IT Brief UK

Ecolab has completed its acquisition of liquid cooling company CoolIT Systems, in a deal valuing CoolIT at about USD $4.75 billion. The acquisition adds direct-to-chip liquid cooling to Ecolab's business as demand rises for cooling systems in dense AI data centres. According to Ecolab, CoolIT's year-to-date sales have grown by more than 100%, driven by demand for liquid cooling in AI facilities.

Cloud Security Alliance has added AIUC-1 certification recognition to its STAR Registry, extending the registry's AI assurance coverage to AI agents. Organisations listed on the Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk Registry that also hold AIUC-1 certification can now add the AIUC-1 AI Agent Trustmark to their listing. The designation is intended to help companies identify providers whose AI agents have undergone third-party assessment against the AIUC-1 standard.

Security researchers and vendors warn that recent controversies involving Anthropic's AI systems point to deeper questions about attribution, national security, and the rapid spread of offensive cyber tools. The debate has intensified after reports that Claude included hidden markers aimed at Chinese users, along with a separate clash between Anthropic and the US government over access to its Mythos Lite Fable 5 model.

HP has launched a strategic partnership with OpenAI called Frontier and plans to expand the programme after pilot projects across several parts of the business. The partnership is meant to extend HP's use of artificial intelligence in customer and partner services, internal productivity, software development and operational reporting. The work has moved beyond small-scale testing after trials that began earlier this year.

Anthropic has re-deployed its Fable 5 AI model worldwide, disclosed more detail on its cyber safeguards and published a draft framework for rating the severity of AI jailbreaks. The update explains how Anthropic classifies cyber-related prompts to decide whether Fable 5 should allow, monitor or block them. It also introduces a scoring model designed to help companies and governments discuss the risks posed when users bypass an AI model's restrictions. Fable 5 is now available globally to all users.

NCC Group has been recognised under The Cyber Scheme Accredited Company Programme, which links company accreditation to workforce standards aligned with the UK Cyber Security Council's Chartered Cyber Security Professional framework. The recognition places the cyber security consultancy within a UK scheme designed to assure buyers of cyber services by confirming that participating companies employ staff whose skills meet an established professional benchmark.

Vercel has signed a multi-year partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, linking the technology company with one of Formula One's most prominent teams. Under the agreement, Vercel branding will appear on the team's race cars, and the two organisations will work on digital experiences, customer engagement and content. The deal also includes plans to move Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS digital platforms to Vercel.

Jitterbit has published research showing a divide between UK and US technology leaders over whether to buy or build AI agents, highlighting a split in enterprise preferences for agentic automation. Its data shows that 51% of UK organisations prefer pre-built agents for building and deploying AI agent automations, while 48% rely on custom-made systems. In the US, the pattern is reversed: 55% of respondents favour custom-built code developed entirely in-house, while 45% lean toward pre-built agents.

Facewatch will launch a retail crime management platform this autumn that includes a real-time police alert feature for high-risk offenders entering shops. It describes the system as the first of its kind in the UK. After testing with existing retail partners, the platform will combine live facial recognition, incident reporting, case management and evidence workflows for police use in a single system.

Artificial intelligence accounted for a record 44% of UK smaller-business equity investment in 2025, according to the British Business Bank. Overall equity funding for smaller businesses fell 4% to £12.3 billion. The bank's Small Business Equity Tracker found that investors concentrated capital into fewer, larger transactions, with the 10 biggest fundraisings accounting for 23% of total investment, the highest share since 2020.