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  • Renault Group 2025 Q3 revenue up +6.8% 2025 financial outlook confirmed

    Renault Group 2025 Q3 revenue up +6.8% 2025 financial outlook confirmed

    “In a highly challenging environment, we continue to capitalize on our compelling and competitive line-up – spanning electric, ICE, and hybrid vehicles – driving a 6.8% increase in Group revenue this quarter. We also benefited from the strong performance of Mobilize Financial Services, our financial captive, which remains a strategic asset for both current operations and the Group’s long-term ambitions. With the target to be the best in what we can control, we remain fully committed to our value over volume strategy, while maintaining strong focus on executing our cost-reduction roadmap. We confirm our full-year guidance, targeting a Group operating margin around 6.5% and free cash flow between €1.0bn and €1.5bn. In parallel, we are actively shaping our next mid-term plan, designed to accelerate the Group’s transformation and unlock future opportunities.” said Duncan Minto, Chief Financial Officer of Renault Group.

    Boulogne-Billancourt, France, October 23, 2025

    Commercial results highlights

    In 2025 Q3, Renault Group achieved a 9.8% increase in registrations compared to the same period in 2024, with a total of 529,486 vehicles sold. Both international and European sales contributed to this performance, up 14.9% and 7.5% respectively. In Europe[4], passenger cars sales grew by 10.9%, outperforming a market up 7.5%, while LCV sales have shown improvement sequentially, yet remaining 7.1% below 2024 Q3. All brands were up (PC, Europe): Renault +5.5%, Dacia +16.1%, Alpine +306.4%.

    During the first nine months of 2025, Group sales were up 3.8% reaching 1,698,964 vehicles, with the three brands growing. In Europe, PC sales were up 6.9% for a total of 1,003,085 vehicles sold. In the international market, Renault brand sales (PC+LCV) were up in Latam (+17.3%), South Korea (+213.7%) and Morocco (+46.3%), confirming the success of its International Game Plan.

    Renault Group maintained its strategy:

    • Value over volume commercial policy:
      • retail sales accounted for 58.4% of total sales in the five[5] main European countries (nearly 17 points above the market), with sequential improvement in Q3 at 63.8% of total sales (20 points above the market). 3 vehicles were in the top 10 retail sales in Europe: Sandero, Duster, and Clio.
      • residual values remained globally stable for both Renault and Dacia brands at the end of September 2025 compared to last year, being 5 to 11 points[6] above main competitors in the five main European countries.
    • Electrification[7] acceleration: 

    In the first nine months, Renault Group electrified vehicle sales rose by 58.6%, now representing 43.9% of total sales.
    In 2025 Q3, Renault Group’s electrified vehicle mix reached 44.0% of the total sales up 10.8 points compared to 2024 Q3.

      • EV: Over the first nine months, Renault Group EV share increased by more than 5 points to reach 12.7%.  Renault 5 E-Tech was the B-segment EV leader in Europe.
        In 2025 Q3, Renault Group EV sales grew by 122.1% compared to 2024 Q3, reaching 13.5% of sales.
      • Hybrid (HEV): Over the first nine months, Renault Group HEV share increased by more than
        8 points to reach 30.4%. This increase is due to Renault and Dacia brands’ successful hybrid line-up. Renault Group remained second for hybrid (HEV) vehicles in Europe.
        In 2025 Q3, Renault Group HEV sales grew by 25.0% compared to 2024 Q3.

    Renault Brand

    In the first nine months of 2025, Renault sold 1,169,806 vehicles worldwide, marking a +3.8% increase, compared to the same period last year. In Europe[8], Renault PC recorded a +7.5% increase, the second-highest growth among top fifteen automotive brands, with 546,314 vehicles sold. The brand’s PC market share rose by +0.3 points reaching 5.5%. Renault International Game Plan continues to deliver strong results, with +15.6% growth (PC+LCV) in the international market compared to last year.

    In 2025 Q3, Renault delivered a strong performance, with 361,575 vehicles sold, a 6.6% growth compared to 2024 Q3. 

    Internationally[9], Renault grew in its strategic regions, posting a +14.2% increase overall. In Latin America, the brand rose by 6.8% thanks to Kardian with further momentum expected from the upcoming launch of Boreal in Brazil this November. In South Korea, Grand Koleos made the brand grow by 54.7% compared to 2024 Q3. In Morocco, Renault achieved a +42.6% growth, with 9,258 vehicles sold, again supported by Kardian’s success.

    In Europe, the brand grew by 1.8% (PC+LCV) thanks to a 5.5% PC growth and a LCV performance (-7.0%) showing signs of recovery following a challenging first half[10] of the year. Growth was especially high in Germany (+27.9%) and in Spain (+11.9%).

    Renault electrified[11] vehicles accounted for 60.0% of the brand sales (+9.6 points vs. 2024 Q3). Renault EV sales surged by +84.7%, to reach more than 20% of Q3 sales (+8.7 points vs. 2024 Q3) thanks to Renault 5 E-Tech, the B-segment EV leader in Europe, and Scenic E-Tech, the C-segment EV leader in France. Hybrid sales rose by +4.4%, thanks to Symbioz, the best-selling Renault hybrid, to reach 37.9% of the brand sales. Renault was the second brand for hybrid vehicles in Europe.

    Over the first nine months, Renault EV sales were up 65.8% compared to the same period in 2024. Renault EV mix reached 17.4%, up 6.1 points compared to the same period in 2024.

