark expects some recovery in the North American market in the second half of the year. Comparable operating margin fell to 8.2% from 10.9%.

☆ Global rice shortage is set to be the largest in 20 years – here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The global rice market is set to log its largest shortfall in two decades in 2023, according to Fitch Solutions. "At the global level, the most evident impact of the global rice deficit has been, and still is, decade-high rice prices," Fitch Solutions' commodities analyst Charles Hart said. That would mar the largest global rice deficit since 2003/2004, when the global rice markets generated a deficit of 18.6 million tonnes, said Hart. "The global rice production deficit situation will increase the cost of importing rice for major rice importers such as Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and African countries in 2023," said Tjakra. "It is our view that global rice production will stage a solid rebound in 2023/24, expecting total output to rise by 2.5% year on year," Fitch's report forecast, hinging on India being a "principal engine" of global rice output over the next five years.

The size of subsidies under the EU Chips Act, which aims to tempt the world's top chipmakers to build factories in the bloc and double its share of global output to 20% by 2030, lags the $52 billion CHIPS for America Act. Taiwan accounts for more than 60% of global chip production and concerns are growing about heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing. But Europe's relatively modest subsidies could put a brake on its ambition, said Richard Windsor of research company Radio Free Mobile. GOOD STARTThe EU Chips Act is a good start given the EU has little choice but to join the subsidy race, but the bloc should play to its chipmaking strengths, said Christopher Cytera, research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis. Catching up on the chips race is more than just building factories and the Chips Act acknowledges this with its focus on developing skilled labour for the future, said Anielle Guedes, senior research analyst at IDC Technologies.

April 17 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers urged world leaders on Monday to hold a summit to find ways to control the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT, saying they were developing faster than expected. The 12 MEPs, all working on EU legislation on the technology, called on U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convene the meeting, and said AI firms should be more responsible. "We are nevertheless in agreement with the letter's core message: with the rapid evolution of powerful AI, we see the need for significant political action," they added. The letter urged democratic and "non-democratic" countries to reflect on potential systems of governance, and to exercise restraint in their pursuit of very powerful AI. The Biden administration has also been seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for AI systems as questions loom about their impact on national security and education.

☆ OpenAI to propose remedies to Italian ban on ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME/STOCKHOLM, April 6 (Reuters) - OpenAI plans to present measures to Italian authorities on Thursday to remedy concerns that led to a ban of its ChatGPT chatbot in Italy last week, the country's data protection authorities said. The Italian agency, also known as Garante, accused Microsoft Corp-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI of failing to check the age of ChatGPT users and the "absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" to "train" the chatbot. OpenAI responded by stopping access to Italian users. The agency said it has no intention of putting a brake on the development of AI but reiterated the importance of respecting rules aimed at protecting the personal data of Italian and European citizens. In February, Garante banned AI chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of Italian users, citing risks to minors and emotionally fragile people.

☆ Germany could block ChatGPT if needed, says data protection chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, April 3 (Reuters) - Germany could follow in Italy's footsteps by blocking ChatGPT over data security concerns, the German commissioner for data protection told the Handelsblatt newspaper in comments published on Monday. "In principle, such action is also possible in Germany," Ulrich Kelber said, adding that this would fall under state jurisdiction. Privacy watchdogs in France and Ireland said they had also contacted the Italian data regulator to discuss its findings. "We are following up with the Italian regulator to understand the basis for their action and we will coordinate with all EU data protection authorities in relation to this matter," said a spokesperson for Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC). The privacy regulator in Sweden said it has no plans to ban ChatGPT nor is it in contact with the Italian watchdog.

ChatGPT has an "absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" to "train" the chatbot, Garante said. OpenAI has 20 days to respond with remedies or could risk a fine of up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover. ChatGPT was still answering questions posted by Italian users on the platform on Friday evening. Italy, which provisionally restricted ChatGPT's use of domestic users' personal data, became the first Western country to take action against a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence. The European Commission, which is debating the EU AI Act, may not be inclined to ban AI, European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager tweeted.

