Business

Staff fear UK’s Turing AI Institute at risk of collapse

Published

4 weeks ago

August 11, 2025

Zoe Kleinman

Technology editor

Joshua Nevett

Political reporter

EPA British Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle departs a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London. He has short, sharp grey hair and is wearing a smart suit.

Staff at the UK’s national institute for artificial intelligence (AI) have warned the charity is at risk of collapse, after Technology Secretary Peter Kyle threatened to withdraw its funding.

Workers at the Alan Turing Institute raised a series of “serious and escalating concerns” in a whistleblowing complaint submitted to the Charity Commission.

The complaint, seen by the BBC, accuses the institute’s leadership of misusing public funds, overseeing a “toxic internal culture”, and failing to deliver on the charity’s mission.

A government spokesperson said Kyle “has been clear he wants [the Turing Institute] to deliver real value for money for taxpayers”.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) spokesperson said the institute “is an independent organisation and has been consulting on changes to refocus its work under its Turing 2.0 strategy”.

“The changes set out in his letter would do exactly that, giving the Institute a key role in safeguarding our national security and positioning it where the British public expects it to be,” they said.

It comes after Kyle urged the Turing Institute to focus on defence research and suggested funding would be pulled unless it changed.

Kyle also wants an overhaul of its leadership. Any shift to focusing on defence would be a significant pivot for the publicly funded organisation, which was given a grant of £100m by the previous Conservative government last year.

Founded in 2015 as the UK’s leading centre of AI research, the Turing Institute has been rocked by internal discontent and criticism of its research activities.

In the complaint, the staff said Kyle’s letter had triggered “a crisis in governance”.

The government’s £100m grant was “now at risk of being withdrawn, a move that could lead to the institute’s collapse”, the complaint said.

The Turing Institute told the BBC it was undertaking “substantial organisational change to ensure we deliver on the promise and unique role of the UK’s national institute for data science and AI”.

“As we move forward, we’re focused on delivering real world impact across society’s biggest challenges, including responding to the national need to double down on our work in defence, national security and sovereign capabilities,” said a spokesperson.

The BBC has been told the Turing Institute has not received notification of a complaint and has not seen the letter sent by staff.

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We are currently assessing concerns raised about the Alan Turing Institute to determine any regulatory role for us.”

They said it is in the early stages of this assessment and has not decided whether to launch a formal legal investigation.

Internal turmoil

The staff said they had submitted the complaint anonymously “due to a well-founded fear of retaliation”.

The BBC was sent a copy of the complaint in an email signed off by “concerned staff members at The Alan Turing Institute”.

The complaint sets out a summary of eight issues.

Warning of a risk to funding, the complaint said the Turing Institute’s “ongoing delivery failures, governance instability and lack of transparency have triggered serious concerns among its public and private funders”.

It accuses the charity of making “a series of spending decisions that lack transparency, measurable outcomes, and evidence of trustee oversight”.

And in other allegations, the complaint accuses the board of presiding over “an internal culture that has become defined by fear and defensiveness”.

The complaint said the concerns had been raised with the Turing Institute’s leadership team – including chairman Doug Gurr – and claimed “no meaningful action has been taken”.

The Alan Turing Institute describes itself as the UK’s national body for data science and AI. It was set up by former Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015.

The institute has been in turmoil for months over moves to cut dozens of jobs and scrap research projects.

At the end of 2024, 93 members of staff signed a letter expressing lack of confidence in its leadership team.

‘Need to modernise’

In March, Jean Innes, who was appointed chief executive in July 2023, told the Financial Times the Turing Institute needed to modernise and focus on AI projects.

Until recently, its work has focused on AI and data science research in three main areas – environmental sustainability, health and national security.

Recent research projects listed on its website include the use of artificial technology in weather prediction, and a study suggesting one in four children now use the tech to study and play.

Others who have worked with the Turing Institute told the BBC there are concerns within the wider research community about its direction.

In July, professors Helen Margetts and Cosmina Dorobantu, long-standing co-directors of a successful programme which helped the public sector use AI, quit their positions at the charity.

Former chief technology officer Jonathan Starck left the organisation in May after eight months.

And some of its remaining staff describe a toxic internal culture.

The AI sector is a key part of the government’s strategy to grow the UK economy – investing in the development of data centres and supercomputers and is encouraging big tech firms to invest.

Research and development of this rapidly evolving tech is also crucial.

In his letter to the Turing last month, Kyle said boosting the UK’s AI capabilities was “critical” to national security and should be at the core of the institute’s activities.

The secretary of state for science and technology said there could be a review of the ATI’s “longer-term funding arrangement” next year.

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Business

AI company Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion in landmark settlement

Published

5 hours ago

September 6, 2025

The Editors

Big numbers often get thrown around in the aftermath of legal battles, as judges hand down judgements—or attorneys arrange settlement amounts—in the tens, or hundreds, of millions of dollars. Still, even jaded legal observers can occasionally run into a genuinely daunting number while parsing this stuff. Like, say, the $1.5 billion settlement that AI company Anthropic has agreed to pay in the ongoing class-action suit against it, launched by authors who said the company infringed on their copyrighted works by feeding them as training data to its “AI assistant” Claude. Sure, parts of that sum (calculated at $3,000 per work for a staggering number of works, and with its first $300 million installment due just five days after the settlement is approved) might potentially vanish in a puff of future bankruptcy. But it’s still the “largest publicly reported copyright recovery in history,” according to legal documents from the authors’ attorneys.

