All posts tagged: funding

Musk’s xAI Holdings is reportedly raising the second-largest private funding round ever

Musk’s xAI Holdings is reportedly raising the second-largest private funding round ever

Published by skeptic

Elon Musk’s xAI Holdings is in talks to raise $20 billion in fresh funding, potentially valuing the AI and social media combo at over $120 billion, according to a new Bloomberg report that says talks are in the “early stages.” If successful, the deal would constitute the the second-largest startup funding round ever, behind only OpenAI’s $40 billion raise last month. The funding could help alleviate X’s substantial debt burden, which is costing the company a whopping $200 million monthly in servicing fees, per Bloomberg’s sources, with annual interest expenses exceeding $1.3 billion by the end of last year. A raise of this size would showcase AI’s continued investor appeal, as well as reflect Musk’s surprising emergence as a political power player inside President Trump’s White House. Musk will likely draw from some of the same backers who’ve consistently funded his ventures, from Tesla to SpaceX, including Antonio Gracias of Valor Equity Partners and Luke Nosek of Gigafund. Gracias has even taken on a role as lieutenant in Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. xAI didn’t …

Schools funding families’ bedding and microwaves

Schools funding families’ bedding and microwaves

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Schools are digging into their own budgets to provide beds and bedding and kitchen appliances like cookers and microwaves to hard-up families as the impact of child poverty worsens. Leaders also warned that plans to cut benefits, particularly for disabled young people, would make matters worse. Schools Week has documented how education settings have increasingly been forced to fill the gaps left by cuts to other public services. To make matters worse, almost a third of children now live in poverty. A survey of National Education Union members found 87 per cent had seen pupils with signs of tiredness or fatigue as a consequence of poverty, while 39 per cent reported physical under-development. Speaking to journalists at the NEU’s conference in Harrogate, four school leaders laid bare the struggles faced by their schools and others. Chris Dutton, deputy head of a large secondary school in the south west and chair of the NEU’s national leadership council, said heads had reported spending school funding on “things that you wouldn’t necessarily associate with school budget”.  This included …

UK founders grow frustrated over dearth of funding: ‘the problem is getting worse’

UK founders grow frustrated over dearth of funding: ‘the problem is getting worse’

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According to Dealroom data cited by the Financial Times, British start-ups raised just £16.2 billion last year, far less than the more than £65 billion raised by their counterparts in Silicon Valley during the same period. In fact, the U.S. appears to be pulling further ahead each year. In 2024, 57% of global venture capital funding went to U.S. startups — the first time that share has exceeded 50% in over a decade, per Dealroom. This widening gap is part of a years-long trend that U.K. founders have taken note of, the FT reports, and it’s prompting many to consider relocating abroad. “Recognizing that most venture funding comes from the U.S., we set up as a Delaware corporation, the preferred and familiar structure for American investors,” said Mati Staniszewski, co-founder of the London-based AI company ElevenLabs, in an interview with the FT. Barney Hussey-Yeo, founder and CEO of the AI start-up Cleo, told the FT that he already spends four months a year in San Francisco and is seriously considering a permanent move. “You get …

Trump Sculpture Garden of Heroes Receives NEH Funding

Trump Sculpture Garden of Heroes Receives NEH Funding

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President Trump’s planned National Garden of American Heroes is one step closer to construction, as the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has reportedly re-dedicated a portion of its funding to the president’s campaign to align arts and culture in the United States with his interpretation of patriotism. According to a report Friday in the New York Times, the agency, which is the foremost federal funder of creative endeavors in the country, disclosed the decision in a Wednesday meeting, one week after cancelling most of its existing grant programs. Grant recipients received a “Notice of Grant Termination” that bore the signature of Michael McDonald, acting director of the N.E.H. as of March, informing them the “immediate termination” of their funding, which, the letter added, was “necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities.” Related Articles Only days prior to receiving the notice, agency employees were reportedly told that the Department of Government Efficiency, the budget-slashing group overseen by Elon Musk, was moving to cut upwards of 80 percent of their 180-person …

Anglicans oppose state funding of religious schools… in America

Anglicans oppose state funding of religious schools… in America

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Pictured: St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, New York, USA The Church of England’s sister body in the United States has come out strongly against the state funding of religious schools, with one senior figure declaring ‘a responsibility to speak with moral clarity in the face of the rising tide of Christian nationalism and its dangerous ties to white supremacy.’ The Church of England is the biggest provider of state-funded religious schools in England. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA) is the US member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its Presiding Bishop (head of the church) Sean Rowe has joined with other religious leaders to intervene in a case before the Supreme Court that will be heard at the end of this month. The intervention opposes the state funding of a Catholic ‘charter school’ – the US equivalent to a free school in England – which would be the first religious state school in the US. Some religious private schools in the US effectively get state funds through voucher programmes, whereby parents …

