Company is adding two production lines at Coopersville, Mich., facility.

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A UK technology company has secured a major $200 million contract with US authorities to deploy advanced fibre-optic sensing systems along American borders, marking a significant milestone for British-developed security technology on the global stage.

Sintela, headquartered in Bristol, will provide its “listening” infrastructure to support operations led by US Customs and Border Protection, expanding an initial $34 million agreement signed in 2020.

The three-year deal represents a substantial scale-up of the company’s capabilities and highlights growing demand for AI-driven monitoring systems in border security and critical infrastructure protection.

Sintela’s technology is based on distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), which uses fibre-optic cables to detect and interpret vibrations and sounds across long distances.

By attaching to existing fibre networks, the system can identify specific activities such as footsteps, digging, fence cutting or climbing, all in real time. The data is then analysed using artificial intelligence models that classify and prioritise potential threats.

The approach offers a significant advantage over traditional surveillance methods, particularly in remote or large-scale environments where installing and monitoring cameras would be impractical or prohibitively expensive.

Chief executive Magnus McEwen-King described the contract as a breakthrough moment for the company and the wider technology.

“We are inventing things others can’t do and are now deploying them at scale,” he said, calling the development a “quirky British success story”.

While the US-Mexico border is a key focus, Sintela’s systems are already deployed across multiple international borders, as well as in maritime environments.

Beyond border security, the technology is being used to protect critical infrastructure, including subsea pipelines, power lines and transport networks. Through a joint venture with SLB, the sensors have been installed on offshore pipelines to detect potential sabotage.

In urban environments, the same technology is being applied to monitor water networks for leaks and to assess wear and tear on railways and roads. In parts of Africa, it is being used by utilities to detect attempts to dismantle electricity pylons.

The technology originated from research at the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre, with several of the original researchers now forming part of Sintela’s team.

Since its founding in 2017, the company has grown steadily, reaching revenues of around £13 million in 2023 and expanding its international footprint with offices in the US, including a recent $10 million investment in its Michigan operations.

The new contract is expected to support further expansion, with Sintela having already recruited 50 additional staff across the UK and US and planning to hire another 50 in the near future.

The growth reflects increasing demand for technologies that combine physical infrastructure with digital intelligence, particularly in areas such as security, energy and transportation.

The deal underscores the rising importance of advanced sensing technologies in addressing complex security challenges, from border control to infrastructure resilience.

It also highlights the UK’s strength in deep-tech innovation, particularly in fields that combine academic research with commercial application.

As geopolitical tensions and infrastructure risks continue to evolve, demand for scalable, cost-effective monitoring solutions is expected to grow.

For Sintela, the $200 million contract represents not only a commercial milestone but also a validation of its technology at scale, positioning the company as a leading player in a rapidly emerging sector.

For the UK, it is another example of how homegrown innovation can compete globally, translating cutting-edge research into real-world applications with international impact.

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UK tech firm Sintela lands $200m US border security deal

A report has estimated the Royal Flying Doctor Service WA’s social value over the next 30 years would total $4.1 billion.

Virgin Galactic is reopening sales of its commercial spaceflights on a limited basis – though ticket prices have risen from the company’s previous rate.

The company made the announcement alongside its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, signaling that work on its fleet of SpaceShips is progressing to allow for commercial spaceflights to resume.

“We completed pivotal milestones during the first quarter of 2026, and with assembly of our first SpaceShip nearly complete and ground testing set to begin in April, we have released a limited number of Virgin Galactic Spaceflight Expeditions, each priced at $750,000,” Virgin Galactic Holdings CEO Michael Colglazier said in the release.

The $750,000 price point for Virgin Galactic’s commercial spaceflights is an increase of about $100,000 from what it charged before it paused spaceflights nearly two years ago to focus on building its SpaceShips that will handle the company’s space tourism business.

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Colglazier said that with the company’s first SpaceShip nearly complete and ready for testing, the construction of its second SpaceShip is progressing and expected to allow for it to enter service later this year or early next year.

“Fabrication efforts are pivoting to support testing and production of our second SpaceShip, which we expect will enter service between late Q4 2026 and early Q1 2027 in line with our planned ramp in spaceflight cadence,” he explained.

