BUSINESS

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Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, has successfully secured $20 billion in its first funding round of 2026, significantly exceeding its initial $15 billion target. Musk publicly expressed his gratitude to investors following the completion of the upsized Series E round, which now stands as one of the largest single capital raises in the history of the technology industry.

Musk celebrated the milestone on his social media platform, 𝕏, posting:

"Congrats to the @xAI team and thank you to investors for your faith in our company."

The funding round, which closed on Monday, January 6, 2026, saw participation from a powerhouse consortium of global investors. These include Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Baron Capital Group.

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'BP is parting ways with a controlling share of its iconic engine oil business. The British oil and gas major announced on Wednesday, Dec. 24, that it has agreed to sell a 65 percent stake in Castrol to US infrastructure group Stonepeak. The transaction values the lubricants division at $10.1 billion, including debt.

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A new era in the electric vehicle industry has begun as China’s BYD outpaced Elon Musk’s Tesla in annual sales for the first time. The milestone comes as Tesla faces a prolonged slump, with 2025 deliveries falling to 1.64 million vehicles—a 9% drop. Meanwhile, BYD’s rapid expansion continued unabated, with the company reporting on Thursday that its 2025 sales topped 2.25 million units, cementing its position as the global market leader over its American counterpart.

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Marking a substantial increase from its $2,600 per ounce valuation at the beginning of the year, gold has now broken new ground, trading above $4,400 (£3,275) an ounce for the first time in history. This latest record high for the precious metal is largely underpinned by a strengthening investor appetite for safe haven assets. Analysts explain that this demand is being fueled by ongoing geopolitical tensions, the lingering effects of Trump tariffs, and widespread expectations that the US central bank will implement additional interest rate cuts next year.

The prices of other precious metals also rose on Monday, with silver hitting a record high as well.

The gold price has risen more than 68% this year, the highest increase since 1979.

After passing the $4,400 an ounce mark on Monday, the spot price of gold hit a high of $4,426.66.

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Disney has reclaimed its crown at the global box office, surpassing six billion dollars in worldwide ticket sales for the first time since the COVID era disrupted the film industry. The milestone underscores the studio’s unmatched reach and enduring appeal at a time when the overall theatrical market is still struggling to fully recover.

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A new era for UK transport could begin by 2026, as Chinese robotaxis, backed by Baidu, prepare for potential deployment through partnerships with Uber and Lyft. While Baidu's Apollo Go service has a strong track record of millions of driverless rides in China, the key next step for this expansion involves securing regulatory clearance for trials of the autonomous vehicles in London.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the news was "another vote of confidence in our plans for self-driving vehicles" - but many remain sceptical about their safety.

"We're planning for self-driving cars to carry passengers for the first time from spring, under our pilot scheme – harnessing this technology safely and responsibly to transform travel," Ms Alexander said in a post on X.

Uber said in June it would bring its plans to trial UK driverless cars forward as the government sought to accelerate a framework to allow pilots of small autonomous "bus and taxi like" commercial services in 2026.

"We're excited to accelerate Britain's leadership in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to Londoners next year," it said of its Baidu partnership on Monday.

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In a strategic move to streamline its operations and reduce debt, BP has sold a 65% majority stake in its Castrol motor oil division to New York-based investment firm Stonepeak for $6 billion. The deal values Castrol, known for its automotive and industrial lubricants, at $10.1 billion, allowing the oil giant to refocus on its core business activities.

BP will hold onto a 35% stake in Castrol, which it first took control of in 2000.

The London-based oil major said the sale is a "milestone" in its plans to overhaul its business and strip out costs.