The Next Web: Recent Episodes
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His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service has banned Meta smart glasses from court buildings across England and Wales, a move that pulls one of Silicon Valley’s buzziest gadgets into a very old argument about who gets to record what. HMCTS, which runs the criminal, civil and family courts, will now confiscate the glasses on entry […]
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Bumble is preparing to let men make the first move, a change that unpicks the single rule the dating app was built around. According to Bloomberg a coming messaging update will let men open conversations in opposite-sex matches, though the exact mechanics are still emerging and Bumble has not spelled them out in full. For […]
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Equitybee has launched Equitybee Benchmark, a free tool that lets US startup employees compare equity grants across roles, seniority levels, departments, and company stages. The company argues that while salary benchmarking has been everywhere for years, equity data has stayed locked inside HR teams and employers. You would never accept a salary without comparing it […]
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Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent of Truth Social, reported a net loss of $238.1m for the second quarter of 2026, a figure that dwarfs the $20m loss it posted a year earlier and turns the company’s slow drift from social network to crypto holding vehicle into something close to a headline. Most of […]
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Amazon is spending $5M to kill a single New York City bill, and the size of that cheque is the most honest story the company has said about the fight. The measure is the Delivery Protection Act, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and carrying a majority of the City Council, and it would do the […]
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Nick Blair, a son of former UK prime minister Tony Blair, is trying to raise around $200m for a defence-tech startup that has not yet launched, reported by the Financial Times and described as ongoing and unconfirmed. The company, London-based Pyra, is said to be in talks with investors that are not finalised, which makes […]
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HSBC Asset Management has taken a stake in Model ML, a London startup building what it calls an agentic operating system for financial services, and the deal says as much about where the industry now thinks the value in enterprise AI is settling as it does about any single company. The investment was made through […]
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Amkor Technology, one of the world’s largest outsourced chip assembly and testing firms, is weighing a sale of a stake in its China operations, a deal that could value the unit at between $1bn and $1.5bn, according to Bloomberg. The Arizona-based company, which has been pouring record sums into advanced packaging, has engaged an adviser to […]
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VinSpace, a Vietnamese space startup that did not exist a year ago, has signed a contract with SpaceX to send its first home-built satellites into orbit in 2027. The company, a subsidiary of the sprawling Vingroup conglomerate, will hitch a ride on one of SpaceX’s Transporter rideshare missions, the orbital equivalent of a shared taxi […]
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Uniper, the German energy giant that Berlin rescued from collapse three years ago, is betting its next chapter on the server racks now reshaping Europe’s power market. The utility plans to invest around €5bn ($5.7bn) by 2030 in a strategy that pivots hard toward data centres, and toward the electricity they consume in ever greater […]
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Anthropic has struck another enormous deal to feed its appetite for computing power, and this time the counterparty is a company that until recently made its money digging up bitcoin. The twenty-year arrangement is worth $9.1 billion and gives the Claude maker a large slab of capacity at a Texas campus that Riot Platforms is […]
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US House Democrats have decided that AI agents breaking loose from their test environments is a matter for Congress, and on Monday they put that view in writing. Two letters went out, one to OpenAI and one to Anthropic, each demanding an account of how the companies’ own systems slipped their leashes during security testing, […]
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US appeals court has cleared thousands of lawsuits accusing the biggest social media companies of harming young people to move towards trial, in a ruling that chips away at the legal shield the tech industry has relied on for decades. On 10 August 2026, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected […]
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Intel has announced a $15bn common-stock offering, a sale that could swell to as much as $20bn if underwriters take up their overallotment options. It is a bold move for a company that, not long ago, looked like a cautionary tale, and it shows just how far the chipmaker’s fortunes have turned in the space […]
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Nvidia has recruited six of the largest names in finance to help turn its chips into something a bank can lend against. The company announced partnerships with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to build what it calls “compute financing platforms”, structures designed to mobilise over $500bn of third-party capital for AI infrastructure. […]
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Vienna startup most of the tech world has not heard of just posted numbers that would turn heads anywhere. fonio.ai, a European platform for AI-powered customer calls, says it has surpassed $10m in annual recurring revenue in under twelve months. Since February, when the company switched from a prepaid model to subscriptions, it says it […]
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A team of BioNTech alumni thinks cancer screening has been stuck in the past, and it has raised $25M to do something about it. Bios Life has emerged from stealth with a plan to replace one-off screening with continuous, AI-driven surveillance, and a data alliance with Tempus to power it. The seed round is well […]
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Hamburg biotech is taking an unusual shot at salmon farming’s most expensive pest, and it starts with an alpaca. AquaNab is developing tiny antibodies, derived from the animals and delivered through fish feed, to treat and prevent sea lice. The parasite it is chasing is a genuine scourge. Sea lice cost the aquaculture industry billions […]
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Lovable has become the first coding agent platform certified under AIUC-1, a security standard for AI agents that comes with something unusual attached: the certifying body also underwrites the risk. Customers using a certified agent are insured, through Lloyd’s of London, against the failures the standard is meant to prevent. Certification and liability arrive together. What […]
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Artificial intelligence has rapidly become a core part of software development, but its biggest impact may not be replacing developers, it may be redefining what developers spend their time doing. For frontend engineers, AI is shifting the focus from repetitive coding to designing smarter, more resilient digital experiences. Traditionally, frontend development involved building user interfaces, […]
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Valve has emailed European customers who ordered a Steam Machine or a Steam Controller. A cyberattack on CEVA Logistics, the firm that ships Valve hardware across Europe, took their delivery details. CNET’s Tyler Graham reported the warning on Monday. CEVA told Valve about the breach on 7 August, and Valve spent the following days working […]
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In hundreds of simulations modelled on Fortune 500 companies with dozens of security tools, Corma tested leading AI models including GPT and Claude. First, the models attacked the simulated organisations and planted persistent threats. Then the same models were asked to defend and find what they had planted. The attackers succeeded in 88% of simulations. […]
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The Arena Group is renaming itself Paradium.AI. The publisher of TheStreet, Parade and Men’s Journal expects the change to finish by the end of August. Business Insider had it first. Steven Tweedie and Ben Shimkus obtained a staff memo from chief executive Paul Edmondson, confidential until 4:05 PM ET, five minutes after the closing bell. […]
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Google is testing a homepage with no Search button. A small group of signed-out users see three AI shortcuts in its place, and the familiar layout returns the moment they log in. Search Engine Watch spotted the change on Monday and reproduced it across Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Perplexity’s Comet browser. Three buttons sit under […]
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Point2 Technology has raised $136 million in total Series B financing to commercialise a new type of cable that could replace both copper and optics inside AI data centres. The latest extension was led by LB Investment, with new strategic participation from Arm and continued support from Maverick Silicon. The investor roster now includes Nvidia, […]
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Levi Strauss has disclosed a breach that involved no software vulnerability at all. Attackers used social engineering to reach three employees’ work computers, then took corporate data out with them. The company set out the incident in a regulatory filing with the SEC on 7 August. Intruders accessed and exfiltrated “certain corporate information”, the filing […]
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CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks hit record highs on Monday. Each rose more than 5%, after a week in which the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas turned into an argument about AI agents. CNBC’s Samantha Subin reported the move. CrowdStrike gained 11.32 points, or 5.28%. Palo Alto added 17.84 points, or 4.90%, and traded […]
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Google Play now accepts Venmo in the United States. Users can link their Venmo account through the payment methods section in Google Play settings and use their Venmo wallet, connected bank accounts, or cards to pay for apps, games, subscriptions, and even tip creators inside supported apps. The addition joins PayPal, Cash App, and major […]
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OpenAI is recruiting a power-trading lead for its data centres. The role will own commodity hedging strategy across the company’s power portfolio. It will have no direct reports at first. Bloomberg’s Julian Hast reported the listing on Monday. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s own job posting places the […]
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Shein’s advisers are pitching the fast-fashion giant to investors at a valuation below $30 billion for its Hong Kong IPO, a roughly 70% drop from the $100 billion-plus valuation it hit in a 2022 private fundraising. Internally, Shein set a target of $30 billion. If it IPOs lower, the company may have to consult existing […]
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Jefferies cut Apple from hold to underperform on Monday. That is the bank’s equivalent of a sell rating. It also cut its price target from $285.56 to $263.66. Fortune’s Sebastian Herrera reported the call. The bank’s supply-chain checks produced three reasons. Apple has cancelled a rumoured all-glass iPhone, memory prices are surging, and there is […]
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A group of financial firms is working with Nvidia on a $500bn funding package for AI infrastructure. The group covers Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs and KKR. The Financial Times reported the talks first. Bloomberg confirmed them with people familiar with the matter. A deal could land […]
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OpenAI released GPT-5.6-Cyber on Monday. It is a model built on GPT-5.6 Sol and trained for zero-day discovery and exploit-chain development, and the company says it was also trained to refuse fewer higher-risk dual-use cyber requests. Access runs only through Daybreak, the vetted cybersecurity programme OpenAI is now expanding. Axios’ Sam Sabin reported it first. […]
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From 1 February 2027, a channel applying to the YouTube Partner Program will need 1,000 subscribers and 8,000 valid public watch hours over the previous 365 days. The current bar is 4,000 hours over 12 months. The Shorts route doubles as well. Twenty million valid public Shorts views over 90 days, up from 10 million. […]
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The one everybody covered went to Speaker Mike Johnson. CNBC’s Megan Cassella reported it first. House Democrats want public hearings on the AI security incidents of the past month, and they want the chief executives of the largest AI companies in the witness chair. Casar chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus. His letter does not open […]
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The Ninth Circuit handed the social media companies a defeat on Monday. It did not hand them a ruling. The San Francisco appeals court rejected their bid to overturn a lower court and shut down some 2,400 federal lawsuits over claims they built their products to addict young users. Reuters’ Diana Novak Jones reported the […]
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An Australian man named Andrew asked his AI agent to book him into a popular gym class. The agent booked the class. Then it deleted a stranger. The ABC’s national AI reporter Cam Wilson and the Specialist Reporting Team’s Rhiannon Hobbins broke the story on Monday. They describe what may be the first known autonomous […]
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Mark Zuckerberg announced a $1 billion Future Is For Everyone Fund on Monday. It will invest directly in the American communities where Meta builds data centres. The commitment sits inside a 6,500-word letter, The Future is for Everyone: The Path to a Positive AI Future. Meta published both the same day. The memo gives it […]
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The FCC is considering banning DJI drones that it already approved for sale in the United States. The proposal would expand the agency’s existing drone restrictions to target specific capabilities: LiDAR sensing, thermal imaging, aerosol-dispersing systems, coordinated swarm operations, docking stations, and drones weighing 55 pounds or more. The FCC is classifying these features as […]
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Lambda is selling a $917 million leveraged loan to finance a chip purchase, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Jeannine Amodeo, Paula Seligson and Gowri Gurumurthy broke the story. The money pays for GPUs and other infrastructure as part of a contract with Nvidia, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Morgan Stanley leads the […]
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“For the third time, stop tapping!” my primary school teacher screams at me from across the room. I must not have heard her the first two times. I’d been drumming on the desk again, using my fingers for sticks and the floor beneath for a kick drum. While my body was in maths class, my mind was elsewhere. It was 1970. I was John Bonham, drummer of legendary rock band Led Zeppelin, on stage at the Royal Albert Hall, performing “Moby Dick” — one of the most iconic drum solos of all time. The lights are low, the atmosphere electric,…
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Europe is home to twice as many climate tech startups as the US (30,000 vs. 14,300). However, limited access to VC funding is forcing these early-stage companies to seek capital from outside the continent, according to a new report released at the Munich Security Conference today. Venture financing in Europe averaged just 0.2% of GDP between 2013 and 2023, a fraction of the US average of 0.7%. While the continent is great at creating clean tech companies, it’s not so good at funding them. The authors of The Importance of Climate Tech for European Resilience report — the World Fund,…
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Mistral CEO and co-founder Arthur Mensch has urged Europe to invest more in AI infrastructure amid fears that the continent is falling behind the US and China in tech development. “It’s important to have European players coming to the game,” Mensch said at the Visionaries Unplugged conference in Paris yesterday. “Europe needs to invest in owning and operating the infrastructure so that the money that is being made will not just go back to the hyperscalers in the US.” Mensch was joined at the conference by a cohort of tech luminaries, including DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman,…
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AI took another step into Hollywood today with the launch of a new filmmaking tool from showbiz startup Flawless. The product — named DeepEditor — promises cinematic wizardry for the digital age. For movie makers, the tool offers photorealistic edits without a costly return to set. Flawless has showcased several use cases. One transfers an actor’s performance from one shot to another. Another adds new dialogue while keeping the original scene. The character’s lip movements are synchronised with the updated words. Users can also trim lines, insert pauses, and re-time delivery. Every edit is delivered in 4K resolution. The results…
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Stalling growth in the Dutch tech sector has sparked urgent calls for fresh funding streams. New data released today reveals the number of new startups in the Netherlands is declining. The country is also suffering from a severe lack of local investors. The findings emerged in the State of Dutch Tech report by Techleap, a non-profit that supports startups and scaleups in the Netherlands. The report raises concerns about the nation’s funding landscape. In 2024, only 104 startups raised over €100,000 — a 23% decline over the previous year. The number of deals, meanwhile, dropped by 20%. Myrthe Hooijman, Techleap’s…
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Deepfakes have become alarmingly difficult to detect. So difficult, that only 0.1% of people today can identify them. That’s according to iProov, a British biometric authentication firm. The company tested the public’s AI detective skills by showing 2,000 UK and US consumers a collection of both genuine and synthetic content. Sadly, the budding sleuths overwhelmingly failed in their investigations. A woeful 99.9% of them couldn’t distinguish between the real and the deepfake. Think you can do better, Sherlock? You’re not the only one. In iProov’s study, over 60% of the participants were confident in their AI detection skills — regardless…
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UK-based startup Humanoid has just shared a first look at its prototype humanoid robot — the HMND 01. It’s not here to overthrow humanity (yet), but it may walk, work, and possibly even out-dress you. At 5’9” and 154lbs, the “labour automation unit” is the coworker who never calls in sick, never complains about overtime, and somehow always looks sharp. Yes, HMND 01 comes with a range of interchangeable outfits. The humanoid is no slouch, either. It can walk at a brisk 5.4km/h, carry up to 15kgs, and work for four hours straight before it needs a coffee break. Or…
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A Ukrainian drone tech firm has unveiled an alternative to GPS navigation. Sine.Engineering built the system to counter Russia’s electronic warfare, which has wreaked havoc on GPS signals. To dodge the interference, Sine invented a satellite-free replacement. The approach is inspired by time-of-flight (ToF) methods, which began tracking aircraft long before the advent of GPS. Unlike GPS, ToF systems don’t rely on satellites. Instead, they measure the time it takes a signal to travel between a transmitter and a target. In Sine’s framework, the calculations come from a communication module for drones. Smaller than a playing card, the module shares signals…
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European tech leaders Helsing and Mistral have formed a pact to build new military AI systems. The partnership brings together two of Europe’s top startups. Helsing, a defence tech firm based in Germany, was valued at €5bn last year. Founded in 2021, the company develops software for weapons, vehicles, and military strategy. Its systems have been deployed in battlefield simulations, fighter jets, and drones in Ukraine. Mistral, meanwhile, is widely considered Europe’s closest competitor to OpenAI. The French startup has also become a favourite of investors, raising at €600mn at a valuation of €5.8bn last year. The partners announced their…
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My colleagues and I at Purdue University have uncovered a significant imbalance in the human values embedded in AI systems. The systems were predominantly oriented toward information and utility values and less toward prosocial, well-being and civic values. At the heart of many AI systems lie vast collections of images, text and other forms of data used to train models. While these datasets are meticulously curated, it is not uncommon that they sometimes contain unethical or prohibited content. To ensure AI systems do not use harmful content when responding to users, researchers introduced a method called reinforcement learning from human…
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London-based startup Gendo has secured €5.1mn amid booming demand for its generative AI software built for architects. British architectural designer George Proud and software engineer Will Jones founded Gendo in 2022. The platform transforms simple inputs like sketches, 2D drawings, or text descriptions into hypereal building designs. It works a bit like Midjourney or DALL-E, except it’s built by architects for architects. The tool allows you to precisely edit specific details of your design, such as colours, lighting, structural elements, or furniture. The model produces more life-like results than more general AI algorithms. What’s more, Gendo claims it can…
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Zurich-based venture capital firm Founderful has raised $140mn in its second fund — $20mn more than its target and a strong sign of investor confidence in Switzerland’s flourishing tech ecosystem. First announced back in February, the fund has already invested in 15 early-stage startups. These include Chiral Nano, which develops nanomaterials for silicon chips, and 8inks, which is rejigging the lithium-ion battery. Founderful — formerly Wingman Ventures — was launched in 2019 by Pascal Mathis, the co-founder of local travel marketplace unicorn GetYourGuide, Eat.ch co-founder Lukas Weder and Alex Stöckl, former exec at Creathor Ventures. The founder-led VC exclusively backs…
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American wearables firm Realwear has acquired Swiss augmented reality (AR) startup Almer Technologies. Almer’s AR headset — the Arc-2 — overlays digital information onto the wearer’s field of view, allowing them to access real-time data, instructions, or assistance from an engineer seated anywhere in the world. The glasses are targeted specifically at industrial companies looking to help their staff maintain and repair equipment and machinery remotely. “Almer’s innovative approach for frontline workers has enabled us to deliver industrial AR solutions that are intuitive and effortless to use,” said Sebastian Beetschen, Almer’s co-founder and CEO. Beetschen founded Almer alongside Timon Binder…
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German tech darling DeepL has (finally) launched a voice-to-text service. It’s called DeepL Voice, and it turns audio from live or video conversations into translated text. DeepL users can now listen to people speaking a language they don’t understand and automatically translate it to one they do — in real-time. The new feature currently supports English, German, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Dutch, French, Turkish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Italian. What makes the launch of DeepL Voice exciting is that it runs on the same neural networks as the company’s text-to-text offering, which it claims is the “world’s best” AI translator. As someone…
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Amsterdam-based startup Sympower has secured €21mn as it looks to scale its grid-balancing technology. Sympower partners with businesses that use a large amount of electricity. It gains access to some of their energy assets and can turn them on and off when the grid requires balancing — a process called demand response. Sympower’s software platform uses AI to analyse data and optimise when and how much power businesses can sell at any given time, making energy use adjustments more effective and profitable for all parties. Grid operators pay Sympower to stabilise the energy supply. The company passes most of that…
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In 1991, Sony brought the first rechargeable lithium-ion battery to market. The unique chemistry proved a game-changer in energy storage. Today everything from EVs to smartphones depends on it, with demand skyrocketing. But lithium is rare, most of it comes from unstable markets outside Europe, and its extraction can cause extensive pollution. We need more lithium to enable the green transition and yet, currently, its use is unsustainable — both environmentally and economically. We’re stuck in a paradox. Munich-based startup Tozero believes that battery recycling offers a way out. Recycling batteries is far from a new concept, but the German venture…
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New data from LinkedIn on the most in-demand jobs on the platform in the third quarter of this year reveals that software engineering is in second place. Just pipped to the post by sales roles, it is clear that software engineering and development pros are in high demand. Additionally, full stack engineers and application developers feature in the top ten in-demand roles at places eight and ten respectively. Software roles are in such high prominence because software powers pretty much everything. According to McKinsey, these days, “Every company is a software company.” Traditional bricks and mortar businesses are now increasingly…
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In the ambitious pursuit to tackle the harms from false content on social media and news websites, data scientists are getting creative. While still in their training wheels, the large language models (LLMs) used to create chatbots like ChatGPT are being recruited to spot fake news. With better detection, AI fake news checking systems may be able to warn of, and ultimately counteract, serious harms from deepfakes, propaganda, conspiracy theories and misinformation. The next level AI tools will personalise detection of false content as well as protecting us against it. For this ultimate leap into user-centered AI, data science needs…
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Ruby’s creator, Yukihiro Matsumoto (Matz), released the first public version of the programming language in December 1995, making Ruby just shy of its 30th birthday. It spread across Japanese-language Usenet newsgroups, a popular way of exchanging conversation and media before the World Wide Web, and then reached broader communities throughout the late 1990s. This was thanks to Ruby’s friendly community and, in no small part, thanks to Matz. (The community has a motto, “Matz is nice, and so we are nice.”) At this year’s annual European Ruby Konferenze — EuRoKu — in Sarajevo, Matz said he created Ruby because he…
