Octopus Energy to spin off $8.65bn tech arm Kraken Octopus Energy is set to spin off its Kraken Technologies arm as a standalone company after a deal to sell a stake in the platform valued it at $8.65bn (£6.4bn). The energy giant, Britain's biggest gas and electricity supplier, has sold a $1bn stake in the AI-based division to a group of investors led by New York-based D1 Capital Partners. The move paves the way for Kraken to be demerged from Octopus, and for a potential stock market flotation for the business in the future. Octopus founder and chief executive Greg Jackson told the BBC there was every chance Kraken would list its shares in the medium term, with the location of the flotation between London and the US. Kraken uses AI to automate customer service and billing for energy companies and can manage when customers use energy, rewarding them for reducing consumption at peak times. It was initially built for use by Octopus but has since picked up a raft of other utilities clients, including EDF, E.On Next, TalkTalk and National Grid US.

Ubisoft, one of the world's largest games developers, says it's working to fix an apparent hack on popular online shooter Rainbow Six Siege. Servers for the tactical multiplayer game were taken offline on Saturday and Sunday after in-game currency thought to be worth millions of pounds was distributed to players. The company has since restored service, but suspended the game's marketplace until further notice and warned players they may face queues when trying to log on. In a statement on X, Ubisoft said it would continue to make investigations and corrections over the next two weeks. Rainbow Six Siege, commonly referred to as R6, has been a success story for Ubisoft, which is also behind the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry series.

The upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light has been delayed until 27 May 2026. The much-anticipated title was due to be released on 27 March, but will now come out two months later. It will be the first video game featuring the British spy since 2012's 007 Legends. In a statement developer IO Interactive, which also makes the Hitman series, said the game was fully playable from beginning to end - but extra time was needed to further polish it. It is being developed in association with Delphi Interactive, which is also behind the upcoming Fifa game due to be released on Netflix ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been named game of the year in a record-breaking haul at this year's Game Awards. The French-developed role-playing game (RPG) cleaned up in nine of the 10 categories it was up for, with further wins in best narrative, best music and best performance. I think that's what I find really beautiful is that people really reacted strongly to all the passion we put into this game. Influencer Tallulah Metcalfe took part in the BBC Teen Summit in Bradford, and gave us her best tips. Dr Kaitlyn Regehr has this advice to help you stop looking at your phone and go on a digital detox.

The Download: solar geoengineering's future, and OpenAI is being sued Solar geoengineering aims to manipulate the climate by bouncing sunlight back into space. In theory, it could ease global warming. But as interest in the idea grows, so do concerns about potential consequences. A startup called Stardust Solutions recently raised a $60 million funding round, the largest known to date for a geoengineering startup. My colleague James Temple has a new story out about the company, and how its emergence is making some researchers nervous. So far, the field has been limited to debates, proposed academic research, and--sure--a few fringe actors to keep an eye on.

Toffee Crisp and Blue Riband can't be called chocolate any more Toffee Crisp and Blue Riband bars can no longer be called chocolate after maker Nestle changed their recipes. To be described as milk chocolate in the UK a product needs to have at least 20% cocoa solids and 20% milk solids, a level each product fell below once a higher amount of cheaper vegetable fat was used. Nestle said its reformulations were needed due to higher input costs but were carefully developed and sensory tested and there were no plans to alter the recipes of other chocolate products. As many ingredient costs, such as cocoa and butter, increased food companies have altered recipes to use less of the expensive ingredients, as well as shrinking serving sizes. Nestle now describes the treats as being encased in a smooth milk chocolate flavour coating rather than being covered in milk chocolate.

Plus: Trump says he'll sign an order blocking states from regulating AI. There are huge gulfs of opinion when it comes to predicting the near-future impacts of generative AI. In one camp there are those who predict that over the next decade the impact of AI will exceed that of the Industrial Revolution--a 150-year period of economic and social upheaval so great that we still live in the world it wrought. At the other end of the scale we have team'Normal Technology': experts who push back not only on these sorts of predictions but on their foundational worldview. That's not how technology works, they argue. Advances at the cutting edge may come thick and fast, but change across the wider economy, and society as a whole, moves at human speed.

A new strain of mpox, previously called monkeypox, has been detected in a person in England, say UK health officials. The virus is a mix of two major types of the mpox virus, and was found in someone who recently returned from travelling in Asia. Officials say they are still assessing the significance of the new strain. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says it is normal for viruses to evolve. Getting vaccinated remains the best way to protect against severe disease - although an mpox infection is mild for many.

I hear it's close: two years, five years--maybe next year! And I hear it's going to solve our biggest problems in ways we cannot yet imagine. I also hear it will bring on the apocalypse and kill us all We're of course talking about artificial general intelligence, or AGI--that hypothetical near-future technology that (I hear) will be able to do pretty much whatever a human brain can do. Every age has its believers, people with an unshakeable faith that something huge is about to happen--a before and an after that they are privileged (or doomed) to live through. For us, that's the promised advent of AGI. And here's what I think: AGI is a lot like a conspiracy theory, and it may be the most consequential one of our time.

The world is full of extraordinary young people brimming with ideas for how to crack tough problems. Every year, we recognize 35 such individuals from around the world--all of whom are under the age of 35. These scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs are working to help mitigate climate change, accelerate scientific progress, and alleviate human suffering from disease. Some are launching companies while others are hard at work in academic labs. They were selected from hundreds of nominees by expert judges and our newsroom staff. Get to know them all--including our 2025 Innovator of the Year-- in these profiles .