Insights for Business Leaders on EU's AI Act as Google Engineer's AI Platform Raises $260M Investment

Founded by a Google engineer, Glean, an enterprise AI leader, has raised over $260M in a series E funding round. The investment was co-led by Altimeter and DST Global, valuing the company at $4.6 billion. Craft Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and seven existing investors also participated. New capabilities for its Work AI platform have been introduced, connecting to internal data through over 100 SaaS connectors. These new features aim to automate complex workflows, facilitating AI adoption across all skill levels.

The EU AI Act, adopted in March 2024, is a pioneering EU regulation that sets a common framework for AI regulation. This act is focused on a 'risk-based' approach, aligning compliance requirements with safety and fundamental rights. Organizations must ensure transparency and accountability in developing AI systems to build public trust over time. The differences between the EU's approach and that of the U.S. and U.K. are explored further.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to invest $10 billion in U.K. data centers over the next five years, expanding its presence since establishing an AWS Region in 2016. This investment is expected to create over 14,000 jobs in the local data center supply chain annually, benefiting various sectors within the local economy.

OpenAI has introduced OpenAI o1, an update to ChatGPT aimed at more complex tasks in science, coding, and math. This model offers advanced reasoning capabilities and is available in two versions for users and developers.

The GSMA has launched a Responsible AI (RAI) Maturity Roadmap for the telecoms industry in partnership with McKinsey. This initiative aims to assist telecom companies in adopting responsible AI practices, aligning with global regulations and ethical standards. The roadmap is backed by major mobile network operators and highlights best practices for ethical AI implementation.