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The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is often held as a model for driving technology advances. For decades, it has contributed to military and economic dominance by bridging the gap between military and civilian applications. European policymakers frequently reference DARPA in discussions, as outlined in the 2024 Draghi Report, but an EU equivalent has yet to materialise. To create such an agency, the governance and management of European innovation programmes would need drastic changes. DARPA supports disruptive innovation Founded in 1958, DARPA operates under the US Department of Defense (DoD) with a straightforward mission: to fund high-risk technological…
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About one in every 10 European startups that have raised VC investment are also backed by an EU grant of equity financing, according to a research project conducted by Dealroom and Dealflow.eu. While the full report is expected to be published later this year, the authors presented a few preliminary numbers in Warsaw last week. In financial terms, the 10% share translates into EU-backed startups having raised €70bn in VC funding since 2010, or some 11% of total funding in Europe (which in this case includes the EU, Switzerland, Norway, UK, and Israel). With some €400bn in total enterprise value…
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If you’ve ever seen yourself through a thermal imaging camera, you’ll know that your body produces lots of heat. This is in fact a waste product of our metabolism. Every square foot of the human body gives off heat equivalent to about 19 matches per hour. Unfortunately, much of this heat simply escapes into the atmosphere. Wouldn’t it be great if we could harness it to produce energy? My research has shown this would indeed be possible. My colleagues and I are discovering ways of capturing and storing body heat for energy generation, using eco-friendly materials. The goal is to…
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The European Space Agency has given the go-ahead for initial work on a mission to visit an asteroid called (99942) Apophis. If approved at a key meeting next year, the robotic spacecraft, known as the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses), will rendezvous with the asteroid in February 2029. Apophis is 340 metres wide, about the same as the height of the Empire State Building. If it were to hit Earth, it would cause wholesale destruction hundreds of miles from its impact site. The energy released would equal that of tens or hundreds of nuclear weapons, depending on the…
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When Apple’s version of AI, branded as Apple Intelligence, rolls out in October to folks with the company’s latest hardware, the response is likely to be a mix of delight and disappointment. The AI capabilities on their way to Apple’s walled-garden will bring helpful new features, such as textual summaries in email, Messages and Safari; image creation; and a more context-aware version of Siri. But as Apple Intelligence’s beta testing has already made clear, the power of these features falls well below what is on offer from major players like OpenAI, Google, and Meta. Apple AI won’t come close to…
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Paris startup Poolside has raised a whopping $500mn — and it still hasn’t even launched a product. Despite the barren release schedule, the company has become an investors’ darling. The new Series B round brings Poolside’s total funding to $626mn. Its valuation now stands at a cool $3bn. The cash magnet is a AI-powered coding. Poolside has developed its own language model, which promises to accelerate software development. The company also boasts two eye-catching co-founders. CEO Jason Warner helped create GitHub Copilot, while CTO Eiso Kant is a serial founder of AI startups. At Poolside, the pair are building three things:…
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Finland’s vast green forests are famously restorative. So restorative that they can even treat diseases. That’s according to Uute Scientific, a biotech firm based in Helsinki. The company has created a unique remedy: a microbial extract that replicates Finnish nature. Today, the startup revealed new evidence of the organism’s powers. The extract targets a growing health problem. Immune systems, Uute says, are being weakened by urbanisation and oversanitation. As a result, city dwellers have higher rates of many allergic, inflammatory, and auto-immune diseases. Biodiversity could give their bodies a boost. Unfortunately, the benefits aren’t always readily available on tap. But you…
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Amsterdam-based Lapsi Health is looking to firmly position itself in the rapidly-evolving market of smart medical devices. The startup announced yesterday the US launch of its first clinical support tool, a digital stethoscope, after receiving clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — the US regulator for medical devices. Dubbed Keikku, the digital stethoscope is a portable wireless device that uses sensing technology and AI to listen to body sounds, such as breathing, and turn them into data-based insights. Keikku also comes with features such as the option to share and stream sound clips or to crop and annotate…
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IBM’s first quantum data centre in Europe may have been planned during his predecessor’s tenure, but it was Olaf Scholz with entourage who descended on the small German town of Ehningen on Tuesday. The reason was to welcome the first IBM Heron processor to be installed outside of the US. When the Chancellor of Germany shows up to spend nearly half a day at an event, you know it is a pretty big deal. Indeed, attracting projects like IBM’s new quantum data centre might be what makes or breaks German — and European — aspirations on “technological sovereignty” in the…
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London-based scaleup Huma announced today the expansion of its digital healthcare solutions with the acquisition of eConsult. This is one of the UK’s largest digital triage and consultation platforms across primary and emergency care. Founded in 2011, Huma works with healthcare providers and big pharma to improve clinical outcomes with digital solutions. Since its founding, the company has been strategically expanding its portfolio of services, aiming to accelerate the digitalisation of healthcare. “The acquisition [of eConsult] brings us one step closer to becoming the end-to-end technology platform for the industry to deliver digital-first care at scale seamlessly,” said Dan Vahdat,…
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2025 marks Amsterdam’s 750th birthday. It also marks the 19th TNW Conference, which will take place on June 19 and 20 at — and you’re all invited. The show returns to NDSM next year, right at the heart of the city. As usual, we’re bringing together the entire ecosystem, from startups and investors to C-level executives, industry leaders, and policy makers. With a mission of building links between Dutch tech and the world, we’re crafting two days full of inspirational talks, networking opportunities, and our famous festival vibes. Who says you can’t do business while enjoying every minute of it?…
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Six-fingered gloves have been sent to global leaders as a chilling reminder of AI dangers. The gloves symbolise a disturbing digital problem: image generators giving people extra fingers. The petrifying pictures have now been brought to life by Finnish startup Saidot. “AI is developing so fast that nobody can fully anticipate its impacts and the emerging risks,” warned Veera Siivonen, the company’s CCO and co-founder. “That’s why we want to highlight both the steps that have been taken forward for safer AI, as well as some of the steps that should be taken.” After stitching the gruesome garments, Saidot posted…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s special episode, we’re featuring an interview with Ilkka Paananen, co-founder and CEO of Supercell, recorded with live audience at the Italian Tech Week conference in Turin last week. Andrii and Ilkka discussed the history of the gamedev industry, the mistakes entrepreneurs make at the start of their journey, the unique culture and structure of Supercell, the changes AI is bringing to…
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Imagine a future where internet connections are not only lightning-fast but also remarkably reliable, even in crowded spaces. This vision is rapidly approaching reality, thanks to new research on terahertz communications technologies. These innovations are set to transform wireless communication, particularly as communications technology advances toward the next generation of networks, 6G. I’m an engineer who focuses on photonics, the study of how light and other electromagnetic waves are generated and detected. In this research, my colleagues and I have developed a silicon topological beamformer chip. Topological refers to physical features in the silicon that help steer terahertz waves, and…
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DeepL, the Cologne-based AI translation unicorn, today launched its first tech hub in the US, in New York City. The move follows the company’s increasing growth and investment in the US market, where it already counts customers such as Coursera and Morningstar. DeepL opened its first US office, in Austin, Texas, earlier this year. The New York tech hub will focus on research, product innovation, and engineering, aiming to boost the startup’s expansion in the region. “[It] positions us at the centre of one of the largest talent pools in the market and brings us closer to our customers, including…
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Microsoft has partnered with medical note taking software startup Autoscriber to further scale the latter’s software across the EMEA region. The company’s speech-based AI tool frees up large chunks of doctors’ time and allows them to stay focused on their patients during consults. Based out of the Netherlands and South Africa, Autoscriber offers an ambient clinical intelligence (ACI) product that automatically generates summaries from real-time doctor-patient conversations and fills out an Electronic Health Record (EHR). This reduces the time doctors need to spend on admin by 20% to 50%. In actual time, this equals approximately five minutes per consultation. In…
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Gone are the days of elite footballers buying pubs. Today’s star players prefer to put their money into tech. Kylian Mbappe is one of the new generation’s leaders. The French captain has his own investment company, Coalition Capital, which just bought a stake in German electronics giant Loewe Technology. The luxury brand has an ambitious business plan. Over the next few years, the company aims to increase annual revenues from €60mn to €300mn. Mbappe’s investment aims to accelerate these ambitions. His 10% holding could also support a mooted IPO, Bloomberg reports. Loewe has not disclosed the transaction’s value, but Mbappe…
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Dubai is a city on the rise. The first nine months of 2023 saw its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase by 3.3%, while in the same period, its information and communications sector shot up by 4.4%. Alongside its prolonged economic success, the city has also become a haven for startups and the tech sector in general. A big part of this has been the country’s dedication to stoking business, something many feel Europe hasn’t focused on in the same way. While the continent still has a strong global presence with a large market and a highly skilled workforce, many complain…
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What do the Rothschilds, big wave surfing, and cows have in common? A Portuguese man by the name of Francisco Roque de Pinho, of course. Francisco used to be a banker at Rothschild, the most famous of European banking dynasties. For the past eight years he’s been quietly operating an investment firm funding sustainable cattle grazing in South America. In his spare time, he’s out conquering the world’s biggest surfable waves in Nazare, Portugal. Today, Francisco is unveiling some of the mystique behind his business life with the official launch of the Land Group, a Lisbon-based €120mn investment vehicle that…
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Swedish prosecutors are set to serve Northvolt with a suspicion of gross manslaughter notice following the death of a worker at the EV battery-maker’s struggling gigafactory in the country’s icy North, the Financial Times reports. Environmental prosecutor Christer B Jarlås told the paper that officials will deliver the formal notice in the coming weeks, which indicates Northvolt is under investigation for possible legal responsibility in the incident. The notice pertains to a 25-year-old Northvolt employee who died on December 15 after suffering severe burns sustained during an explosion on a production line at the startup’s megaplant in Skellefteå a month…
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This month, the European Commission published Mario Draghi’s long-awaited EU competitiveness report. Its key finding? The EU must overcome the innovation gap to prevent economic slowdown. According to the report, only four out of the 50 leading tech companies across the globe are based in Europe. In his address to the European Parliament, the former Italian premier said: “The core problem in Europe is that new companies with new technologies are not rising in our economy. In fact, there is no EU company with a market capitalisation over €100 billion that has been set up from scratch in the last…
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Arm wants to upgrade the brains inside our devices. The chip designer — whose architectures power 99% of smartphones — envisions AI bringing a new wave of breakthroughs to our handsets. The company outlined this plan after the release of Llama 3.2 — Meta’s first open-source models that processes both images and text. Arm said the models run “seamlessly” on its compute platforms. The smaller, text-based LLMs — Llama 3.2 1B and 3B — are optimised for Arm-based mobile chips. Consequently, the models can deliver faster user experiences on smartphones. Processing more AI at the edge can also save energy and costs. These enhancements…
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UK startup Pact has raised £9mn in funding and opened a new factory to scale up the “world’s first” sustainable and scalable biomaterial made from collagen — the primary building block of your skin. The material — dubbed Oval — looks, feels, and ages much like leather, but without the environmental impacts. Oval doesn’t just look like leather, it also responds to scratches, water, and sunlight in much the same way. I guess that makes sense seeing as it technically is a kind of skin — albeit one made in a lab. Oval looks, feels, and ages much like…
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Amsterdam-based scaleup Mews has bagged $100mn in credit financing as it looks to swallow up competitors and become a market leader in SaaS software for the hospitality industry. Vista Credit Partners, the credit-investing arm of tech-focused private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, dished out the funding. Mews, based at TNW City, has built a cloud-based system that helps hotels and other hospitality businesses manage their daily operations more efficiently. It handles tasks like booking rooms, checking guests in and out, processing payments, managing housekeeping, and providing tools for reporting and analytics. The fresh funding comes just months after Mews secured…
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Following a five-fold growth since 2018, VC investment in Europe’s defence tech is set to hit a record year in 2024, as it’s on course to reach $1bn. According to a new Dealroom report, Europe is now at the heart of an investment surge, as governments turn to the defence tech sector to strengthen national security in response to escalating geopolitical instability. “As we face war on European soil for the first time in decades, the urgency to strengthen our security and build a modern defence software stack has never been greater,” said Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, managing director and head…
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Nebius today announced the launch of a new data centre in Paris — among the first in Europe to offer NVIDIA’s H200 Tensor Core GPUs. The company, which is the rebranded European arm of “Russia’s Google,” Yandex, is investing more than $1bn to build AI infrastructure across the continent by mid-2025. “We work in a new industry which requires both deep technology and significant capital,” said Arkady Volozh, CEO and founder of Nebius, adding that the company’s data centre in Finland already provides the latest high-performance compute, tools and services to AI developers. “The addition of our new GPU cluster…
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A new recreation of the Moon on Earth has sparked hopes of a “European renaissance” in space. Known as LUNA, the futuristic facility was inaugurated today in Cologne, Germany. The ceremony showcased several striking features, from a 700-square-metre replica of the lunar surface to a Sun simulator that mimics the Moon’s phases. Also in the pipeline are a gravity offloading system and an adjustable ramp that simulates lunar slopes. Operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Agency, the site offers realistic conditions for spacetech R&D. Startups are already testing their tech on the site. Among them is Spartan…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Andrii talk about energy use at data centres, the state of Northvolt, submarine communications, and a few things in between. You will also hear an interview with Chiara Petrioli, CEO and founder of Wsense, a company that’s created what it calls the underwater Wi-Fi to help preserve cultural heritage, monitor critical infrastructure, and do a lot of other things.…
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Any startup is looking to solve a problem. Sometimes, it is not the one you first envisioned when you set up the company, as Mari-Ann Meigo Fonseca, co-founder of Tallin-based Gelatex can attest. Gelatex manufactures 3D nanofibrous scaffolds for various applications, ranging from cell culture to tissue engineering. “But we started the company with a completely different business idea in mind,” Meigo Fonseca tells TNW. Initial target: the textile industry Building a company is often less about sticking to an initial, rigid plan and more about embracing and adapting to changes along the way. With a background in the textile…
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Iceland has a proud tradition in acoustics. The island has given birth to some of the most mesmerising soundscapes from artists over the past decades. Björk, Sigur Ròs, Ólafur Arnalds — all have been inspired by the otherworldly settings of their home country’s ambience to create their own sublime sonic landscapes. Keeping up the acoustic adventures where the Atlantic and Arctic oceans meet is Treble Technologies. The Reykjavik-based sound simulation and synthetic audio data generation startup has just raised €11mn in Series A to improve our audio experiences of the built environment, something increasingly proven to affect our overall wellbeing…
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GDPR fines keep amassing for Clearview AI — a US-based startup known for its thorough (and potentially perilous) facial recognition services. Following similar measures by data protection authorities in France, Italy, and Greece, the Netherlands’ DPA today hit Clearview with a €30.5mn fine for its “illegal” database of photos. This brings the company’s total fines in the EU to €90.5mn. Clearview offers its facial recognition solutions to intelligence and investigative services, which can benefit from a database of over 50 billion facial images. For this database, the startup is collecting photos from public web sources. This includes social media profiles…
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Only two weeks after Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah died in a superyacht accident off the coast of Sicily, Hewlett Packard Enterprises has vowed to press ahead with a high court lawsuit against the family of the late British tech entrepreneur. The Silicon Valley giant said in a statement it would follow the legal proceedings “through to their conclusion.” The firm is seeking damages of up to $4bn. HP’s case pertains to its $11bn acquisition of Lynch’s startup, Autonomy, back in 2011. Following the deal, HP accused Autonomy’s leadership of fraudulently inflating the company’s value, leading to a 12-year…
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ESIA, the association representing Europe’s semiconductor industry, has called for an “immediate Chips Act 2.0” — if the bloc is to maintain momentum in the global race for technological leadership. The group comprises major chipmakers such as NXP and Infineon as well as research organisations including imec and Fraunhofer. The EU’s Chips Act entered into force in September 2023. It aims to mobilise €43bn in public and private investments that will the help the bloc to produce 20% of the world’s semiconductors by 2030. In a statement on Monday, ESIA acknowledged the act as “a fundamental building block.” However, it…
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It takes a special kind of person to decide to found a startup. The long hours require energy, devotion, and continuous motivation. In the beginning, you need to be a jack of all trades, able to understand and jump on parts of the business you may not be familiar with, until you have the capital to hire people who are better at those tasks. But founders are human just like the rest of us. Although they may seem superhuman at times, weaving through discussions on product development, marketing, and taking sales calls late into the night, at the end of…
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Swedish startup Enerpoly has opened the world’s first zinc-ion battery megafactory. Its vision is to scale a better alternative to lithium-ion for storing renewable energy over longer periods of time. The Enerpoly Production Innovation Center (EPIC) facility is located north of Stockholm. Commissioning has already begun and the plant is expected to make the first zinc-ion batteries next year. The company aims to reach a maximum production capacity of 100MWh by 2026 — enough energy to power around 20,000 homes. Enerpoly’s new zinc-ion megafactory on the outskirts of Sweden. Credit: Enerpoly In 2018, Dr. Mylad Chamoun made a breakthrough in…
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The recent CrowdStrike crash took place at the intersection of bad cybersecurity and bad cloud computing. The headlines showed the world what many of us have long warned about — that concentrating power with a handful of tech titans is dangerous and can have devastating real-world consequences. It didn’t take a cyberattack to cause this global crisis — just a simple mistake. One faulty update from CrowdStrike affected businesses, governments, hospitals, and airlines. The issue only affected certain Windows devices, yet it sent out ripples impacting a huge number of other systems as a result of our dependency on a…
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Samsung Medison, a medical equipment unit of Samsung Electronics, has completed its acquisition of French AI-powered ultrasound startup Sonio in a deal worth 126.5bn Won (€86mn). Founded in 2020, Sonio has developed an AI assistant that helps doctors conduct ultrasound exams faster and more accurately. The French startup recently received FDA approval for Sonio Detect, a product that uses deep learning algorithms to improve the image quality of ultrasound scans in real time. Sonio Detect’s AI model is trained on over a million real ultrasound images. The software is designed to identify prenatal syndromes and abnormalities that doctor’s might’ve missed…
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In Barcelona, digital nomads risk being attacked by angry water pistol-wielding locals. But other parts of sun-soaked Spain are welcoming remote workers with open arms — and wads of cash. This week, the local government of Extremadura announced it is offering digital nomads and remote workers up to €15,000 to move to the rural region. The grants are for “available housing, arable land, and everything necessary to expedite their arrival,” said officials in a press release. Bordering Portugal, Extremadura is known for its mountainous landscapes, vineyards, historic villages, great food, and low cost of living. An apartment in the Cáceres…
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Uber has made an investment in Wayve, as the ride-hailing giant positions itself to profit from the moment when (or if?) autonomous vehicles finally go mainstream. The undisclosed investment is an extension of Wayve’s massive $1bn funding round, announced in May. Under the deal, Uber has taken a minority stake in the London-based self-driving startup. “Wayve’s advanced embodied AI approach holds a ton of promise as we work towards a world where modern vehicles are shared, electric, and autonomous,” said Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Founded in Cambridge in 2017, Wayve fits a regular car with a range of cameras and…
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Deep in Sweden’s icy north sits a small factory where the country’s largest industrial players have been steadily validating a new technology that could clean up one of the dirtiest industries on Earth. Energy giant Vattenfall, steel-maker SSAB, and mining firm LKAB built the facility — located in the small town of Luleå — in 2020, as part of the HYBRIT project. The initiative aims to prove that steel can be made on an industrial scale using hydrogen and clean electricity. “Using hydrogen to produce steel is still in its very early stages,” an SSAB representative told TNW. “It represents…
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In an era where technological advancements continually reshape our world, one of the most significant emerging threats is quantum computing. This powerful technology, while promising revolutionary benefits, poses a substantial risk to our current cybersecurity infrastructure. As we stand on the brink of this quantum revolution, it is imperative to understand the potential dangers and prepare accordingly. The quantum leap Quantum computing harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics to perform computations at speeds unimaginable with classical computers. In 2019, Google proclaimed to have demonstrated “quantum supremacy” when its Sycamore processor solved a problem in 200 seconds that would take…
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Here’s a timely reminder of the benefits that immigrants bring to startups: 39% of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing companies have a foreign-born founder. That’s according to new research the Entrepreneurs Network, a think tank based in London. The findings show “the critical contribution” that international talent makes to the UK, the report’s authors said. Undoubtedly, they have an outsized impact on the country’s startups. Immigrants comprise an estimated 14.8% of Britain’s total population, yet they’ve founded over one-third of its fastest-growing businesses. The new data echoes prior research from across the world. Studies show that most billion-dollar startups in the US…
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This just in: French prosecutors have charged Telegram’s Russian-born founder Pavel Durov with a wide range of crimes and banned him from leaving the country. He’s now placed under a heavy judicial control with twice-a-week police check-ins and has to post a €5mn bail, according to a statement by Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau. This development marks a major milestone in what seems to be one of this year’s most important technology news stories that started less than a week ago when French authorities arrested Durov at Le Bourget airport outside Paris. Soon after, the prosecutor’s office released a list…