    Dacia Brand

    In the first 9 months of 2025, Dacia brand sold 521,387 vehicles worldwide, up 4.1% compared to the same period in 2024. In Europe, with 449,634 passenger cars sold (+5.3%), the brand maintained its 9th position in the passenger cars market. It gained one place and was ranked 2nd on the European podium for passenger cars sold to retail customers, the brand’s core customer base.

    2025 Q3 marked an acceleration for Dacia with 165,451 vehicles sold (+16.2%), a strong increase compared to the first two quarters of 2025. The brand posted a solid growth in the majority of European markets, with remarkable performances in Germany (+23.6%), Spain (+19.3%) and Belgium–Luxembourg (+37.5%). This momentum was largely driven by the success of Bigster, the second best-selling C-SUV since June in Europe on the retail market, which recorded 22,353 registrations during Q3 and more than 39,700 since the beginning of the year. It also registered more than 55,000 orders since its launch. Dacia Sandero confirms its success by being the best-selling vehicle in Europe, all distribution channels combined, with 66,233 units sold in Q3 and 218,089 units since January.

    With Duster and Bigster, Dacia is accelerating the pace of its electrification[11]. Hybrid sales more than doubled, now accounting for 20.9% of the brand’s Q3 sales (+9.1 points vs. 2024 Q3). Over the first nine months, Dacia’s hybrid sales jumped by 170.0%.

    Alpine Brand

    In the first 9 months of 2025, Alpine sales more than doubled compared to the same period in 2024, to reach 7,394 vehicles.

    In 2025 Q3, Alpine recorded 2,344 registrations, compared to 625 registrations in 2024 Q3. The A290, the recently launched electric sports city car, is now available in almost all of the brand’s countries, totaling 1,845 registrations over the period. The United Kingdom becomes the second largest market for the A290 after France. In addition, Alpine will soon open orders for the A390, its new electric sport fastback. The A110 maintained a solid momentum even if the orders of the current generation of A110   will close in the coming months before the arrival of the next generation 100% electric.

    Third quarter revenue

    Group revenue for 2025 Q3 amounted to €11,426 million, up 6.8% compared to 2024 Q3. At constant exchange rates[12], Group revenue was up 8.5%.

    Automotive revenue reached €9,816 million, up 5.0% compared to 2024 Q3. It included -1.8 points of negative exchange rates effect (-€167 million) mainly related to the devaluation of the Argentinean peso, the Turkish lira, the Brazilian real and the Korean won. At constant exchange rates1, it increased by 6.8%. This evolution was mainly explained by the following:

    • A positive volume effect of +3.2 points. The 9.8% increase in registrations was partly offset by a higher destocking of the independent dealer network over the quarter compared to 2024 Q3 (destocking by 72k units in 2024 Q3 vs. 98k units in 2025 Q3).
    • A positive geographic mix of +1.0 point, notably explained by lower sales in Brazil in 2025 Q3 due to a focus on the most profitable channels combined with a high comparison base in 2024 Q3.
    • A positive product mix effect of +0.9 points explained by the performance of both Renault and Dacia models mostly Bigster and Renault 5 E-Tech. The lower product mix effect compared to the previous quarters is mostly explained by the annualization impact of the launches from the previous year. Product mix in Q4 should be higher, benefiting from a stronger contribution of Bigster and Renault 5 E-Tech, and the ramp-up of Renault 4 E-Tech.
    • A negative price effect of -0.8 points mainly due to the market conditions in Europe that remain challenging with commercial pressure. Some of the negative currency impacts were offset by price increases. As part of its value over volume policy, the Group maintains, in its pricing approach, a strong focus on residual values, which is a key competitive factor for the Group’s long-term performance.
    • A positive sales to partners effect of +1.6 points, notably driven by programs with our partners and the impact of the integration of RNAIPL (Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd) into the consolidation perimeter. On August 1st, 2025, Renault Group completed the acquisition of the 51% stake in the Chennai plant (RNAIPL), previously held by Nissan.
    • A positive ”Other” effect of +0.9 points, primarily related to the performance of Retail Renault Group (RRG) activity.

    Mobility Services contributed €23 million to 2025 Q3 Group revenue compared to €14 million in 2024 Q3.

    Mobilize Financial Services posted revenue of €1,587 million in 2025 Q3, up 18.4% compared to 2024 Q3, due to higher interest rates and to the increase of average performing assets (at €59.5 billion) which improved by 5.3% compared to 2024 Q3.

    As of September 30, 2025, total inventories (including the independent network) represented 538,000 vehicles, a level in line with the normal seasonal evolution:

    • Group inventories at 219,000 vehicles
    • Independent dealer inventories at 319,000 vehicles

    Looking forward into Q4, the Group expects the restocking at independent dealers to be well below the one recorded in 2024 Q4.

    The high single-digit growth of the order intake in 2025 Q3 year-on-year is fueling the orderbook in Europe, which stood at 1.6 months at the end of September given the strong forward sales expected in Q4.  

    2025 FY financial outlook

    Renault Group confirms its 2025 financial outlook, updated on July 15, 2025:

    • Group operating margin around 6.5%
    • Free cash flow between €1.0 billion and €1.5 billion

    Renault Group’s consolidated revenue

    Total Renault Group PC + LCV1 sales by brand 

    Renault Group’s top 15 markets at the end of September 2025

    2025 Q3 Revenue Conference

    Link to follow the conference on October 23, 2025, from 8:00am CEST and available in replay: 2025 Q3 conference streaming

    [1] In order to analyze the variation in consolidated revenue at constant exchange rates, Renault Group recalculates the revenue for the current period by applying average exchange rates of the previous period.

    [3] Unless otherwise specified, rankings are expressed over the first 9 months of the year.

