News Corporation has called artificial intelligence and handlers of their stolen content "pirates" and "crass kleptomaniacs," promising to expose their "murky, illegal behaviour." The media empire singled out AI answer engines Perplexity and Brave, with whom it is embroiled in ongoing legal battles, and pledged to take the fight to "some of the world's better-known companies" who deal with them. News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said claims against Brave focus on their data for AI products, which are "legally gormlessly sourced and repurposed copyrighted material." He added that companies who buy from these pirates "should know that they are in possession of stolen goods." The conglomerate vowed in February to guard assets with a crocodile, shark- and lawyer-infested moat as part of a "woo or sue strategy." Thomson said litigation is "far from over." The company reported it has entered advanced discussions with several "honourable" companies, with "significant deals in the pipeline." It has already signed deals with Meta and OpenAI. News Corp reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up 31 per cent in the year to June 30 to US423 million ($A$600 million). Its fourth-quarter revenue of US2.34 billion (A3.32 billion) jumped 11 per cent from a year prior, while net income from continuing operations in the three months to June 30 almost tripled to US230 million ($