FirstFT: Meta axes protein-folding team in pivot to commercial AI
Also in today’s newsletter, German chancellor pressed to send cruise missiles to Ukraine and Beijing’s red tape thwarts Big Tech’s EV dreamsSocial Media, Artificial intelligence
UK ministers accused of inaction over ‘buy now, pay later’ lenders
Labour calls for a crackdown on ‘bad actors’ as interest-free products rise in popularityFinancial & markets regulation
Meta disbands protein-folding team in shift towards commercial AI
Move to terminate scientific project comes as Facebook parent prioritises moneymaking AI products over blue-sky researchSocial Media, Artificial intelligence
Tesla CFO and company veteran Zach Kirkhorn quits
One of Elon Musk’s closest lieutenants will be replaced by accounting chief Vaibhav TanejaElectric vehicles
PayPal pushes deeper into crypto payments with stablecoin launch
US group unveils PayPal USD in bid to boost take-up of digital currency paymentsFintech
Toshiba: memory lapse leaves investors eager to forget
Buyout will end the succession of turnaround plans with their empty promises to shift away from conglomerate’s legacy businessesMergers & Acquisitions
KKR invests in German satellite group OHB
Deal for more than a third of company signals growing US private equity interest in Europe’s space sectorSpace industry
Siemens Energy warns of €4.5bn loss from ailing wind turbine division
German group lays bare scale of problems at one of Europe’s largest wind turbine businessesRenewable energy
Beijing’s tougher regulations thwart Big Tech’s electric dreams
Overcapacity and EV-maker bankruptcies have led to a throttling back on the issuance of production licences Electric vehicles