What began as a major success for India’s startup ecosystem has turned into a complex legal dispute less than a year after VideoVerse was acquired for $250 million.

The deal was announced in September 2025 by VideoVerse and international sports publisher Minute Media. VideoVerse had developed AI-powered software for turning sports broadcasts into short clips, with plans to expand the technology internationally.

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The deal has since unravelled. Investors are still waiting for proceeds, while founder Vinayak Shrivastav faces multiple legal claims. In May, Minute Media terminated its agreement with VideoVerse, citing “significant discrepancies” in the company’s representations.

Investors Seek Millions

Bluestone Capital, which backed VideoVerse in 2023, is suing the company for fraud and alleges that it failed to distribute acquisition proceeds as required.

Another creditor is seeking $64 million from a loan Shrivastav took out shortly after the acquisition. The complaint alleges that fraudulent merger documents were used to secure shareholder approval.

Former COO Sabya Das has separately accused Shrivastav of forging his signature on loan and share-repurchase agreements that allegedly resulted in tens of millions of dollars being extracted from the company.

The allegations have not been proven in court, and Shrivastav did not respond to requests for comment.

Loan Raises Further Questions

In October 2025, Shrivastav arranged a $55 million structured loan from investment firm Lingotto. According to court filings, $53 million was transferred to an account controlled by VideoVerse.

Lingotto now alleges that documents supporting the loan were forged, including papers supposedly signed by Minute Media’s CEO, while screenshots showing company bank balances were also allegedly fabricated.

After a $4 million payment due in March was missed, Lingotto demanded repayment and discovered other creditors were also awaiting payments. Shrivastav was removed as CEO by the end of April.

From AI Startup To Legal Dispute

VideoVerse had built a strong position in automated sports content through its Magnifi platform, which uses AI to identify key moments and players and create short-form clips. Its customers included the Indian Premier League, FIFA+ and Nippon TV.

Minute Media had hoped to use the technology to expand internationally. Instead, the acquisition has triggered multiple legal battles over missing funds, disputed agreements and the conduct of the company’s leadership.

Cases involving Minute Media, Lingotto, Bluestone Capital and former executives are now being heard in Delaware Chancery Court, leaving investors and creditors seeking answers about what happened to the money and whether the $250 million deal received adequate due diligence.

Cyprus is looking to make artificial intelligence a key part of its tourism strategy as the government explores ways to improve services, enhance the visitor experience and strengthen the island’s competitiveness.

Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis and Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology Demetris Skourides discussed the plans on Thursday, with the meeting focusing on how AI can support the digital transformation of Cyprus as a tourism destination.

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Smart Tourism Strategy Takes Shape

Skourides’ team presented “Smart Tourism 2032: the Cyprus Artificial Intelligence Strategy” as part of the ongoing public consultation on the country’s national AI strategy.

The consultation is due to close on August 31, 2026. The tourism initiative forms part of the wider effort to determine how AI should be developed and applied across the economy.

Under the proposed strategy, Cyprus would become a “Living Lab” combining advanced technology with its traditional hospitality. The approach is built around three areas: smart tourism infrastructure, smart destination planning and management, and an empowered digital tourist.

Small and medium-sized tourism businesses are also expected to play an important role in adopting new technologies across the sector.

AI To Reshape The Visitor Experience

According to Koumis, AI is already changing tourism, from how visitors research destinations and plan trips to how destinations promote themselves.

“AI has entered the tourism sector dynamically and has already brought visible changes to a series of tourism-related functions, such as information gathering, trip planning and destination promotion,” he said.

The government wants to work with Skourides’ team to use the technology both to improve Cyprus’ competitiveness and enhance the experience offered to visitors.

Koumis said the development of tourism services was increasingly connected to the new capabilities created by AI, adding that Cyprus should make the most of these opportunities.

Tourism Businesses Included In AI Plans

Beyond improving individual services, the strategy aims to give tourism businesses a role in shaping the country’s broader AI framework.

The Deputy Ministry of Tourism wants the sector to participate in the consultation and take advantage of support created through technological development and the expansion of AI.

Ultimately, “Smart Tourism 2032” seeks to combine digital innovation with Cyprus’ established tourism strengths, particularly its reputation for hospitality, while preparing the sector for a more technology-driven visitor journey.