    [5] France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom

    [6] 22 main brands PC segment, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and United Kingdom

    [7] Scope: EV, HEV and PHEV passenger cars in Europe. Provisional data at the end of September 2025 based on the following European markets: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irlande, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

    [10]  2025 H1 Renault LCV sales declining by 29.9% vs. 2024 H1

    [11] Scope: EV, HEV and PHEV passenger cars in Europe. Provisional data at the end of September 2025 based on the following European markets: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irlande, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

    [12] In order to analyze the variation in consolidated revenue at constant exchange rates, Renault Group recalculates the revenue for the current period by applying average exchange rates of the previous period.

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  • ‘Your new website sucks’: Bureau of Meteorology redesign is lightning rod for heated criticism | Australia weather

    ‘Your new website sucks’: Bureau of Meteorology redesign is lightning rod for heated criticism | Australia weather

    It was designed to be clean and clear, but the Bureau of Meteorology’s new website has come in for criticism for being confusing, clunky and “really, really bad”.

    After years of development, the government site, which has 2.6bn page views a year, was relaunched on Wednesday, its homepage giving users a snapshot of weather in capital cities around the country and latest news updates from the bureau.

    Rain radars, weather maps, MetEye, industry pages, specialised forecasts and historical data can be found via tabs and buttons on the main page, some of which link back to the former site while pages are still being migrated across.

    The first redesign in 12 years, according to the bureau’s senior meteorologist, Andrea Peace, has raised the ire of some users, who quickly took to social media to tell the bureau just what they thought of the change.

    One Facebook user commented on a BoM post, saying: “Give us our site back. We don’t want this new one.”

    A member of the Whingers Forster Tuncurry group said: “Hate it with a capital ‘H’ … what the hell were they thinking?”

    Another user said: “I think I will go back to the old fashioned weather … look out the window and then wear a coat, take an umbrella and hope for the best … much better than this ‘new’ forecast page.”

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    Thomas Hinterdorfer: Extreme Weather Chaser wrote to the bureau via a social media post: “Your new website sucks … The website is clunky, extremely difficult to navigate.”

    A Reddit user who accessed the site’s beta page before the launch said the site had been “dumbed down”.

    A farm owner from Glen Innes in New South Wales, who asked for her name to be withheld, told Guardian Australia the change was a “step backwards”.

    “What the new site says to me is, if you live in the city and want to find out what temperature it is, it’s dead easy,” she said.

    “But we are weather nuts and we like to be able to see more in-depth information. This site is really, really bad.”

    Perhaps her biggest gripe was that it now takes three clicks to access water and land data that is crucial to farmers – with the last click redirecting her to the “excellent” agriculture and natural resources management page within the old site.

    “If they change that, too, it will really be a retrograde step,” she said.

    Among the less common positive comments was praise for the site’s simplicity and its consolidated location data.

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    “I had 2 bookmarks for the radar map and my local forecast, now it’s all on the one page and I can delete one of my bookmarks,” one user wrote.

    Peace said the new interface was “very much about trying to make it clean and simple”, as well as being customisable and more secure, accessible and stable than the old – and would continue to be developed with community input.

    “The legacy site had over 72,000 pages. It had limited search functionality, there was no way to customise it,” she said.

    “It is going to take some time for people to get used to the new website … most things are there, it’s just about finding the new way.”

    Some of the old site’s pages are yet to be mapped on to the new site, she said, while others will not be brought across. One popular feature on the app, its predicted rain radar, will be integrated to the new site “in time”.

    “We know that people are very passionate about the weather,” she said. “People feel real ownership of the bureau’s website – and so we did expect that there would be some challenges for people to adapt to this change. We just hope that each time someone uses it, they’ll find something new.”

    The overhaul has been a long time coming. The bureau’s annual report of 2018-19 referred to a new website being built for the agency. In its 2022-23 annual report, the agency said it would complete public beta testing of its new website the following year.

    In 2022, the bureau caused a storm of controversy online when it said it should no longer be referred to by its acronym but by its full name in the first instance and “the Bureau” thereafter.

    Additional reporting by Graham Readfearn

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  • Nikon Begins Accepting Orders for the FX-88SL and FX-88SLD, the First FPD Lithography Systems Equipped with UV-LED Light Source | News

    Nikon Begins Accepting Orders for the FX-88SL and FX-88SLD, the First FPD Lithography Systems Equipped with UV-LED Light Source | News

    TOKYO – Nikon Corporation (Nikon) will begin accepting orders for Gen 8 plate (2,290 mm × 2,620 mm) FPD lithography systems FX-88SL and FX-88SLD*1 in November 2025. These are the first FPD lithography systems that employ a UV-LED (ultraviolet LED) light source*2, reducing environmental impact while also providing high resolution and productivity.

    • *1The FX-88SL and FX-88SLD are equipped with UV-LED light sources that differ in wavelength. For details, see “Key Performance.”
    • *2Among FPD lithography systems released as of October 23, 2025, according to Nikon’s survey.

    Product Name and Time Schedule

    Product name FPD lithography system FX-88SL and FPD lithography system FX-88SLD
    Start of acceptance of orders In November 2025
    Sales launch In April 2026

    Development Background

    As the demand for high-definition panels continues to grow, from smart devices to large high-end monitors, there is an increasing need to achieve both high productivity and reduced power consumption in panel manufacturing. In response to this trend, Nikon has proactively developed FPD lithography systems that employ a UV-LED light source. The UV-LED light source enables high productivity, saves energy, and reduces running costs with their high illumination power. Additionally, it contributes to environmental impact reduction by being mercury-free. Through such efforts, Nikon will continue to promote the realization of a sustainable society, as well as ongoing growth as a company, by promoting the reduction of environmental impact and other initiatives.

