Spain-based CaixaBank and Google Cloud extended their partnership to 2033 as the bank looks to expand its use of AI and cloud technologies to serve 13 million customers.
Under the agreement, CaixaBank will deploy Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise platform to develop and manage AI agents. The bank expects the agents to help employees analyse complex financial information, automate repetitive tasks and streamline everyday workflows.
The companies identified three areas for the expanded partnership. CaixaBank plans to use Gemini Enterprise to analyse large datasets and deploy specialised AI agents for document management, classification and summarising complex content.
CaixaBank will combine its private systems with Google Cloud infrastructure to increase resilience, scalability and service availability. The agreement also covers threat detection and security monitoring.
The agreement includes professional services, joint projects and training to help employees use the new technology. The work will operate under CaixaBank’s security, privacy and responsible AI policies.
CaixaBank first partnered with Google Cloud in 2023. The bank stated it has the largest digital customer base in Spain’s financial sector.
SoftBank Group founder and CEO Masayoshi Son (pictured) is reportedly targeting up to $100 billion in funding to scale up the company’s AI ambitions, with a number of investors in the Gulf in line to strike partnerships.
The Financial Times (FT) reported Son has been in discussions with senior figures across the Middle East including in the UAE over possible fundraising, although the outlet added there is no guarantee talks with the investors will amount to anything.
It also did not name any companies or specific individual investors.
FT sources claim Son is looking to use the cash to set up a fund to buy companies and then use AI and other advanced technology to improve operations.
SoftBank’s AI and robotics business Roze is expected to play a key role in the process should it come to fruition, with the company planning to take the unit public.
Raising $100 billion to fuel its AI ambitions adds to a $65 billion bet SoftBank has made on OpenAI.
There is also notably a drive across the Gulf nations to invest in the AI sector and diversify economies into technology-related fields, with UAE-based G42 and MGX pumping big sums of cash into development.
Son has a history of courting Gulf investors, with UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund partnering with the Japanese company on its original Vision Fund in 2017.
Telenor Connexion appointed former Nokia president and CEO Pekka Lundmark (pictured) as its chair, part of a broader board reshuffle at the IoT player linked with an earlier move to bring equity company Verdane into the ownership mix.
Ingrid Wistrand, an executive with experience in the IoT units of Tele2 and Deutsche Telekom, and Verdane representative Morten Weicher are also joining the Telenor Connexion board, as the company moves to broaden the experience among its top brass.
CEO Mats Lundquist said the board shuffle is the “first visible step” in a move to bring Verdane in as a co-owner of Telenor Connexion.
He said the line-up is intended to give the IoT unit a “strong starting point” as it seeks to solidify a frontrunning position in global service provision.
Dan Ouchterlony, Tom Hvammen and Liv Ingeborg Blekkerud remain to oversee corporate development.
Jesper Bruksner is being brought in to handle HR matters: Telenor Connexion highlighted experience in “scaling global technology companies”, having cut his teeth with businesses including digital payments player Klarna and online health provider Kry.
Lundmark led Nokia from August 2020 until April 2025, when Justin Hotard took over.
Rockwell Automation maintained a recent focus on life sciences by taking a key role in a consortium forged to tackle pharmaceutical industry bottlenecks through digitalisation.
It is a founding member of the Digital CMC Consortium, a group established to streamline the chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) elements of drug development which Rockwell Automation stated is currently hampering the sector due to a reliance on analogue methods.
The consortium describes itself as pre-competitive, meaning it focuses on establishing common ground on which companies can subsequently fight it out. The group produced its first two standardised digital specifications within six months and currently has eight organisations on board.
Rockwell Automation explained the work is needed because current CMC approaches still rely on “manual, document-based workflows”.
Digital upgrades are the only way to adapt to a sector in which treatments are becoming “more complex and personalised”, it stated.
Matt Weaver, VP of global industry life sciences, said the digital transformation of the sector “is not just about technology adoption, it is about building new ways of working”.
Rockwell Automation recently revealed the overall life sciences sector is waking up to the potential offered by digitalisation, though faces some challenges around data insights.
In the second of our special podcast series focused on Digital Industries, MWL‘s Chris Donkin delves into the operational realities of deploying private networks alongside experts from Druid Software, Boldyn Networks and Vodafone Business.
