BenevolentAI announced that it has signed a collaboration with Merck. The collaboration will enable Merck to leverage BenevolentAI’s end-to-end AI (artificial intelligence) platform capabilities and gain access to a skillful team of interdisciplinary drug discovery scientists. This is done with aim of identifying and developing compounds, through hit identification (Hit ID) to pre-clinical stage.

pgEdge has announced its support for pgvector extension that adds an open-source vector similarity search capability to PostgreSQL. This integration will allow PostgreSQL users to harness power of AI (artificial intelligence) to do similarity searches and inference closer to end users, for results.

 VODA.ai has announced a recent investment from Ferguson Ventures, corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of Ferguson. VODA.ai’s solutions help utilities make better-informed decisions using artificial intelligence. This collaboration with Ferguson allows VODA.ai to concentrate on continued growth and distribution.

Flapmax announced that the twelve companies are selected for second cohort of FAST Accelerator startup programme, created in partnership with Microsoft to help build up and scale Africa’s digital ecosystem. Following conclusion of its 2-week online bootcamp, which saw 60+ tech companies participate in online training with experienced mentors, FAST Accelerator’s cohort of 12 startups will progress to a 5-week complete acceleration experience in Silicon Valley, California starting in October.

IBM has announced a commitment to train two million learners in AI (artificial intelligence) by end of 2026, with a focus on underrepresented communities. To achieve this goal at a global scale, IBM is expanding AI education collaborations with universities globally, collaborating with partners to deliver AI training to adult learners, and introducing generative AI coursework through IBMskillsbuild. This will expand upon IBM’s existing programmes and career-building platforms to offer enhanced access to AI education and in-demand technical roles.

ABB has announced an investment of $280 million (€264.10 million) to expand its manufacturing footprint in Europe and build a new ABB Robotics European Campus in Vasteras, Sweden. The Campus will serve as the hub for ABB Robotics’ offering in Europe, providing customers with AI-enabled collaborative and industrial robots, as well as digital solutions to support flexible automation as part of the company’s “local for local” production strategy. Replacing the existing robotics facilities at the site, the new Campus is planned to open in late 2026.