Newsroom

Stay up to date with the latest market news relevant to our thematic indices. We curate key developments each day to inform your investment decisions.

Cloudflare to block mixed-use AI crawlers and launch Pay Per Use model

On July 2, 2026, Cloudflare announced it will automatically block mixed-use crawlers that both index websites for search and train AI models, giving website owners more control. Starting September 15, 2026, new domains will default to allow search crawlers but block training and agent bots on pages with ads, and multi-purpose crawlers will be blocked unless site owners opt in. The company is evolving its 2025 Pay Per Crawl program into a "Pay Per Use" model that compensates publishers when their content appears in AI chatbot answers. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said these policies aim to rebalance the relationship between websites and AI companies and encourage companies to separate search, agent, and training crawlers.

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Army Reserve Soldiers develop AI solutions at code-a-thon

On July 4, 2026, soldiers from the 75th U.S. Army Reserve Innovation Command participated in a code-a-thon hosted by the Army Applications Group. The event challenged participants to develop AI-driven applications that modernize administrative and planning tasks for Operation Southwest Justice 2026. Lt. Col. Jason Kim said the code a thon fosters innovation and collaboration and encourages soldiers to learn AI to solve tactical and operational problems, noting that U.S. forces are competing against global adversaries that are also adopting AI technologies.

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