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As one of millions of adults who grew up building Lego, the company’s digital adventures distort my childhood memories. Yet my screaming inner infant can’t derail the transition. Our beloved bricks have now been in video games for nearly three decades. Since debuting on Sega Pico in 1995, the Lego games empire has expanded across over 80 titles and 200 million sales. The biggest hits have come from licensing deals. Collaborations with Star Wars, Marvel, and Harry Potter have shifted copious copies — despite their dubious quality. Buoyed by the results, the company has started splurging on games studios. In 2022,…
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AI is here to stay, for better or for worse. In the business world, the exponential use of artificial intelligence has sparked both hopes of unprecedented productivity — and fears of job loss. According to a recent survey by EY, more than two in three employees in Europe are worried that AI will eliminate jobs. Blunt announcements by prominent European tech companies are doing nothing to help alleviate these concerns. One of those companies is Sweden’s Klarna. The buy-now-pay-later unicorn aims to cut almost half of its workforce thanks to AI. In the company’s second quarter results on Tuesday, CEO…
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Exactly 65 years since the first Barbie doll was released, the Barbie Phone has finally arrived. As you might expect, the flip-phone is pink. Very pink. And it comes with all sorts of glittery extras so you can bedazzle it to your heart’s content — and relive some late-90s Barbie nostalgia. The phone is also dumb. Very dumb. No social media, no apps — just good ol’ fashioned SMS and calls. But that’s the point. “It is the perfect tool to live your best life and take a vacation from your smartphone,” said its creators, Finnish company Human Mobile Devices…
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Up Catalyst has closed a €2.36mn seed extension round to accelerate the development of an industrial pilot reactor that turns CO2 emissions into carbon materials. According to the Tallinn-based startup, the reactor will be able to produce 100 tonnes of CO2 per year. These can deliver 27 tonnes of advanced carbon materials, such as carbon nanotubes and graphite — a key component of EV batteries. The company’s technology isolates CO2 from flue gasses from heavy industry emitters. It then uses a process called molten salt electrolysis to turn it into green carbon. “We’re essentially electro-transforming carbon dioxide gasses into carbon…
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Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza’s ideas on religion, ethics, and human freedom laid the foundation for many of the basic morals and values of modern society. And now you can tap some of the 17th century philosopher’s old-school wisdom straight from your smartphone. Today, the Dutch Humanist Association launched a WhatsApp chat where a Spinoza-inspired chatbot can provide answers to your most pressing questions. Is humanity doomed? Are we alone in the universe? Is this a matrix? Would it be unethical to deport Elon Musk to Mars? All important considerations that you can refer to Spinoza’s digital doppelganger. “Spinoza’s timeless wisdom…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Ioanna and Andrii talk about the international expansion of Bolt, the benefits of Europe’s big tech regulation, the recent blue moon appearance, electric vehicles in Norway, and more. You’ll also hear an on-stage interview with Lethabo Motsoaledi, co-founder and CTO of Voyc, focussed around the practical aspects of deploying AI in a startup environment. Here are the stories and things…
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In a UK first, drones have successfully delivered blood packs, flying beyond the visual line of sight, where the pilot can no longer see them as they travel. The flights were part of a joint trial between the NHS and healthcare logistics startup Apian. Its aim was to test the viability of blood samples following drone transport. To do this, the research team sent 10 identical blood packs between Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s Wansbeck Hospital and Alnwick Infirmary, and back again. Five of them travelled via drone over a 68km journey in a total of 61 minutes. The other…
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In March, a plane transporting UK defence minister Grant Shapps to Poland had its GPS signal jammed as it flew near Russian territory. While the disruption forced the plane to use alternative ways to navigate for over half an hour, the British aircraft was most likely not the intended target. Russia regularly jams satellite signals to disrupt enemy equipment — from drones to tanks. These attacks often spill over to other GPS users in the area, including commercial aircraft. The UK government is responding to this rising threat by building a massive anti-jamming facility in Wiltshire, it announced today. The…
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Europe’s Juice spacecraft has completed the world’s first lunar-Earth flyby. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer — aka Juice — harnessed the gravity of Earth to sling itself in the direction of Venus. The route will provide a shortcut to Jupiter through the inner Solar System. Juice made it closest approach to the Moon at 23:15 CEST on August 19. Gravitational forces then guided the spacecraft towards a closest approach to Earth at 23:56 CEST the next day. The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the manoeuvre. By harnessing the gravity of both the Moon and Earth, ESA successfully altered the flight’s speed…
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The European Commission today approved €5bn in German state aid to support TSMC’s chip plant in Dresden — its first in Europe. Dubbed European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC), the fab is a joint venture between the Taiwanese chip giant, the Netherlands’ NXP, and Germany’s Bosch and Infineon. TSMC will own 70% of the factory, while the European chipmakers will each have a 10% equity stake. The €5bn state aid is part of the EU’s Chips Act, which aims to increase the bloc’s share of global chip production to 20% by 2030. It’s also the biggest grant to date under the…
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A rocket engine has exploded during tests for a landmark space flight from the UK. The fire erupted at SaxaVord Spaceport, which aims to host the first vertical launch into orbit from Western Europe. German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has exclusive access to the spaceport’s first launch pad. On Monday evening, RFA planned to complete a nine-engine test of its launch vehicle. But disaster soon struck. At 22.42 CEST, the company announced that an “anomaly” had destroyed the first stage of the RFA ONE rocket. Footage of the incident shows the engine sending a fireball into the night sky. A longer video from…
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Robot coaches that read brain signals could pave a new way for the rehabilitation of stroke and brain injury survivors. That’s according to the EU-funded VITALISE project, led by researchers from the UK’s National Robotarium and developed in partnership with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. The three-month trial, which was completed in Vienna, targeted individuals with upper limb impairments. These affect approximately 80% of acute stroke survivors and are a common side effect of brain injuries. Improving arm function in such cases involves practicing task-specific exercises repeatedly. But often, lack of motivation or visual progress indicators can negatively affect…
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SportAI has grand plans for tennis analytics. The startup wants to not only enhance a player’s technique, but also the racket they swing. The Norway-based business analyses sports footage in real-time. It then delivers instant, personalised feedback. For tennis players, the system serves up coaching advice. For racket makers and retailers, the insights can return product recommendations. “The AI analyses a player’s technique, identifying specific needs based on their style and level of play and recommends equipment that enhances their performance,” Lauren Pedersen, SportsAI’s CEO, told TNW. “It can identify the need for specific racket weights, or specifications suited to…
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Female-led Apheros has raised $1.85mn to tackle a pressing problem for the tech sector: the exponential energy consumption of data centres. Data centres are the foundation of our digital infrastructure,housing the servers, data storage systems, and networking equipment necessary to power everything online. They’re also critical for the development of emerging technologies, such as AI and high performance computing (HCP), which are driving up energy demand. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centres consumed 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2022. In 2026, this number could reach over 1,000TWh — which is roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption…
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Finland’s first-ever commercial hyperspectral satellite has successfully launched into space. The satellite — named Hyperfield-1 — is the brainchild of Finnish startup Kuva Space. Kuva equipped the spacecraft with a hyperspectral camera, which captures detailed data on wavelengths of light. When materials on Earth absorb these wavelengths, they produce “spectral fingerprints.” The hyperspectral camera will record these fingerprints, which Kuva will analyse with machine learning. The company will then provide tailored insights to customers. Kuva is targeting a diverse user base. Farmers could monitor their crops in minute detail. Defence ministries could surveil the seas. Industrial sites could detect chemical leaks.…
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German-Finnish internet anti-hero Kim Dotcom is perhaps one of the most eccentric, and divisive, figures in tech history. A serial cybercriminal to some, an large-than-life legend to others. You either love him or you hate him. Either way, boy does he know how to generate headlines. News broke this week that Dotcom is being extradited to the US to face criminal charges related to his defunct file-sharing service Megaupload. In 2012, US authorities accused Dotcom of conspiracy to commit racketeering, wire fraud, copyright infringement, and racketeering in relation to the website. Since then, the multi-millionaire has been hiding out in…
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UK fintech Revolut has been valued at $45bn following a share sale by employees, making it Europe’s most valuable private tech company and shaking up the world of traditional finance. An employee share sale is when staff sell their company shares either to the company they work for, external investors, or on the open market. In Revolut’s case, its employees sold a portion of their shares to investors including Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, and Tiger Global, among others. Revolut’s new valuation puts it above the market capitalisation of most of Britain’s oldest banks, including Barclays, Lloyds Bank, and NatWest. Only…
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British police will experiment with uncrewed aircraft as part of new drone trials in the UK. Britain’s aviation regulator has backed the project, which the National Police Air Service (NPAS) will lead. The tests will focus on flights “beyond the visual line of sight” — meaning the operators won’t see their drones. The police will instead rely on tech for navigation, control, and detection of other aircraft. NPAS has high hopes for the approach. In 2021, the service launched a “Futures and Innovation Team” to explore flights beyond the visual line of sight. The team envisions the drones joining a…
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Although Mozart has no living descendants, his music still has countless inheritors. The latest in the lineage — born just this summer — is a digital twin. German tech giant Siemens conceived the prodigious clone. Last month, the company brought the system to Mozart’s hometown of Salzburg. Located at the foot of the Alps, the scenic city is hosting the prestigious Salzburg Festival of music and theatre. Classical notes are soaring through the sultry air. They’re sweeping across outdoor stages and around opera halls. Some have even entered the digital twin. Like every digital twin, the system is a virtual model…
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Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is celebrating a $138 billion profit from the first half of the year, but has put the champagne on ice. The $1.6 trillion fund credited the returns to investments in tech. Driven by surging demand for AI, technology stocks surged during early 2024. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — the largest in the world — reaped the benefits. Its equity portfolio gained 12% in the six months through June. Nvidia provided the largest cash injection. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and TSMC also chipped in big sums. Over a quarter of its equity investments (26%) are now in tech. But…
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The English Premier League is giving offside calls a (semi) automated upgrade. The new system revamps arguably the most controversial rule in sports. First introduced back in 1863, the offside law prevents sneaky footballers from camping by the goal. In its current iteration, the rule only applies to attackers in their enemy’s half. Once they enter that space, teammates can only pass to them when they’re behind at least two opposition players. Sounds confusing? Well, allow me to clarify. Players can be offside when any part of their body is beyond the defenders. Or maybe when there’s daylight between them.…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Andrii talk about a potential solution to the issue of death from overwork, the UK’s attention to AI companies, table tennis robots, and a very important decision that NASA is facing this week. You’ll also hear an on-stage panel discussion with healthcare professionals on some of the most important technologies that are changing the industry as we speak,…
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The robot arms train every night. About half a dozen of them, flexing in silence. They practise picking up items thousands of times over, to test whether their latest algorithms are working as intended. And in the morning, Nomagic’s engineers turn up for work to check how the machines did. “This is a never-ending effort,” says co-founder and chief of strategy Tristan d’Orgeval. If the robot arms performed as intended, the updated algorithms get uploaded to the Warsaw-headquartered company’s live system. Nomagic currently has 70 employees and has raised $39 million to date. Right now, dozens of the firm’s robot…
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Dawn Aerospace is a small startup with big ambitions: to build the first vehicle to fly over 100 km above the Earth — twice in one day. A couple of weeks back, the budding company — headquartered in the Netherlands and New Zealand — took a major step toward that goal. Its reusable, rocket-powered Mk-II Aurora aircraft reached speeds of Mach 0.92 (967 km/h) at altitudes over 15km. While far from its eventual target, that is three times the speed and five times the height of its previous test, conducted last year. The startup has more flights scheduled for…
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Much has been said today about the interview that took place on Monday between Elon Musk and Donald Trump on X. Delayed by technical reasons, which Musk blamed on DD0S attacks, the two-hour conversation has been labelled, among other things, “surprisingly dull,” “rambling,” and “friendly.” The exercise in mutual admiration of the two “planet-sized egos” had Trump blaming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on President Biden. He also stated that “millions of people” were flooding US borders in a month, and claimed that climate change and sea levels rising wasn’t so bad because you would “have more oceanfront property, right?” Ahead…
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Go was first released as an open source programming language in 2009, and it’s had its ups and downs over the past 15 years. Although it was only released in November 2009, Go saw such a dramatic rise in interest that it was named the 2009 Programming Language of the Year by the TIOBE Index, which awards this title to the language with the highest rise in rank in a full-year period. In just two months, Go had rocketed to the top 20 of the Language of the Year ranking, which tracks a language’s popularity according to how often it’s…
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UK startup OXCCU has opened a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) demo plant at London Oxford Airport, as it looks to make a dent in emissions from air travel. OXCCU spunout from Oxford University in 2021. The startup has developed a type of eFuel made by converting captured CO2 and hydrogen into SAF using renewable electricity. SAF is designed to be used as a “drop-in” fuel, meaning it can be blended with traditional jet fuel and used in existing aircraft engines without modifications. The most well-known kind of SAF is used cooking oil, but companies are currently exploring more scalable alternatives…
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Balderton Capital today announced the closing of its $1.3bn early stage and growth funds in a sign of the European tech sector regaining investor confidence and momentum. We are often disconcerted at the lack of support for European entrepreneurship and innovation in comparison to that across the pond. However, there are investors who champion the region’s changemakers, such as Balderton, which invests exclusively in European startups and scaleups. The new funds — the $615M Early Stage Fund IX and the $685M Growth Fund II — will back “Europe’s most ambitious entrepreneurs from seed stage through IPO,” the VC said in…
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Climate-focused venture capital funds have already raised $6.9bn since the beginning of 2024, up from $5.2bn for the entirety of 2023, according to a new report from Venture Capital Journal. While climate VCs have closed less funds overall — 24 compared to 26 last year — the average pot size has swelled from $202mn to $267mn so far in 2024. This climate tech cash boost is largely reflective of a new fund from billionaire Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV). The American climate tech funding vehicle recently closed its third fund at more than $839mn. BEV also closed a smaller,…
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Sweden remains the leading startup ecosystem in the EU, second only to the UK in Europe as a whole. That’s according to this year’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index Report by StartupBlink. In the past decade, the Nordic nation has emerged as one of the world’s top tier startup hubs. Home to over 7,000 startups and scaleups, Sweden has also minted 41 unicorns to date. This includes high-profile companies such as Spotify, Klarna, and NorthVolt. In addition, the country is the European leader in exit value above $1bn, also outperforming global powerhouses Singapore, Israel, and Canada. Numerous factors are behind Sweden’s…
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Swiss startup Terra Quantum announced today it has landed a contract to embark on a study with the US Air Force for a network utilising post-quantum cryptography, quantum key distribution, and quantum random number generators. Terra Quantum is the recipient of a grant from the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) fund for technologies with applications for the defence industry. The aim of the specific project is to create a long-range, ultra-secure communication network that will be virtually unhackable even as quantum computing technologies progress. The news comes as the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is getting ready…
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New scientific understanding and engineering techniques have always impressed and frightened. No doubt they will continue to do so. OpenAI recently announced that it anticipates “superintelligence” — AI surpassing human abilities — this decade. It is accordingly building a new team, and devoting 20% of its computing resources to ensuring that the behaviour of such AI systems will be aligned with human values. It seems they don’t want rogue superintelligent AIs waging war on humanity, as in James Cameron’s 1984 science fiction thriller, The Terminator (ominously, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is sent back in time from 2029). OpenAI is calling for…
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UK-based Riverlane announced today it has secured $75mn in Series C funding to meet “surging global demand” for quantum error correction — and propel it on its path toward 1 million error-free quantum operations by 2026. Quantum technologies hold the potential to forever alter the way in which we think about computation. Specifically, quantum computing can unlock a range of transformative capabilities across industries such as pharmaceuticals, logistics, and energy. But in order for that to happen, two things need to occur — scaling of the number of physical qubits and a significant reduction in error rates. Qubit neutrality There…
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TikTok will permanently withdraw its controversial Lite Rewards programme in the EU to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA) — a sweeping content moderation rulebook for online platforms. TikTok Lite is the data-light version of the app, designed to work at slower internet connections and in devices with small memory capacity. Its Rewards programme allows users to earn points by liking content, watching videos, following creators, and inviting friends to join the platform. They can then exchange these points for rewards, such as Amazon vouchers. The strategy is as simple as it is disturbing: rewarding screen time with financial…
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A new app hopes to provide a “lifeline” to the 2.5 million people in the UK with ADHD. Cog ADHD combines access to specialists with in-app treatment tools. The system is the brainchild of Dom Longford, who founded Cog ADHD after enduring his own struggles with the condition. Longford had a breakthrough when a doctor recommended a new approach. Developed by scientists at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, the framework divides treatment into five modules. Each module corresponds to skills that address a common ADHD impairment, from coping with distractions to addressing procrastination. Trials show the approach can dramatically…
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It’s Friday, and you know what that means! That’s right — it’s time to talk about working yourself to death. It’s a fate we could all face. Take your humble writer, forced to slave away his Friday at a battered keyboard, squeezing out my last words like a lemon that’s been thrown to hordes of starving rats (love you, boss). It’s a tough life, I know — thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. But at least I’m not in Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun, overwork death is so common that it has a special name: karoshi.…
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A new European Citizens’ Initiative has launched to try and make it illegal for game publishers to render games useless to players. Should it succeed in getting 1 million signatures, the European Commission will have to consider making it law. One of the most frustrating things you can encounter as a gamer is when a publisher decides to kill one of your favourite games. This can happen for a number of reasons — licence agreements expire, server maintenance becomes too costly, end-of-life-strategies to push players towards new titles, etc. An increasing number of games rely on servers to run. If…
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The thought of espionage usually conjures quirky high-end gadgets, like umbrellas that turn into lasers and x-ray glasses, misty morning clandestine meetings, or high-speed boat chases in exotic locations and elaborate disguises. Today, the reality might be much less sexy — but way more effective. State-sponsored hackers have 9-to-5 jobs, just like the rest of us. They have offices, vacations, and chit chats in the coffee room. But from behind their computers, they’re running campaigns to infiltrate systems across the world capturing sensitive data from governments, companies, critical infrastructure, or even individuals who could have access to this data. “We…
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The European Union’s AI Act entered into force yesterday. It is the world’s first comprehensive regulation for artificial intelligence. First agreed upon in December 2023, the law is applying a risk-based approach. The strictest measures only apply to “high-risk” systems, including tools related to employment and law enforcement. The regulation entirely prohibits AI systems deemed “unacceptable,” such a social scoring or police profiling. For “minimal-risk” AI, such as spam filters, there are no additional requirements. For “limited-risk” systems like chatbots, companies need to inform users that they’re interacting with AI. The Act also introduces a special set of rules for…
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Google has been accused of exploiting a regulatory gap to terminate a startup’s access to the Gmail API. London-based Gener8 said the API is “critical” to its business. The company offers people control of the data that the likes of Gmail harvest. Users can then monetise their information. Thousands of firms already harvest and sell this data. That’s how Google became the fourth most valuable company in the world. Gener8 promises to take the power back. The startup has built an app that shows users the data that businesses have about them. They are then offered two options. One prevents tracking from third-party companies.…
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Twelve semiconductor startups taking part in the UK’s ChipStart scheme have raised over £10mn in funding from private investors and grants, the British government announced today. Launched in October 2023, ChipStart is an incubator programme. It aims to provide early-stage chip designers with the technical and commercial support they need to bring new products to market. Run by semiconductor accelerator Silicon Catalyst.UK, the £1.3mn initiative offers nine months of training and mentorship. It also opens up access to design tools, IP, and prototyping capabilities as well as a network of private investors. Among the 12 startups, London-based MintNeuro recently secured…
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Google DeepMind announced today the release of the 2 billion (2B) parameter version of Gemma 2, the second generation of its Gemma AI models. First launched in February this year, Gemma is a family of lightweight, text-to-text open models designed for developers and researchers — and built on the technology that powers Google Gemini. DeepMind released Gemma 2 in June, in two different sizes: 9 billion (9B) and 27 billion (27) parameters. The new 2B model learns from larger models through distillation and produces outsized results, DeepMind says. The company also claims that it outperforms all GPT-3.5 models on the…
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Google’s partnership with GenAI startup Anthropic is raising eyebrows in the UK as the trend of big tech giants backing young AI companies continues. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Tuesday that it’s collecting information on whether the partnership qualifies as a merger and negatively impacts UK competition. In October, Google-parent company Alphabet reportedly committed $2bn to the San-Francisco based startup, which has developed ChatGPT rival Claude. This followed a prior $300 investment in return for a what was said to be a 10% stake. The CMA is now asking “interested parties” to provide comments on the deal…