That being said, the win here on the wider AI front is quite a bit less clear than “hand our clients the annual estimated GDP of Grenada” might suggest. Yes, U.S. District Judge William Alsup set the stage for Anthropic to eat that massive price tag by ruling that the company clearly violated copyright agreements via how it acquired the books it fed into its own personal woodchipper. (I.e., downloading pirated datasets of millions of books that had been floating around the internet.) And, yes, the settlement will require Anthropic to destroy those “shadow library” datasets in its possession. (But notably, with no actual changes to the Claude large language model itself.) Most critically, though, back in June, Alsup also ruled that “reproducing purchased-and-scanned books to train AI” falls under fair use, calling the case “exceedingly transformative” as a justification for the designation.

As such, both sides in the fight issued statements claiming a form of victory today, with the authors’ side focusing mostly on the massive size of the settlement amount. Anthropic, meanwhile—which has been backed in the past with more than $6 billion in contributions from Amazon and Google—focused its statements on the legal precedent it achieved in the case: “In June, the District Court issued a landmark ruling on AI development and copyright law, finding that Anthropic’s approach to training AI models constitutes fair use. Today’s settlement, if approved, will resolve the plaintiffs’ remaining legacy claims.” What this likely means is that AI companies aren’t going to slow down—especially with, say, a $1.5 billion mortgage suddenly hanging over their heads—but simply become a lot more choosy about how they get their training data.

[via Deadline]

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Business

Broadcom Inc. Reports Record Revenue Amid AI Growth

Published

5 hours ago

September 6, 2025

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Broadcom Inc. ((AVGO)) has held its Q3 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call.

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The recent earnings call from Broadcom Inc. showcased a strong performance in AI semiconductors and infrastructure software, with record revenues and a solid backlog. Despite some challenges in the non-AI semiconductor segment and pressures on gross margins due to product mix, the overall sentiment was optimistic. The positive highlights significantly outweighed the lowlights, indicating a promising outlook for future growth, particularly in AI.

Record-Breaking Revenue and Growth

Broadcom Inc. reported a record total revenue of $16 billion, marking a 22% increase year-on-year. This impressive growth was primarily driven by the strong performance in AI semiconductors and the expansion of VMware. The company’s ability to achieve such significant revenue growth underscores its strategic focus on high-growth areas.

AI Semiconductor Growth

The AI semiconductor segment was a standout performer, generating $5.2 billion in revenue, which represents a 63% increase year-on-year. This marks the 10th consecutive quarter of robust growth in this segment. Looking ahead, Broadcom forecasts AI semiconductor revenue to reach approximately $6.2 billion in Q4, up 66% year-on-year, highlighting the company’s leadership in this rapidly expanding market.

Infrastructure Software Segment Performance

Broadcom’s infrastructure software segment also delivered strong results, with revenue reaching $6.8 billion, up 17% year-on-year. The total contract value booked during Q3 was $8.4 billion, reflecting the company’s strength in securing long-term commitments from customers.

Strong Backlog and Bookings

The company’s consolidated backlog reached a record $110 billion, with bookings showing robust growth, particularly in AI. This substantial backlog provides a solid foundation for future revenue and demonstrates strong customer demand across Broadcom’s product lines.

CEO Tenure Extension

In a significant leadership development, Broadcom’s board and CEO Hock Tan have agreed that he will continue as the CEO through at least 2030. This extension provides stability and continuity in leadership, which is crucial for executing the company’s long-term strategic vision.

Non-AI Semiconductor Demand

While the AI segment thrived, the non-AI semiconductor demand remained sluggish, with Q3 revenue of $4 billion flat sequentially. Enterprise networking and service storage experienced sequential declines, with only broadband showing strong growth. This highlights the challenges Broadcom faces in certain segments of its semiconductor business.

Gross Margin Impact

Broadcom anticipates a slight decline in its Q4 consolidated gross margin, down approximately 70 basis points sequentially. This is primarily due to a higher mix of XPUs and wireless revenue, which impacts the overall product mix and margin structure.

Forward-Looking Guidance

During the earnings call, Broadcom provided robust guidance for the upcoming quarter and fiscal year. The company forecasts Q4 2025 consolidated revenue of $17.4 billion, up 24% year-on-year, with AI semiconductor revenue expected to reach $6.2 billion, up 66% year-on-year. Infrastructure software revenue is projected at $6.7 billion, up 15% year-on-year. Broadcom anticipates an adjusted EBITDA margin of 67% for Q4, with continued growth in the AI business and the addition of a significant fourth customer expected to positively impact fiscal 2026.

In summary, Broadcom Inc.’s latest earnings call highlighted a strong performance in AI semiconductors and infrastructure software, with record revenues and a promising outlook for future growth. Despite some challenges in non-AI segments and margin pressures, the overall sentiment was optimistic, driven by significant achievements and robust forward-looking guidance.

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Business

Runway founder Cristóbal Valenzuela wants Hollywood to embrace AI

Published

7 hours ago

September 5, 2025

The Editors

At 84, veteran mogul John Malone is still a power broker, hinting at “further consolidation in the media industry” following a recent sit down with David Ellison. Should we be on the lookout for a Warner–Paramount merger? Meanwhile in Vegas, the Sphere’s $100 million Wizard of Oz reimagining leans on AI to expand the visuals and even slip in cameos of David Zaslav and James Dolan. The Directors Guild did not take kindly to the stunt. Partners in Banter Kim Masters and Matt Belloni pull back the curtain on the Sphere’s Emerald City sideshow.

Plus, Masters speaks with Runway co-founder Cristóbal Valenzuela about the role of artificial intelligence in Hollywood. The Chilean-born developer acknowledges that AI may lead to some job losses, but he argues it will ultimately benefit filmmakers. He explains why studios including Lionsgate, Netflix, and Disney are already using Runway’s tools. Plus, he compares the current backlash against AI to the upheaval that followed the introduction of sound in film.

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