PayPal has announced a landmark deal with OpenAI to embed its digital wallet directly into ChatGPT, enabling users to shop and pay for products within the AI platform from 2026.

The partnership connects PayPal’s global payments network to OpenAI’s rapidly expanding “agentic commerce” ecosystem, where AI assistants can browse, compare and complete transactions on behalf of users.

PayPal will manage payment processing, verification and buyer protections, including dispute resolution and package tracking, while allowing consumers to pay via bank accounts, cards or stored balances.

The move follows Sam Altman’s firm’s recent integrations with Shopify, Etsy and Walmart, as ChatGPT evolves from a conversational tool into a transactional platform.

Altrincham-based digital marketing agency The Genius Group (TGG) has officially opened its new 14,000 sq ft headquarters in the town’s Foundation building – celebrating the milestone with a £42,000 donation to Prevent Breast Cancer.

The contribution will support the construction of the new National Breast Imaging Academy at Wythenshawe Hospital, which will boost screening capacity and train specialist clinicians.

Founded in 2017 by Chris Niebel and Mark Shephard, TGG specialises in lead generation, marketing services and software innovation.

Its 40-strong team has helped clients generate more than £2.3 billion in sales over the past three years, with plans to more than double its workforce in the next year.

Tech innovators across Yorkshire are being urged to apply for Top Tech Yorkshire 2026, with just over a week remaining before the 7th November deadline.

The six-month growth and mentoring programme, created by national law firm Mills & Reeve, aims to help high-potential tech companies accelerate their growth through access to investors, industry leaders and specialist advisors.

Now entering its next edition, Top Tech Yorkshire has already drawn strong interest since opening for applications in September.

The most promising entrants will be selected in December to join the 2026 cohort, which kicks off early next year.

Global digital infrastructure company Equinix has completed the purchase of an 85-acre site in Hertfordshire for the development of a major new data centre campus – its largest-ever UK investment, worth £3.9 billion.

The site will provide more than 250MW of compute capacity, boosting the UK’s critical national infrastructure and supporting industries such as healthcare, life sciences, finance and manufacturing.

Construction is expected to create around 2,500 local jobs, with 200 permanent skilled roles once operational, contributing up to £3bn to the economy during construction and £260 million annually thereafter, according to KPMG estimates.

The California-based firm, which operates over 270 data centres worldwide, plans to power the site entirely with renewable energy, retain more than half the land as open space and deliver a 10% biodiversity net gain.

Vodafone has agreed to acquire cloud, digital transformation and security specialist Skaylink GmbH in a €175 million deal.

Headquartered in Germany with over 500 cloud professionals, the company is known for its expertise in Microsoft Azure and AWS deployments and its growing focus on AI-driven business solutions.

The acquisition is set to expand Vodafone Business’s capabilities in cloud services, cybersecurity and managed digital transformation, strengthening its offering to enterprise and public sector clients across Europe.

Swiss electronics firm Cicor Technologies Ltd is lining up a £287m offer for UK-based TT Electronics Plc.

Cicor is a global provider of full-cycle electronic solutions for the healthcare technology, industrial, and aerospace & defense sectors.  TT, listed on the London Stock Exchange, is a provider of engineered electronics for ‘performance critical’ applications.

TT shareholders are expected to vote on the transaction in December 2025. The offer has the full support of the TT board.

The Parliament Street think tank has appointed Steven George-Hilley as its director of artificial intelligence in a newly created role.

George-Hilley is the founder and CEO of global tech communications firm Centropy PR, and will be tasked with leading the think tank’s cross-party policy development on AI deployment.

The role will involve chairing debates in the House of Lords and liaising with ministers and policy officials.

First launched in 2012, Parliament Street specialises in connecting businesses with policymakers and operates impartially, organising debates, events and discussions in the Houses of Parliament
and the House of Lords.

Originally joining the organisation as technology director in 2013, George-Hilley has led key political liaison programmes, working with ministers in both Labour and Conservative party governments to develop the best practice of key technologies such as analytics, AI and quantum computing.

LinkedIn has released its second annual Top 5 Startups in Manchester list.

To be eligible, companies must be headquartered in the UK, fully independent, privately held, have 30 or more full-time employees in the city and be 7 years old or younger.

The top 5 are:

1. Summize
2. CONDUCTR
3. IN4 Group
4. Campfire
5. APIS Assay Technologies

Author: Patrick Killeen

Nvidia’s march toward a $5 trillion market valuation has become the defining symbol of AI’s dominance in global markets.

However, according to deVere Group CEO Nigel Green, it is also a reminder that investor enthusiasm may be outpacing financial fundamentals.

“AI is transforming the global economy and remains the single most powerful force shaping the future,” said Green.

“But valuations are expanding faster than earnings. The technology is real, the transformation is real, but the profitability still has to prove itself.”

Nvidia’s staggering growth – with revenues more than doubling over the past year and quarterly sales exceeding $44 billion, largely from its data-centre business – reflects the high demand for chips powering AI systems across industries.

Yet Green, who leads the now-Dubai-based FinTech, has warned that much of this momentum is “built on anticipation more than profit”.

Chipmaker Nvidia has become the world’s first $5tn company.

The surge in its share price follows an announcement from CEO Jensen Huang that the firm will build seven supercomputers for the US Department of Energy. It has also secured an order for $500bn in chips. 

President Donald Trump said he will discuss potential Nvidia exports to China with President Xi.

The AI boom has also seen Apple and Microsoft close on $4tn valuations.