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London-based Stairpay has raised £750k in Pre-Seed funding to help first-time home buyers navigate the shared ownership process — and ultimately move to full ownership. For individuals facing challenges entering the (overcrowded) UK housing market, shared ownership offers a potential solution. This government scheme allows buyers to purchase a share of a property (usually between 25% and 75%), while paying rent on the rest to a housing association that co-owns it. “Shared ownership is just one way of facilitating gradual home ownership,” Floris ten Nijenhuis, founder of Stairpay, told TNW. Automating shared ownership Founded in 2022, the startup has developed…
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The UK’s new Labour government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes during its first term in office. To achieve this, it promises planning reform and the reintroduction of local housing targets. Yet little attention has been given to the role of new technologies. Drones have the potential to transform the construction industry in the UK. However, our recent study in ACM Journal on Responsible Computing reveals that laws governing commercial drone deployment in the UK remain conflicting, chaotic, and sometimes, contradictory. In construction, drones can monitor site progress, conduct safety inspections, and even lift heavy materials, with some models…
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Just as the sun rises and sets, some things are inevitable. Consider technology. As soon as something new emerges, people invariably find a way to abuse it. In recent years, this mantle has fallen on artificial intelligence (AI) and one of its most troubling side effects — the rise of nonconsensual deepfake pornography. The idea is as simple as it is horrendous: using digital tech to create fake and explicit images or videos of someone. While this has been bubbling in the internet’s underbelly for several years, recent improvements in AI tools means this sort of content is getting easier…
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Several long-distance fibre-optic cables in France were “sabotaged” overnight, according to local police, causing widespread disruptions to internet services across the country. The perpetrators remain at large, as the cat-and-mouse between police and criminals at the Olympics continues on the sidelines of sprints, swims, and shot puts. The internet cables were severed early on Monday morning, said network provider Netalis on X. Junior Minister for Digital Affairs Marina Ferrari condemned the attacks, calling them “cowardly and irresponsible.” Paris, where most of the Olympic events are taking place, has not been affected. Whether the attacks were intended to disrupt the Games…
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The race for semiconductor leadership is on — and European chip startups are rising to the challenge. Europe is already home to high-profile chip companies including ASML, NXP, Arm, and Infineon. However, it lags behind in manufacturing capacity. The EU is currently producing about 10% of the world’s semiconductors. The UK accounted for 0.5% of chip sales globally in 2023. In an ongoing battle against chip giants in Taiwan, China, and the US, both the EU and the UK are doubling down on leveraging their particular strengths in R&D and chip design. The goal is to gain a competitive advantage…
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Dutch airline KLM has teamed up with British-American startup ZeroAvia to develop a liquid hydrogen-powered turboprop aircraft. The partners aim to conduct a flight demonstration between two yet-to-be-named airports in 2026. ZeroAvia builds hydrogen-electric powertrains that can be retrofitted onto new or existing aircraft. The company has raised over $300mn from the likes of Airbus, Amazon, and British Airways to realise its vision for zero-emission flight. Hydrogen-electric engines use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity. This then powers electric motors that turn the aircraft’s propellers. The only emission is water vapour. Credit: ZeroAviaZeroAvia has conducted several flights of a…
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Elon Musk could have yet another problem with the European Union. Musk’s X has enabled the Grok chatbot to be trained on data from any user. This feature is now on by default, which may breach EU rules. Deep within the settings of X, users unearthed evidence of the data harvesting. Besides a check box that was already ticked, they spotted the following text: “Allow your posts as well as your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok to be used for training and fine-tuning.” This approach could violate the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The law restricts companies from…
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Popular LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr has disabled location-based features for users within the Olympic village of the Paris Games, which kicked off today. The measures are not designed to stop athletes hooking up between sprints, swims, or shot puts — they’re a safety precaution. “If an athlete is not out or comes from a country where being LGBTQ+ is dangerous or illegal, using Grindr can put them at risk of being outed by curious individuals who may try to identify and expose them on the app,” said Grindr. Grindr has disabled features like “Roam” or “Explore,” which allow users to…
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The Paris Olympics 2024 kicked off today. But as the City of Light opens its gates to millions of spectators, officials are bracing themselves for a cyber war. Analysts predict that there could be as many as four billion cyber attacks at this year’s Games. The official Paris Olympics 2024 app is particularly vulnerable. “This app handles vast amounts of personal and transactional data, making it a prime target for cybercriminals,” said Sakthi Mohan, cloud security lead at California-based Synopsys Software Integrity Group. The Paris Olympics app has already been downloaded over 10 million times on Google Play. It allows…
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Installing and updating applications and other dependencies on a computer really should be a solved problem by now. Yet almost every major desktop operating system provides multiple options, with no real clear answer to “which is best.” Linux, despite long-established package managers such as apt, deb, and rpm, just to name a few, still suffers from confusion and inconsistency between open source vs proprietary instals, as well as between developer tools and more user-focussed tools. Additionally, many package developers don’t even distribute to any package managers, or the versions you find in them are outdated. Windows isn’t much better, with…
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An exercise machine for astronauts has entered an Airbus accelerator. Built by UK startup Physical Mind London, the device mitigates the impacts of zero gravity, which can be brutal. After six months in space, astronauts can lose up to 20% of their bone mass. Their muscles can also shrink dramatically. On short flights, they can suffer muscle loss of 20%. If no countermeasures are applied, this can rise to 50%. Physical Mind London wants to provide those countermeasures. The company’s flagship product is the HIFIm (High Frequency Impulses for Microgravity machine). HIFIm provides a workout based on one special exercise: jumping.…
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Inside a hangar on the outskirts of Gothenburg, Sweden, lies the sleek metal frame of an electric plane poised to change the way we fly forever. The hangar belongs to Heart Aerospace. The Swedish startup is building a hybrid-electric 30-passenger airliner called the ES-30. It could offer a cleaner, cheaper alternative to short-haul flights on routes across the world. Unlike other battery-powered planes — like flying cars or air taxis — the ES-30 looks, for lack of a better word, pretty normal. “A lot of companies obsess over how an electric aircraft will look. We are thinking about how an…
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London-based Addionics has raised $39mn in funding as it eyes commercialisation of its 3D ‘current collectors’ that can boost the performance of any battery, regardless of its chemistry. The venture capital arm of General Motors and Israeli VC fund Deep Insight led the round, with participation from Swedish truck-maker Scania. The startup has developed a 3D-structured ultra-thin copper foil that can simply “drop in” to existing battery architectures. The so-called current collector minimises internal resistance within a battery, allowing energy to flow more efficiently. This improves capacity, charging time, and battery life. While these benefits apply to all batteries, Addionics…
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Revolut has finally won a UK banking licence, intensifying the neobank threat to traditional finance. The breakthrough ends a painful wait for Europe’s most valuable fintech firm, which first applied for a licence in January 2021. Regulators were reportedly concerned about Revolut’s accounts, but politicians offered vocal support. Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor, called the company a “shining example from our world-beating fintech sector.” With the new license, Revolut can push that sector further into mainstream finance. But first, the company must complete a “mobilisation stage,” designed for testing systems before a full launch. According to the Bank of England, this…
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A UK startup is installing electrostatic tyre-dust collecting machines on a fleet of EV delivery vans in London, as it looks to make a dent in the world’s second-largest source of microplastic pollution. When cars drive, friction between the tyre and the road surface causes tiny rubber particles to break off, where they disperse into the air, water, and even our bodies. Tyres contain a number of toxic chemicals, exposure to which has been linked to cancer, lung disease, and even mass die out of river salmon. “We’re all well aware about exhaust emissions from cars, but the enormity of…
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After 12 years in business and several strategic pivots, British unicorn Improbable has achieved profitability for the first time. Improbable credited the milestone to yet another business shift. After numerous attempts to create virtual worlds, the company has reinvented itself as a venture builder. “Venture building has proven to be the optimal model for both Improbable and the metaverse, as experimenting with various use cases is key to achieving adoption,” said Herman Narula, Improbable’s founder and CEO. A new financial report substantiates his claim. In 2023, Improbable’s revenues increased by 37% to reach £66mn. With a total profit of £11…
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DeepL, the Cologne-based AI translation unicorn, has added Traditional Chinese to its language portfolio, strategically expanding its presence in Asian markets. Since its launch in 2017, DeepL has emerged as Europe’s Google Translate rival. But unlike Google, the startup is primarily focusing on business customers. “Translation is really important for businesses,” Jarek Kutylowski, founder and CEO of DeepL, told TNW in a previous interview. “Nowadays, companies start going global and expanding into other markets very quickly, so they get customers in different areas.” DeepL’s expansion in Asian languages To date, the startup supports over 20 European languages. It first entered…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Andrii talk about AI in healthcare, the future of European solar, Crowdstrike and Formula 1, astronomers detecting deepfakes, and much more. You’ll also hear an on-stage conversation with Remon Berrevoets, co-founder and director of R&D at Q*Bird, with whom Linnea spoke at the TNW Conference about quantum tech, and specifically the technology of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) that…
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The UK hopes to produce water on the Moon with a space mirror that reflects solar rays onto lunar ice. The device is the brainchild of the British Interplanetary Society (BIS), the world’s oldest space advocacy organisation. Boffins at the BIS named the device “Ganymede’s Chalice,” after a mythical cup that turns mortals into Gods. On the moon, their elixir is frozen. They want to melt it into water through a technique called solar concentration. Automated cranes will first place the lunar ice into an air-locked crucible. A curved mirror will then reflect sunlight onto the ice. Using heat from…
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It’s a common saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Now, researchers claim that they can also reveal deepfakes with the help of tools that study galaxies — by looking at eyeballs. According to the research by Adejumoke Owolabi, master’s student at the University of Hull in the UK, it’s all about how the light is reflected in the eyes. Working together with Kevin Pimbblet, astrophysics professor and director of the Centre of Excellence for Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Modelling, Owolabi compared real images with AI-generated deepfakes. To analyse the reflections of light in they eyes of…
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It’s a taunt that’s reiterated to the point of cliché: Europe is a good place to start a tech business, but a bad place to scale one up. The causes are contentious but their impact is undeniable. None of the 10 most valuable tech firms in the world are in Europe. The US, meanwhile, is home to eight of them. Inevitably, that builds dependencies on digital services from across the Atlantic. Our businesses, our public services, and our critical infrastructure all depend on big tech companies. We are all at the mercy of their whims, their weaknesses, and their rulers. When…
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Cultivated meat is now approved for sale in Europe — but don’t break out the fine China just yet. The first dishes are exclusively reserved for pets. Our furry friends can now legally dine on cultivated chicken from Meatly, a startup based in London. The company announced on Monday that British regulators have rubber-stamped sales of the product. By providing the green-light, the UK has become the first European country to commercialise lab-grown meat. “It’s the start of a viable and sustainable alternative to traditional dog food,” Meatly’s CEO and founder, Owen Ensor, told TNW. That sustainability derives from bringing the…
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From your phone to your clothes or even the breakfast you ate this morning, there’s a high chance a boat transported it from where it was made to where you bought it from. The global shipping industry accounts for around 90% of world trade. Most of these goods are ferried by giant cargo ships that carry huge amounts of stuff. But, they’re slow and not exactly nimble. This can result in long waiting times for shipments. What’s more, diesel-guzzling cargo ships contribute around 3% of global CO2 emissions — more than air travel. German startup CargoKite wants to replace these…
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Samsung has snapped up UK startup Oxford Semantic Technologies, in a bid to “hyper-personalise” user experiences with AI. Founded in 2017, Oxford Semantic specialises in knowledge graphs, which integrate and analyse data. The technology powers countless applications, from voice assistants to search engines. Oxford Semantic baked knowledge graphs into a product called RDFox, which the company describes as an “AI reasoning engine.” The system supports an array of use cases, from recommendation engines to anomaly detection in transactions. For Samsung, the software provides a chance to develop sophisticated and personalised AI solutions. The company will use the knowledge graphs to integrate information…
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Danish startup Again has raised money… again. Google Ventures and Berlin-based HV Capital led the $43mn funding round, which brings the startup’s total to date to just shy of $100mn. Again takes waste CO₂ from industry, combines it with hydrogen and then feeds the concoction to a host of millennia-old bacteria. The little germs devour the brew, turning it into commercial-grade compounds like acetate. This is the base chemical in everything from plastics and cosmetics to paint. Again spun out from over a decade of research led by Dr. Torbjørn Jensen and Professor Alex Nielsen at the Danish Technical University,…
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While this year thus far has been less profitable for ASML, the tech giant saw orders for its chip making machines increase again over the past three months. According to the company’s earnings report for the second quarter of 2024, net bookings (i.e. orders) reached €5.6bn — rising over 24% year-on-year. A significant chunk consisted of orders for ASML’s EUV machines, which accounted for €2.5bn. The Dutch company is the world’s sole manufacturer of these Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines which produce the most high-end chips, such as the ones used for AI. The rise in EUV orders is in…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Andrii talk about the launch of Ariane 6 and its consequences, the woes of Firefly, robotic laundry folding, the math of swimming, and more. You’ll also hear a panel discussion Andrii moderated a few weeks ago at the Pendomonium + #mtpcon Roadshow in Amsterdam. The session was called “AI in practice at Europe’s leading companies” and featured speakers…
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Today, UK error-correction specialist Riverlane and startup Atlantic Quantum announced they have entered into a strategic partnership to scale fluxonium-based qubit architecture and advance the technology towards useful quantum computing. It is a really encouraging time to be writing about quantum tech. Beyond the fact that it is increasingly being acknowledged as a strategically important technology by security agencies and governments globally, after decades of feeling just five years out of reach, the sector has truly begun to gather momentum. And what is increasingly driving the acceleration is partnerships where two players have honed their specific part of the technology…
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Since its launch in 2017, DeepL has successfully rivalled machine translation giants such as Google Translate. Today, with the launch of its new large language model (LLM), the startup aims to raise industry standards even higher. In alignment with the unicorn’s technology development strategy, the new LLM is specifically built for translation and editing. According to DeepL, this fine-tuning to language is what enables it to produce more human-like translations and reduce the risk of hallucinations. Unlike general purpose models, the LLM doesn’t rely on the internet for training. Rather, it uses DeepL’s proprietary data, tailored for content creation and…
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Sixty years ago the animated series The Jetsons finished its first and only season before being cancelled. Just 24 episodes were broadcast between September 1962 and March 1963. Despite this, the cartoon has achieved huge influence in popular culture, with countless reruns, a reboot in the mid-1980s (51 episodes over two seasons) and a feature-length movie in 1990. The Jetsons was created by the Hanna-Barbara animation studio in Los Angeles as a futuristic version of the studio’s hit series The Flintstones, the first cartoon series to gain a prime-time slot. But whereas The Flintstones was set in a distant, mythical…
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Yandex founder Arkady Volozh is building a cloud service platform for developers to train artificial intelligence models. Named Nebius Group, the company says its aim is to become a European global leader in AI infrastructure. The launch follows news from yesterday that Yandex had successfully sold its Russian assets in a $5.4bn deal, in what constitutes the largest corporate exit from the country since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine over two years ago. Yandex was a rare Russian tech success story. The most talented developers in the country came together to build a company that went on…
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UK-based AI startups are now worth $256bn, according to new data from Dealroom and HSBC Innovation Banking. They also account for 22% of the country’s innovation ecosystem value — up from 12% in 2019. In the first half of 2024, startups in the field raised $2.1bn. And this amount is projected to more than double in the coming five months. This means they’re on track for another record-breaking year, following a $4.1bn total investment in 2021. The leading AI rounds span a wide range of applications, covering sectors such as energy, healthcare, law, and finance. London-based Wayve, which develops artificial…
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UK-based Huma has launched today the Huma Cloud Platform, a “Shopify-like” tool for the healthcare ecosystem to design, build, and launch digital health services. “The digitalization of the healthcare ecosystem is a transformative force that is reshaping how we deliver and experience healthcare and how we conduct research,” Dan Vahdat, founder and CEO of Huma, told TNW. Founded in 2011, Huma has been working with national healthcare providers and big pharma. Its technology powers digital clinical trials, remote patient monitoring (RPM), and companion apps for patient support. Now, with the Huma Cloud Platform, the scaleup is bringing its technology to…
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UK-based Naked Energy has raised £17mn in a Series B round to boost the global expansion of its solar tech solutions. Founded in 2009, Naked Energy set out to help decarbonise heat generation, which contributes over 40% of global CO2 emissions. The scaleup has developed a pair of modular solar collectors, called Virtu. It claims they are four times more efficient at offsetting emissions compared to conventional solar PV panels. The VirtuHOT collector uses solar thermal technology to heat water from the power of the sun to up to 120°C. The VirtuPVT collector combines solar thermal technology and photovoltaics (PV)…
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If there’s one area where AI can truly have an unprecedented positive impact, it is healthcare — especially when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of currently incurable diseases such as dementia. The condition affects over 55 million people worldwide, with nearly 10 million new cases every year. Dementia’s most common type, Alzheimer, contributes to 60%-70% of all cases. Globally, the cost of the disorder on healthcare systems reached $1.3tn in 2019. The psychological cost is even higher. Suffering from the disease may trigger depression and anxiety. Let alone the indescribable emotional impact of seeing a loved one “disappear”…
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French startup AdCreative.ai has launched a new large language model build exclusively for advertising. Named AdLLM Spark, the system was built to craft ad text with high conversion rates on every major advertising platform. AdCreative.ai said the LLM combines two unique features: instant text generation and accurate performance prediction. Working with Nvidia, the startup trained the model on real-life ad copy. The training data encompasses every text generated by AdCreative.ai for its 2,000,000 users. It includes information from eight leading advertising platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Pinterest, and TikTok. Alongside the ad copy, the dataset contains 840 million lines of…
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When Ariane 6 suffered a glitch on its first flight, the mishap felt strangely inevitable. Nearly half of all rockets fail on their first launches. After a troubled development and four years of delays, Ariane 6 looked like a prime candidate to join the list. The launcher was commissioned to create a European pathway into the cosmos. Since the retirement of Ariane 5 last July, the continent has had no independent access to space. Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the internal market, described the problem as an “unprecedented crisis.” A failure to launch on Tuesday would have deepened the woes.…
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Japanese tech group SoftBank has acquired yet another British chip player. This time it has snapped up Bristol-based AI processor developer Graphcore, whose very survival was in doubt over the past year. The acquisition comes as investors compete to back the next big thing in AI. Moreover, larger tech companies who feel that their own in-house AI capabilities are falling short have been searching high and low for acquisitions that can mitigate these inadequacies and give them a leg up on the competition. And it would seem they are increasingly looking to Europe for potential targets. Just this week, the…
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Tech bros are for the first time poised to become pivotal players in highly sensitive sectors: national security, space exploration, and more. Most recently, NATO’s €1B Innovation Fund announced investments in eight startups and VC firms with a focus on emerging military and defense technologies. As the startup ecosystem has become more sophisticated, it is now starting to disrupt these tightly controlled sectors, which were until recently the domain of governments and legacy institutions. Take these examples: Space is quickly becoming the next battleground for geopolitics — and private companies are now dominating cosmic exploration. Military conflicts are being defined…
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Innovation thrives at the intersection of academia and entrepreneurship. Universities serve as breeding grounds for startups poised to disrupt industries with their novel ideas and cutting-edge technologies. Yet, the path from academic breakthroughs to commercial success is laden with challenges, particularly for DeepTech companies with extended development timelines and hefty capital requirements. Here, venture capital emerges as the indispensable catalyst. Venture funds play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between academic research and commercialisation. They provide not only the necessary capital but also invaluable mentorship and industry connections, essential for navigating the complexities of bringing transformative technologies to market: …
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Military AI startup Helsing has raised a whopping €450mn at a reported valuation of €5bn. The German company said the war chest will fund security for NATO’s Eastern Flank. Founded in 2021, Helsing has rapidly grown into one of Europe’s defence tech leaders. It’s now also among the continent’s most valuable AI startups. This rapid rise has coincided with increasing alarm about Russia’s threat to Europe. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, defence budgets have soared across the region. Helsing has provided an intriguing target for the funds. The company develops AI software for weapons, vehicles, and military strategy.…
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UK-based startup Oxford Ionics today announced a significant achievement for its ion-trapped quantum processors, demonstrating over twice the performance of the previous world record — without using error correction. While not providing exact numbers, Oxford Ionics says it used “10x less” qubits than its competitors, and set the performance record for both single-qubit and two-qubit gate operations. Furthermore, its chips can be manufactured in existing semiconductor facilities. Quantum technologies have seen tremendous evolution over the past couple of years. More than one giant breakthrough, there has been an incremental accumulation of developments from many different sources. While it is too…