    Key Features

    1. Combination of high resolution and high productivity

    The FX-88SL and FX-88SLD can expose the Gen 8 plate in 4-scan while providing excellent C.D.(Critical dimension) uniformity over the entire surface of the plate by using a high-accuracy focus correction system. The FX-88SL, equipped with a UV-LED light source equivalent to i-line, has achieved a resolution of 1.5 µm*3 L/S*4. The takt time is 39 seconds per plate, a 17% improvement over the conventional FX-88S*5. The FX-88SLD, equipped with a UV-LED light source with two wavelengths*6, further improves productivity in manufacturing processes that require high illumination power.

    • *31 µm (micrometer) is one-millionth of a meter (one-thousandth of a millimeter).
    • *4Abbreviation for Line and Space. Refers to the width of the wiring and the space between adjacent wiring.
    • *5Conditions: 2,290 mm × 2,620 mm, 4-scan, i-line, 30 mJ/cm2
    • *6Equivalent to i-line and h-line

    2. Realization of overlay accuracy of ±0.3 µm

    An overlay accuracy of ±0.3 µm has been achieved through high-accuracy alignment technology. By Nikon’s proprietary multi-lens system*7, each individual lens can be controlled precisely. This technology is effective in correcting deformations in large plates, enabling highly accurate overlay. As a result, it contributes to high-yield mass production.

    • *7Nikon’s proprietary technology for FPD lithography systems arranges multiple projection lenses in an array and precisely controls them to achieve the same effect as using a single giant lens. This enables patterning over a wider area in a single scan.

    3. Employment of a UV-LED light source to pursue performance and environmental impact reduction

    UV-LED, which features low power consumption and is mercury-free, is employed as the light source. Its high level of illumination power not only improves productivity but also reduces running costs. In addition, Nikon has established a recycling scheme for UV-LED light source components, advancing toward the realization of a sustainable society.

    Key Performance

    Swipe horizontally to view full table.

    FX-88SL FX-88SLD
    Resolution 1.5 µm L/S
    1.8 µm C/H     		2.5 µm L/S
    2.5 µm C/H
    Light source UV-LED i-line equivalent UV-LED i-line + h-line equivalent
    Projection magnification 1 : 1
    Overlay accuracy ±0.30 µm
    Plate size 2,290 mm × 2,620 mm
    Takt time 39 s/plate
    Conditions: 2,290 mm × 2,620 mm, 4-scan, i-line, 30 mJ/cm2     		39 s/plate
    Conditions: 2,290 mm × 2,620 mm, 4-scan, i-line + h-line, 30 mJ/cm2

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  • The tweeting turmoil inside Sequoia Capital

    The tweeting turmoil inside Sequoia Capital

    Some big sanctions to start: The US is imposing sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, aiming to “degrade” Vladimir Putin’s war chest and support Donald Trump’s effort to end the war in Ukraine.

    And a payday: Citigroup has elected chief executive Jane Fraser as chair of the US bank’s board of directors and is paying her a one-off $25mn bonus, underscoring her leadership position atop the lender as it pursues a radical overhaul.

    Welcome to Due Diligence, your briefing on dealmaking, private equity and corporate finance. This article is an on-site version of the newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Tuesday to Friday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters. Get in touch with us anytime: Due.Diligence@ft.com

    In today’s newsletter: 

    • Sequoia’s COO calls it quits

    • Private equity giants eye Japan

    • A $20bn nuclear (pipe) dream

    Tumult at a Silicon Valley institution

    Sequoia Capital has become Silicon Valley’s most sought after venture firm by letting its investments do the talking. 

    The 53-year-old group has backed Google, Apple and OpenAI, all while adopting a position its current chief Roelof Botha describes as “institutional neutrality”.

    That position appears to be under strain following the departure of Sequoia’s chief operating officer over another partner’s comments which she regarded as Islamophobic.

    Sumaiya Balbale left Sequoia after five years in August. The FT revealed on Tuesday that her resignation was precipitated by social media posts by Shaun Maguire, one of Sequoia’s most successful investors and a close ally of Elon Musk.

    The pugilistic partner wrote on X in July that New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani “comes from a culture that lies about everything. It’s literally a virtue to lie if it advances his Islamist agenda. The West will learn this lesson the hard way.”

    Balbale, a practising Muslim, complained to other senior figures at the firm about the post, according to sources the FT spoke to.

    Some shared concerns about Maguire’s language, the people said, but no action was taken to sanction Maguire, a physicist whose investments including SpaceX, xAI and Neuralink have netted billions of dollars of paper gains for the firm. 

    Past Sequoia partners have not been afraid to take political positions, even where those clash. Doug Leone and Michael Moritz, its prior generation of leaders, were vocal from opposite sides of the political spectrum.

    But Maguire’s outspoken online persona — spanning a passionate defence of Israel’s actions in Gaza, to endorsements of UK anti-immigration activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson — is something new, while Sequoia also lacks a counterbalancing public voice this time round.

    (Maguire didn’t respond to requests for comment for the story.)

    That is turning off some of the group’s portfolio companies and investors, particularly those in the Middle East. One financier from the region who has worked closely with Sequoia in the past described Maguire’s comments as “a humiliation”.

    “A lot of sovereign wealth funds from this part of the world are not going to work with this guy, that’s for sure . . . he is not welcome here.”

    Japan’s private equity lovefest 

    A quarter century ago, private equity firms in Japan were seen as vultures. Now they’re hosting a former prime minister for dinner, making their way ever deeper into the core of the country’s manufacturing base.