Bill ‘much higher’ than £13.8bn estimate

Bill ‘much higher’ than £13.8bn estimate

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High-ranking Whitehall official warns cost to fix crumbling estate ‘almost certain’ to be more than thought High-ranking Whitehall official warns cost to fix crumbling estate ‘almost certain’ to be more than thought More from this theme Recent articles The true cost of bringing the school estate up to scratch is “almost certain” to be more than official estimates of £13.8 billion, warn senior civil servants. One of Whitehall’s highest-ranking mandarins was forced to make the concession after MPs voiced concerns about inflation and the crumbly concrete crisis. It comes after the Department for Education increased the condition pot available to the smallest academy trusts by 4 per cent. “There have been years and years of neglect,” said Hilary Goldsmith, a school business leader. “Schools are having to make do with tiny amounts of money to patch and fix things. The failure to invest in infrastructure now is only making bigger problems for the future.” Further deterioration and rising building fees According to the National Audit Office (NAO), the DfE requested £4 billion a year between …

DfE cost-cutters identify £400m funding cuts

DfE cost-cutters identify £400m funding cuts

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More from this theme Recent articles Government cost-cutters have ramped up their efficiency drive in schools, recommending more than £400 million of funding cuts last year. And although schools are making more reductions based on their recommendations than ever, data shows they’re still only implementing a fraction of the advised savings. It comes as schools face a financial triple-whammy that could force them to slash budgets further. Julia Harnden, a funding specialist at the leaders’ union ASCL, said the rise in suggested and implemented cost savings “illustrate the financial pressure that schools are under’. But “no amount of savings advice” could compensate for inadequate school funding. Schools cutting more DfE figures, obtained through the freedom of information act, show school resource management advisers (SRMAs) identified more than £400 million of “three-year cumulative savings opportunities” across 416 visits in 2023-24. This averages £964,000 per school. That figure is 37 per cent higher than 2022-23 levels (£701,418.44) and more than the £696,000 of savings for each school identified by SRMAs between 2018 and 2022. The DfE stressed …

Restore £3.6bn ‘lost’ funding, Treasury told

Restore £3.6bn ‘lost’ funding, Treasury told

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Government ‘must begin making some inroads’ into £13.8bn capital backlog, says union ahead of spring statement Government ‘must begin making some inroads’ into £13.8bn capital backlog, says union ahead of spring statement The Treasury must restore £3.6 billion in “lost” capital funding, leaders have said, as teachers reported widespread problems with their school buildings. The chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her spring statement this afternoon ahead of a multi-year spending review in June. Ahead of the announcement, the ASCL school leaders’ union is asking government to increase school revenue and capital funding, and wipe councils’ high needs deficits. According to the National Audit Office, the Department for Education requested £4 billion a year between 2021 and 2025 but was only allocated £3.1 billion. This makes a total shortfall of £3.6 billion over that period. “ASCL is calling on the Treasury to restore this lost capital expenditure,” the union said. Most teachers working in overheated classrooms The union has also published Teacher Tapp polling conducted on its behalf. It shows 55 per cent of teachers reported …

A story of growth through funding and expertise

A story of growth through funding and expertise

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The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) highlights Ford UK’s shift towards electric vehicles through innovative initiatives supported by government funding and partnerships, emphasising its continuing significance in the UK automotive sector. Ford, a US brand with over 100 years of manufacturing history in the UK, has become such an integrated part of our culture that its vehicles are synonymous with the British everyman, with instantly recognisable names such as the Mondeo and Transit. Ford UK: A story of growth through funding and expertise In 1911, the company opened its first factory outside North America in Manchester. This plant produced the iconic Model T, which quickly became a best-seller. In 1929, Ford began constructing a new factory in Dagenham, Essex, which became Europe’s largest car plant. Over the decades, Ford’s Dagenham plant produced millions of vehicles, including the popular Cortina, Escort, and Fiesta models. Ford’s Halewood site on Merseyside, established in 1963, initially produced the Ford Anglia. Over the years, it manufactured various models, including the Escort and Capri. Today, Ford of Britain still operates major …