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Whisper it, but startup funding is showing signs of a rebound. Venture capital investment in Europe has risen by 12% so far in 2024, according to Dealroom. By June, the financing for startups and scaleups had reached $29.3bn. If the current spending rate continues, this year will become third-most active ever for VC in the continent. The leading industry for investment is energy, which raised $5.6bn during the first half of 2024. This continues a trend from last year, when energy companies topped the funding charts in every quarter. There have been shifts, however, in the sector’s biggest targets. Hydrogen companies…
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PhotonDelta, a photonic chip accelerator in the Netherlands, has opened an office in Silicon Valley — marking a milestone moment for the Dutch semiconductor sector. The move is part of PhotonDelta’s goal to create a unified photonic chip industry that leverages the capabilities of both European and US-based companies. Founded in 2018, the organisation has built an integrated photonics ecosystem in the Netherlands, which boasts an end-to-end value chain, from design and manufacturing to packaging and testing. In 2022, it received a €1.1bn investment from the Dutch government to boost the country’s position in the field. Photonic chips use light…
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US chipmaker AMD has agreed a $665mn (€614mn) deal to buy Finnish startup Silo AI, one of Europe’s leading artificial intelligence firms. AMD announced the all-cash transaction on Wednesday. The Californian company described the acquisition as “a significant step” towards delivering end-to-end AI solutions. It will also give AMD new tools to compete with Nvidia’s high-performance chips. Silo has been acclaimed for building large language models (LLMs) — particularly for low-resource languages. In May, the startup launched an LLM that covers Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, as well as English and programming languages. At the time, the company said…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Andrii talks about fusion energy in Europe, ‘the war on floppy disks’, and more. The guest of the show is Daniel Keiper-Knorr, general partner at Speedinvest, with his vision on the early-stage startup ecosystem in Europe, the market consolidation processes, and a few things around that. Here are the stories and things mentioned in the episode: ITER troubles expose need for…
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Amid increasing interest in Iceland’s tech ecosystem, Reykjavik-based Frumtak Ventures has closed a $87M fund aimed at local startups. This is the venture capital firm’s fourth fund, following a €57mn predecessor in 2021. While sector-agnostic, Frumtak Ventures has so far mostly invested in B2B SaaS startups at the seed or Series A stage. The new fund will focus on the intersection of AI, software, and deeptech. It will especially target historically strong industries in Iceland, such as ocean tech, life sciences, logistics, travel, energy, and gender equality. “While the venture capital scene is relatively young compared to mature ecosystems such…
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Air taxis have been cleared for takeoff during the Paris Olympics — and President Macron has been offered a seat on the first flight. German startup Volocopter will deliver the flying taxis. A barge on the River Seine will provide a tiny airport for the vehicles. The French government confirmed the plans on Tuesday. In an official degree, public officials named the terminal the “Vertiport de Paris-Austerlitz.” The airport will accommodate vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles. Volocopter’s all-electric Volocity is the only air taxi authorised to use the terminal. The two-seater, 18-rotor craft earned the rubber stamp after over…
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Finally, Europe has regained independent access to space. The continent reestablished a sovereign launch capacity on Tuesday with the maiden flight of the Ariane 6 rocket. Built to take satellites into orbit, Ariane 6 lifted off from the European Spaceport in French Guiana at 16:00 local time (21:00 CEST). The rocket is now soaring into the cosmos with a payload of satellites and experiments. Once the cargo is dropped off, Ariane 6’s upper stage will burn up to reduce space trash. The demonstration mission aims to prove the launcher’s capabilities. It alsos close a dismal chapter for the European Space Agency…
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In a collab between big tech and telcos, Meta and Vodafone today announced the roll-out of network optimisation across 11 different markets in Europe to free up capacity and boost video quality. It is no secret that video content has exploded on the internet over the past couple of years. And it’s not just your ice-bathing guys or gals pushing the latest longevity schtick on YouTube, or Lady Gaga doing the “Wednesday dance.” Everyone from LinkedIn “thought leaders” to grandmothers dishing out life and baking advice are posting TikToks, reels, stories, and all the other kinds of short video snippets…
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Belgian startup Textgrain is building the world’s first AI model that will be capable of detecting hate speech online in all 24 official EU languages. Founded in 2016, Textgrain is a spinoff from the University of Antwerp. The company develops AI-based data management and analysis tools for enterprises, with services ranging from text analytics to measuring online sentiment on social media platforms and websites. It also focuses on the analysis of hate speech. In June, Textgrain was among the four winners of the EU’s Large AI Grand Challenge, calling for innovations in generative artificial intelligence and large language models (LLM).…
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TNW Conference 2024 showed us plenty of pathways the future of tech may take. As I mull over this year’s event, there are several lessons that stand out for Europe’s tech community while it seeks to navigate current challenges and opportunities. Tech growth in Europe We live in unprecedented times, to use one of the holdover clichés from the COVID era. The world is tackling several crises simultaneously: an attempted shift away from fossil fuels in the midst of lagging economic growth; and rising global tensions as the world seems to move towards multipolarity after a century of US dominance.…
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To protect critical underwater infrastructure from potential attacks or natural disasters, NATO is backing a project that aims to reroute internet from subsea cables to satellites in space. The Alliance will reportedly support the project with a grant of €400mn through its Science for Peace and Security Programme (SPS). While the initiative hasn’t been publicly announced yet, Eyup Kuntay Turmus — adviser and programme manager of the SPS — confirmed the project’s recent approval and imminent start to Bloomberg. Subsea infrastructure is vital but vulnerable Invisible but vital, subsea cables enable over 95% of the global internet traffic. They also…
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German quantum computing startup planqc yesterday announced a Series A raise of €50mn. A mere 18 months after its founding, the startup has already scaled its digital atom-based technology to over 1,000 qubits — something that puts it on par with industry giant IBM. The company is a spinout from the Max Planck Institute, and its technology was built at the Institute’s Quantum Optics (MPQ) department. Planqc says it expects to scale to 10,000 or even 100,000 qubits “in the next couple of years.” That would be a significant milestone not only for planqc, but for the European quantum computing…
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In Formula One, races are often won by slimmer margins than the naked eye can see. A tiny twist of a steering wheel, a twitchy step on a pedal, a fleeting lapse of concentration: any moment can determine success or failure. Frequently, these moments arrive when the car comes to a halt. When a driver hears the “box, box” call on their radio, they exit the main track for a pit stop. Instantly, a swarm of mechanics start changing tyres, making repairs, and adjusting settings. Within a few seconds, the vehicle is back in the race with a winning upgrade. At…
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When it comes to programming languages, it’s often the newest that garner the most attention. But according to Ted Kremenek, Apple director of languages and runtimes, programmers should be shaking off programming stalwart C++ in favour of Swift. “Swift’s safety, speed, and approachability, combined with built-in C and C++ interoperability, mean Swift is the best choice to succeed C++,” Kremenek said. 3 developer jobs hiring this week Software Developer F/M, Lyric Management Integrations, France Fullstack Developer (all genders), Mazars GmbH & Co. KG, Düsseldorf Software Developer, InTraffic, Woerden Even the White House has recommended that programmers move to memory-safe programming…
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Dutch venture capital fund manager LUMO Labs is launching a new €100mn fund for Europe’s impact-driven tech startups. Building on LUMO Lab’s existing investment strategy, the new Rise Fund will target startups that develop emerging technologies which align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The technologies include AI, blockchain, IoT, VR, and AR. Their application needs to serve LUMO Labs’s focus areas of SDGs: Good Health and Wellbeing, Quality Education, and Sustainable Cities & Communities, and Climate Action. The Rise Fund will also aim for more regional diversification beyond the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium where LUMO Labs is mostly…
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Europe is set to regain independent access to space tomorrow, July 9, when the long-awaited Ariane 6 rocket lifts off for the first time. The heavy-lift satellite launcher — commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) and made by ArianeGroup — was supposed to replace its predecessor, Ariane 5, right after its retirement a year ago. But a series of delays in developing Ariane 6, problems with the Vega-C small-lift launcher, and the loss of access to Russia’s Soyuz rockets following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, left Europe with no launch system of its own. As a result, for the…
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ITER, set to be the world’s largest experimental fusion reactor, has been delayed yet again. The €25bn megaproject will only switch on in 2034, and start producing energy in 2039. That’s almost a decade later than originally planned. Thirty-five nations including the UK, US, China, and Russia launched ITER in 2006 to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. But startups may end up beating them to it. As private companies race to commercialise fusion energy, it’s increasingly clear that ITER will take on a more supporting role. But that doesn’t mean it’s obsolete. ITER, one of history’s…
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Amar Shar, the co-founder of British AI unicorn Wayve, has backed Oshen, a budding startup building miniature autonomous sailboats. The little robots could transform the way scientists monitor everything from ocean temperatures and waves to biodiversity. The Plymouth, UK-based startup was founded last year by Anahita Laverack and Ciaran Dowds, two young engineering graduates at Imperial College London. The startup is building small solar-powered “seaborn satellites” that sail around the ocean gathering data. The little robots could make marine data acquisition more accessible than ever before. “We want to do for the sea what smallsats did for space: revolutionise access…
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Remember when during the 2017 crypto-craze a beverage company renamed itself “Long Blockchain” and saw its stock price quintuple? Today, much like back then, you’d be hard pressed to find a company that isn’t shouting from the rooftops about adopting the transformative technology du jour, i.e. artificial intelligence. Those building AI tools and hardware are basking in investor and media attention, whereas those using them are quick to boast about driving evolution, optimisation, and productivity through cutting-edge technology. In terms of impact on business and the world at large, AI is in a category of its own. Its seismic potential…
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The EU today confirmed huge new tariffs for EVs imported from China. From Friday, provisional charges of between 17.4% and 37.6% will be imposed on the vehicles. The lowest level will apply to BYD, an automaker based in Shenzhen. Geely, which owns Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus, faces duties of 19.9%. SAIC, a Chinese state-owned carmaker, will receive the maximum 37.6%. Other companies will be subject to new tariffs of 20.8%, the weighted average. These fees will come on top of a 10% duty that was already in place. As a result, prices of EVs in Europe could increase. Beijing may…
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ITER — which is set to become the world’s biggest fusion reactor, and one of history’s most expensive science experiments — has reached a key milestone on its mission to create a mini Sun on Earth. But despite the apparent progress, the megaproject has also been hit by yet more delays and surging costs. Nineteen giant magnetic coils — each measuring 17 metres tall and weighing 360 tonnes — have finally been delivered to southern France, where ITER is being constructed. The magnets will form a cage around a donut-shaped chamber called a tokamak. Here they will create a magnetic…
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A new EU project plans to expand adventures in the cosmos with a suitably space-age technology: lasers. The INPHOMIR initiative is developing the lasers to enhance spacecraft sensors. By emitting tiny pulses of light, the devices could improve the precision of satellite navigation. Their accuracy stems from their resistance to the harsh conditions of space. When vicious fog and dust descend upon satellites, traditional sensors are often impeded. These disruptions can have severe impacts. A tiny measurement error can cause chaos to space missions — and cost millions of euros. Lasers provide a promising safeguard. Their ability to function in…
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Cowboy has made the ebike industry’s first foray into gaming. The Belgian ebike maker has launched three games — Race, Burn, and Push — that allow you to battle it out with other riders on a range of real-life challenges. In Race, you compete against another rider in a 500-metre sprint. Your first dual will be against a stranger with similar stats. But with every win, your opponent gets a little bit tougher. Burn is an intense one minute calorie-burner, while Push tests your ability to keep pedalpower above a certain threshold for 15 seconds straight. Races are not live for…
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The UK leads Europe for generative AI patent filings — but Germany is closing the gap. That’s according to new data from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a UN agency that tracks patents. WIPO today released a report on 54,000 GenAI inventions from the decade ending in 2023. Over 25% of them emerged in the last year alone. The findings show that China has built a wide lead in the field. Across the decade, over 38,000 GenAI patents were filed by the country. That’s a whopping six times more than the second-place US, which filed 6,276. Rounding out the…
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Aurea Imaging, an Utrecht-based agtech startup, has raised €2.8mn in a Series A round to scale up deployment of its sensor system for orchard farming. Founded in 2016, Aurea provides agronomic intelligence products for precision orchard management on the individual tree level. To maximise productivity by customising treatments for each tree, the startup has developed TreeScout, a tractor-mounted sensor system. Powered by 3D computer vision and edge computing processing capacity, TreeScout scans the trees as the tractor drives through the orchard. Then, it collects data and uploads it on the cloud. TreeScout asseses each tree, looking at factors such as…
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The warm weather finally arrived! But before we begin to wind things down for the summer months, let’s catch up once more with the latest developments in Dutch tech. Of course, in our mind, the best news from the week that passed was our own TNW Conference taking place in Zaandam, just outside of Amsterdam. (Next year we are back at one of our favourite locations at NDSM island, grab your 2-for-1 tickets now!) This year featured some of the best keynote speakers and panellists in our 18-year history, along with rich networking opportunities and the signature festival feel that…
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Claims of the next fastest-charging EV have become so common, they’ve almost completely lost their meaning. But Nyobolt might just have something to brag about. The UK startup has successfully charged an EV from 10% to 80% in just four minutes and 37 seconds — just enough time to grab a coffee. Nyobolt achieved the feat at a race track in Bedford, England on Thursday, using its own specially designed electric sports car fitted with its own specially designed battery. The Cambridge University spin-out has tinkered with the chemistry of a standard lithium-ion battery to allow it to accept more electrical…
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Eindhoven-based startup Axelera has raised $68mn as it looks to take its AI chip business global. One of the lead investors is Samsung Catalyst, the venture arm of the semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics. Axelera is developing AI chips that enable computer vision and generative AI in edge devices like robots and drones. Because they’re located within the devices themselves, the AI chips can process data in milliseconds without the need to upload or download data to the cloud. This delivers high computing performance at a fraction of the cost and energy consumption of centralised AI models, said the startup. Axelera…
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Lynn Conway may hold the record for longest delay between being unfairly fired and receiving an apology for it. In 1968, IBM — a company that now covers its logo in a rainbow flag each June for Pride Month — fired Conway when she expressed her intention to transition. She died on June 9, 2024 at age 86. IBM eventually apologised to the now-famous computing expert, but only 52 years later, when Conway was 82 years old. Although Conway’s start as a trans woman while at IBM was inauspicious, she quickly found a new job under her post-transition name and…
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Artificial intelligence is the big thing right now, with industries from finance to health care to retail scrambling to adopt AI or risk being left behind. But speaking as professors of business, we think some companies might be jumping the gun. Our recent research suggests that service providers shouldn’t automatically jump on the AI bandwagon. Instead, they should make a choice informed by their strategy. In short, when it comes to AI and service firms, more isn’t necessarily better. Why service providers face a different calculation Are you a manufacturer? Then if AI reduces your costs without lowering quality and…
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If you follow European AI news, you may have read that Finland’s Silo AI and Germany’s Aleph Alpha recently established a partnership to deliver “sovereign AI.” It would seem whoever is responsible for partnerships at Silo is keeping busy, as the company today announced yet another collaboration, this time with investor darling Mistral AI. The past couple of years have seen businesses scramble to implement AI, often even before they know how they are actually going to use it, for fear of being left behind. Without proper implementation and the correct solutions and models, the promises of efficiency gains and…
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As AI boosts demand for more data storage, Europe is considering sending data centres into space — and the plan is not as outlandish as it may first appear. A 16-month, €2 million study has concluded that space-based data centres are technically, economically, and environmentally feasible. Thales Alenia Space and Leonardo coordinated the ASCEND study, which was funded by the EU. The research also tapped expertise from the likes of Airbus, ArianeGroup, and the German Space Agency. “Deploying data centres in space could transform the European digital landscape, offering a more eco-friendly and sovereign solution for hosting and processing data,”…
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A report published today by McKinsey on the state of the global quantum tech sector has found that Europe is spending more and more in public funding on technologies such as quantum computers, quantum sensors, and quantum communications. Quantum technology is increasingly recognised as being of high geopolitical and strategic importance. Governments are drafting national quantum strategies, and many quantum computing and other quantum tech projects are overseen by ministries of defence. The technology could also add trillions of dollars in value across several different industries in the next ten years. With Europe progressively focused on “digital sovereignty,” it is…
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Boxing is a whimsically old-fashioned sport. Feuds are settled in fights, traditions are revered, and ageing faces run the show. Fifty years since their heydays promoting Muhammad Ali, the 92-year-olds Don King and Bob Arum remain leading powerbrokers. They work with overlords who operate in the shadows. In this world, oversight is resisted and new tech greeted with suspicion. At world title fights, judges still fill out scorecards on scraps of paper. They follow four extremely subjective criteria: “effective aggression,” “ring generalship,” “clean punches,” and defence. All these concepts are open to interpretation. Inevitably, they frequently create controversial decisions. The…
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A Silicon Valley startup is developing a hot rock battery that could be the next big thing in energy storage — and it’s coming to Europe. The giant brick toaster is the brainchild of San Francisco-based Rondo Energy. The startup believes it could be a cheap, scalable way to decarbonise industries making everything from steel to soap. Rondo has already raised over $100mn from investors including Microsoft, mining conglomerate Rio Tinto, and Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas giant Aramco. Speaking of Microsoft, Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures was Rondo’s first major investor. And this week, the climate tech fund opened…
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The EU’s supercomputer alliance yesterday announced the winners of its AI startup competition. Four companies will split €1mn — and precious uptime on world-class high-performance computer systems to train their models. Training and running AI requires massive amounts of computational resources. For example, Microsoft built Eagle, one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, for its new investment OpenAI. Elon Musk is on track to build a massive Nvidia-based supercomputer for xAI, his new artificial intelligence startup. It is no secret that the EU has been pushing hard for what it calls “digital sovereignty.” Fearful of once again of being left…
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Twenty-six years. That is roughly how much of our lives are spent asleep. Scientists have been trying to explain why we spend so much time sleeping since at least the ancient Greeks, but pinning down the exact functions of sleep has proven to be difficult. During the past decade, there has been a surge of interest from researchers in the nature and function of sleep. New experimental models coupled with advances in technology and analytical techniques are giving us a deeper look inside the sleeping brain. Here are some of the biggest recent breakthroughs in the science of sleep. 1.…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode — recorded with live audience at TNW Conference 2024 — Linnea and Andrii talk about post-quantum cryptography, competitive Excel, and a few more things in between. The guest of the show is Maria Amelie, CEO and founder of Factiverse. The company has just raised €1mn in funding to further build its platform that helps researchers, journalists, and everyone else to…
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Carbon removal platform Supercritical today announced the launch of its live pricing and availability function for global biochar projects in support of the transparency of the budding carbon removal market. Most have heard of carbon offsetting — and of the junk credits often associated with it. However, the newer term of carbon removal credits (CRC) might just provide more bang for the climate change buck, if measured, verified, and paid for correctly. To prevent CRC going down the same questionable path as offsets, Supercritical is on a mission to “bring radical transparency to the carbon removal market.” To that effect,…
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Opera is unveiling today the new version of its flagship AI-centric browser, Opera One, which first launched in 2023. With Opera One, the Norwegian company became one of the early adopters of generative AI applications in web browsing. Its native chatbot, Aria, provides a set of tools such as summarisation, translation, and information search. Dubbed Opera One R2, the new version is now available for testing. It aims to expand the AI capabilities, this time focusing on the multimedia experience. Opera One R2 comes with additional features, such as image generation and image understanding, which makes it possible for users…
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Helsinki-based Valpas has raised €4mn in a seed round to tackle a crawling menace: bed bugs. The bed bug outbreak in Paris last year spread apocalyptic vibes across the hotel industry and beyond. Containing the pest infestation proved and remains a challenging task. These insidious hitchhikers travel on clothes and in luggage and spread and multiply rapidly. For hotels, this doesn’t only entail the cost of extermination. It’s also a cause of revenue loss from reduced or cancelled bookings from travellers wanting to avoid sleepless nights or having to throw their luggage into the pits of hell upon return. Let…
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Amid tense relations between big tech and the EU, Meta has announced its second AI startup accelerator in Europe. The accelerator targets startups that want to integrate open-source foundation models (such as Llama and Mistral 7B) into their products. To deliver the programme, Meta has once again teamed up with Hugging Face, a US-based open-source platform that hosts machine learning models and tools, and Scaleway, a European cloud provider for AI infrastructure. The initiative will initially select five startups in the MVP (minimum viable product) or product stage. The finalists will receive technical mentoring by teams at Meta’s AI research…
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It is notoriously difficult for startups in life sciences and biotechnology to get investments for lab facilities and equipment to be able spin out from universities. To that effect, Superlab Suisse operates facilities where biotech startups, scaleups, and their staff can access state-of-the-art equipment according to a “lab as a service” business model. The company today announced the opening of its second space in biotech hub Basel, Switzerland. The 4,770 square metre space will offer ready-to-use laboratory spaces, along with essential operational support services. “We are thrilled to bring Superlab Suisse’s innovative platform to Basel, the city of Pharma,” said…