[1/2] Dressmaker Faieza Caswell from Mitchells Plain sews under candlelight in her workplace, on the Cape Flats due to South Africa's struggling power utility company Eskom, implementing regular power cuts - called 'load-shedding', in Cape Town, South Africa February 11, 2023. South Africa's relatively wealthy, developed economy and nearly three decades of political stability helped drive industry growth and draw in reinsurers. And they are now tightening the conditions of their agreements with insurance companies. Reinsurers are also pushing insurance companies to include so-called "named perils" in policies rather than offering blanket cover for catastrophes. Grid failure would plunge South Africa into a nationwide blackout that could last weeks.

March 29 (Reuters) - Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives are calling for a six-month pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAI's newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society and humanity. "Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," the letter said. The letter detailed potential risks to society and civilization by human-competitive AI systems in the form of economic and political disruptions, and called on developers to work with policymakers on governance and regulatory authorities. Rather than pause research, she said, AI researchers should be subjected to greater transparency requirements. "If you do AI research, you should be very transparent about how you do it."

☆ India's Tata Group mulls pumping $2 bln into super app venture -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, March 23 (Reuters) - Indian salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group is considering injecting another $2 billion into its super app venture to bolster its digital business, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Tata Group has also asked Tata Digital to look for ways to boost the valuation of the super app, according to the report. A Tata Group spokesperson and Tata Digital declined to comment on the report. Tata launched the e-commerce super app in April last year, offering everything from apparel to air tickets in a renewed push for a slice of a fast-growing market dominated by Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Walmart's (WMT.N) Flipkart. Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The draft needs to be thrashed out between EU countries and EU lawmakers, called a trilogue, before the rules can become law. This led to different AI tools being classified according to their perceived risk level: from minimal through to limited, high, and unacceptable. Almost all of the big tech players have stakes in the sector, including Microsoft (MSFT.O), Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Meta (META.O). BIG TECH, BIG PROBLEMSThe EU discussions have raised concerns for companies -- from small startups to Big Tech -- on how regulations might affect their business and whether they would be at a competitive disadvantage against rivals from other continents. A recent survey by industry body appliedAI showed that 51% of the respondents expect a slowdown of AI development activities as a result of the AI Act.

☆ Explainer: What is the European Union AI Act?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Apart from uses of AI by companies, it will also look at AI used in public sector and law enforcement. A GPAIS (General Purpose AI System) is a category proposed by lawmakers to account for AI tools with more than one application, such as generative AI models like ChatGPT. The proposals say those found in breach of the AI Act face fines of up to 30 million euros or 6% of global profits, whichever is higher. WHEN WILL THE AI ACT COME INTO FORCE? The Act is being discussed by parliamentarians, and after they reach common ground, there will be a trilogue between representatives of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

☆ South Africa aware of legal obligations regarding Putin visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 19 (Reuters) - South Africa is aware of its legal obligation, a spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday, referring to a proposed visit by Vladimir Putin after an international court issued an arrest warrant against the Russian leader. Russian President Putin was expected to visit South Africa in August to attend a BRICS summit. But such a visit would place Ramaphosa's government, which has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in a precarious position after the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday. "We note the report on the warrant of arrest that the ICC has issued," Magwenya said. "It remains South Africa's commitment and very strong desire that the conflict in Ukraine is resolved peacefully through negotiations."

☆ How Silicon Valley Bank's collapse ripped through global tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Not long after California startups started pulling money out of troubled Silicon Valley Bank, entrepreneurs in other parts of the world woke up to the news. While the global effects of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse are just emerging, one thing is clear: tech startups, no matter how far apart, are intertwined. FOUNDERS WARYQuincy Lee, founder of Seattle-based EV charging startup Electra Era, tried to move millions of dollars from Silicon Valley Bank on Thursday afternoon as warning signs multiplied. European stocks fell on banking industry concerns, though, and even startups that did not bank with SVB were scrambling. CHINESE STARTUPS MOVING MONEYSVB's Shanghai-based joint venture, SPD Silicon Valley Bank (SSVB), said it had a sound corporate structure and an independent balance sheet.

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