Munich-based startup Bliro has developed a new AI-powered tool that transcribes conversations in real time while ensuring privacy and compliance.

No Recordings or Video

The tool is designed for businesses that require accurate meeting notes while maintaining strict privacy and compliance standards, such as GDPR. For example, the AI assistant extracts key details from conversations (whether in person or virtual) and automatically generates structured summaries and follow-up tasks.

Unlike services such as Otter and Fireflies, Bliro does not store any recordings, thereby eliminating the risk of sensitive information being compromised.

No Consent Required

By removing audio and video storage from the process, Bliro minimises privacy concerns and simplifies compliance requirements, thereby allowing businesses to use the tool without requiring explicit consent from meeting participants.

Also, all processed data is encrypted and stored on servers in Frankfurt, ensuring that no third parties, including Bliro employees, have access without user permission.

Useful for Customer-Facing Work

The AI tool is particularly suited for customer-facing teams, automating manual tasks such as meeting notes, follow-ups, and CRM updates. Bliro also provides AI coaching features, offering insights that help businesses improve sales performance and decision-making based on conversation data.

Integrates with Popular Platforms

Supporting 15 languages, the platform integrates seamlessly with tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, and HubSpot.

Funding

Backed by €2.8 million in funding, Bliro has already gained traction, with over 1,000 companies (including major German brands) adopting the platform. With its privacy-first approach and automation capabilities, Bliro positions itself as a valuable alternative to traditional transcription services for security-conscious businesses.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

Bliro’s AI note-taking tool could be of real help to businesses that want to save time and effort with transcription and meeting documentation. Also, by eliminating the need for audio or video storage, it directly addresses privacy and compliance concerns, making it particularly attractive to companies operating in highly regulated industries. Its ability to generate structured meeting summaries and action points without requiring explicit consent removes a common barrier to AI-powered transcription, streamlining processes without compromising security.

For businesses, Bliro’s approach could mean improved efficiency and peace of mind. For example, automating meeting notes and CRM updates can free up valuable time, allowing teams to focus on higher-value tasks while ensuring that key insights are captured accurately. The integration with widely used platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Salesforce looks set to further enhance its usability, making it easy to incorporate into existing workflows. Also, its AI-driven coaching features could provide businesses with a competitive edge, offering strategic insights based on conversation analysis.

However, while Bliro’s privacy-first model presents an advantage, it may not suit every organisation. For example, some businesses may still prefer solutions that offer full recordings for future reference, particularly in cases where verbatim transcripts are required for legal or training purposes. Also, competitors (such as Otter and Fireflies) which provide comprehensive recording and transcription services, may continue to appeal to companies that prioritise detailed archival over privacy concerns.

For Bliro’s rivals, the emergence of this privacy-centric tool highlights the growing demand for secure, compliance-friendly AI solutions. While established transcription services may offer greater flexibility in terms of storage and retrieval, they may now face increasing pressure to enhance their privacy protections or provide alternative solutions for businesses with stringent security requirements.

Bliro’s AI-powered note-taking tool, therefore, could be highlighting a growing shift in the market, where automation and security are no longer seen as competing priorities but as complementary needs. As more businesses look to harness AI while safeguarding sensitive information, Bliro’s model could set a new standard i.e., one that challenges competitors to rethink their approach and pushes the industry towards a more privacy-conscious future.

A new report has revealed that 89 per cent of enterprise Generative AI (GenAI) usage happens without IT oversight, thereby exposing organisations to data leaks and unauthorised access.

Many employees use GenAI tools through personal accounts, making security enforcement nearly impossible.

The Enterprise GenAI Data Security Report 2025 by LayerX highlights that while GenAI adoption is growing, most usage remains invisible. The report highlights how nearly 72 per cent of employees access these tools outside corporate controls, and only 12 per cent of corporate users authenticate via Single Sign-On (SSO).

The main concern with these findings is data exposure. For example, employees frequently paste sensitive business information, customer data, and proprietary code into GenAI tools, with an average of four pastes per day. Without security measures, organisations risk losing control over critical data.

To mitigate these risks, businesses should implement browser-based security solutions that provide visibility, integrate Data Loss Prevention (DLP) measures, and enforce authentication policies. Without action, GenAI is likely to continue as a growing security blind spot.