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Swiss startup Neustark has raised $69mn to take its carbon capture technology global. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and Singaporean investment firm Temasek led the funding round. Neustark captures waste CO2 from biogas production. It injects it into recycled concrete, which then gets reused to make new roads and buildings. The concrete stores the carbon for at least 100,000 years, even if it gets demolished. “We turn the world’s largest waste stream — demolition concrete — into a carbon sink,” said Johannes Tiefenthaler, co-CEO and co-founder at Neustark. Neustark was founded in 2019 by Johannes-Tiefenthaler and Valentin Gutknecht. Credit:…
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Move over Clojure, there’s a new kid on the block; Zig has emerged as the best-paying programming language for developers in 2024. That’s according to the latest Stack Overflow survey. The poll, which included 89,184 software developers across 185 countries, found that Zig developers command the highest median salaries, earning $103,000 per year on average. Just 0.83% of the surveyed developers reported they were proficient in Zig, underscoring its relative obscurity and scarcity in the talent pool. 3 well-paid tech positions hiring now Project Delivery Manager (H/F/X), Octopus Energy Group, Paris Administrator FLUX GATEWAY / Secure TRANSPORT H/F, Consort France,…
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Business leaders continue to panic around a perceived lack of AI skills. According to Salesforce data, only one-in-10 global workers have so-called “in-demand AI skills.” This concern is reflected among senior management, with Deloitte finding that 68% of executives report a moderate-to-extreme AI skills gap. In fact, the phrase “AI skills” is a misnomer, and executives would do well to avoid blindly talking about it. Instead, leaders should focus on how humans can manage and work alongside AI tools. After all, AI is just like any other technology: we need to learn how to integrate it into our lives. In…
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France and China blasted a new satellite into space on Saturday, in an increasingly rare example of cooperation between a Western power and the world’s second largest economy. The Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) launched atop a Long March 2C rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwestern China. The probe will survey the cosmos for gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe. Beijing Time June 22, 2024 15:00: China-France SVOM satellite was launched by Long March 2C rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. 118th space launch in 2024, China’s 29th, 2nd this month, 4th for Long March…
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It’s been a tough few days for Apple in the EU. On Friday, the company announced it would delay the roll-out of its much anticipated AI suite due to regulatory issues. Today, the European Commission warned the tech giant that its App Store is in violation of the bloc’s sweeping online competition rules. The Cupertino-based company is among the tech giants (designated as “gatekeepers”) that have to comply with the EU’s landmark law, known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA). One of the act’s fundamental provisions is the ban of anti-steering for app platforms. This means that consumers have the…
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Swedish green cement startup Cemvision has inked a deal with energy giant Vattenfall, as industrial companies look to cut their emissions from one of the world’s most polluting materials. Cemvision has devised a greener way to make cement. It uses by-products from industries like steel and mining instead of fresh limestone, slashing emissions. “We’re on track to producing cement that emits 95% less carbon than traditional methods while remaining just as strong and potentially even faster-drying,” Oscar Hållén, CEO of Cemvision, previously told TNW. Vattenfall plans to use the green cement in the foundations of new wind turbines and power…
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The TNW Conference grounds opened up yet again this morning for Day 2 filled with many participants coming back for more (some less fresh than others after last night’s karaoke cruise) and new speakers and participants who joined us for the first time, adding some unique perspectives to the mix. Here’s a wrap-up of five interesting talks and ideas that floated around throughout the day. Beyond green products: Change the system, not just the design In this eye-opening discussion, Bas van Abel, Founder of Fairphone, Matthew Cockerill Independent Design Innovation Consultant, and Linnea Ahlgren, Senior Editor at TNW, discussed the…
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Day 1 of TNW Conference kicked off with an array of inspiring sessions, insightful panel discussions, thought-provoking performances, and of course, a ton of meetings that will fuel the next wave of innovation across the tech ecosystem. We were joined by 3,500 startups, 1,750 corporates, 600 investors, 2,000 tech ecosystem representatives, and 100 journalists for a full day of insights. These ranged from the critical role of AI in shaping tomorrow’s world and business environment, the evolution of tech work in a post-pandemic world, sustainable innovations, AR and VR, how to learn from mistakes as a startup founder — and…
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A fact-checking startup has accelerated plans to banish AI hallucinations after securing €1mn in funding. Norway-based Factiverse uses machine learning to verify content generated by artificial intelligence. The company’s tools automatically detect inaccurate outputs. These errors now frequently cause controversy. A New York lawyer, for instance, had to apologise for using bogus court citations sourced from ChatGPT. CNET needed to correct 41 of the 77 stories that the news outlet had written with an AI tool. Microsoft’s Bing AI has produced numerous errors in analyses of earning reports. The company’s chatbot has also claimed it spied on employees. Factiverse offers a solution to…
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Leading post-quantum cryptography (PQC) startup PQShield today announced a Series B raise of $37mn. This comes as organisations and businesses hasten to get “quantum-ready,” ahead of the first PQC standards being released in a few weeks time. While today’s NISQ era quantum computers are not a danger to traditional means of encryption, future machines have been identified by among others the NSA as a threat to cybersecurity. Once they become powerful enough, quantum computers could break most cryptographic schemes. Hence the need for post-quantum cryptography. PQC aims to develop new cryptographic systems that will remain secure even from cyber attacks…
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TNW Conference 2024 is finally here! As we here at The Next Web attend many conferences throughout the year (although few are as much fun and inspiring as our own, if we may say so ourselves ), we know that they can sometimes feel a little overwhelming with everything that is going on. That’s why we have put together this handy overview of what to expect — and we can’t wait to see you there! Time flies — TNW turns 18! This year, TNW Conference turns 18. What started as an idea for a few tech-interested people to come together…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Ioanna and Andrii talk about the jumbo funding round for Mistral, how AI is impacting copywriters, and also — which TNW Conference sessions we’re looking forward to. The guest of the show is Crijn Bouman, CEO and co-founder of Rocsys — a company that’s building hands-free charging solutions for electric vehicles. That involves a lot of robotics and AI, and…
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If you’ve already secured your ticket for TNW Conference 2024 taking place June 20 – 21 in Amsterdam, you probably already have your eye on several fascinating talks set to take place (if not, get some inspiration from our team here, here, and here). But there’s a lot more you can and should take advantage of while you’re there. Here are a few things not to be missed: Secure a spot on one of our new TNW Tech Tours & Industry Meet-ups This year, we’re introducing a new TNW Tech Tours & Industry Meet-ups component. Whether you’re interested in Emerging…
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Fitness and health tracking startup Circular today announced a host of new features including hardware upgrades for the latest version of its smart ring — the thinnest in the world. The upgrades arrive amid an escalating battle between smart ring manufacturers. While your FitBit and your Garmin and your Whoop bracelet wearables may all be easily distinguishable, you’d be forgiven for not immediately being able to tell the difference between the hardware of an Oura, Superhuman, or a RingConn from afar. As such, the features and software these health trackers come with are also their biggest differentiators — stylistic preferences…
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A new VR system that uses eye-tracking technology can calm children while they undergo Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning. Developed by researchers at King’s College London, the method aims to mitigate children’s tendency to move during MRI scans. by engaging them in immersive virtual reality experiences. Compared to adults, children are less likely to remain still inside the scanner, often negatively influenced by the large size of the machine and the loud noises. As movement can disrupt the quality of the images, doctors frequently have to resort to approaches such as sedation or general anaesthesia. To address this, the researchers have…
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Scientists have trained an AI algorithm to count the number of flowers on fruit trees using only smartphone images. The system could predict the size of a harvest months in advance — saving farmers time, money, and water. Researchers from Chile, Spain, and the UK’s National Robotarium developed the algorithm. The Robotarium is a centre for robotics and AI based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team looks to address a global problem. “In countries all across the world, farmers often rely on manual methods to estimate their yields, which can have a significant error margin,” said lead researcher Fernando Auat Cheein,…
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The BBC has invested £500,000 in a virtual events startup creating immersive gigs for the broadcaster. The UK-based Condense bills itself as the first company in the world to provide live streams of 3D videos in virtual spaces. Quietly, the startup recently began delivering these experiences to BBC audiences. Last month, Condense powered the BBC’s first-ever live virtual concert. Singer Sam Tompkins took the digital stage for the milestone. The BBC today revealed the partnership’s next moves. At their core is a virtual venue called the New Music Portal. It hosts interactive concerts that fans can attend from the comfort…
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NATO has confirmed the first group of European startups and venture capital firms it’s investing in as part of its €1bn innovation fund. Officially launched in 2023, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) is a multi-sovereign VC fund that will back early-stage deep tech startups and VCs targeting emerging technologies with military and defence applications. The list of technologies ranges from AI, big data processing, and quantum computing to biotech, novel materials, and spacetech. The NIF’s aim is to enhance the defence and security of the 24 members of the Alliance. Its headquarters are located in the Netherlands. “Enabling capital and…
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If I had to describe European tech growth over the last few years with one word, it would be ‘disruptive’. While it may seem cliché, I’ve chosen this word for many reasons. Through a positive lens, European tech ‘disrupted’ many key sectors in the early 2020s, most notably Life Sciences, Energy Transition, and DeepTech — which are pretty ‘disruptive’ industries in themselves, with goals to drive positive impact in the world. It’s worth noting that while DeepTech is an area of significant opportunity for Europe, it has also faced challenges largely due to a lack of government funding in certain…
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This article features an interview with Dan Rosensweig, who is speaking at TNW Conference on June 20. Check out the full event schedule here. Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform education for the better. But when ChatGPT launched in 2022, it caused schools and academia alike to panic. The AI model, able to reply to any question and write any text, was quickly denounced as a cheating-enabling tool — and one that undermined learning. Fast-forward to 2024, panic has ceased and the education sector has recognised the potential of large language models (LLMs) to provide support to both students…
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Most news readers from the UK and US are uncomfortable with AI-generated journalism, an extensive new survey has revealed. Like most journalists these days, I use AI sometimes — to help me transcribe an interview or summarise a text. But I have long opposed using AI to generate content. AI simply cannot be trusted to report the news. Researchers have shown that even the most advanced large language models (LLMs) can “hallucinate” incorrect information. Many display clear bias. My stance is clear, and it looks as if news readers concur. Only 23% of US respondents and 10% of those in…
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As we count down to TNW conference in Amsterdam on June 20 and 21, we’re previewing the sessions that we’re most excited about. This year, we’re seeing the EU take several big leaps toward building a stronger and more competitive future in space. In an ambitious step towards greater autonomy, the EU issued a call for bids to develop its own constellation of communications satellites, dubbed IRIS². This €6 billion ($6.6 billion) project is aimed at curbing the bloc’s dependence on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system after Elon Musk blocked Ukrainian forces from using its services in 2022. The interesting thing…
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This article features an interview with Jeroen van der Most, who is speaking at TNW Conference on June 20. Check out the full event schedule here. The generative AI boom is a double-edged sword for artists. On one side, the tech threatens to replace the future jobs of human creators, while exploiting their old work as training data without compensation. On the other edge of blade, AI is providing artists with empowering new tools. For Jeroen van der Most, they also empower his latest subject: vegetables. The Dutchman a pioneer of AI art. His portfolio stretches back way before the current text-to-image…
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Clean energy production from sources like nuclear, wind, and solar reached record levels in 2023, meeting over two-thirds of the EU’s electricity demand. Despite the progress, the Union must prioritise investments in innovative clean technologies that reduce its reliance on China, warns a new report by the EU’s Institute for Security Studies. Europe is notoriously dependent on China and other foreign powers for supplies of everything from solar panels and batteries to semiconductors. But where exactly should the EU put its money? “While the list of promising technologies that should merit greater attention is endless, limited resources call for prioritisation,”…
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Friday is finally here and so is this week’s round-up of tech news from the Netherlands! With less than seven days to go for TNW Conference in Amsterdam on June 20 and 21, this roundup comes with a twist: our editorial team’s picks of the event’s unmissable speakers and talks! But before we get to that, let’s dive into the news. News Highlights Amsterdam suspends shared cargo ebike service Cargoroo over ‘failed questionnaire’ (TNW) Report: The Netherlands is the leading startup ecosystem in the EU (TNW) Dutch home-building platform lands €1.1M to help solve housing crisis (TNW) The Netherlands invests €13M…
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UK scaleup Highview Power has secured £300mn to build a liquid air storage plant in Manchester. The UK government’s Infrastructure Bank led the funding round. Investment bank Goldman Sachs, British energy firm Centrica, and mining giant Rio Tinto also took part. The investment acts as a stamp of approval for an emerging technology that could help wean the country off dirty sources of baseload power like gas and coal. “We have to explore new, innovative ways to store energy so we have electricity available when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine,” said Chris O’Shea, group chief executive…
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As we count down to TNW conference in Amsterdam on June 20 and 21, we’re profiling some of the sessions we’re most amped about. As a cycling fanatic, I’m eagerly anticipating my conversation with Eliott Wertheimer, who joined VanMoof as co-CEO last year to rejuvenate the struggling ebike brand. VanMoof filed for bankruptcy last year, leaving tens of thousands of riders stranded. Despite being one of the most heavily funded ebike startups in the world, VanMoof had been making major losses on its ebikes for years. All startups struggle, especially those with big ambitions. Sometimes they go down for good,…
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Hackers linked to Hamas have been implicated in five cyberespionage campaigns targeting Palestine and Egypt. The evidence emerged in new research from ESET, a cybersecurity company based in Slovakia. Analysts at the firm detected five campaigns spreading trojanized apps to Android users. The attacks focus on user data espionage in Palestine and Egypt. The campaigns deploy multistage Android spyware, which ESET calls “AridSpy.” To distribute the spyware, the hackers used dedicated websites that impersonate real apps. In Palestine, they primarily harnessed a malicious Palestinian Civil Registry app. “In order to gain initial access to the device, the threat actors try to…
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The European Union has hiked tariffs for EVs imported from China, drawing reproach from Beijing and some of its own member states, including Germany, Sweden, and Hungary. The tough new tariffs range between 17.4% and 38.1%, on top of the existing import duty of 10%. If the EU enforces these provisional measures, Chinese EVs are set to become significantly more expensive in the bloc. For Brussels, the tariffs are a bid to level the playing field and protect European carmakers from cheap Chinese imports. But some EU member states and automakers fear that the measures could do more harm than…
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In May, a research team from MIT announced a new programming language, Finch. It’s designed to support both flexible control flow and diverse data structures. “Finch facilitates a programming model which resolves the challenges of computing over structured arrays by combining control flow and data structures into a common representation where they can be co-optimized,” say its creators. Not to be confused with the Swedish fintech of the same name (or equally, another identically-named language), Finch offers a sea-change in how programmers can approach structured array programming. Arrays are a computer science fundamental, and along with lists, are the foundations…
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Two of Europe’s emerging leaders in artificial intelligence have signed a deal to spread “sovereign AI” across the continent. Germany’s Aleph Alpha and Finland’s Silo AI announced the partnership today. The duo plan to create a “one-stop-solution” for European industrial firms exploring generative AI. Their collaboration brings together distinctive expertise. Aleph Alpha has been described a European rival to OpenAI, but with a stronger focus on data protection, security, and transparency. The company also claims to operate Europe’s fastest commercial AI data centre. Founded in 2019, the firm has become Germany’s leading AI startup. In November, it raised $500mn in a funding…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Ioanna and Andrii talk about some of the latest developments in the Dutch and European chips industry, Danish media and OpenAI, our spatial navigation skills, Chinese internet disappearing, and much more. The guest of the show is Zach Butler, Director of Events at TNW, to discuss the upcoming TNW Conference and everything around it, as well as get an impression…
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The Netherlands is the number one startup ecosystem in the EU, surpassing both Paris and Berlin. That’s according to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) by Startup Genome, which ranked the Netherlands at 14 globally. According to the report, the country has reached a $96bn ecosystem value between H2 2021 and 2023 — well above the global average of $29.4bn. During the same period, the Netherlands saw the birth of six unicorns, including Mambu and bunq. In 2024, the country has already added two: fintech startup Datasnipper and property management system Mews. Funding-wise, last year, Dutch VC-backed startups raised…
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The European Commission today launched the first version of Destination Earth (DestinE), an AI-powered simulator that looks to improve the accuracy of climate predictions. The first version of DestinE includes two models: one for extreme weather events and another for climate change adaptation. These models will monitor, simulate, and predict the Earth’s climate in great detail. “DestinE means that we can observe environmental challenges which can help us predict future scenarios – like we have never done before,” said the EU’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager. DestinE is powered by Europe’s high-performance computers (EuroHPC), including the LUMI supercomputer in Finland. The…
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As we count down to TNW conference in Amsterdam on June 20 and 21, we’re previewing the sessions that we’re most excited about. One of my must-see talks mixes two of my great passions: sports and technology. Bringing them together is António Félix da Costa, a world champion of Formula E — the electric cousin of the petrol-powered Formula 1. Da Costa is driving into the event for two special talks on Friday. First up is a keynote that will give an exclusive peek under the hood of high-tech race cars. Expect to discover the latest innovations in motorsports, from vehicle simulators…
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NATO’s Innovation Fund (NIF) has led a €9mn seed investment into German startup ARX Robotics, which builds unmanned ground robots for the battlefield. The startup’s war bots look like small tanks — but without guns. The vehicles drive around on treads, and can be fitted with equipment like radar, mine-sweeping devices, or medical stretchers. ARX sells four different machines. The largest carries military payloads weighing up to 500 kg — including injured soldiers — across the battlefield. Another model acts as a moving target-practice device, while another carries drones into combat. ARX’s robots can be fitted with equipment like radar,…
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The ocean covers over 70% of our planet. It regulates the global climate, is home to 80% of life on Earth, acts as a carbon sink, and supports the livelihoods of billions of people. As an avid swimmer and surfer I also think the ocean is simply bloody magnificent. However, the world’s oceans face unprecedented threats from pollution, overfishing, and climate change. This is undermining the health of an ecosystem that supports all life on Earth. In this era of rapid technological advancement, innovative solutions are emerging that can help reverse the damage. From autonomous drones and AI to blockchain…
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This year’s edition of TNW Conference is right around the corner — along with summer, we hope. We have a spectacular line-up of speakers and we cannot wait to share the special atmosphere that sets TNW apart from other tech conferences out there with you. Leading up to the event, the editorial team will be sharing some of their highlights and what not to miss from the TNW flagship conference taking place in Amsterdam on 20 and 21 of June. We hope you are as excited as we are and cannot wait to see you there. One of the sessions…
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Social media is central in many of our lives, but few would say that’s a good thing. Despite its initial promise, swathes of Europeans feel the technology has had a negative impact on society. While it promised to bring us together, the opposite has happened. Just look at any event from the past few years; whether it’s the war in Ukraine, countries swinging towards populism, or digital election manipulation, it appears social media has taken bad situations and made them worse. The strange thing is that even though we’ve coexisted with the technology for decades now, we’re no closer to…
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NATO’s Innovation Fund has co-led a $22.5mn (€21mn) investment into iCOMAT, a UK startup building ultralight composites for the aerospace, automotive, and defence sectors. NATO’s fund has a budget of €1bn to back startups developing deep tech for defence and security applications. This marks its first public investment since it launched last year. Founded in 2019 by Greek scientist Evangelos Zympeloudis, iCOMAT has developed a fully automated manufacturing process that turns carbon fibre into lightweight composite materials. Unlike conventional methods — which produce components by stacking multiple straight fibre layers — the company’s “world-first” technology enables fibre steering. This is…
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Friday is finally here and so is this week’s roundup of tech news from the Netherlands! From riveting developments in the chip sector to partnerships against financial fraud and concerns over smart camera technology, the first week of June has been action-packed. Here’s our pick of the hottest stories, startups, and insights. What we’re writing ASML’s new lab opens up access to its most advanced chipmaking machine Dutch chip giant NXP plans $7.8B chip plant in Singapore amid tensions with China What we’re reading Bunq and NVIDIA join forces to combat financial fraud with AI (FinTech Global) PwC warns of…
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Cars are great — until they break down, or need a service, or a roadworthy test. Then owning one can be a bit of a headache. Ricard Guillem knows this all too well. The 19-year-old from Barcelona grew up in a family of auto dealers and servicers. Guillem — who “was born with a phone in my hand,” as he puts it — felt that the family business was, for lack of a better word, outdated. “So many sectors have been disrupted by technology — Netflix with movies, Uber with taxis, Deliveroo with food delivery. But nothing like this really…
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Europe is set to outspend the US on clean energy this year — but neither will come close to China’s investments. That’s according to new research from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It estimates that clean energy tech funding will hit $2 trillion in 2024 — nearly double the figure for fossil fuels. The biggest magnets for the cash include renewables, electric vehicles, and nuclear power. Yet not every region is splashing the cash lavishly. China has emerged as the runaway leader. The country is tracking to spend $675bn this year, according to the IEA, which credits strong domestic demand for…