AOL, one of the internet’s early behemoths, has been snapped up by Italian app developer Bending Spoons in a reported $1.4bn deal.

The Milan-based firm said it is raising $2.8 billion in debt to fund both the acquisition and future takeovers.

AOL – which stands for American On Line – still has eight million daily users and stands to generate $400 million in annual revenue this year.

It was acquired by private equity giant Apollo in 2021 as part of a $5 billion deal which saw it acquire Yahoo and its assets from telecoms giant Verizon.

Bending Spoons has acquired other US firms in Evernote, Meetup and Brightcove.

VIOOH, a global digital out of home (DOOH) supply-side advertising platform, announced a strategic partnership with BIG OUTDOOR.

The deal struck by the MarTech 50 leader encompasses over 130 strategically positioned digital screens in the United States across three distinct environment types, delivering more than 677 million monthly impressions throughout major metropolitan areas.

The BIG OUTDOOR network spans high-impact locations including spectacular digital displays, street furniture and premium mall environments across New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin and San Diego.

Skyrora, the British rocket and space technology company, has developed a novel, high-temperature metal in collaboration with Metalysis and Thermo-Calc Solutions.

By 3D printing the material in-house, the production of Tanbium will reduce reliance on US imports of alloys, helping to localise a key material for the UK and European industrial sector.

Existing aerospace alloys often limit performance or face supply chain risks. Tanbium offers significant advantages in terms of performance, cost, weight and material waste, including a higher burn time and temperature capability; the potential for a 40% reduction in total component cost; up to an estimated 30% in weight savings in engine components; and up to 95% less material waste through 3D printing.

Skyrora is now leading an ESA-backed project that aims to validate Tanbium’s production and performance for use in rocket engine components and other extreme-environment applications.

AI-powered fleet safety and telematics firm Exeros Technologies has secured investment from Pembroke VCT to accelerate its next stage of growth.

Founded in 2009 by Jay Biring and Joe Williams, the London-based company develops advanced camera and data systems that analyse vehicle footage in real time to detect driver fatigue, distraction and other risks.

Its core platform, VideMatics, is already used by more than 200 commercial fleets, including the AA, RAC and National Highways, and helps customers cut collisions by up to 62% and reduce claims costs by more than half.

The new funding will support itss plans to expand its team, enhance its AI capabilities and solidify its position in a UK video telematics market projected to exceed $12 billion by 2030.

PolyBox, the Newcastle-based AI marketing startup founded by Rojin Yarahmadi and Nikolaos Benopoulos, has secured a grant from the DCMS Create Growth Programme, delivered by Innovate UK.

The funding will fuel the company’s next stage of innovation, expanding its AI-driven data analysis platform to handle more complex datasets and deliver deeper marketing insights.

The firm’s technology aims to unify data from over 700 sources, from Google to CRM systems, to automate reporting and unlock strategic growth for agencies.

The grant forms part of the government’s £8 million Create Growth Programme supporting creative tech innovators across the UK.

Risers:

NEXT – +7.50%

Fresnillo – +6.80%

Glencore – +6.30%

Hochschild Mining – +4.03%

Aston Martin Lagonda – +3.61%

Fallers:

Goodwin – -8.22%

Elementis – -2.46%

Rotork – -1.83%

Biopharma Credit – -1.76%

Taylor Wimpey – -1.71%

The UK’s first digital pre-market property platform has officially launched under the leadership of Quintessentially co-founder Paul Drummond.

The Swoople platform is designed to revolutionise how estate agents are appointed by digitising one of the property sector’s most traditional and time-consuming processes.

Instead of waiting for listings to go live, Swoople aims to connect instruction-ready sellers with agents earlier in the journey to help streamline the path from first interest to signed instruction.

Through the platform, sellers create private previews – Swoops – while agents compete for appointments on a transparent, pay-as-you-win model.

London-based 4most has expanded its presence in continental Europe with the acquisition of VB Risk Advisory – a Netherlands-based consultancy specialising in quantitative risk and financial modelling.

The deal adds a 24-strong team of econometricians, along with a respected training programme and established client relationships, to the firm’s growing Netherlands business.

The business says that the move enhances its ability to deliver advanced risk modelling and regulatory expertise to financial institutions across Europe.

Backed by Phoenix Equity Partners, 4most provides advisory and transformation services to clients across banking, insurance and financial services.

Glasgow-based AutoRek has strengthened its push into the insurance market with two senior appointments aimed at accelerating digital transformation across the sector.

The global reconciliation and financial controls specialist has hired Tony Shek and Meghana Nile to support its growing client base and expand its AI-driven solutions for insurers.

Shek, who joins from CyberSmart, brings more than a decade of experience in insurance and digital strategy from roles at Aviva, AIG, Generali, MetLife and HSBC.

Nile, previously a Business Architect at Allianz Insurance, brings over 15 years’ experience in designing technology-led solutions for complex financial systems.

The business, which already serves more than 30 insurers globally, recently launched AutoRek ARIA – an AI-powered module designed to boost efficiency, control and automation across financial operations.

Newcastle-based Sage has launched Sage Expenses for Sage 50 Accounts in the UK.

The product is a new AI-powered expense management tool designed to simplify how small businesses handle claims, receipts and approvals. 

Built in partnership with Swedish FinTech Findity, the platform aims to replace manual expense processes with automated workflows, mobile-first receipt capture and real-time cost visibility.

The new tool is part of the company’s broader strategy to modernise financial workflows for SMEs, integrating automation and AI into everyday accounting tasks