AI investments are beginning to translate into measurable business gains, with companies reporting stronger earnings and improved operational efficiency. Santander said its AI initiatives generated €194 million ($216 million) in business value in the first nine months of 2026, while Novartis and Standard Chartered reported profitability improvements. Meta credited AI with boosting advertising revenue, while Google Cloud’s revenue more than doubled to nearly $31 billion in Q3, highlighting the growing commercial returns from the technology.

Closer home, Dutch investment group Prosus is a step closer to acquiring a stake in Sachin Bansal-led Navi, after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the proposed deal. The approval follows Navi’s $100 million fundraise from Prosus in August, marking the Bengaluru-based fintech’s first institutional capital raise. The deal will deepen Prosus’ presence in India’s digital financial services market.

In other news, Binance says it has replenished approximately 95% of the $6.3 billion in assets stolen in a major security breach, using company funds and reserves. The exchange has begun restoring cryptocurrency withdrawals in phases after completing security checks, while working to source the remaining 5% of less-liquid tokens. Binance has reiterated that users will not bear the financial losses.

Meanwhile, countries at the UN’s COP17 biodiversity summit have agreed on a roadmap to accelerate nature conservation by 2030. The plan calls for reducing harmful subsidies and increasing conservation funding, although a significant financing gap remains a challenge to meeting global biodiversity targets.

Here’s your trivia for today: What was the name of the very first internet search engine, created in 1990?

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