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LONDON (Reuters) -Spending on new UK data centres is set to rise to 10 billion pounds a year by 2029, a more than five-fold increase from 2024, analysis by construction data firm Barbour ABI has found. A total of 1.75 billion pounds was spent on data centres in the UK last year, with 2.38 billion forecast to be spent in 2025. AI-driven demand is fuelling data centre investment. Tech giants are seen investing 25 billion pounds into the UK over the next five years, Barbour ABI found, and almost 100 new data centre projects are planned. Growth is being supported by government initiatives such as AI Growth Zones which aim to streamline the planning process for new digital infrastructure. London and surrounding areas have traditionally dominated the data centre sector, but development is increasingly expanding nationwide, according to Barbour ABI. The largest planned UK data centre project is a $13 billion "hyperscale" data centre in North East England, proposed by U.S. private equity group Blackstone. Last month, Britain and the United States agreed a technology pact with top U.S. firms including Microsoft, Nvidia and Google, among those pledging investments in the UK. Global data centre demand and planned projects have surged since ChatGPT was released in late 2022, as big money and governments bet generative AI will revolutionise the way we work and live. (Reporting by Lucy Raitano, editing by Ed Osmond)

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By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Biotech firm Metagenomi said it is using artificial intelligence chips from Amazon.com's cloud computing unit to power some of its work in developing gene-editing technologies. The work represents one of the first major uses of Amazon Web Services chips beyond chatbots and other products powered by large language models, with Metagenomi saying AWS's Inferentia chips had proven far more cost-effective than products from rivals like Nvidia. Emeryville, California-based firm Metagenomi is one of a number of companies working to develop tools to inject genetic material into the human body where it can edit genes to treat diseases. To do that, Metagenomi sifts through the natural world looking for proteins that might help with the challenge of precisely delivering a treatment to any gene in any cell of the human body. When it finds one that looks close, it uses AI to generate many similar examples to find just the right ones. "So we did this impressive thing where we generated over a million different proteins from this rare class of enzyme that we use for doing gene editing. And in that case, it was really a clear cost advantage for using the Inferentia platform," Chris Brown, head of discovery for Metagenomi. "Unless you cast a broad enough net in the beginning, you actually just miss what can be the most important discoveries and systems entirely," he added. The Inferentia chips – which were introduced in 2019 to power AI features for Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant – were able to do the same job as rival chips at roughly half the price, Brown said. (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Biotech firm Metagenomi said it is using artificial intelligence chips from Amazon.com's cloud computing unit to power some of its work in developing gene-editing technologies. The work represents one of the first major uses of Amazon Web Services chips beyond chatbots and other products powered by large language models, with Metagenomi saying AWS's Inferentia chips had proven far more cost-effective than products from rivals like Nvidia. Emeryville, California-based firm Metagenomi is one of a number of companies working to develop tools to inject genetic material into the human body where it can edit genes to treat diseases. To do that, Metagenomi sifts through the natural world looking for proteins that might help with the challenge of precisely delivering a treatment to any gene in any cell of the human body. When it finds one that looks close, it uses AI to generate many similar examples to find just the right ones. "So we did this impressive thing where we generated over a million different proteins from this rare class of enzyme that we use for doing gene editing. And in that case, it was really a clear cost advantage for using the Inferentia platform," Chris Brown, head of discovery for Metagenomi. "Unless you cast a broad enough net in the beginning, you actually just miss what can be the most important discoveries and systems entirely," he added. The Inferentia chips – which were introduced in 2019 to power AI features for Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant – were able to do the same job as rival chips at roughly half the price, Brown said. (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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(Reuters) -FalconX said on Wednesday it will buy crypto investment management firm 21shares, as the digital assets trading firm looks to expand its exchange-traded funds offerings. The deal comes just over a month after Wall Street's top regulator removed the last remaining hurdle to dozens of new spot ETFs tied to cryptocurrencies ranging from solana to dogecoin. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Trump administration has aligned itself with the digital assets sector via long-awaited regulatory clarity, marking a stark turnaround from the years of struggle and a legal battle that paved the way for the approval of the first bitcoin ETF in January 2024. "We're witnessing a powerful convergence between digital assets and traditional financial markets, as crypto ETPs (exchange-traded products) open new channels for investor participation through regulated, familiar structures," said FalconX CEO Raghu Yarlagadda. Founded in 2018 by Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder, 21shares now manages over $11 billion in assets across dozens of products.  FalconX plans to leverage 21shares' expertise in crypto ETFs and its brokerage platform to advance the adoption of digital asset investment products.  Although updated standards from the Securities and Exchange Commission are expected to unleash a flurry of crypto ETFs, the U.S. government shutdown could curb the agency's ability to review and approve these filings. Concerns are also mounting over highly leveraged funds tracking crypto and related companies. Earlier this month, the sector saw its largest selloff ever after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed trade tensions with China. FalconX, which was valued at $8 billion in a 2022 funding round, has facilitated over $2 trillion in trading volume and has a client base exceeding 2,000 institutions. (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari and Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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By Kirstin Ridley and Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's markets regulator has filed a lawsuit against HTX, a global crypto exchange advised by Chinese entrepreneur Justin Sun, accusing it of unlawfully promoting crypto asset services to UK consumers. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday it had launched civil proceedings in London's High Court against HTX, formerly known as Huobi, for breaching Britain's financial promotions regime. HTX is not authorised to operate in Britain, the FCA's website shows. "This action is part of our commitment to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of UK financial markets," an FCA spokesperson said, declining to comment further. Representatives for HTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HTX ADVISED BY CHINESE ENTREPRENEUR JUSTIN SUN HTX was founded in 2013 and names Sun as a global adviser. Sun is a prominent backer of the Trump family's crypto venture World Liberty Financial, having spent at least $75 million on the project's crypto tokens. A wallet labelled "SUN", identified by blockchain analysts as belonging to HTX, was also the top holder of U.S. President Donald Trump's "$TRUMP" memecoin. The FCA, which says it wants to develop a competitive and sustainable cryptoasset regime, introduced new rules in 2023 for firms promoting crypto assets. They need authorisations and have to register with the FCA under money laundering regulations. However, HTX is currently on the FCA's warning list, which names companies that consumers should avoid dealing with. The FCA's case has been filed against Huobi Global and four groups listed as "persons unknown" to cover individuals such as the owners, operators and heads of promotions at the business. (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Elizabeth Howcroft. Additional reporting by Sam Tobin. Editing by Mark Potter)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Kirstin Ridley and Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's markets regulator has filed a lawsuit against HTX, a global crypto exchange advised by Chinese entrepreneur Justin Sun, accusing it of unlawfully promoting crypto asset services to UK consumers. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday it had launched civil proceedings in London's High Court against HTX, formerly known as Huobi, for breaching Britain's financial promotions regime. HTX is not authorised to operate in Britain, the FCA's website shows. "This action is part of our commitment to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of UK financial markets," an FCA spokesperson said, declining to comment further. Representatives for HTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HTX ADVISED BY CHINESE ENTREPRENEUR JUSTIN SUN HTX was founded in 2013 and names Sun as a global adviser. Sun is a prominent backer of the Trump family's crypto venture World Liberty Financial, having spent at least $75 million on the project's crypto tokens. A wallet labelled "SUN", identified by blockchain analysts as belonging to HTX, was also the top holder of U.S. President Donald Trump's "$TRUMP" memecoin. The FCA, which says it wants to develop a competitive and sustainable cryptoasset regime, introduced new rules in 2023 for firms promoting crypto assets. They need authorisations and have to register with the FCA under money laundering regulations. However, HTX is currently on the FCA's warning list, which names companies that consumers should avoid dealing with. The FCA's case has been filed against Huobi Global and four groups listed as "persons unknown" to cover individuals such as the owners, operators and heads of promotions at the business. (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Elizabeth Howcroft. Additional reporting by Sam Tobin. Editing by Mark Potter)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)