    The Japanese establishment is courting firms like KKR, Bain Capital and Blackstone to help shake up moribund companies and spur industry consolidation.

    “The idea of introducing a shock to the system . . . literally to create a crisis, is a very welcome one in the establishment,” said Jesper Koll, director of the activist Japan Catalyst Fund.

    They’ve got to this point through solid returns and an extremely careful cultivation of their public image. Mis-steps such as the bankruptcy of Marelli and a public fight over Fuji Soft have been taken in stride by the market.

    But as more firms pile into the market, auctions get more expensive and structures get more sophisticated. The question becomes how long before Japan gets nervous or more serious mistakes start being made.

    One private equity executive in Tokyo said the reality was “enormous pressure from investors to deploy, deploy, deploy” and that “price doesn’t matter the way it should”.

    “We can’t just stop doing deals. It’s a rollercoaster and it is getting dangerous,” the executive added. 

    Atsuhiko Sakamoto, head of private equity in Japan for Blackstone, cautioned that those entering the country now might not realise how different the market still is.

    “Remember, the backlash in the US came from buying legacy industrial businesses in the 80s and 90s and slashing headcount . . . the key people in Japanese PE are very aware of that history,” he said.

    “For at least the next five years, I don’t think there will be a need for more aggressive cutting of jobs. But maybe as more people come in, those that don’t know the history in Japan . . . maybe they get overconfident and think they can do anything.”

    The $20bn nuclear start-up with no revenue

    It’s been a rough week for the husband and wife team who co-founded Oklo, the Sam Altman-backed nuclear start-up planning to build a fleet of nuclear reactors to power the AI boom.

    Jacob and Caroline DeWitte, who fell in love while studying nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, saw their company’s market capitalisation shrink by a quarter to $20bn in the five trading days to Tuesday’s close.

    Oklo’s shares plunged a further 14 per cent on Wednesday (another hit of more than $2bn to valuation) following publication of a deep dive by the FT, highlighting some of the risks built into the company’s business model.

    Oklo has ambitious plans to begin supplying commercial power to customers in 2027 from a newly designed sodium-cooled small modular reactor.

    It doesn’t have a licence to build or operate the reactors, nor any revenues or binding contracts with customers. But it does have a very nice artistic rendering of its proposed Aurora Powerhouse — although it looks more like a ski chalet than a nuclear reactor. 

    The Silicon Valley-based company has become one of the symbols of the AI boom (or bubble) that has caused energy-related shares to soar this year, as investors bet on groups that can supply energy-hungry data centres with power.

    That has turned the DeWitte family, who own 18 per cent of Oklo, into paper billionaires. And they’re wasting no time: they’ve already cashed out $250mn by selling 3.2mn shares in the past six months.

    Critics say the company has a “move fast and break things” culture, which has not endeared it with regulators. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission made the unusual decision to reject a licence application in 2022. 

    But it has attracted considerable support from the Department of Energy, which is led by secretary Chris Wright, a former Oklo board member. 

    The company has been selected for multiple government programmes overseen by the department. DeWitte told the FT that Wright had recused himself from decision-making regarding Oklo. 

    The question for investors: can government support help Oklo design a reactor that’s commercially viable?

    As one former NRC chair said, sodium-cooled reactors have been tried before and failed to make the grade, noting that liquid sodium was “highly corrosive, flammable and explosive on contact with air and water”. 

    Investors will be hoping their money doesn’t go up in smoke.

    Job moves

    • Fannie Mae has named chief operating officer Peter Akwaboah as acting chief executive to replace Priscilla Almodovar, and has promoted John Roscoe and Brandon Hamara to co-presidents.

    • Debevoise & Plimpton has hired Krishna Skandakumar as co-chair of the firm’s private funds transactions group and Natalia Kubik as partner. They both join from Goodwin. 

    Smart reads

    Fear of missing out Sam Altman has been using corporate Fomo to his advantage, The Wall Street Journal writes. By playing the egos of Silicon Valley’s giants off one another he has tied the fates of tech’s biggest players to OpenAI.

    Emergency money With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and more severe, recovery spending is becoming a key driver of the US economy, Bloomberg reports. Disaster-related companies are even outperforming the S&P 500.

    ‘Man malaise’ The world’s largest listed hedge fund is at a crossroads: it either has to focus on its quant roots, or diversify. The FT’s Costas Mourselas goes on the Behind the Money podcast to talk about whether they’ll be able to rebound.

    News round-up

    Rachel Reeves targets tax partnerships in crackdown on wealthy Britons (FT)

    Barclays suffers £110mn hit from Tricolor collapse as bank’s profits fall (FT)

    Investors bet on Argentine peso devaluation after weekend elections (FT)

    NatWest and Lloyds scale back new lending to broadband challengers (FT)

    BDO chief pledges fight over ‘falsehoods’ on First Brands work (FT)

    Kering adds to hope of luxury recovery as it stems sales declines (FT)

    OpenAI prioritised user engagement over suicide prevention, lawsuit claims (FT)

    Reddit sues AI search engine Perplexity for scraping its data (FT)

    Due Diligence is written by Arash Massoudi, Ivan Levingston, Ortenca Aliaj, Alexandra Heal and Robert Smith in London, James Fontanella-Khan, Sujeet Indap, Eric Platt, Antoine Gara, Amelia Pollard, Kaye Wiggins, Oliver Barnes and Jamie John in New York, George Hammond and Tabby Kinder in San Francisco, Arjun Neil Alim in Hong Kong. Please send feedback to due.diligence@ft.com

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  • Four hopeful guides to tackling climate change

    Four hopeful guides to tackling climate change

    Isn’t it already too late to do anything about climate change? Aren’t renewables too expensive? Don’t electric cars harm the climate as much as petrol cars?