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“With production of SpaceShips well underway, we are gearing up for rocket motor assembly at our Phoenix factory, with manufacturing planned to begin in Q4 2026,” Colglazier added. 

“We continue to strategically manage our capital to support our planned ramp in cash flow from commercial spaceline operations.”

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Virgin Galactic said in its full year 2025 financial highlights that revenue decreased from $7 million in 2024 to $2 million last year, with the commercial spaceflight pause largely driving the move.

The company’s new Delta class SpaceShips have a higher capacity of six passengers rather than four, and are also designed to handle a higher operational tempo of spaceflights than Virgin Galactic’s Unity prototype.

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Oracle on Tuesday reportedly began notifying employees that it is moving forward with a round of layoffs as the company looks to reduce costs.

The number of layoffs in the thousands, according to a report by CNBC that cited two people familiar with the matter.

Oracle has recently ramped up capital spending to build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers as the company looks to incorporate those tools into its business software services.

The company’s stock has been volatile over the last year amid the AI buildout, with shares up about 3.5% in the last year despite declines of 48% in the last six months and 25% year to date amid concerns that AI presents a competitive threat to software providers. Shares rallied over 4% during Tuesday’s trading session on the layoff news.

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Business Insider reviewed copies of the layoff notification email sent to affected employees, which informed them they will be eligible to receive a severance package after signing their termination paperwork.

“After careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as a part of a broader organizational change,” the email reviewed by the outlet said. “As a result, today is your last working day.”

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Oracle’s most recent 10-K filing noted the company had about 162,000 full-time employees in May 2025.

The company said in a March filing that it expects the total costs associated with its restructuring plan in fiscal year 2026 to be as high as $2.1 billion, most of which would go to employee severance and related expenses.

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Tech companies are reassessing their workforces amid the rise of AI as they look to shift resources to meet infrastructure needs.

Meta announced layoffs affecting a few hundred people across multiple teams last week, and Reuters previously reported that Meta was planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of its workforce.

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Reuters contributed to this report.

The Trump administration on Monday issued a proposed rule to allow retirement plans to offer alternative assets like private equity and cryptocurrencies as part of the investment options in 401(k) accounts.

The Labor Department’s rule aims to ease longstanding barriers to incorporating alternative assets into retirement plans and follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last summer on the subject.

Advocates for the rule change argue that including alternative assets in 401(k) plans can help foster better long-term returns and make diversification easier. Skeptics note that alternative assets can be less liquid, more complex and have higher fees, which can limit gains while also introducing risk.

Under the proposed rule, plan fiduciaries would have to objectively, thoroughly and analytically consider and make determinations about performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, performance benchmarks and complexity. Trustees who abide by those rules will be granted safe harbor that protects them from lawsuits.

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Managers of defined contribution plans have historically had the authority to consider alternative investments, though most have opted against doing so.

The Biden administration in 2022 issued a rescinded compliance release that warned fiduciaries against including cryptocurrency options in 401(k) plans, which the Trump administration criticized as a “departure from the department’s decades-long approach to fiduciary investment decisions.”

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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said that the agency’s newly proposed rule “will show how plans can consider products that better reflect the investment landscape as it exists today. This greater diversity will drive innovation and result in a major win for American workers, retirees, and their families.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the pending regulation “is an initial step in implementing the President’s Executive Order in a safe and smart manner, broadening access to additional retirement plan options for millions of Americans while being mindful of the importance of protecting retirement assets.”

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Following the Labor Department’s release of the proposed rule, the agency will open a 60-day comment period ahead of a decision to finalize the rule.

Alternative asset managers like Blackstone and Apollo Global Management could benefit from the opportunity to draw on a new pool of capital. Several industry members and groups applauded the rule.

Apollo CEO Marc Rowan said that the change is a “thoughtful step toward addressing the growing retirement crisis,” noting that “Americans increasingly lack the savings and income needed for a secure retirement” and that the shift could “meaningfully improve retirement outcomes.”

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If the rule is adopted, Erin Cho, a partner at the Mayer Brown law firm, said that it “will not open the floodgates for private equity, private credit or crypto funds to move into the retirement space” as it will only provide a process for doing so.

Reuters contributed to this report.