German startup Proxima Fusion has revealed a new fusion reactor design, ‘Stellaris’, which it claims is the fastest route to commercially viable fusion power.

What Is Fusion Energy?

Nuclear fusion, the reaction that powers the sun, occurs when two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing vast amounts of energy. Unlike nuclear fission (the process currently used in our nuclear power stations) which splits atoms and produces long-lived radioactive waste, fusion generates minimal radiation, no carbon emissions, and uses abundant fuel sources like hydrogen isotopes. Scientists have pursued fusion energy for decades due to its potential to provide safe, sustainable, and virtually limitless power.

Who Is Proxima Fusion?

Proxima Fusion, founded in 2023, is the first spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Germany. The company has assembled a team of engineers from MIT, Google, SpaceX, and McLaren, all dedicated to overcoming the long-standing technical barriers of fusion power. Their goal is to develop the world’s first commercial fusion power plant, using an innovative stellarator design that builds on decades of plasma physics research.

What Makes the Stellaris Reactor Different?

The new reactor from Proxima Fusion, dubbed ‘Stellaris’, is a quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarator that utilises high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets to create twisted magnetic fields capable of confining hot plasma, a critical step for achieving fusion. Unlike the more widely used tokamak design (such as the one being developed by the ITER project in France), stellarators are inherently stable and can operate continuously. While traditional stellarators have been extremely complex to design and build, advances in AI and computational modelling have allowed Proxima to optimise its approach, making the construction process faster and more cost-effective.

The concept is based on the Wendelstein 7-X, the world’s most advanced stellarator experiment, built at IPP. While Wendelstein 7-X was designed purely for research, Stellaris is engineered to deliver electricity to the grid. Proxima’s first demonstrator, called Alpha, aims to prove net energy production is possible in a steady state and is expected to be completed within six years.

Why This Could Be a Game-Changer

Stellarators have long been overlooked in favour of tokamaks, primarily due to their complexity. However, Proxima Fusion’s approach leverages modern computing power to refine their design, solving problems that were previously insurmountable. AI-driven optimisation allows the company to create reactors that generate more power per unit volume, reduce operational costs, and minimise reliance on scarce materials.

According to Proxima Fusion CEO Francesco Sciortino, “Stellaris is designed to operate in continuous mode and be intrinsically stable. No other fusion power plant design has yet been demonstrated to be capable of that.”

The use of HTS magnets is another key breakthrough. These allow for much stronger magnetic fields than conventional superconductors, meaning the reactor can be significantly smaller and built faster while still achieving the necessary conditions for fusion. Also, Stellaris only relies on materials that are already available in today’s supply chains, making its construction more feasible than previous designs.

The Road to Commercial Fusion

Proxima Fusion has set an ambitious timeline, with the construction of Alpha planned for completion by 2031. If all goes to plan, Stellaris will be the first stellarator to demonstrate sustained net energy production, a milestone never before achieved in fusion research. If successful, the company aims to develop a full-scale 1GW fusion power plant in the 2030s, potentially providing clean, continuous energy to the grid.

Investment

The company’s approach has already attracted significant investment, securing €20 million in funding to accelerate development.

How It Could Change The Energy Sector

If Stellaris lives up to its promise, it could reshape the energy market. Fusion power offers a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels without the intermittency of renewables like wind and solar. For businesses, this could mean access to a reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable energy source, reducing dependence on volatile energy markets and fossil fuel imports.

From an environmental perspective, widespread adoption of fusion power would mark a major step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. As global energy demand continues to rise, scalable fusion technology could be the key to long-term energy security.

The Challenges Ahead

Despite all the excitement surrounding Stellaris, it’s worth noting that significant hurdles remain. For example, building a real, commercial fusion reactor requires overcoming immense engineering challenges, including handling the extreme temperatures of the plasma and maintaining precise control of the magnetic fields. Also, while stellarators are more stable than tokamaks, they remain complex machines that require further refinement before they can be deployed at scale.

The Model Coil Next Step

It’s understood that Proxima Fusion’s next step is the development of its Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) by 2027, which will validate the HTS magnet technology before Alpha’s construction begins. If these milestones are achieved, Stellaris could mark the beginning of a new era in clean energy, bringing fusion power out of the laboratory and into the real world.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?