Cyprus banks continued to report relatively strong asset quality in May, with the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio holding steady at 1.6%, according to the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

The figure remained unchanged from April and was below the EU-wide NPL ratio of 1.98% recorded in March, based on consolidated banking data from the European Central Bank (ECB). While the reporting dates differ, Cyprus’ ratio was 0.38 percentage points lower than the EU average.

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NPL Coverage Edges Higher

Banks also slightly strengthened their protection against potential losses. The NPL coverage ratio increased to 63.0% at the end of May, from 62.9% a month earlier, meaning that provisions covered nearly two-thirds of non-performing loans.

Meanwhile, the stock of restructured loans remained relatively contained. Total restructured loans stood at €800 million, of which €300 million were still classified as non-performing.

Cyprus Banks Show Strong Profitability

Cyprus also compared favourably with the wider EU banking sector on profitability during the first quarter of 2026.

Domestic banks recorded a return on equity of 3.6973%, compared with 2.44% across EU credit institutions in March. The measure indicates how effectively banks generate profits from shareholders’ capital.

Across the EU, banks continued to maintain substantial capital buffers. The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 16.27% in March, providing an important cushion against potential losses.

EU Banking Sector Remains Resilient

The ECB’s March data covered 335 banking groups and 2,284 stand-alone credit institutions, alongside non-EU-controlled subsidiaries and branches operating within the bloc. Together, these institutions represented almost the entire EU banking sector by balance sheet.

Aggregate assets of EU-headquartered credit institutions rose 3.63% year on year, reaching €34.33 trillion in March 2026, up from €33.13 trillion a year earlier.

Overall, Cyprus’ latest figures point to a banking sector with relatively contained asset-quality pressures, supported by a stable 1.6% NPL ratio, 63% coverage and profitability above the EU average. The comparison should be viewed with some caution, however, as the CBC and ECB figures cover different reporting periods and datasets.

SK Hynix is investing $720 billion in what it says will become the world’s largest network of memory factories, betting that demand for AI chips will remain strong for years to come.

The South Korean memory giant, whose market value has climbed more than fivefold over the past year to above $1 trillion, is expanding production as AI companies compete for limited supplies of high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

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AI Drives A Memory Race

HBM is essential for AI processors because it enables rapid data access. SK Hynix held 58% of the global HBM market in the first quarter, ahead of Samsung and Micron, which each had 21%, according to Counterpoint Research.

Demand has pushed memory prices higher and encouraged major technology companies to secure supply through long-term agreements. SK Hynix signed 10 such deals in July, while Nvidia agreed to secure HBM supply and co-develop next-generation memory as part of a broader $500 billion deal with SK Group.

“It’s like a war,” said Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, which controls SK Hynix. “Everybody wants to buy the memory chips.”

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has even sent SK Hynix a message on a wafer: “Please make more.”

Building A New Memory Hub

At the centre of SK Hynix’s expansion is the Yongin Cluster, where the company is building four fabs. The first will rise to roughly the height of a 50-story apartment building and feature six cleanrooms across multiple floors.

The company is also expanding its facilities in Cheongju, while South Korea is pursuing a broader plan to double national memory production over the next five years.

SK Hynix is not alone in the race. Micron is investing $50 billion in two fabs in Idaho and plans a potential $100 billion campus in New York. The Korean company is also building a $4 billion packaging facility in Indiana, scheduled for completion in 2028.

China Adds Pressure

Alongside the global race for capacity, SK Hynix faces growing competition from China. The company operates three fabs there but cannot sell its most advanced HBM products in the country because of U.S. export controls.

Chinese memory maker CXMT is expanding rapidly and recently made a high-profile debut on the Shanghai stock market. “It’s a race, and now the counterparty of the race is China,” Counterpoint Research director MS Hwang said.

For SK Hynix, the next stage of growth will increasingly depend on custom HBM designed specifically for AI processors. The company believes this shift could make memory less of a commodity and help protect its massive investment.

“Nvidia wants their own custom chips and Google wants their own customized HBM, so it’s not just a commodity,” Tae-won said. “It actually changes the memory chip’s status.”

Databricks has closed a $5 billion funding round at a $190 billion valuation, marking a significant increase from the $134 billion valuation it reached just six months ago. The company said Thursday that its revenue run rate surpassed $7 billion in the second quarter, with revenue growing more than 80% year over year.

Funding To Accelerate Enterprise AI

Databricks plans to use the new capital to expand its enterprise AI capabilities, including its Unity AI Gateway governance platform and Genie agentic tools.