0:00 Meet the Panel 3:00 What’s Taking Off 12:00 4G or 5G? 21:00 The Messy Reality 28:00 Beyond the POC 35:00 Q&A and the Future
Elon Musk-controlled SpaceX struck a deal to buy a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio from Grain Management, ratcheting up its challenge to compete with US carriers for mobile customers.
The transaction for all of Grain Management’s nationwide portfolio of up to 14MHz of paired spectrum in the 800MHz band is subject to regulatory approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Financial terms are not available.
“This is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America,” Musk said on X above a post which questioned the company’s direct-to-device (D2D) strategy.
SpaceX stated Starlink Mobile’s global 2GHz mid-band spectrum will deliver high-capacity coverage in the US, while the newly acquired low-band frequencies will improve signal reach through obstacles including walls and extend service to devices indoors. The company added most existing mobile devices already support the underused band.
SpaceX plans to pair its satellites with ground-based femtocells to provide 5G mobile coverage, a plan many executives in the industry consider far-fetched.
The company stated the low-band spectrum would address a key remaining technical gap and help pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major US mobile carrier.
SpaceX stated once it garners approval it “will deploy a flexible architecture combining our satellite-to-mobile constellation in space with an advanced terrestrial deployment that can seamlessly connect devices everywhere”.
The move follows through on its plan to roll out a D2D service to compete against T-Mobile US, Verizon and AT&T.
On 6 October, SpaceX announced a regulatory win after it secured FCC approval to launch 15,000 next-gen satellites for D2D.
In August, T-Mobile US completed the sale of its nationwide 800MHz spectrum portfolio to Grain Management in exchange for $2.9 billion in cash and all of the latter’s 600MHz spectrum licences more than a year after agreeing a deal in principle.
Grain Management previously outlined a plant to work with energy and infrastructure specialist Black & Veatch to market the spectrum to utilities, critical infrastructure operators and rural and regional carriers.
OpenAI’s annualised revenue reportedly reached $50 billion in September, falling $20 billion short of estimates due to accounting discrepancies rather than a slowdown in demand.
The Financial Times (FT) reported financial documents viewed by investors put its annual revenue at $50 billion in September instead of the widely reported $70 billion.
The news site noted the shortfall was due to attempts by OpenAI’s own investor to provide a comparison to rival Anthropic’s annualised revenue run rate. CNBC reported Anthropic’s annualised run rate hit $65 billion by late July 2026.
While the $20 billion gap sounds like a sudden drop, OpenAI clarified to investors its direct revenue still grew by over 70% in Q3 2026 alone, according to FT.
Reuters and other news outlets reported OpenAI was approaching $70 billion in late September based on a more than twofold increase in enterprise sales since July.
FT explained the two AI players calculate revenue in different ways, with Anthropic including sales from cloud partners such as Amazon Web Services and Google while OpenAI does not.
Anthropic is reportedly targeting an IPO in November after the US midterm elections while OpenAI is targeting a listing next year.
Live production tools provider Riedel Communications was tapped to provide private 5G connectivity for the German DTM motorsport series, a shift in gear from more traditional vendor-led arrangements but one which taps broader fan engagement moves.
Riedel Communications’ equipment is being used as the main transmission method for onboard cameras under a deal with the DTM and broadcast service provider TV Skyline.
It expects the private 5G connectivity to help provide “more immersive motorsports coverage” and pitched the move as an “essential step toward fully digitally-connected” racing cars.
The network runs at 100MHz and can deliver data rates of up to 140Mb/s in the uplink. Riedel Communications noted efficiencies in the way spectrum is used yields network capacity gains and “comparatively low bandwidth”.
Riedel Communications stated the architecture of its private 5G system enables it to function with between four and seven antennas, easing trackside deployments.
TV Skyline CEO Wolfgang Reeh said the system helps the company to provide innovative coverage and tackles a “limitation in the area of onboard cameras”.
Claudia Wagner, MD of DTM, said the series is advancing its digital ambitions and opening the door to “show spectacular onboard footage”.
The private 5G network is being configured to handle onboard footage from 21 DTM cars along with unique camera angles offered in the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Germany series.
