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Data centers today are crucial computing infrastructure that power the modern-day internet.

In Pictures Ltd | Andrew Aitchison | Corbis News | Getty Images

LONDON — The U.K. on Thursday said it now classes data centers as critical infrastructure, in a move that is expected to boost cybersecurity in the country and help operators of the critical computing facilities work with the government to protect data from malicious attacks and outages.

British Technology Minister Peter Kyle said that U.K. data centers will be given “Critical National Infrastructure,” or CNI, designation, a label normally reserved for only key sectors such as energy, nuclear power, defense, space, and emergency services.

“Data centres are the engines of modern life, they power the digital economy and keep our most personal information safe,” Kyle said in a statement Thursday.

Granting data centers critical infrastructure status will enable the government to coordinate better against hackers and unexpected cyber events, Kyle said.

Data center operators will effectively be given a direct line to the government to prepare for and respond to data threats, the government said.

It is the first time a new sector has been granted CNI designation in almost a decade. Space and defense were both given CNI status in 2015.

£4 billion data center investment

Meanwhile, the U.K. also announced Thursday that it is in favor of a plan submitted by a firm called DC01UK to develop a huge 85-acre data center in Hertfordshire, England, which it said would become the largest in Europe once built.

DC01UK plans to commit £3.75 billion ($4.9 billion) of funding toward the new data center project, which is expected to directly create more than 700 local jobs and support 13,740 data and tech jobs in the U.K., according to the government.

It comes after U.S. tech giant Amazon announced Wednesday that it would commit £8 billion ($10.45 billion) via its AWS cloud computing division into the U.K. over the next five years to build and operate data centers in the country.

Data centers are a key part of the modern internet as it exists today. They enable cloud computing, or the delivery of internet services to end-consumers via remote servers, on a mass scale.

When they go offline, it can cause massive outages for internet users, with sometimes critical services going down.

For example, a massive global IT outage struck earlier this year caused by a glitchy software update issued by U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The outage disrupted the majority of doctors’ practices in the U.K., according to the government.

The U.K. has bigger plans to boost cybersecurity in the country. Earlier this summer, it was announced as part of the King’s Speech that a new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will be introduced to mandate that providers of essential IT infrastructure protect their supply chains from attacks.

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Perplexity launches AI-powered web browser for select group of subscribers

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Perplexity launches AI-powered web browser for select group of subscribers

Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Perplexity AI on Wednesday launched a new artificial intelligence-powered web browser called Comet in the startup’s latest effort to compete in the consumer internet market against companies like Google and Microsoft.

Comet will allow users to connect with enterprise applications like Slack and ask complex questions via voice and text, according to a brief demo video Perplexity released on Wednesday.

The browser is available to Perplexity Max subscribers, and the company said invite-only access will roll out to a waitlist over the summer. Perplexity Max costs users $200 per month.

“We built Comet to let the internet do what it has been begging to do: to amplify our intelligence,” Perplexity wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

Perplexity is best known for its AI-powered search engine that gives users simple answers to questions and links out to the original source material on the web. After the company was accused of plagiarizing content from media outlets, it launched a revenue-sharing model with publishers last year.

In May, Perplexity was in late-stage talks to raise $500 million at a $14 billion valuation, a source familiar confirmed to CNBC. The startup was also approached by Meta earlier this year about a potential acquisition, but the companies did not finalize a deal.

“We will continue to launch new features and functionality for Comet, improve experiences based on your feedback, and focus relentlessly–as we always have–on building accurate and trustworthy AI that fuels human curiosity,” Perplexity said Wednesday.

WATCH: Perplexity CEO on AI race: The market of providing answers to questions will become a commodity

Perplexity CEO on AI race: The market of providing answers to questions will become a commodity

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Retailers log $7.9 billion in online sales in first 24 hours of Prime Day

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Retailers log .9 billion in online sales in first 24 hours of Prime Day

A worker sorts packages on Amazon Prime Day in New York on July 8, 2025.

Klaus Galiano | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. online sales jumped 9.9% year over year to $7.9 billion on Tuesday, the kickoff of Amazon‘s Prime Day megasale, according to Adobe Analytics.

At that level, it marks the “single biggest e-commerce day so far this year,” Adobe said. It also eclipsed total online spending during Thanksgiving last year, when sales on the holiday reached $6.1 billion.

Amazon’s Prime Day bargain blitz began on Tuesday and lasts through Friday. The event, first launched in 2015 as a way to hook new Prime members, has pushed other retailers to launch counterprogramming.

Walmart‘s six-day deals event also started Tuesday, while Target Circle Week kicked off on Sunday and Best Buy launched a Black Friday in July promotion that began Monday.

Home and outdoor goods showed signs of strong demand during the first day of Amazon’s discount event, said Kashif Zafar, CEO of Xnurta, an advertising platform that serves more than 20,000 online businesses.

Read more CNBC Amazon coverage

Other historically well-performing categories such as beauty and household essentials saw softer demand early on, but could see demand pick up as Prime Day continues, he added.

“Early Prime Day numbers might look soft compared to last year’s surge, but it’s too early to call the event a miss,” Zafar said in an email. “With four days instead of two, we’re seeing a different rhythm, consumers are spreading out their purchases.”

Adobe expects online sales to reach $23.8 billion across all retailers during the 96-hour event, a level that’s “equivalent to two Black Fridays.”

U.S. online shoppers spent $14.2 billion during the 48-hour Prime Day event last year, according to Adobe.

This year’s Prime Day is landing at an uncertain time for retailers and consumers as they grapple with the fallout of President Donald Trump‘s unpredictable tariff policies.

U.S. consumer confidence worsened in June after improving in May as Americans remained concerned about the tariffs’ effect on the economy and prices, according to the Conference Board.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last month the company hasn’t seen prices “appreciably go up” on its site as a result of tariffs.

Some third-party sellers previously told CNBC they were considering raising or had already raised the price of some of their products manufactured in China as the cost of tariffs became burdensome.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

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Photos show Altman, Iger and Cook arrive at ‘summer camp for billionaires’ in Sun Valley

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Photos show Altman, Iger and Cook arrive at 'summer camp for billionaires' in Sun Valley

Sun Valley: Tech CEOs convene as leaders discuss the impact of tariffs, future plans

Top executives from tech, media and finance gathered in Sun Valley, Idaho, for Allen & Co.’s annual conference this week, an event that is often referred to as “summer camp for billionaires.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Disney CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were all pictured entering the lodge.

Wednesday’s agenda includes interviews with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IAC Chairman Barry Diller, sources told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.

When he arrived on Tuesday, Altman said he is not concerned about the artificial intelligence talent war and that he would talk to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week.

Scroll down to see the tech and media moguls arriving at the exclusive event.

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Tim Cook arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David Grogan | CNBC

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Disney CEO Bob Iger

Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, and Bob Iger (R), CEO of Walt Disney Co., attend the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

TV host Gayle King

Gayle King attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

GM CEO Mary Barra

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Spanx founder Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon

Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Entertainment executive Casey Wasserman

Casey Wasserman, CEO of Wasserman Media Group, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC owner John Henry

John Henry attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

OpenAI Chair Bret Taylor

Bret Taylor, chairman of the board of directors of OpenAI, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone

Ken Langone attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller

Stanley Druckenmiller attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

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