AI Around the World News — 2026-10-24 (Sat) Daily News

Overview

Over the past 24 hours, the news came mainly from Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. France announced an autonomous-vehicle tie-up with Wayve, Stellantis and NVIDIA (Unite.AI, The Next Web), and OpenAI was reported to be nearing a funding round led by UAE investors (CNBC). Data center investment and local backlash featured in Australia and South Korea (Bloomberg, BigGo Finance).

United States

- US Chamber research found that small businesses in Oklahoma using AI see major job growth (KSWO 7News).

China

No notable developments.

European countries

- France: Wayve, Stellantis and NVIDIA joined the French government on autonomous-vehicle deployment (Unite.AI, The Next Web). - UK: The UK's AI minister said AI should not be left to tech bros and oligarchs (BBC).

India and South Asia

- India: KPMG published a piece on building India's independent, inclusive and future-ready AI under the title "Sovereign by design" (kpmg.com). - UK-based Barclays, described as the UK's biggest bank, is reported to cut 5,000 jobs and to put the move down to AI efficiency (The Times of India).

Southeast Asia and Oceania

- Australia: Backlash against AI data centers is reported to threaten the country's $70 Billion ambitions (Bloomberg). - Singapore: Red Hat opened an AI center to scale deployment (IT Brief Asia). - Singapore: Chip companies are raising investment in the semiconductor ecosystem, according to the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

South Korea and Taiwan

- Taiwan: PCB output is set to hit a record high, but the AI boom exposes supply chain risks (CommonWealth Magazine). - South Korea: SK Hyper is reported to be in talks to raise approximately $349.4 Billion for AI data centers, with the first phase alone needing $350 Billion (BigGo Finance). - South Korea: K-DATA's Yang Jae-soo linked enterprise AI success to usable data and physical AI (Korea IT Times).

Middle East

- UAE/Greece: G42 is expanding in Greece across AI infrastructure, smart cities and life sciences (The Recursive). - Egypt: Orange Egypt reaffirmed its commitment to investment in AI, cloud and cybersecurity (Tech Review Africa). - UAE: OpenAI is nearing a funding round of up to $30 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, led by UAE investors (CNBC). - Israel: The cyber sector is drawing billions as AI reshapes security (Israel Today).

Africa and Latin America

- Brazil: Brazilian stocks are described as a top AI hedge ahead of a pivotal election (Seeking Alpha). - Argentina: Under the headline "Milei's AI hype outpaces reality", the Financial Times questions the government's AI claims (Financial Times). - Ghana: MTN Ghana opened industry pathways for AI students (ITWeb Africa). 【Integrated analysis: what is happening】 Similar movements: Several countries are tying AI to physical and industrial capacity. France is working on autonomous vehicles with companies (Unite.AI), Singapore on semiconductors and AI deployment (EDB, IT Brief Asia), Taiwan on PCB output (CommonWealth Magazine), and South Korea and Greece on data centers and infrastructure (BigGo Finance, The Recursive). Funding is concentrated in very large sums, such as the reported figures for SK Hyper and the OpenAI round (BigGo Finance, CNBC). The UAE appears in two items, as an investor in OpenAI and through G42's activity in Greece, which suggests Gulf capital is moving into AI assets abroad (CNBC, The Recursive).

Differences: In Australia the headline is about local backlash against data centers, not expansion alone (Bloomberg). Taiwan's headline pairs record output with supply chain risk (CommonWealth Magazine). Employment is shown in opposite ways: job growth at small businesses using AI in Oklahoma, against 5,000 job cuts at Barclays attributed to AI efficiency (KSWO 7News, The Times of India). India's item and the UK minister's comment both concern who controls AI, one through national independence and the other through the question of who should shape AI (kpmg.com, BBC). The Milei headline suggests a gap between announced ambitions and results (Financial Times).

Implications for Japanese companies and government: This is inference. Large data center projects may meet local opposition, as in Australia, so Japanese firms with overseas data center or supply chain exposure may need to weigh community acceptance alongside capital. Japanese firms that depend on Taiwan's electronics supply chain may need to review concentration risk. The mixed employment signals may lead Japanese employers to consider reskilling plans alongside any AI-driven efficiency targets.

What to watch

- Whether the reported OpenAI funding round led by UAE investors is completed, and on what terms (CNBC). This is a report of a near-deal, not a closed one. - Whether the reported SK Hyper financing talks produce a concrete agreement, and whether local opposition to data centers, as seen in Australia, spreads to other countries (BigGo Finance, Bloomberg). - Whether the France autonomous-vehicle tie-up moves from announcement to actual deployment (Unite.AI, The Next Web).