The development of the Stellaris reactor could be the next (sooner than expected) step towards the long-sought goal of commercially viable fusion energy. Proxima Fusion’s innovative stellarator design, enabled by modern computational power and high-temperature superconducting magnets, offers a promising alternative to the dominant tokamak approach. By overcoming traditional limitations associated with stellarators, such as complexity and construction feasibility, the company has positioned itself at the forefront of the fusion race.

However, while the technological advances underpinning Stellaris are impressive, the path to commercial deployment remains fraught with challenges. The physics of sustaining controlled fusion at an energy-positive level is well understood, but engineering a reactor that can reliably operate over long periods while remaining economically viable is another matter entirely. The development of the Stellarator Model Coil by 2027 will be a crucial test of Proxima Fusion’s approach, and its success will determine whether the company can proceed with constructing its Alpha prototype as planned.

If Proxima Fusion succeeds in delivering on its ambitious timeline, Stellaris could be a transformative force in the energy sector. A working fusion reactor that can continuously produce clean energy would mark a monumental shift away from fossil fuels and intermittent renewables, offering a sustainable solution to the world’s growing energy needs. However, the history of fusion research is already littered with promising breakthroughs that have struggled to translate into commercial reality. While Proxima Fusion’s advancements are significant, it remains to be seen whether they will be sufficient to surmount the remaining engineering and financial obstacles.

Stellaris, therefore, appears to embody both the potential and the uncertainty of fusion power. For example, if successful, it could usher in a new era of limitless, carbon-free energy. However, like all fusion endeavours, it must first prove that it can move beyond the laboratory and into the real world, which is a major challenge that has eluded every fusion project to date.

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Apple has announced the removal of its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) tool from customers in the United Kingdom, following a contentious dispute with the UK government over user data access.

Debate Ignited

The decision, which sees one of the world’s leading tech companies bowing out of a security standoff, has ignited debates over digital privacy, national security, and the future of encryption standards in the UK and beyond.

What is the Advanced Data Protection Tool?

Advanced Data Protection is Apple’s most robust encryption feature, providing end-to-end encryption for users’ iCloud data, including photos, notes, and backups. With ADP enabled, only the account holder can access this information, not even Apple itself can decrypt the data. The feature, introduced globally in late 2022, was designed to offer users greater control and protection against data breaches and cyber-attacks.

However, unlike standard encryption, which allows Apple to access certain user data when presented with a valid legal request, ADP closes off even this possibility. This heightened level of security made it particularly attractive to privacy-conscious users, but it has now become the focal point of a growing dispute between Apple and the UK government.

The UK’s Demand for Access (A ‘Back Door’)

Apple’s decision follows a demand from the UK government, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA), which compels companies to provide data access to law enforcement agencies when legally requested. While Apple has long opposed creating “backdoors” into its systems, arguing that any intentional vulnerability could be exploited by cybercriminals, the UK’s insistence on access led to an impasse.

The UK government has not officially confirmed issuing a formal notice under the IPA, maintaining its policy of not commenting on operational matters. However, some media commentators have suggested that UK government pressure has been escalating behind the scenes, and may now have prompted Apple to withdraw ADP for UK customers entirely.

Apple’s Disappointment

In a strongly worded statement, Apple has expressed deep disappointment at having to disable ADP for UK users, and has said: “As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products, and we never will.”

The company has also highlighted the broader implications of weakening encryption, arguing that such actions would endanger all users by creating vulnerabilities exploitable by malicious actors or cybercriminals. Apple’s stance reflects a broader concern shared by many cybersecurity experts and privacy advocates who fear that undermining encryption in one country could set a dangerous global precedent.

What This Means for UK Apple Users

Apple’s decision essentially means that any Apple user in the UK now attempting to enable ADP will simply receive an error message. Existing users who had previously activated the feature will also see it disabled in the coming weeks.

It seems that while some forms of encryption remain intact (i.e. iMessages, FaceTime communications, and sensitive health data stored on iCloud) and will continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption, while other data types (such as full device backups and photos stored in iCloud) will no longer enjoy the same level of security in the UK. Under standard encryption, Apple retains the ability to access these files and could be compelled to share them with law enforcement upon receipt of a valid warrant.