    No, no and no, says Oxford university data scientist Hannah Ritchie, in Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change — in 50 Questions and Answers (Chatto & Windus £20).

    This is Ritchie’s second book in two years, following last year’s Not the End of the World, and its answers to 50 common questions about tackling climate change are a powerful guide to this fast-changing topic. 

    Take this question beloved of climate action sceptics the world over: if my country only emits 1 per cent of the world’s emissions, isn’t it too small to make a difference?

    As Ritchie writes, there are a lot more of these “negligible” countries than you might think. Only six countries emit more than 2 per cent each of the global total: China (by far the biggest), the US, India, Russia, Japan and Indonesia. If you add up the rest, they emit 36 per cent of the world’s CO₂, which is more than China. And as Ritchie says, if each did nothing, the biggest chunk of the world’s emissions wouldn’t budge and “that’s not an option”.

    Arguing about climate change is a luxury some industries cannot afford, as Jane Masters and Andrew Neather demonstrate in Rooted in Change: The Stories Behind Sustainable Wine (Académie du Vin Library £20).

    As their absorbing book reveals, “climatic challenges” were a major contributor to plummeting levels of wine production that last year saw the global total drop to its lowest level since 1961.

    Climate change is “a serious and immediate threat” to wine growers and drinkers, even in places such as England, where rising temperatures have driven the growth of vineyards. Warmer winters there can still lead to earlier buds that can be destroyed by spring frosts.

    Masters and Neather outline many ways in which the industry can adapt to, and fight, climate change. That includes using corks, which have a much lower carbon footprint than aluminium screw-tops; but the latter pale beside bottles, the industry’s biggest source of emissions.

    About 85 per cent of wine is sold in glass bottles, and because so many people think good wine comes in heavy bottles, some bottles weigh up to 1.2kg — requiring more energy and materials to produce, and more fuel to transport. The authors deem this “an entirely unnecessary and wasteful marketing choice” and highlight producers using bottles as light as 450g or less.

    Two book covers: The New Global Possible and The Growth Story of the 21st Century

    Ani Dasgupta takes a broader look at climate solutions in The New Global Possible: Rebuilding Optimism in the Age of Climate Crisis (Disruption Books $29 hardcover/$16.99 ebook).

    Dasgupta is president of the World Resources Institute, one of world’s largest environmental think-tanks, but avoids the common trap of simply listing a series of policy goals and prescriptions. Instead, he makes an admirable effort to show why climate action has been so slow and how it might be sped up in areas he thinks hold the most promise for exponential change.

    For businesses, this means recognising the limits of voluntary corporate efforts and instead working to build consistent regulations that allow firms to prosper while taking climate action. For cities, he highlights a plethora of examples, such as the car-free days pioneered by Colombia’s Bogotá that have inspired hundreds of other cities across the world to allow pedestrians and cyclists to reclaim the streets.

    When it comes to economic thinking, Dasgupta refers often to one of the leaders in the field, British economist Nicholas Stern, who also has a new book with a hopeful climate message, The Growth Story of the 21st Century: The Economics and Opportunity of Climate Action (LSE Press, open access for digital copies; £35 for the paperback).

    It is nearly 20 years since Stern changed the way we think about the costs of climate change in the study he led for the UK government, The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. His study overturned the idea that cutting greenhouse gas emissions would slow economic growth, showing that the costs of climate inaction far outweighed those of action.

    Since then, emissions have continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace, and despite huge advances in green technologies the climate threat is deepening. Stern has blunt words for mainstream economics, which he rightly says has focused too much on just one policy — carbon pricing — and failed to contribute as much as it could have to the great climate challenge. 

    He is convinced of the potential for “a much more attractive story of growth and development” if a series of drivers of growth can be harnessed, probably with the help of AI. 

    The drivers include green tech innovation and increasing economies of scale, like those India achieved with its large-scale public procurement of LED lightbulbs. Costs of these more energy-efficient bulbs fell by 85 per cent in four years, Stern writes, and India is now aiming to replicate this success with electric buses.

    This is Stern’s third climate economics book in 20 years and, as he writes, one measure of its success will be that he won’t need to write a fourth. “I am indeed confident and optimistic about what we can do,” he adds. “I worry very much about what we will do.”

    Pilita Clark is an FT business columnist

    Join our online book group on Facebook at FT Books Café and follow FT Weekend on Instagram, Bluesky and X


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  • Baker McKenzie Advises Peak Re on Strategic Investment Agreement with KKR and Quadrantis Capital | Newsroom

    Baker McKenzie is advising Peak Reinsurance Company Limited (“Peak Re”) in connection with the entry into and completion of definitive agreements with KKR and Quadrantis Capital for the acquisition of minority stakes in Peak Re via Peak Reinsurance Holdings Limited. This strategic partnership will reinforce Peak Re’s commitment to serving its global clientele. 

    Peak Re is a global reinsurer specializing in emerging markets. Established in 2012, Peak Re ranks 27th among global reinsurance groups in terms of net reinsurance premiums written. KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. Quadrantis Capital is a Portuguese investment management firm specializing in private equity and venture capital. 

    The Baker McKenzie team was led by private equity partners Xinxing Chen* and Derek Poon and supported by partners Martin Tam, Joachim Frick, Kenneth Ching, Stephanie Magnus**, Laura Liu*** and the core team included Felix Liang, Jacqui Song, Curtis Tse, Lesley Luo, Vivian Tsang, Steven Chen, Gerald Lam and Scarlett Ng. 

