QUANTEXA founder and chief executive Vishal Marria advocated that a domestic company with the “right intentions” should be hired to manage NHS data instead of awarding the contract to an American company.
His London-based data analytics firm is attempting to strike a deal to link up hospital data where Palantir, a software company with close links to the US defence industry, is a frontrunner to win the contract.
The NHS is looking to integrate computer systems of its hospitals and a deal is expected by the end of October.
Marria, who is recognised for solving financial crime, surveillance and customer insight issues, said trust and transparency were at the heart of Quantexa
“We come from the right intentions to support what could be a once-in-a-generation data transformation,” he told The Times.
While Palantir’s software is already in use in some NHS hospitals, Marria, without naming any company, warned against contracts with a single supplier that risks “vendor lock-in”.
Palantir has worked with the Ukrainian defence forces and the UN and the company’s health lead Joanna Peller said, "we have world-leading security and data governance capabilities”.
NHS England said it was “conducting a fair and transparent procurement process for a supplier of the federated data platform, in line with public contracts regulations, and this process has not yet concluded”.
Quantexa achieved its unicorn status earlier this year when its Series E fund-raising efforts valued the business intelligence company at $1.8bn.
US president Donald Trump has again said that India is ready to cut 100 per cent tariffs on American goods and that a trade deal between the two countries is expected soon.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said he is not in a "rush" to finalise the deal.
Commenting on Trump's remarks, India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said in New Delhi on Thursday that any trade deal between the two countries must be mutually beneficial.
Trump referred to India as "one of the highest tariff nations in the world."
"They make it almost impossible to do business. Do you know that they're willing to cut 100 per cent of their tariffs for the United States?" he said.
When asked if the deal is coming soon, Trump said, "That'll come soon. I'm in no rush. Look, everybody wants to make a deal with us."
He added, "South Korea wants to make a deal but I'm not going to make deals with everybody. I'm just going to set the limit. I'll make another some deals. Because I can't, you can't meet with that many people. I've got 150 countries that want to make deals."
Talks are currently ongoing between India and the US to finalise a trade agreement.
On Thursday, Jaishankar said that negotiations were underway.
"These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial; it has to work for both countries," he said. "That would be our expectation from the trade deal."
India's commerce minister Piyush Goyal is in Washington to assess the progress of the proposed trade agreement.
He is expected to meet US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.
India is looking for duty concessions on labour-intensive sectors including textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, chemicals, grapes, and bananas.
The US is seeking duty concessions in areas such as industrial goods, automobiles (especially electric vehicles), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, and agricultural items like apples and tree nuts.
Tesco has issued an apology after a software problem caused disruptions to its website and mobile app, leaving some customers unable to manage online orders or access digital versions of their Clubcards.
The issue occurred on Friday afternoon, with users taking to social media to report problems ranging from being unable to amend their online grocery orders to difficulties accessing their Clubcard accounts. Some customers also reported being unable to use vouchers or collect points while shopping.
A Tesco spokesperson confirmed the incident had been resolved later that day. “We have fixed a software issue that temporarily impacted customers using our website and app this afternoon,” the spokesperson said. “We're sorry for the inconvenience.”
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Tesco's customer service team acknowledged the problem in responses on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), telling users the company was experiencing "intermittent system issues" and that its IT team was working to fix the situation.
Outage tracking site Downdetector reported a spike in issues with Tesco’s digital services shortly after 14:00 BST, with complaints gradually subsiding around two hours later. Some users, however, stated they had faced problems for up to four hours.
The disruption affected Tesco’s digital Clubcard system, which is used by millions of customers to access discounts and collect loyalty points. In early 2024, Tesco reported that its Clubcard scheme had over 20 million members across the UK.
Despite the timing of the outage and recent cyber attacks affecting other major UK retailers such as Marks and Spencer and the Co-op, there is no indication that Tesco’s problems were linked to a cybersecurity incident.
Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, has not released further details on the nature of the software issue, but reassured customers that the matter had been addressed. Users experiencing ongoing problems have been advised to try again later or seek assistance via customer services.
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In April, Indian minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that iPhones worth £13.22 bn were exported from India in FY25. (Photo: Reuters)
APPLE has assured the Indian government that its investment and manufacturing plans in the country remain unchanged.
This comes after US president Donald Trump said he had asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to scale back manufacturing in India and focus more on the United States.
Following this, Indian officials spoke to Apple executives, who confirmed that India would continue to be a major base for manufacturing Apple products, according to government sources quoted by PTI.
"Apple has said that its investment plans in India are intact and it proposes to continue to have India as a major manufacturing base for its products," a government source told the news agency.
Earlier, Trump had said he spoke to Cook and told him he does not want Apple to manufacture in India, urging the company to increase production in the US instead.
