United States (US) stories

YFM Equity Partners invests GBP £7.6 million in Exeter-based Shopify agency Swanky, funding hiring, service expansion and selective acquisitions.

Tonies adds Ms Moni, Postman Pat and Disney-themed games as it widens its screen-free audio range with new bundles and personalised figures.

Astor secures USD $5 million in seed funding as the AI adviser broadens access to portfolio guidance for everyday investors.

San Francisco healthcare startup TriFetch secures pre-seed backing from Nexus Venture Partners to automate calls, referrals and prior authorisations.

Amazon and Veolia will reuse treated wastewater for cooling at Mississippi data centres, cutting potable water use by 83 million gallons a year.

TCS deepens Google Cloud partnership with four new AI products aimed at speeding enterprise automation, factory efficiency and cyber defence.

BAND secures USD $17 million seed backing to build an interaction layer for multi-agent AI systems, as firms seek better oversight and interoperability.

UGREEN signs first global sports partnership with the New England Patriots, securing 2026 stadium rights and fan activations at Gillette Stadium.

Alkami ties account opening, digital banking and marketing into one platform as regional banks and credit unions seek simpler vendor stacks.

Taboola opens Realise+ to advertisers with agentic AI that automates budget, creative and targeting decisions across the open web.

Markable widens access as it opens Smart Deep Links, AutoDM and AI Product Collage to all creators in free push to boost affiliate sales.

Rilian secures seed backing to push AI-driven cyber software into US, Gulf and allied markets as demand for automated defence tools rises.

Markable opens free creator tier and adds AI shopping tools as it targets a fast-growing social commerce market.

Ulta Beauty rolls out Google-powered AI shopping across Search and Gemini, while building its own assistant for personalised browsing and checkout.

NYIIX celebrates 30 years with Astron platform and 400G upgrade to meet surging cloud, streaming and AI traffic demands across US hubs.

Merck deepens Google Cloud tie-up with USD $1 billion AI rollout across research, manufacturing and commercial operations.

Home Depot deploys AI voice agents across US stores, saying the system spots caller needs four times faster and can help complete purchases.

LendingClub will rebrand its bank as Happen Bank in summer 2026, as Chief Executive Officer Scott Sanborn says the new name better fits its wider banking push.

KPMG, Workday and Google Cloud unveil AI digital assistant to speed month-end finance close, automate routine checks and preserve human sign-off.

Zelle and Truist begin a controlled test of recurring credit card bill payments, aiming to give consumers clearer confirmation and reduce late-fee uncertainty.