    Completion of the transactions is subject to customary conditions including regulatory approvals. 

    With more than 2,700 deal practitioners in over 40 jurisdictions, Baker McKenzie is a transactional powerhouse. The Firm has the broadest M&A footprint of any law firm globally, with more than 1,300 locally qualified and globally experienced M&A lawyers. The team excels at advising clients on their most complex, cross-border M&A matters and has advised on more than USD 600 billion in M&A transactions in the last five years (Refinitiv; 2020-2024).

    * Registered foreign lawyer (partner equivalent)
    ** Principal, Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow
    *** Laura Liu, Partner, FenXun Partners. FenXun, a premier Chinese law firm, established a joint operation office with Baker McKenzie in China under the name Baker McKenzie FenXun in 2015.

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  • FloSports Launches on Samsung TVs, Bringing More than 50,000 Live Sports Events To Millions of Smart TVs in North America – Samsung Newsroom Canada

    FloSports Launches on Samsung TVs, Bringing More than 50,000 Live Sports Events To Millions of Smart TVs in North America – Samsung Newsroom Canada

    FloSports is making it easier than ever to be a sports fan this year with the launch of its Connected TV app on Samsung smart TVs. Starting today, the FloSports app will be available on all Samsung smart TV models 2018 The launch will bring more than 50,000 live events and access to more than 25 sports to Samsung TVs.

     

    The rollout on more smart TV’s comes as the fall sports season picks up on FloSports with thousands of live events across its FloCollege, FloHockey, and FloRacing verticals.

     

    Subscribers to FloSports can simply download the app on their preferred device, and sit back and relax to watch their favorite sports on the big screen.

     

    “Our smart TV expansion brings our live sports to millions of new households and makes the viewing experience on Flo better than ever. It’s another step forward in our mission to grow our sports and reach as many fans as possible,”  said Dave Stelnik, VP of Business Development for FloSports.

     

    About FloSports
    FloSports is a global sports media company committed to spotlighting the sports and athletes traditional media leaves behind. Founded in 2006, the company has become the digital home for die-hard communities in sports — delivering live and on-demand coverage, award-winning original programming, and advanced data solutions to passionate fans worldwide.

     

    Flo’s portfolio spans more than 25 sports and includes the leading destinations for devoted audiences, including motorsports, hockey, wrestling, cycling, Jiu-Jitsu , track & field, cheer, a range of NCAA sports, and more.

     

    Through strategic partnerships with NASCAR, USA Wrestling, Varsity Spirit, High Limit Racing, the American Hockey League (AHL), Tour de France, Wanda Diamond League, and 18 NCAA conferences, FloSports streams over 50,000 events annually to a global subscriber base. For more information, please visit: flosports.tv.

     

    [1] Paid FloSports subscription and account required.

     

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  • South32 chair to retire, ex-Fortescue finance chief chosen to succeed

    (Alliance News) – South32 Ltd on Thursday said Karen Wood will retire as chair in February, with Independent Non-Executive Director Stephen Pearce confirmed as her successor.

    Wood has served as chair of the Perth, Australia-based diversified mining company since 2019, having originally joined the board as an independent non-executive director in 2017.

    The appointment of Pearce as her replacement follows a formal succession process, and the announcement coincides with the day of the company’s annual general meeting.

    “Stephen’s extensive financial and commercial acumen, combined with his strong leadership and industry experience, makes him the right person to lead the board as South32 enters its second decade,” Chair Wood commented.

    Pearce joined South32 in February and currently serves elsewhere as a non-executive director at the London-based aerospace and defence firm BAE Systems PLC, and at the Sydney-based petroleum company Ampol Ltd.

    During his career, Pearce has worked in the mining industry as chief financial officer and executive director at Perth, Australia-based Fortescue Ltd from 2010 to 2017, followed by a stint as finance director at London-based Anglo American PLC from 2017 to 2023.

    “I look forward to working with the board and the lead team as we continue to sustainably reshape our business and work to discover our next generation of base metals mines,” Chair-elect Pearce said.

    South32 shares were 0.5% higher at AUD3.18 in Sydney on Thursday afternoon.

    By Elijah Dale, Alliance News senior reporter Asia-Pacific

    Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

    Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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  • Inside a 24-hour ‘vibe coding’ hackathon–here are my biggest takeaways

    Inside a 24-hour ‘vibe coding’ hackathon–here are my biggest takeaways

    CNBC correspondent Ernestine Siu attended an AI hackathon.

    Courtesy of Ernestine Siu

    I like to spend most of my weekends taking workout classes with friends, exploring new restaurants or vegging out on the couch with a movie on. The past weekend, however, was unique. Instead of the usual routine, I chose to immerse myself in a 24-hour ‘vibe coding’ hackathon.

    I attended one of Singapore’s biggest in-person hackathons ever, which was sponsored and supported by AI heavyweights from around the world including OpenAI, Cursor, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and more.

    The event took place on a university campus from about 9 a.m. on Saturday to Sunday noon. Over 400 people participated, ranging from highly experienced engineers to first-timers. The goal was simple: build something from scratch with the help of artificial intelligence.

    “Use your imagination… build something unhinged. Build something wacky,” said Agrim Singh, one of the event’s organizers and the co-founder of Niyam AI.

    Several teams really took that advice to heart.

    Some standout projects included F**Yu.AI, an AI-enabled productivity app that “bullies you into greatness,” by calling users on their cell phones to yell at them to complete tasks, and RizzedIn, a dating site that helps connect “career-minded individuals.”