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Founded in 2013, Databricks helps businesses build AI applications and agents using their proprietary data. The latest round comes after the company raised $5 billion and secured $2 billion in additional debt capacity earlier this year.

Expanding Beyond Data Analytics

The company has been moving beyond its core data platform into several new areas. Its recently launched Lakebase database, which competes with companies such as Oracle and SAP, has already surpassed a $100 million revenue run rate, according to Databricks.

Meanwhile, its Lakehouse data warehousing business has exceeded a $1.5 billion run rate, while Lakewatch marked the company’s entry into cybersecurity earlier this year.

Databricks ranked No. 3 on CNBC’s 2026 Disruptor 50 list and has grown into a major private-market competitor to Snowflake.

Private Markets Keep IPO Pressure Low

Large private funding rounds are allowing companies such as Databricks to delay going public. Meanwhile, Anthropic and OpenAI are preparing for potential IPOs, highlighting the growing competition for investor capital across private and public AI companies.

The latest Databricks round was led by Coatue, Blackstone, MGX, T. Rowe Price and Sixth Street Growth.

Classic car auctions during Monterey Car Week could generate as much as $500 million this year, potentially surpassing the previous record as younger collectors drive demand for modern supercars.

Hagerty estimates total sales of $470 million to $500 million, which would exceed the $471 million record set in 2022 and extend the market’s recovery after weaker results in 2023 and 2024. “With strong bidding, this could be the first half-billion-dollar auction week the collector world has ever seen,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty.

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Younger Collectors Reshape The Market

A generational shift is changing what buyers want. Millennials and Gen Z collectors are increasingly turning to the supercars they grew up admiring rather than the classic models that dominated the market for decades.

Ferrari F40s, F50s and Enzos, along with Bugatti Veyrons, Koenigseggs and Paganis, have recorded sharp price gains, with some models doubling in value over the past two years.

Among Monterey’s biggest lots is a 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, estimated at $35 million by RM Sotheby’s. A 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 could also rank among the top 10, with an estimate above $10 million.

Supercars Outpace Traditional Classics

The shift is reflected in Hagerty’s indexes. Its Blue Chip Index, which tracks leading traditional collector cars, fell 2% over the past year, while the Supercar Index climbed 30%.

Rapid appreciation has raised concerns about speculation, with some dealers arguing that prices for modern supercars are increasingly disconnected from traditional measures such as rarity, racing history and long-term collectability.

“There is a huge amount of speculation in that part of the market,” said classic car dealer and adviser Simon Kidston, describing the market as “very frothy.”

Recent sales highlight the trend. A 2003 Ferrari Enzo sold for $17.9 million in January, nearly three times its previous auction record, while another Enzo reached $15.2 million in March. A 2005 Porsche Carrera GT sold for $6.7 million, more than doubling its previous record.

Ferrari Still Leads The Market

Ferrari remains dominant at the top end of the collector market. Nine of the 10 most expensive cars sold at auction so far this year have been Ferraris, according to Hagerty, while five of Monterey’s top lots come from the Italian marque.

“All roads lead to Maranello,” Hagerty said.

While Ferraris from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s are gaining value, many celebrated models from the 1950s and 1960s have largely stalled.

Younger buyers are not exclusively chasing modern cars. Kidston recently sold a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 to a 35-year-old technology founder who called it his dream car, showing that a new generation is also developing an interest in classic models.

China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) is gaining ground in the global NAND memory market, reaching third place by shipments in the second quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.

YMTC captured 14% of global NAND shipments, putting it behind South Korea’s Samsung and SK hynix but ahead of U.S. chipmaker Micron and Japan’s Kioxia.

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YMTC Strengthens Its Position

NAND memory retains data when devices are powered off and is widely used in smartphones, computers and storage products. Demand is rising as the need for data storage grows, although NAND is generally slower and less expensive than DRAM.

Counterpoint Research Director MS Hwang expects YMTC to extend its lead over Kioxia in 2027 and 2028. He also said manufacturers need roughly 15% market share to generate enough cash to fund future capital investment.

YMTC had briefly overtaken Kioxia a year ago before falling behind again. Its return to third place therefore marks an important shift in the competitive landscape.

China’s Memory Sector Expands

YMTC is preparing for a potential listing in mainland China, following the successful debut of Chinese DRAM maker CXMT in July.

