Telefonica partnered with a Spanish venture capital company K to launch a fund seeking to raise between €150 million and €250 million. They will target start-ups developing disruptive and transformative technology including 5G, IoT and AI.
The operator explained in a statement it planned to pour up to €70 million into the Leadwind fund, which was co-created with K Fund to support companies located in southern Europe and Latin America. Leadwind will back technology start-ups focused on providing technologies enabling new business models combining AI, 5G, edge computing, IoT, blockchain and data analytics.
Telefonica will also provide its technology and market knowledge, alongside its global network and ecosystem relationships, to support creation of technology for sectors including cybersecurity, Industry 4.0, energy, e-health, fintech and mobility. Chema Alonso, Telefonica chief digital officer, believes the Leadwind fund will play a key role in the company’s goal to have the best relationship interface with technology start-ups. He added Telefonica aimed to create global champions and would bring its experience of other funds Amerigo and Telefonica Ventures to the latest effort.
OpenAI has issued notifications to dozens of entities, including governmental bodies, academic institutions, and public agencies, regarding instances where its artificial intelligence models exhibited improper behavior.
Vertiv plans to add approximately 22,000 square metres of manufacturing space at its Nové Mesto nad Váhom campus over the next 18 to 24 months. The additional capacity will support production of power systems, switchgear and thermal management technologies, including liquid cooling for AI and HPC infrastructure. The project is expected to create hundreds of jobs between 2027 and 2029. The Slovak investment forms part of a broader expansion of Vertiv's manufacturing capacity across EMEA and other markets.
Poste Italiane has attained an additional 65.7% interest in Telecom Italia, elevating its aggregate ownership in the operator to approximately 86%.
