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- 📈 Mindgard Nets £6.4m to Tame AI Chaos
📈 Mindgard Nets £6.4m to Tame AI Chaos
Royal Mail’s New King of Real Estate
This is Cliff Equity, the UK’s business newsletter that keeps you informed on what’s important in tech, business and finance in less than 5 minutes
In today’s stories:
Mindgard Nets £6.4m to Tame AI Chaos
Royal Mail’s New King of Real Estate
VW’s “Rock-Solid” Deal: Jobs Saved, Wages Frozen
The summary: Mindgard is tackling AI’s messy security gaps with £6.4m in funding, a stellar team, and game-changing tech to help businesses stay one step ahead in the AI arms race.
The details:
Mindgard bags $8 million: AI security testing firm Mindgard secures funding to build its team, enhance product development, and push into the US market. .406 Ventures leads the round, with support from Atlantic Bridge and others.
New faces on board: Dave Ganly and Fergal Glynn join as execs, ready to drive Mindgard’s product development and North American expansion from Boston.
AI's security headache: With AI adoption surging, traditional security tools are falling short, leaving companies vulnerable to risks like prompt injection and jailbreaks—only detectable during runtime.
Mindgard’s magic: The company’s Dynamic Application Security Testing for AI (DAST-AI) solution helps businesses identify AI-specific vulnerabilities without disrupting existing workflows.
Why it matters: AI is taking over the world (or at least our workflows), but it’s riddled with security holes that traditional tools can’t patch—cue Mindgard riding in to save the day. With big-name backers, a top-notch team, and cutting-edge tech, they’re turning the AI Wild West into something vaguely civilised. If your AI isn’t secure, it’s not clever; it’s a ticking time bomb, and Mindgard’s here to defuse it.
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The summary: Royal Mail’s new billionaire boss, Daniel Křetínský, is stirring the post with bold plans, a hefty property empire, and just a pinch of intrigue about what he’ll deliver next.
The details:
Sphinx's Secrets in King’s Cross: Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, nicknamed the “Czech Sphinx,” is taking the reins of Royal Mail with a £3.6bn deal, becoming the first individual to control Britain’s postal service since Henry VIII founded it in 1516. His prize? A sprawling estate of 1,800 properties, including a King’s Cross depot worth more than its £90m sale price suggests.
Land Grab or Postal Revolution? Křetínský’s ambitions likely involve capitalising on Royal Mail’s vast freehold portfolio, valued at £1.845bn. Analysts suggest he could sell off underused plots, following the precedent of Royal Mail's past land sales, to offset the company’s £3bn in takeover debt.
Asset Stripping Concerns: Critics fear a private equity-style play, where assets could be seized and sold if debts go unpaid, leaving the government to clean up the mess. This echoes past cautionary tales like Monarch Airlines and Phones4U collapses.
Promises and Puzzles: Křetínský has assured the government and unions he won’t strip assets or disrupt services. Yet, key commitments, such as limits on raising new debt, expire in five years—just a fleeting wink in the Sphinx's game plan.
Why it matters: Royal Mail, a centuries-old institution, is swapping the royal seal for a billionaire’s golden touch—or grip. With its vast property empire up for grabs, there’s a whiff of real estate roulette that could reshape not just postcodes but postal services. And if things go pear-shaped, taxpayers might end up delivering the rescue package while Křetínský walks off with the keys.
The summary: Volkswagen’s deal to keep German plants open while shedding 35,000 jobs reflects the tough balancing act of steering through global competition and economic challenges, with unions celebrating a "rock-solid" solution and a nod to future innovation.
The details:
No Closures, But Big Cuts: VW dodges factory closures in Germany, keeping all plants open and avoiding forced redundancies, but 35,000 jobs will vanish by 2030 through "socially responsible" measures.
Pay and Production Pruned: A planned 5% wage hike is shelved in 2025–26, apprentice slots slashed from 1,400 to 600 annually by 2026, and some production might shift to sunnier climes like Mexico.
Unions Claim Victory: After a season of strikes and stern standoffs, IG Metall secures a deal they call "rock solid," locking in jobs and long-term wage agreements despite tough times.
Global Pressures Loom Large: VW’s woes aren’t just local—declining Chinese demand and rising competition from Chinese brands in Europe are driving this drastic cost-cutting dance.
Why it matters: VW’s manoeuvre underscores the seismic shifts jolting the global car industry, as even German giants scramble to stay afloat amid fierce competition and waning markets. The job cuts and production tweaks reveal the stark cost of transformation as automakers navigate electrification and economic turbulence. For Britain’s car fans, it’s a timely reminder: the race for survival isn’t just under the bonnet but across boardrooms too.
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