CXMT held 7% of the global DRAM market in the second quarter, placing fourth behind Samsung, SK hynix and Micron, according to Counterpoint’s DRAM report.

Despite its shipment gains, YMTC still trails Micron and Kioxia in NAND revenue because its business remains more focused on consumer products than data centers. Counterpoint expects data centers to account for around half of NAND demand by the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, SK hynix is reportedly preparing to resume investment at its Dalian facility in China after a four-year pause, potentially boosting production capacity.

Oil prices fell on Thursday as investors balanced weaker global demand expectations against ongoing disruptions to energy supplies in the Middle East.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures declined about 2% to $81.61 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down 1.8% at $87.40.

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Demand Outlook Weakens

The International Energy Agency said global oil demand is now expected to decline more sharply than previously forecast, with the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz weighing increasingly on the market.

At the same time, efforts to restore global supply remain constrained by renewed hostilities and disruptions to maritime transport. Global oil supply was still 6.3 million barrels per day below year-earlier levels in July, according to the IEA.

Middle East Risks Remain

Security concerns continue to affect shipping routes across the region, with attacks reported on vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea this week.

Oman is also dealing with an oil spill after a tanker carrying an estimated 800,000 barrels of Russian crude ran aground on June 30. The vessel has reportedly begun leaking oil along the country’s coastline, including near a nature reserve home to Arabian Sea humpback whales and Socotra cormorants. Reuters report on the Oman oil spill.

Diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz appear to be continuing, but the conflict, now more than five months old, continues to disrupt regional energy flows.

“The lack of clarity over the possibility of a full reopening of the waterway could leave oil prices exposed to the upside at a time when the market remains tight,” said Christopher Tahir, senior market strategist at Exness. He added that further setbacks could push prices higher, leaving the oil market caught between deteriorating demand prospects and persistent supply risks.

European vibe-coding startup Lovable has raised $400 million in a Series C round, confirming earlier reports that the company was seeking a new funding round at a valuation of $13.3 billion.

Menlo Ventures and the Scaleup Europe Fund led the round, with more than a dozen additional investors participating. The new funding comes just eight months after Lovable raised $330 million at a $6.6 billion valuation.

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Rapid Growth Drives New Funding

Lovable reached $500 million in annualised revenue in June, highlighting the rapid growth of its AI-powered software development platform. The company says its projects now number around 60 million and attract 900 million monthly visitors.

Alongside its growth in users, Lovable has expanded its technology infrastructure. The company has developed its own AI model while continuing to offer access to other leading models.

In June, Lovable also signed a multiyear agreement with Google Cloud that is expected to increase its usage of the platform fivefold.

Expanding Beyond Vibe Coding

Lovable has also begun investing in other European startups working on AI-powered development tools. Among them is Danish company Atech, which is developing software designed to bring vibe coding into hardware development.

With the latest funding, Lovable is now positioned to further expand its platform and infrastructure as demand for AI-assisted software development continues to grow.

More than 640,000 Grubhub drivers and customers are set to receive a share of $23.8 million following allegations that the food delivery company misled workers about potential earnings and engaged in other deceptive practices.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that it is distributing the money to 640,038 consumers, with most receiving checks by mail and some getting payments through PayPal. The payouts follow a lawsuit filed by the FTC and Illinois attorney general in December 2024.

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Settlement Follows Multiple Allegations

The complaint accused Grubhub of misleading drivers about potential earnings, restricting customers’ access to their accounts and funds, and listing restaurants on its platform without their permission.

According to the complaint, Grubhub at one point listed as many as 325,000 restaurants that were not affiliated with the company. Regulators alleged that these listings helped make the platform appear larger, while some restaurants that requested removal were allegedly encouraged to enter paid partnerships instead.

Under the settlement, Grubhub must make several changes to its business practices. Driver earnings claims must be more accurate, customers must have a way to challenge account restrictions that prevent access to their accounts or funds, and restaurants must give consent before being listed on the platform.

Grubhub Faces Further Legal Pressure

The payout comes only a month after a federal judge gave final approval to a separate settlement worth nearly $25 million involving about 60,000 Grubhub delivery drivers in California.

Other food delivery companies have also faced scrutiny over their treatment of drivers, customers and restaurants. DoorDash has faced criticism and legal challenges over driver compensation, while Uber Eats has faced allegations involving customer charges and restaurant listings.