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A powerful privacy group has filed complaints in 11 EU countries about Meta’s plans to train AI models on personal data — without requesting consent from users. NOYB (none of your business) took the legal action over proposed changes to Meta’s privacy policy, which are due to take effect on June 26. The update would permit Meta to funnel years of personal posts, private images, or online tracking data into an undefined “AI technology,” NYOB said. The Vienna-based group warned that the Facebook owner could ingest personal data from any source. Meta could then share all the information with unspecified…
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Dutch semiconductor company NXP has teamed up with TSMC-backed Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) to build a $7.8bn (€7.2bn) chipmaking plant in Singapore. The new factory will make 300mm silicon wafers for 130-nanometre to 40-nanometre chips, which power applications in the industrial, automotive, consumer, and mobile markets. These chips are less advanced than those TSMC itself manufactures in Taiwan. But the 300mn wafer capability marks a first for VIS, which currently fabricates 200mm wafers at its existing plant in Singapore. The larger size of the 300mn wafers enables the production of a higher number of chips. Construction of the fab will begin…
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Europe’s space sector is set to end an “unprecedented crisis” on July 9 when the Ariane 6 satellite launcher flies for the first time. The journey would finally restore the continent’s independent access to space, which ended last July with the retirement of Ariane 5. Ariane 6 is the launcher’s chosen successor. The European Space Agency (ESA) commissioned the vehicle to increase launch capacity, but constant delays beset the plans have been beset by painful delays. The first flight is now four years behind schedule. Problems with the Vega launch system compounded the setbacks. Europe also lost access to Russia’s…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Ioanna and Andrii talk about critical minerals from Australia, the new AI Office, asteroids on Mars, a washing machine chime dispute, and more. The guest of the show is Henrik Green, General Manager Autonomous Technology at Einride, a self-driving truck scale-up based in Sweden. Here are the stories and things mentioned in the episode: EU, Australia strike critical minerals supply…
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Last week I rented a vehicle through one of the many popular car-sharing platforms. The whole process went pretty smoothly and I didn’t crash, which is always a good thing. But the one inconvenient aspect was drop off and collection. I had to cycle 10 minutes to the nearest available vehicle, store my bike somewhere safe, and then drive the car back home. When I was done with the vehicle I had to return it to one of the designated parking locations — always wary that the longer it takes to get there, the bigger the bill. While car-sharing is…
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A Swedish startup plans to bring automated sports streaming to the masses after raising $20mn to enhance its AI camera system. The Malmö-based Spiideo produces a suite of tools for broadcasting and data analytics. At their core is an AI model that mimics professional camera operators. “We’ve trained it specifically for the 15 sports we support to properly capture the nuances of each one,” Patrik Olsson, Spiideo’s co-founder and CEO, told TNW. The finished model guides the movements of panoramic cameras. Once installed at grounds and arenas, the system can fully-automate sports broadcasting and streaming. Spiideo also provides video analytics for live game…
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ASML, the sole producer of chipmaking machines used in the world’s most advanced semiconductors, has opened a test lab for its High NA EUV lithography equipment, its most high-end tool to date. The laboratory, located in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, is a joint venture between ASML and Belgian chip research company imec. It will provide leading chipmakers and other materials and equipment suppliers with early access to the High NA EUV prototype scanner. The High NA machines represent the latest advancement in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, which use light to draw chip patterns on the silicon wafer. According to ASML,…
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Airbus has unveiled an unmanned stealth drone concept that would assist human fighter pilots during armed aerial combat. The full-scale model of the prototype aircraft — simply called “Wingman” — will be on display at the International Aerospace Exhibition ILA in Berlin this week. Airbus says Wingman’s tasks will range from reconnaissance and jamming targets to shooting at enemies on the ground or in the air. In aviation, a wingman is a pilot who flies alongside the leader of a flying formation. These pilots provide mutual support and backup in a mission. However, Airbus’ new drone won’t have a pilot…
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Microsoft plans to invest $3.2bn (€2.9bn) to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure in Sweden, marking the company’s biggest single investment in the Nordic nation. The initiative aims to help boost Sweden’s competitiveness in the burgeoning artificial intelligence sector. As part of this goal, Microsoft will deploy 20,000 of the most advanced GPUs — needed for AI training — to its three existing data centres located in Sandviken, Gävle, and Staffanstorp. The tech giant will use Nvidia’s chips. It is also considering using chips from AMD alongside its own semiconductors, Microsoft’s President Brad Smith said in an interview. Over the…
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A Dutch startup has devised a way to convert mountains of plastic waste into chemicals essential for the production of a wide range of goods, from bottles to batteries. BioBTX has patented the process — known as Integrated Cascading Catalytic Pyrolysis — and just secured €80mn to scale it up. Armed with the fresh funds, the company will build a factory in Groningen capable of converting 20,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year into chemicals like benzene, toluene, and xylene. Scientists refer to these hydrocarbons as aromatic compounds due to their unique smell. Aromatics form the building blocks of the…
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Swedish VC firm Creandum — an early backer of Spotify and Klarna — has raised €500mn to fund budding European tech startups. The fund comes at a potentially watershed moment for tech investment in Europe. After a two-year capital dry spell in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector is showing signs of a comeback. “We feel very bullish about the prospects for Europe,” Creandum said in a statement. “In the last quarter, we saw upticks both in funding and valuations largely driven by AI and SaaS.” Creandum’s fundraising follows a number of other big deals made this year.…
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In our diverse and interconnected world, learning foreign languages is not only a powerful skill, but also essential for cross-cultural communication. But as translation and interpretation tools become more and more advanced, supercharged by generative AI, a question emerges: will technology replace the need for learning foreign languages? “AI won’t make language learning obsolete,” says Arne Schepker, CEO at Babbel, which claims to be the world’s first language-learning app. “But it will redefine it.” Babbel has been in the language education space since 2007. The Berlin-based unicorn now offers over 60,000 courses in 15 languages, targeting the needs of both…
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Spain’s privacy watchdog has barred Meta from launching two features on Facebook and Instagram that the tech giant says were intended to encourage users to vote in the upcoming EU elections. The tools, dubbed Election Day Information (EDI) and Voter Information Unit (VIU), would send notifications to all eligible Instagram and Facebook users in the EU, reminding them to vote. Both features were set to be rolled out imminently across the EU (except for in Italy, which already has an ongoing dispute with Meta over the matter). You’d assume that the more people that vote, the better for democracy. But…
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Friday is finally here and so is this week’s round-up of tech news from the Netherlands. We’ve had seven dynamic days of digital developments. From banking hacks and Booking fakes to malware and memes, the end of May’s been action-packed. Here’s our pick of the hottest stories, startups, and speeches. What we’re writing ESA satellite launches Dutch tech into space to study climate change Netherlands, France, and Germany lead ‘largest ever’ botnet sting What we’re reading Geert Wilders deepfake slips through Meta and X filters (BNR) Booking is misleading customers with fake discounts, incomplete prices, consumers association says (NL Times)…
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STMicroelectronics has announced plans to build a giant factory in Italy that will make specialist microchips for EVs and other high-voltage power devices. The Swiss firm is the world’s largest producer of silicon carbide microchips, particularly valued by automakers for being lightweight, energy-efficient, and strong. This translates to EVs that can drive further and are less prone to technical failures. STMicroelectronics’ new facility will specialise in making 200mm wafers. It will be located in Catania, on the island of Sicily. Building it is expected to cost in the region of €5bn. The EU has agreed to foot €2bn of the…
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Missing the chance to install a heat pump in his London home had always bothered tech industry whizz Aadil Qureshi. While builders were in the middle of renovating and extending his terraced house during the depths of the pandemic, he had stumbled on a YouTube channel called Heat Geek. The videos explained — in extreme detail — how heat pumps, when installed correctly, are the most efficient option for heating the vast majority of homes. Qureshi devoured tutorial after tutorial and thought to himself, “Wow, OK, I get it. This is obviously the answer.” But there was a problem. The…
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From semiconductors to chocolate, you’d be surprised how many products are already made with the help of AI. And it’s precisely on the factory floor where Swiss startup EthonAI is looking to gain a foothold in this emerging market. “Manufacturing is at a critical juncture, and companies that fail to adapt with AI risk falling behind,” said CEO Julian Senoner, who co-founded EthonAI after completing his PhD in AI systems at ETH Zurich. The budding company uses AI to spot problems in production lines. The idea is to help factories reduce the number of defective products that end up being…
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Four people have been arrested in the “largest ever operation against botnets,” EU police force Europol announced on Thursday. The Netherlands, Germany, and France led the sting, dubbed “Operation Endgame.” According to Dutch police, their investigation uncovered financial damages totalling “hundreds of millions” of euros. They also estimate that the malware has infected millions of systems. The botnets’ primary purpose was deploying ransomware. One suspect alone earned an estimated €69mn in cryptocurrency from the scheme. Operation Endgame struck the network between May 27 and 29, Europol said. Officers conducted searches in 16 locations: 11 in Ukraine, one in Armenia, three in…
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Finnish mobile game developer Supercell released Squad Busters yesterday, its first new title in over five years. The game launched alongside an admittedly hilarious promo video featuring the likes of Chris Hemsworth and Ken Jeong. At the time of writing, Squad Busters has already been downloaded over 10 million times on Google Play. It was the most downloaded app in 122 countries on Wednesday. I gave the new game a whirl to find out what all the fuss was about. Like Supercell’s other titles, Squad Busters is completely free to play. However, there are plenty of in-app purchases if you…
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Web-hosting platform Hostinger today announced a 57% year-on-year growth of its consolidated revenue, reaching €110.2mn in 2023 — surpassing the €100mn milestone for the first time since its founding in 2004. This was also Hostinger’s first year of EBITDA profitability. The Lithuanian company reached € 2.4mn in EBITDA profit, while maintaining positive cash flow. Born in Vilnius, Hostinger helps its customers scale their online activity, offering products and services for use cases spanning from portfolio websites to blogs and e-shops. According to the company, a major factor behind last year’s financial landmarks is the adoption of AI across its hosting, e-commerce, and…
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Over two-thirds of British MPs and almost half of EU MEPs have had their email addresses leaked on the dark web. That’s according to new research from cybersecurity firm Proton. With election season looming in the UK and the EU, the company partnered with Constella Intelligence to explore online threats to national security. The team focused on 2,279 politicians in the European Parliament, UK House of Commons, and the French National Assembly and Senate. They found a whopping 918 — 40% of the total — have had information exposed on the dark web. To make matters worse, the email addresses were…
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Open Cosmos, the UK-based startup that uses satellites to fight climate change, has secured a contract of €60mn to build seven satellites for Greece. Dubbed Optical Constellation, this will be the country’s first flagship satellite project. The satellites in the Greek constellation will collect data in low Earth orbit, aiming to improve public services. Use cases range from providing fresh insights for the land registry to increasing agricultural efficiency and combating sea pollution. The spacecraft will carry a suite of instruments for daily data collection. These include high-resolution optical multispectral and hyperspectral cameras as well as Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Automatic…
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Dutch tech has launched into space onboard a spacecraft designed to analyse climate change. The EarthCARE satellite — a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and its Japanese peer JAXA — lifted off today on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Equipped with four instruments, the mission aims to unearth new insights about the impact of clouds and aerosols on our climate. Dutch tech features prominently in those plans. One key contribution comes from TNO, a research organisation headquartered in The Hague. The non-profit co-created EarthCARE’s Multi Spectral Imager (MSI), which will generate data on clouds and aerosols. Two cameras on…
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Scientific research has become one of the most promising applications for artificial intelligence. It’s also become one of the most divisive. Across the world, tech firms are directing AI’s analytical power into tools for academics. Gradually, they’re entering every stage of the research process. Today’s scientists can use TLDR to summarise study papers, Litmaps to find research gaps, Consensus to discover insights from expert scholars, and HeyScience for peer review. Investors have taken a growing interest in the progress. Last year, Elicit research workflow system raised a cool $9mn within months of its launch, while fellow Californian startup NobleAI secured €17mn for…
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The startup scene in the Nordics is bustling, driven by well-established and evolving hubs alike. Among the region’s growing tech forces is Oslo, which analysts have ranked 17th in the top 100 emerging ecosystems in the world. Norway’s capital city houses over 2,000 startups and scaleups, with particular strengths in ICT, healthtech and life sciences, energy, and fintech. Oslo is also home to seven unicorns, including popular game-based learning platform Kahoot!, paper tablet developer reMarkable, and industrial SaaS startup Cognite. While the city’s startups saw VC funding decrease to €862mn in 2023 (from €1.3bn in 2022), Oslo remained among the…
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With Google’s repeated postponements of cookie deprecation, many businesses face the prospect of making significant changes to the way they operate. And it’s the CTO who is mainly responsible for supporting these changes, as new media strategies require innovative technical approaches. While keeping an eye on their technology options as they continue to drive digital transformation projects — Generative AI, large language models and automation, for starters — CTOs charged with steering organisations through the brave new world of advertising should have one phrase at the top of their to-do list in 2024: be more composable. But why is this…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Ioanna and Andrii talk about AI translation news, the early demise of Spotify’s Car Thing, Chinese LLMs, and much more. The guest of the show is Marta Krupinska, CEO and co-founder of CUR8, a market-maker platform for carbon removals. Here are the stories and things mentioned in the episode: AI translation unicorn DeepL reaches $2B valuation with new $300M investment…
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Climate and fintech startup Cloover has announced a funding round of $114mn (€105mn) to further boost Europe’s switch to renewable energy. The Berlin-based startup was founded in 2022 by Peder Broms, Jodok Betschart, Tony Kirmo, and Valentin Gönczy. Their vision is to facilitate the energy transition, with a particular focus on residential solar power. Clover has built a platform that connects installers, prosumers, manufacturers, energy providers, and investors. It enables vendors to offer their services as a subscription, enabling consumers to rent renewable technologies — particularly solar panels but also other applications such as batteries — instead of committing to upfront…
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As the West strives to reduce its reliance on China, the EU and Australia have struck a deal to co-build a supply chain of critical minerals, which are an essential to both the green and digital transitions. The Memorandum of Understanding between the two will seek to diversify the EU’s supply and boost the domestic sector of Australia. “In a world powered by technology, those who lead are those who control the most critical technologies, and their supply chains,” EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said in April. “Chips, batteries, electric cars: our competitiveness will necessarily depend on our capacity to…
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While programming languages like JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and Python remain the most commonly used languages among developers, some interesting trends have emerged over the last few years. Stack Overflow’s 2023 Annual Developer Survey found that, although Rust is in 14th place in the list of most commonly used languages, it ranks number one as the “most admired” language, with more than 80% of developers who have used it saying they want to use it again in the next year. “Rust is a language that generates desire to use it once you get to know it,” the report states. 3 software developer…
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The EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) is set to enter into force by the end of June, following its final adoption today. The key regulation aims to ensure that homegrown clean tech can cover at least 40% of the bloc’s demands by 2030. “Demand is growing in Europe and globally, and we are now equipped to meet more of this demand with European supply,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. The Union hopes that by boosting its domestic manufacturing capacity, it can reduce its reliance on external countries for net-zero technologies. This includes the bloc’s dependence…
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The European Space Agency has hired Airbus to build a space satellite. It will forecast solar storms like the one that caused the biggest northern lights display in over 20 years this May. The satellite, dubbed Vigil, will sit at the so-called L5 point, some 150 million kilometres from Earth. From here it will view the Sun from the side, observing activity on the surface of the Sun four to five days before it becomes visible from Earth “Vigil will drastically improve both the lead time of space weather warnings as well as their level of detail from its unique…
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In a perfect world, we would start our day by going through a neatly ordered list of tasks. We’d have a few hours of deep work concentration to cross off half of them. Then we’d have a leisurely lunch with colleagues and go back to whittling down the list until the last task was completed at precisely 5:30 pm. A sense of satisfaction would fill us as we leave (or disconnect) for the day and hop a ride to happy hour on a magical unicorn. But this is the real world, where last-minute meetings that could have been an email…
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Six NATO members are planning to build a “drone wall” to protect Europe from Russian threats. Finland, Norway, Poland, and the three Baltic states will work together to set up the air defence system. The drones will monitor the thousands of kilometres-long border that separates the nations from Russia. The wall will also include anti-drone systems to neutralise enemy drones. “This is a completely new thing — a drone wall stretching from Norway to Poland,” Agnė Bilotaitė, Lithuania’s Minister of Interior, told the Baltic News Service. “The goal is to use drones and other technologies to protect our borders . . . against provocations…
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Friday is here, the weather is… not horrible, and it’s time for your weekly round-up of news from the Dutch tech ecosystem. There was plenty to talk about when it came to the crown jewel in the Dutch tech ecosystem this week. Chip machine-maker ASML featured in two of our top stories. Firstly, it seems the government is succeeding in its scheming to keep its shining star from expanding outside of the country, as ASML this week announced plans of investing €180 million in the Eindhoven region. Secondly, we also learned that the company, which has become embroiled in the chip…
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IQM Garnet, a 20-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU) is now available via Amazon Web Services (AWS) — the first quantum computer accessible via AWS’ cloud in the European Union. Finnish quantum hardware startup IQM is based outside of Helsinki, Finland. AWS previously has collaborations in place with IonQ, Oxford Quantum Circuits, QuEra, and Rigetti for its quantum cloud service known as Braket, but this will be the first AWS quantum processor hosted within the EU. This also means that it is the first time Amazon’s quantum services will be accessible to end users in its AWS Europe (Stockholm) Region. It…
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French President Emmanuel Macron has called for his country’s AI leaders to challenge the “insane” dominance of US and Chinese tech giants. Macron’s plea comes amid a boom period for French AI. Led by OpenAI rival Mistral, the country has become a European hotbed for artificial intelligence. The blend of highly-skilled talent, increased government support, and growing investment streams has created fertile ground for startups. Mistral, the sector’s darling, is barely a year old and also reportedly seeking a $6 billion valuation. Another candidate for the French tech crown is H (formerly Holistic), which this week announced a whopping $220mn seed…
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Hopes of making the Netherlands a global chip powerhouse have been boosted by a new deal between tech giant ASML and the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). The pair today pledged to spend €180mn on semiconductor research over the next 10 years. Alongside the investment, the duo have committed to expand their joint research and train more PhD students for the industry. ASML will also provide funding for TU/e’s new “cleanroom,” a controlled environment for manufacturing chips. The plans provide fresh impetus to Brainport Eindhoven — a tech hub in the city. TU/e hailed the partnership’s contribution to the region’s…
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A space mission exploring the “dark universe” has released its first scientific data — and five new extraterrestrial snapshots. Captured by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid telescope, the observations paint a never-before-seen picture of the cosmos. They also offer new insights into the properties of celestial bodies. The images are at least four times sharper than any taken from ground-based telescopes, according to ESA. They depict five diverse space objects: The Abell 2764 region of galaxies orbiting within a halo of dark matter The Messier 78 star-forming region The NGC 6744 spiral galaxy The Dorado Group of galaxies in the…
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After years of ravaging computer servers to swindle millions of dollars, the operators of the notorious Ebury botnet had slipped into the shadows by 2021. Suddenly, they reemerged with a bang. The new evidence surfaced during a police investigation in the Netherlands. A cryptocurrency theft had been reported to the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU). On the victim’s server, the cybercops found a familiar foe: Ebury. The discovery revealed a new target for the malware. Ebury had diversified to stealing Bitcoin wallets and credit card details. The NHTCU sought assistance from ESET, a Slovakian cybersecurity firm. The request…
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Finnish scale-up Enifer is set to build a world-first fungal protein factory after securing full funding for the €33mn site. The futuristic plant will convert food industry sidestreams into an ingredient called Pekilo. Invented in the 1970s, Pekilo was the world’s first commercial mycoprotein — a food source derived from natural fungus. With a low carbon footprint and minimal land requirements, Pekilo promises a sustainable substitute for meat protein. The substance was previously used as animal feed, but has recently been refined for human consumption. Enifer now plans to bring the ingredient to the mass market. The new factory is…
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DeepL, the Cologne-based unicorn that has been rivalling machine translation giants such as Google Translate, today announced a new investment of $300mn (€277mn), reaching a $2bn valuation. Born from online dictionary Linguee, the startup was founded in 2017 by Jarek Kutylowski, who’s also serving as the company’s CEO. DeepL offers free and premium AI translation services, with a special focus on B2B products, where the company sees the biggest demand. It now covers 32 languages and counts 100,000 business users. A list that includes the likes of Nikkei, Coursera, and Deutsche Bahn. The investment follows a period of significant growth…
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It’s been a busy week for AI policymakers. The EU has sealed the deal on its AI Act. Meanwhile, in Seoul, South Korea, 16 world-leading companies have signed the “Frontier AI Safety Commitments,” and a group of countries have promised to work together on mitigating risks associated with the technology. To say that the past year was the one when the world woke up to AI would be an understatement. The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 catapulted a previously behind-the-scenes technology into conversations around the dinner table and parliamentary halls alike. And all of a sudden, an apocalyptic future…