"We have Apple, as you know, it's coming in. And I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, Tim, you're my friend. I treated you very well. You're coming in with $500 billion (£375.94 bn). But now I hear you're building all over India. I don't want you building in India. You can build in India if you want to take care of India," Trump said.
He said India is one of the highest tariff nations and doing business there is difficult.
"They've (India) offered us a deal where basically they're willing to literally charge us no tariff. So we go from the highest tariff. You couldn't do business in India... But I said to Tim... we treated you really good. We put up with all the plants that you built in China for years. Now you got to build us. We're not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves. They're doing very well. We want you to build here. And they're going to be upping their production in the United States, Apple," Trump said.
Cook has said Apple will source most iPhones sold in the US from India in the June quarter. China will produce most of the devices for other markets amid uncertainty around tariffs.
Government sources said that 15 per cent of global iPhone production currently comes from India. Foxconn, Tata Electronics, and Pegatron India (largely owned by Tata Electronics) are involved in iPhone manufacturing.
Foxconn has also begun manufacturing Apple AirPods in Telangana for export.
An analysis by S&P Global showed that iPhone sales in the US reached 75.9 million units in 2024. Exports from India in March were at 3.1 million units, indicating a need to either expand capacity or redirect phones meant for the domestic market.
"Apple's Indian exports already headed predominantly to the United States, which represented 81.9 per cent of phones exported by the firm in the three months to February 28, 2025. That increased to 97.6 per cent in March 2025 as a result of a 219 per cent jump in exports, likely reflecting the firm looking to preempt higher tariffs," the S&P Global Market Intelligence report said.
In April, Indian minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that iPhones worth £13.22 bn were exported from India in FY25.
The Apple ecosystem in India is also one of the largest job creators, with an estimated 2 lakh people employed across its vendor network.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Mittal, 74, has a net worth of more than £17.3 billion.
LAKSHMI MITTAL, executive chairman of ArcelorMittal SA and one of Britain’s richest residents, has purchased a mansion in Dubai’s Emirates Hills, known as the “Beverly Hills of Dubai”, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Baroque-style home was listed for around £150 million in 2023 and sold for roughly half that amount earlier this year, according to people with knowledge of the deal.
The residence is lavishly decorated with gold leaf, the selling agent had said. Bloomberg reported the deal is among the most expensive residential sales in Dubai.
Mittal, 74, has a net worth of more than £17.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The purchase comes as he considers leaving the UK following recent tax changes. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that no final decision has been made yet.
The UK recently scrapped its preferential tax regime for non-domiciled residents, prompting several wealthy individuals, including Nassef Sawiris and Bart Becht, to relocate.
Mittal has been a prominent figure in UK business and politics for over two decades.
A representative for the Mittals told Bloomberg there are no plans to move their investment firm, LK Advisers, from London. The family continues to reside at their Kensington home.
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Steelworkers protest outside ArcelorMittal headquarters in Saint Denis on Tuesday
UNIONS in France fighting to save 600 jobs at ArcelorMittal operations have called on the government on Tuesday (13) to take control of the sites, following Britain’s example with British Steel.
CGT union chief Sophie Binet told hundreds of workers protesting outside the company’s French offices that she would raise the matter directly with president Emmanuel Macron.
“I will deliver to him the CGT proposals to nationalise” the group’s French operations, she told the protesting workers.
Macron later on Tuesday was to debate a range of high-profile figures on television, including Binet, as he sets out plans for the final two years of his term.
ArcelorMittal announced plans last month to cut 600 jobs across the seven sites it has in France, from a total workforce in the country of around 7,100 people. It is in the process of negotiating the job reductions with unions.
The group – the second-biggest steelmaker in the world, formed from a merger of India’s Mittal Steel with European company Arcelor – has warned of industry “uncertainty” after the US imposed 25-per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
Yet the group in April posted a quarterly group net profit of $805 million (£605.2m). To shave costs, it is shifting some support jobs from Europe to India, and last year it suspended a $2 billion (£1.5bn) decarbonisation investment in France.
Lakshmi Mittal
French unions believe Macron’s government can follow the lead of its British counterpart, which last month passed a law allowing it to take control of ailing British Steel.
Italy last year also ousted ArcelorMittal as owner of its debt-ridden ex-Ilva plant, accusing the company of failing to prop up the operation after buying control in 2018. “The Italians have done it, the British have done it... so why aren’t we French able to also do it?” asked a regional CGT head, Gaetan Lecocq.
“Mittal should get out, should leave – we don’t need him,” Lococq said of Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal’s executive chairman and one of India’s richest men.
CGT chief Binard also took up a slogan chanted by the protesters, yelling: “Metal without Mittal!”
A lawmaker with the hard-left France Unbowed party, Aurelie Trouve, has put forward a bill for the nationalisation of ArcelorMittal in France.
Trouve said the company “has clearly been organising the offshoring of production for years, and now we are faced with an emergency”.