    Some members of the winning teams with CNBC correspondent, Ernestine Siu (right).

    Courtesy of Nicholas Cheng

    By the end of the weekend, about 150 projects were submitted. The winner – an AI-powered whiteboarding tool that allows users to draw using just their hand movements tracked through a webcam — took home prizes worth over $50,000 Singapore dollars (about $39,000).

    The second and third place winners created a human-versus-AI speed game and a “Netflix for corporate training” tool that makes compliance training videos more engaging for employees.

    Inside a 24-hour hackathon

    As someone without a technical background, I was nervous entering the event but excited to meet the hackathon community. I knew I had to optimize my chances of building something successfully by teaming up with people who were much more technical than me.

    Through Discord, I found my team for the hackathon: Gabrielle Ong who has a product development background, Aung Maung who has a deep tech background, Ninna Cao who has a product design background and Jay Chen who has a software engineering background. What did I offer? Ideas, my storytelling abilities and vibes.

    Participants filled a lecture hall at the Singapore University of Technology and Design campus during the hackathon.

    Courtesy of Nicholas Cheng

    We bonded over a shared desire to preserve the legacies of our grandparents. So, we built Heirloom — a digital time capsule which can be used to capture and store family stories and recipes, so that they can be passed down for generations to come.

    We spent all of Saturday working on transforming our idea into a product. Some of us stayed up the entire night working on the project — while others (me) unfortunately didn’t have the stamina to do so.

    We were trying to do a bit of a count … And we found people in like random lecture rooms. It was just the funniest [thing] … It was like catching wild Pokemon.

    Sherry Jiang

    Co-founder, Peek

    When I got back to the campus on Sunday morning, I saw people sleeping on benches, on the floor and just about everywhere, while others were still making last minute adjustments before submitting their projects for judging.

    An estimated 70 people stayed overnight to work on their project, said Sherry Jiang, one of the event organizers and the co-founder of fintech app Peek.

    “We were trying to do a bit of a count … And we found people in like random lecture rooms. It was just the funniest [thing] … It was like catching wild Pokemon,” said Jiang.

    Richard Lee, who built a gamified habits-training app Orbie alongside his teammate Amanda Lau Shernin, slept for only about half an hour on the floor of a lecture hall. He had prior developer experience and knows coding languages like Python and SQL.

    Participants of the hackathon ranged from highly experienced engineers to newbies.

    Courtesy of Nicholas Cheng

    When asked why he chose to join the hackathon, he said: “I took it as a personal challenge to see [what] could actually be done within 24 hours … [and to] see how far vibe coding has advanced,” said Lee. He also thought it would be a great place to get inspiration.

    “It’s like a gathering of builders … who don’t just learn, but do,” Lee added. “It’s almost like training for a startup, right? Effectively, you just have to focus and get something done.”

    By the end of the weekend, Lee says that although the hackathon was just 24 hours, he felt like he had “significantly upgraded” his skills.

    Bringing back the builder spirit

    The hackathon’s organizers said their goal was to reinvigorate the builder community in Singapore. There’s a feeling among many people in the space that the hackathon scene has faded from its heyday, co-organizer Jiang said.

    Fellow organizer Singh agreed, writing on a LinkedIn post that “the Singapore hackathon scene lost its soul.”

    Singh, who has been attending hackathons since 2013, observed that such events used to center hackers and builders making “something that worked”, instead of “panels or sponsorship decks or photo ops.”

    “Now? Most AI events here feel hollow. Panels by people who’ve never touched the tech. ‘Thought leadership’ with no practical weight. People pretending to build, or worse, extracting revenue from the hype without caring about the ecosystem,” he wrote.

    Major takeaways

    With the advancement of AI, the startup landscape and software engineering industry has changed massively — it’s now easier for people with non-technical backgrounds to build tech products themselves.

    Out of all of the participants, about half of them were completely new to hackathons, Jiang said.

    Jiang also pointed out that some participants who had learned how to vibe code just a couple weeks ago had placed “pretty high” on the event’s rankings, beating experienced engineers.

    “This is a bit of a hypothesis I have … I feel like people who [have a good] product sense and good taste and know how to position their products are starting to do really well at these hackathons because engineering is a lot easier now,” she said. “We’ve lowered the barrier, but raised the bar.”

    The time to build is far shorter than [before]. I think it’s really much easier for developers or technical people, or even non-technical people to build a prototype, and effectively get to market.

    Richard Lee

    Hackathon participant

    “The time to build is far shorter than [before]. I think it’s really much easier for developers or technical people, or even non-technical people to build a prototype, and effectively get to market,” said hackathon participant Lee.

    Additionally, Lee and Jiang agree that both startup teams and corporate developer teams will likely become smaller now that these AI-assisted coding tools are on the market.

    “It’s improving so fast that if [you] are not using [these tools] it day to day … I think [you’ll] be at a big risk of being eliminated.”

    Richard Lee

    Hackathon participant

    With that said, it’s still very helpful to have some background on software engineering, as this will carry you to the finish line. People will still need to know how to evaluate code in terms of its fundamental logic and understand how to address issues in code, hackathon participant Lee said.

    Ultimately, AI models are improving so quickly that if engineers aren’t upskilling consistently on the tools and staying up to date, they are at risk of becoming redundant, he added.

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  • Mito-nuclear discordance reveals introgressive hybridization following vicariance and secondary contact in Iberian scorpions (Buthidae: Buthus) | BMC Ecology and Evolution

    Mito-nuclear discordance reveals introgressive hybridization following vicariance and secondary contact in Iberian scorpions (Buthidae: Buthus) | BMC Ecology and Evolution

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