Security vs. Privacy

The UK government’s push to weaken end-to-end encryption has sparked fierce opposition from privacy campaigners and cybersecurity experts. For example, Professor Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity specialist at the University of Surrey, has been quoted as describing the move as “an act of self-harm” by the government, adding: “All the UK government has achieved is to weaken online security and privacy for UK-based users.”

However, the UK government claims its perspective has been driven by concerns around national security and child protection. This view is supported by some relevant organisations. For example, Rani Govender, policy manager for child safety online at the NSPCC, has been quoted as arguing that encryption could allow offenders to operate undetected, saying: “End-to-end encryption allows offenders to groom and manipulate children and build communities where they can share vile child sexual abuse material without detection.”

It seems, therefore, that the tension between privacy and protection is a delicate balance for tech firms operating under diverse international legal frameworks.

International Backlash and Global Ramifications

Apple’s withdrawal of ADP in the UK has drawn sharp criticism from global privacy advocates and even US lawmakers. For example, Democrat Senator Ron Wyden (from Oregon) has been quoted as calling the move a “dangerous precedent” that authoritarian governments could exploit to justify similar demands in their own jurisdictions.

The broader concern appears to be that once a tech company concedes to one government’s demands for weakened encryption, it becomes increasingly difficult to resist similar pressures from other nations, including those with less regard for human rights and privacy.

Competitors and Market Impact

Apple’s decision could also have repercussions across the wider technology sector. Competitors like Google, Meta (formerly Facebook), and WhatsApp (which also rely on end-to-end encryption) may now face mounting pressure from governments to implement similar data access measures. WhatsApp head Will Cathcart has warned that any weakening of encryption standards would compromise user security worldwide, saying: “If the UK forces a global backdoor into Apple’s security, it will make everyone in every country less safe.”

Also, the decision could erode consumer trust among UK users who are particularly conscious of (and value) their data privacy. Tech-savvy consumers may seek alternatives that continue to offer uncompromised encryption features, potentially benefiting companies headquartered in jurisdictions with stronger privacy protections.

The Future of Encryption in the UK

For now, it seems that, despite its current disappointment, Apple remains hopeful that it will be able to reinstate ADP in the UK in the future. In its official statement, the company highlighted its commitment to user privacy, saying: “Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before.”

However, the ongoing dispute highlights the growing tension between governments seeking broader surveillance powers and technology firms defending user privacy. As the legal and ethical debate continues, UK consumers are left grappling with the uncomfortable reality of diminished digital protections in an increasingly interconnected world.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

Apple’s removal of Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the UK is a significant moment in the ongoing global debate over privacy, security, and governmental oversight. While the decision may seem like a straightforward technical adjustment, its broader implications touch upon issues of individual privacy rights, corporate responsibility, and the balance of power between governments and multinational technology firms.

At its core, this move by Apple highlights the increasing pressure technology companies face when navigating conflicting legal frameworks across different jurisdictions. Apple’s steadfast refusal to implement backdoors, despite mounting governmental pressure, aligns with its long-standing commitment to user privacy. However, by disabling ADP for UK users, Apple has effectively signalled that even the most privacy-focused companies must sometimes yield to local laws and regulatory demands, no matter how much they contradict the company’s own policies.

For UK businesses and organisations, this development raises immediate and pressing concerns. Companies that handle sensitive data (such as those in finance, healthcare, or legal sectors) may now find themselves at greater risk of data breaches or unauthorised access. With the most robust form of encryption disabled, organisations may need to reconsider their data protection strategies. This could mean investing in alternative security measures or exploring third-party services that still offer uncompromised encryption. Also, businesses that work internationally may find the regulatory discrepancy between the UK and other regions increasingly difficult to navigate, potentially leading to compliance headaches and increased operational costs.

On the international stage, the ripple effects of Apple’s decision may be far-reaching. Other governments, especially those with poor human rights records, could view this development as an opportunity to justify their own demands for weakened encryption. In this light, the UK’s stance may inadvertently contribute to a global erosion of digital privacy standards, emboldening authoritarian regimes to push for similar concessions from tech companies.

For consumers, the removal of ADP is a reminder of the fragile nature of digital privacy in an age of heightened governmental surveillance. Those in the UK who value strong encryption protections may begin to seek alternatives, potentially favouring services or platforms based in countries with stricter privacy laws. This shift could have longer-term consequences for Apple’s market share in the UK and could drive innovation among competitors aiming to fill the void left by ADP’s removal.