Lutz Rathmann, CEO of managed technology with Riedel Communications, said the DTM deal is the first time it is applying private 5G to a major racing series.
Mobile World Live (MWL) brings you our top three picks of the week as Indian authorities rejected Elon Musk’s allegations about Starlink’s regulatory roadblocks, BT rescued TalkTalk in a £400 million deal and Deutsche Telekom (DT) looked to capitalise on sovereign AI demand.
India hits back at Musk over Starlink oligarch claims
What happened: India’s Ministry of Communications rebuked Elon Musk’s accusation that Indian oligarchs were blocking Starlink’s launch in the country and seeking to preserve a “monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people”, stressing its satellite communications framework is “fair and non-discriminatory”.
Why it matters: The watchdog explained Starlink, along with Indian telecom incumbents Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, are all at the same stage of the regulatory process. Each operator must complete security assessments before they can seek spectrum, with final clearances pending. Musk has previously clashed with Reliance Jio owner Mukesh Ambani over satellite spectrum access in the country. Starlink’s protracted approval process in India has lasted four years, with security requirements and spectrum access among key issues. Its presence in the country has also been complicated by reports that Starlink equipment was recovered across parts of the country, claims Musk said do not indicate an illegal active service in India.
Manas Mody, founder of business consultancy FX & Float, said the regulatory debate was “broader than a contest between Musk and operators” because “there could be legitimate regulatory and security considerations behind the resistance”, adding India “has done considerable work to secure its critical digital infrastructure”. “While Musk’s concerns may have some merit, I believe there’s likely more to this than just a conspiracy involving oligarchs,” he argued, adding Starlink is “unlikely to make a significant dent in India’s consumer telecom market” at its planned pricing as its “real opportunity lies in improving connectivity in underserved regions and remote hubs”.
What happened: BT Group agreed a £400 million deal to acquire TalkTalk’s consumer and wholesale businesses out of administration, bringing 2.5 million customers and around 900 employees under its ownership.
Why it matters: The acquisition prevents the UK broadband provider from folding and potentially disrupting services for millions of customers. TalkTalk reported £1.2 billion in revenue in the past 12 months but was loss-making following a prolonged, unsuccessful sales process. BT CEO Allison Kirkby called the situation “genuinely unprecedented”, warning millions of citizens, businesses and public services were at risk if TalkTalk collapsed. She said the acquisition was “the only viable option to keep millions of customers connected and supported”, with the BT adding the business can become value accretive if it is stabilised.
Kester Mann, director of consumer and connectivity at FDM CCS Insight, said the deal “will inevitably also evoke scrutiny from regulators keen to ensure a fair and competitive playing field”, given BT’s “strong position in the broadband market”. He added that this was particularly relevant after competition authorities raised concerns over Nexfibre’s planned acquisition of fellow broadband player Netomnia.
For TalkTalk, Mann said the deal “cements a painful decline” as the company “failed to respond sufficiently to a fast-changing and increasingly competitive market”. Its demise, he warned, should be “a stark warning to any value-focused telecom provider”.
What happened: DT set out plans to turn rising demand for sovereign AI into a new revenue stream, targeting around €250 million in non-US AI-related revenue this year and approximately €800 million by 2030.
Why it matters: The German operator noted European businesses and public institutions seeking AI capabilities while retaining control of data and operations presented a key opportunity, describing sovereign AI as a “growth business”.To that end, DT said it is developing an automation platform for SMEs and expanding AI customer service offerings. CEO Timotheus Hoettges stressed it is crucial AI “delivers measurable value” across the business.
Jamie Escott, account director at Vodafone Business Security Enhanced, said DT’s projected €2.5 billion reduction in indirect costs by 2030 highlights “the growing importance of AI moving beyond experimentation and into large-scale operational deployment”. He added organisations are increasingly focusing on “measurable outcomes such as productivity, efficiency and service quality”. Meanwhile, Jean-Philippe Romieu, executive director for cloud and AI professional services at Microsoft Germany, described DT’s strategy as a “telco blueprint”, pointing to use cases included network integrated AI, autonomous infrastructure and AI-assisted operations. However, he flagged issues including volatile compute costs and market adoption, warning DT’s success “relies heavily on European enterprises prioritising data localisation over hyperscaler pricing and performance”.
Login
