The Central Bank of the UAE is rolling out a nationwide unified know your customer platform. The initiative is designed to streamline identity verification across the country and improve onboarding processes for financial institutions.
Finextra ↗A planned system update at Danske Bank was affected by human error, causing protected customer address details to be leaked to outside payment recipients. The incident highlights a data handling failure involving sensitive personal information.
Finextra ↗Aryza has acquired Toronto-based Umbrella Tech, which specializes in voice-based agentic AI for financial services. The deal expands Aryza’s AI-enabled automation capabilities across the credit and debt lifecycle.
Finextra ↗Veteran banking and fintech executive Derek White has launched Primitive, an AI agent operating system designed for regulated financial institutions. The product is aimed at helping banks and fintech firms deploy AI agents within compliance-heavy environments.
Finextra ↗Visa, Stripe, and Zodia Custody have become the first external validators on Tempo, a stablecoin payments blockchain. The move signals growing industry participation in blockchain-based payment infrastructure.
Finextra ↗Revolut Business has launched a service for UK firms to hire, onboard, and pay international talent as they expand into new markets. The update is a product expansion aimed at simplifying cross-border business operations.
Finextra ↗UniCredit has chosen Slate to provide a digital investment platform in Poland. The service will combine brokerage and robo-advisory technology for retail customers.
Finextra ↗American Express has released an agentic commerce developer kit to support AI-driven shopping experiences. The company also said it will provide protection for registered agent purchases.
Finextra ↗B2B buy now, pay later provider Hokodo has shut down. Its founders are now starting a consulting firm focused on helping B2B companies improve trade credit and cash flow operations.
Finextra ↗Deutsche Börse has invested $200 million for a 1.5% fully diluted stake in crypto platform Kraken. The deal deepens an existing strategic partnership between the two firms.
Finextra ↗Google DeepMind released Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6, an upgraded embodied reasoning model for robots in real-world settings. The model improves visual and spatial understanding, task planning, success detection, and instrument reading for physical AI systems.
MarkTechPost ↗Researchers are developing hardware and algorithms to improve collaboration between divers and autonomous underwater vehicles in maritime missions. The work focuses on making human-machine teaming more effective in challenging underwater environments.
MIT News ↗MIT SHASS Dean Agustín Rayo discusses how AI is changing higher education as the school marks its 75th anniversary. He argues that humanities, arts, and social sciences remain essential to MIT’s mission in an AI-driven era.
MIT News ↗An investor backing both Anthropic and OpenAI said OpenAI's recent funding round only made sense if the company eventually reaches a $1.2 trillion IPO valuation. That makes Anthropic's $380 billion valuation look comparatively attractive to some investors. The piece highlights shifting investor sentiment in the AI market rather than any regulatory or product event.
TechCrunch ↗Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said the company briefed the Trump administration on Mythos while also pursuing a lawsuit against the government. The comments highlight Anthropic’s continued engagement with U.S. policymakers despite the legal dispute.
TechCrunch ↗Science Corp., founded by Max Hodak, is preparing to place its first sensor in a human brain. The device is intended to explore treatments for neurological conditions, including gentle electrical stimulation to help damaged brain or spinal cord cells heal if the approach works.
TechCrunch ↗Google is adding “Skills” to Chrome so users can save and reuse AI prompts across websites. The feature expands Gemini’s browser integration and is aimed at making common workflows easier to repeat.
TechCrunch ↗TechCrunch says the first StrictlyVC event of 2026 will take place in San Francisco on April 30. The announcement highlights speakers from TDK Ventures, Replit, and other companies, with tickets still available.
TechCrunch ↗Google is bringing its Gemini Personal Intelligence feature to India. The feature lets users connect Google services like Gmail and Photos so Gemini can provide more personalized answers.
TechCrunch ↗Anything, a vibe-coding app, is rebuilding its product after being removed from the App Store twice. The company now plans to launch a desktop companion app to support mobile app development.
TechCrunch ↗