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has enlisted two companies to develop cargo shuttle vehicles for low Earth orbit. ESA awarded the new contracts to the Exploration Company in Germany and Thales Alenia Space in Italy. The services are due to deliver supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). Once the ISS is retired in 2030, they could also send cargo to the space station’s successors. ESA even envisions the shuttles taking people to the cosmos. “The LEO Cargo Return Service project exemplifies ESA’s commitment to ensuring Europe’s prominent role in space exploration,” said Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Human and Robotic…
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Chip machine-maker ASML reportedly has the power to remotely disable its equipment in TSMC’s fabs, should China invade Taiwan. TSMC is the biggest client of ASML’s EUV lithography systems, which use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths to manufacture the highest grade of semiconductors. These chips enable a wide range of use cases, from smart tech like phones and car electronics to (most importantly) AI and military applications. EUVs are the most advanced machines on the market — and ASML is the world’s sole manufacturer. This puts the Dutch tech giant (once again) at the centre of an escalating chip war. Citing…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Andrii talk about multilingual LLMs, Raspberry Pi, OpenAI and Scarlett Johansson, AI-written essays, and more. The guest of the show is Peter Garraghan, CEO and co-founder at Mindgard. We discuss the questions of security of generative AI, potential attacks on it, and what businesses can do today to be at least reasonably safe. Here are the stories and things…
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Amid a global race for semiconductor independence, the UK announced today a designated institute that will oversee its £1bn strategy on growing its chips sector. At the same time, Belgium-based research hub imec has landed €2.5bn in funding from the EU Chips Act. Dubbed the UK Semiconductor Institute, the independent body will bring together government, universities, and the private sector to support the key focus areas of the national strategy: compound chips, design, and research and development. Specifically, the institute has three main tasks. The first one is ensuring that chip researchers have the necessary tools and infrastructure to advance…
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The EU’s AI Act is set to enter force next month after receiving a final rubber-stamp from the European Council. Ministers today endorsed a political deal on the landmark law, billed as the world’s first comprehensive rules on AI. The law applies a risk-based approach to regulation. The strictest restrictions only apply to “high-risk” systems, from cars to law enforcement tools. Deployments designated “unacceptable” — such as social credit scoring — will be banned altogether. Although the EU set these rules, they will apply to any company that provides services or products within the bloc. That’s caused alarm in Silicon…
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Over the past couple of years, the Gulf states have been putting their oil money to use buying up thousands of the latest AI chips. However, thus far they have been relatively quiet when it comes to investing in quantum technology. That is now starting to change. Yesterday, Massy-based startup Pascal announced it had signed a deal with Saudi Arabian oil group Aramco for the installation of the first quantum computer in the country. According to the deal, Pascal will deliver and install a 200-qubit system by the second half of 2025. Pascal was founded in 2019 and currently commercialises…
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Switzerland-based Limula today announced a raise of $6.8mn (€6.2mn) to further develop its technology, which aims to automate cell therapy manufacturing. Gene and cell therapies have emerged as a promising treatment for life-threatening or difficult-to-manage diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. Such therapies place healthy genes and cells into the body to repair or replace malfunctioning on damaged ones. But despite their potential benefits, the high cost (up to $4.25mn) of these treatments comes with major accessibility barriers. Founded in 2020 by Dr Yann Pierson, Dr Luc Henry, and Dr Thomas Eaton, the Swiss startup seeks to replace outdated…
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Moving to Amsterdam was eye-opening. Having grown up in the car-centric UK and struggled to cycle in London, it felt as though the Dutch embrace of bikes was innate, something that simply happened due to a quirk of national character. This, of course, proved incorrect. The Netherlands’ cycle culture didn’t spring from nowhere. Instead, its centrality in day-to-day life was created and planned, rather than miraculously appearing from the heavens. The postcards and videos also hide the fact that while the Dutch might be leaders in urban cycling, it doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned cars. Far from it. In fact, there…
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If you’ve been to London recently you may have noticed packs of dark green and brown ebikes lining the city’s streets. They belong to Forest, an aptly named startup that claims to be London’s cheapest and most sustainable shared ebike operator. Its success stems from an advertising model unique to the world of micro-mobility. Forest’s main competitors in the capital are Lime and Tier. All three ebike sharing schemes work in much the same way. You open an app, find an ebike bike near you, scan a QR code, and get pedalling. You usually pay an unlock fee and then…
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Friday is here, there is a long weekend ahead in the Netherlands, and it’s time for your weekly round-up of news from the Dutch tech ecosystem. This week saw Booking.com become a DMA “gatekeeper,” a new European Investment Fund (EIF) office opened in Amsterdam, TSMC questioned whether or not ASML’s new machines might be too expensive, neobank bunq entered the insurance market and there were fresh rounds of funding for Magic Lane and Refreshworks.ai, and more. Our highlights have you covered, but we’d also love to hear your thoughts on the local ecosystem. Drop us a line if you want…
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You’ve probably already seen the dazzling pics of the aurora that flooded social media over the weekend. Lucky onlookers were treated to streaks of green, pink, and purple dancing across the night sky from the UK to New Zealand. 𝑨𝑼𝑹𝑶𝑹𝑬𝑺 𝑩𝑶𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑬𝑺 𝑬𝑵 𝑭𝑹𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬 – Comme si vous y étiez en accéléré ! Timelapse d’une heure – Mont Saint-Michel – Nuit du 10 au 11 Mai 2024 𝑀𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑢 𝑅𝑖𝑣𝑟𝑖𝑛 / Tous Droits Réservés#aurore #auroreboreale #france #northernlights #aurores #nuit pic.twitter.com/ipL1k9onGr — Mathieu Rivrin – Photographies (@mathieurivrin) May 11, 2024 The breathtaking display on May 10 to 12 was triggered by the largest…
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Many noteworthy things happened in the realm of European tech yesterday. However, not all involved the King of Sweden — and quantum. To see the representative of such a traditional office in conjunction with the most out-there groundbreaking tech almost causes a bit of a cognitive dissonance. Nonetheless, H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf attended the inauguration of the second House of Quantum building in Delft, the Netherlands, on Wednesday. The mission of House of Quantum is to create a national campus for the Dutch quantum ecosystem. It is a co-working space that also offers plug-and-play labs and other facilities otherwise…
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Business execs and politicians gathered at a helicopter base in France yesterday for the first public unveiling of Airbus’ new Racer aircraft. At first glance, Racer looks like a regular helicopter. Look closer, however, and you’ll notice it has both wings and two forward-facing rotors. This means it can take-off vertically like a helicopter, and fly fast like a plane — real fast. Racer can reach speeds in excess of 400 km/h. That eclipses civilian helicopters, which cruise at around 200 km/h. It’s even faster than military choppers like the Black Hawk (295 km/h) or Chinook (302 km/h). Racer’s so-called…
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The modern startup founder will tell you work never stops. What they’re far less likely to tell you is that stress, anxiety, panic, and feelings of failure never stop either. From worrying about funding and filling skills gaps in an uber-competitive environment, to simply running out of available working time to clear to-do lists — leaders contend with countless unique and interchangeable stresses on a daily basis. Whether it’s a lack of time, money or talent, these stresses contribute to a culture of overworking, and a vicious cycle of inefficiency that affects productivity overall. In the past we’ve seen ‘toxic…
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The artificial intelligence scene in Great Britain feels a little bit like your weekly tv drama at the moment. Major funding rounds compete for attention with controversial CEO departures and outlandish government campaigns (“Unicorn Kingdom” and 3D statue holograms, anyone?). London-based PolyAI today announced it had secured a valuation of $500mn following a successful fund raise for its call centre voice assistant tech. It might not be the sexiest of AI applications, but then again not all business bets need to be. While PolyAI is still only halfway towards that coveted unicorn mark of a $1bn valuation, the $50mn raise from…
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Have you ever been trapped in a bad relationship? I’m stuck in one right now with Google Chrome. The browser’s good looks can no longer hide the ugliness that lurks inside. Chrome devours my laptop’s memory, sucks away its battery, and harvests my data. All the while, the software expands Google’s almighty empire. Chrome, you treat me terribly. Why can’t I quit you? One reason for my undeserved loyalty is that rival browsers have rarely caught my eye. But that’s started to change. A raft of pro-competition rules are pushing alternatives towards the mainstream. Leading the charge is the EU’s…
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Amazon Web Services (AWS) today confirmed plans to launch its European “sovereign cloud”, aiming to enhance data residency and security across the EU. The city of Bradenburg in Germany will be the first region to host the cloud servers, which are set to power up by the end of 2025. AWS will invest €7.8bn through 2040. According to the tech giant, the European sovereign cloud will have its entire infrastructure within the EU and will operate independently from existing cloud regions. Only EU-resident and bloc-based AWS employees will have access to the system. The service is especially designed for public sector…
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While Intel is betting big on ASML’s latest High NA EUV chipmaking machines, Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC is considering opting out. Speaking at a conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday, TSMC’s Senior VP Kevin Zhang told reporters that ASML’s new equipment comes with too hefty a price tag. The Dutch chipmaker’s High NA EUV machines represent the next generation in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology, which uses light to draw chip designs on the silicon wafer. According to ASML, these machines can manufacture chips that are both faster and more energy efficient. They reportedly cost about €350mn — compared to the…
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A Finnish startup today launched a multilingual AI model that’s a “significant milestone” on the path to LLMs for every EU language, the company says. Helsinki-based Silo AI calls the new large language model Viking 7B. It covers Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, as well as English and programming languages. Evaluations indicate best-in-class performance in all the Nordic languages — without compromising the English outputs. Peter Sarlin, Silo AI’s CEO, told TNW that his company is now “on the right track” towards its ultimate goal. “This release marks an important step in our ongoing efforts to develop performant language…
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The necessity of professional certifications is debated, with many software developers pooh-poohing their relevance when it comes to securing a job. But in a competitive job market, anything that can give you an edge or help you stand out as a candidate is worth considering. If you’re at the early stage of your career, or looking to pivot, securing certification can offer assurances of your skills when you’ve not yet built up the experience. Professional certification will also demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning and keeping up with the latest technologies and best practices — an essential skill for any…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Siôn talk about a massive investor vote of confidence for self-driving AI tech, the UK joining the EU-led supercomputer project, the first ever CGI in cinema, and the sun’s cycles, prompted by the incredible display or aurora the past week. The guest of the show is Jānis Pūtrams, CTO and co-founder at Aerones, a robotic wind turbine care systems startup…
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Norwegian startup 7Analytics has secured €4mn to help predict the next big flood or landslide. The Bergen-based outfit trains machine learning algorithms on vast quantities of data on everything from weather to land use. The AI then learns to predict how natural disasters will unfold with metre-scale accuracy. Whereas the weather forecast tells you when a storm is approaching, 7Analytics will tell you exactly how the water from this storm will travel through your community. These insights are displayed on a dashboard. Businesses and governments can use the platform to gauge the risks to individual assets like buildings or roads. …
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Starting today, users in Europe can access Claude, Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic’s proper ChatGPT contender. There are a few company names that have become synonymous with the advent of generative AI. OpenAI may have had the early-mover advantage, with ChatGPT becoming close to a household name. However, others have also been busy honing their craft and algorithms. When Anthropic first released its latest large language model (LLM) family Claude 3 to the public in March 2024, we at the TNW editorial team were naturally very excited to try it. Alas, we were thwarted in our attempts as we were faced…
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Alexey Pertsev, the developer behind crypto mixer Tornado Cash, has been found guilty of money laundering by a Dutch court in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Pertsev was first imprisoned in the Netherlands, where he had been residing, in August 2022 on charges of laundering $1.2bn in stolen cryptocurrency. He was released in April 2023 and remained under house arrest pending his trial in March this year — the verdict of which was announced today. Pertsev’s arrest in the Netherlands came shortly after the US Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash, alleging that the platform’s technology helped North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group launder money from the…
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The Royal Navy has installed VR simulators at three military training sites in the UK. The simulators, built by Portsmouth-based Metaverse VR, recreate the bridge of a warship. A bridge, or wheelhouse, is like an aeroplane cockpit for ships. The Navy hopes that the new simulators will make training sailors faster and more lifelike. “You feel like you are stepping onto the bridge of a warship,” said Stephen Smallman, 28, a trainee warfare officer. “It is very easy to become immersed in the situation – it makes everything feel much more real.” The Royal Navy hopes the new simulators will…
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Russian voters who do not believe the 2024 presidential election was a just affair can now raise their voices via a blockchain-secured and encrypted referendum through the app Russia2024. This year’s presidential elections in March saw tens of thousands of Russian nationals queue up to cast their ballot at embassies around the world. Outside of the embassy in The Hague, Netherlands, voters — many of whom carried protest banners — waited for hours in order to make their voices heard. In theory. No one was surprised when Vladimir Putin again was announced the winner with 88% of the votes. Not…
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Friday is here, the sun is shining and it’s time for your weekly round-up of news from the Dutch tech ecosystem. This week saw advances in hydrogen fuel cells, a big sale for chip-equipment maker ASML, and concerns over how right-wing politics will disrupt Dutch companies’ access to tech talent. Our highlights have you covered, but we’d also love to hear your thoughts on the local ecosystem. Drop us a line if you want to showcase your startup, share a digital tip, or just tell us your deepest, darkest secrets. In the meantime, let’s get to the news. What we’re…
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AI ethicists have called for urgent safeguards against an emerging “digital afterlife” industry. The concerns centre on chatbots that mimic the appearances, speech, and personalities of dead people. Known as “deadbots” or “griefbots,” these AI clones are trained on data about the deceased. They then provide simulated interactions with virtual recreations of the departed. This “postmortem presence” can social and psychological harm, according to researchers from Cambridge University. Their new study highlights several risks. One involves the use of deadbots for advertising. By mimicking lost loved ones, deadbots could manipulate their vulnerable survivors into buying products. Another concern addresses therapeutic applications. The researchers…
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A propaganda network linked to Russia has sparked alarm about a new weapon of information warfare: large language models (LLMs). The operation was unearthed by Recorded Future, a threat intelligence firm founded by two Swedish computer scientists. In early March, the company spotted a network known as CopyCop using LLMs to manipulate news from mainstream media outlets. Using prompt engineering, CopyCop tailored the content to specific audiences and political biases. Delivered via inauthentic US, UK, and French news sites, the articles covered divisive domestic and international issues. Topics ranged from tensions among British Muslims to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The articles…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Andrii talk about protein powder and carbon capture, Europe’s potential answer to Starlink, Disney’s R&D department, how many browser tabs you can keep open, and more. The guest of the show is Peter Sarlin, CEO and founder at Silo AI. He has some strong opinions on the European AI ecosystem and its future, which we discussed in detail —…
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Most of us are familiar with chatbots on customer service portals, government departments, and through services like Google Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. They are convenient, easy to use, and always available, leading to their growing use for a diverse range of applications across the web. Unfortunately, most current chatbots are limited due to their reliance on static training data. Data outputted by these systems can be obsolete, limiting our ability to gain real-time information for our queries. They also struggle with contextual understanding, inaccuracies, handling complex queries, and limited adaptability to our evolving needs. To overcome these issues, advanced techniques…
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No-code startup Innoloft has raised €2mn in a new funding round led by Dutch VC firm Capital Mills. This marks the firm’s first investment into a German company. Innoloft’s no-code platform enables businesses to build web applications without any programming knowledge. Founded in 2019, the startup now counts over 70,000 end-users and includes customers such as Deutsche Telekom, Aachen University, and German state governments. With the new funding, Innoloft plans to accelerate product development and expand its user base. Being a B2B software company, the startup falls well under Capital Mills’ investment focus. The VC firm offers two types of…
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Cybercrime hunters have unmasked the alleged leader of LockBit, a hacker network dubbed the “most active ransomware group ever.” LockBit gained global notoriety for holding victims’ data to ransom and ransomware-as-a-service, whereby it licenses malware to other hackers. According to Europol, the gang was behind the world’s most deployed ransomware in 2022 — causing billions of euros worth of damage. Among the high-profile victims are US aerospace giant Boeing, Britain’s Royal Mail and German automotive titan Continental. Russian entities, however, are notably absent from the list of targets. It will therefore come as little surprise that the gang’s reputed mastermind is a Russian…
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A team of researchers have built a vision implant with tiny electrodes the size of a neuron, seeking to help blind people see again. The development of vision implants first emerged in the 1990s. The technology targets patients suffering from damage to the eye, but whose visual cortex— the brain’s visual centre — is active and able to receive signals. But despite the solution’s potential, existing methods are limited by the large size of electrodes and metal corrosion. The research team claims to have addressed both challenges. A new, nano-sized implant Vision implants contain electrodes that send signals to the brain…
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Terra Quantum has today revealed its TQ42 Cryptography library — an open-source suite of quantum-resistant algorithms designed to help developers and businesses protect data from current and future cybersecurity threats. The new cryptography library provides developers with post-quantum algorithms and security and key management functions. They can be used across a range of applications, including mobile, web, IoT, and cloud. The library is now available through the GitHub repository. According to the startup, it offers a user-friendly API, scalable architecture, and essential security features like key generation and file deletion capabilities. Specifically, the algorithms found in the repository focus on…
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France’s budding AI scene has received another boost from a big investment in the startup Holistic. Amid the celebrations, however, the sale of medtech firm Sonio has added a warning about the dangers of success. The Holistic funding was revealed by Bloomberg on Tuesday. The Paris-based firm has reportedly raised $200mn (€186mn) in a round that values the company at $370mn (€344mn). Holistic has big plans for the cash. According to Bloomberg, the startup wants to build “multi-agent” models that will enable interactions between different AI systems and “genuine AGI capabilities.” Holistic also boasts an eye-catching leadership team. It includes four…
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An AI scanning your bank transaction data entails a level of invasiveness that I find difficult to accept — let alone embrace for my own transaction information. But the technology could bring merits, at least in the lending world. Enter Abound. The London-based startup has just raised £800mn for its lending platform that uses AI to determine loan amounts. Dubbed Render, Abound’s AI analyses customers’ full bank transaction data (from income to spending details) to understand their individual financial situation — unlike traditional credit checks. Render then calculates the amount of money customers are able to pay back each month.…
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Reuse Brew is a classic German lager with a twist — it’s made from recycled wastewater. The beer is the result of a tie-up between the south German city of Weissenburg, American water tech company Xylem, and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Specifically, TUM’s Brewery and Beverage Technology department (why didn’t I study there?!). While the idea of a sewage brew might be hard to swallow, Xylem ensures us that all the bad stuff is filtered out before the malt, hops, and yeast are added. First a machine injects ozone into the wastewater. Then the sludge is blasted by…
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Infineon, one of the biggest chip makers in Europe, has lowered its revenue outlook for the year, citing “weak” demand from its major target markets. The German company is now expecting a revenue of €15.1bn, plus or minus €400mn. That’s down from the previous forecast of €16bn, plus or minus €500mn. In the second quarter of 2024, Infineon saw a 2% drop in revenue compared to the previous quarter, generating €3.36bn. The decline stands, however, at 12% year-on-year. Revenue in the first quarter of 2024 also decreased by 11% compared to the last quarter of 2023. Jochen Hanebeck, Infineon’s CEO,…
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Wayve, a London-based startup working on AI systems for autonomous vehicles, has raised $1bn. The colossal funding round marks the largest single investment in a European AI startup. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank led the funding round alongside tech giants Nvidia and Microsoft. Wayve did not disclose its valuation following the investment. Founded in Cambridge in 2017, Wayve is developing so-called embodied AI systems for self-driving cars. Unlike pure software AI like ChatGPT, embodied AI serves as the brain for physical objects like vehicles. It lets them see, think, and drive on their own. The technology also works for robots, or any…
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The power of generative AI has further ignited the race for advanced humanoid robots, promising more capable machines that can learn and deal with unknown environments and challenges. Amid increasing competition across the globe, Switzerland-based mimic is also throwing its hat in the ring. The startup has raised a pre-seed round of $2.5mn (€2.3mn) to bring the first GenAI-powered collaborative robot to market. A spinoff from ETH Zurich, mimic was founded in 2024 by a team of three researchers working at the intersection of robotics and AI. Aiming to address workforce shortages, the team has developed a robotic humanoid hand that…
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Tilburg-based Mr. Winston has raised €600,000 to further develop its hospitality POS system and expand into more markets. Founded in 2015, the startup provides a cloud-based POS solution that can work on all devices and operating systems such as iOS and Android. The POS also features additional modules, including reservations, QR ordering, and kitchen screens. “This flexibility towards the user is lacking in our competition,” Koen Lavrijssen, founder and CTO at Mr. Winston, told TNW. Mr. Winston counts hundreds of customers in the Netherlands and recently expanded across five more countries in Europe, including Germany and Spain. In 2023, the startup…
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The EU has granted €3.3mn to a consortium led by Swedish startup Epishine. The group’s mission is to boost the development of organic solar panels. In this case, organic refers to solar panels that are carbon-based. Instead of using silicon to conduct electricity, these solar panels utilise organic molecules. Organic solar cells are very lightweight, cheap, semi-transparent, printable, and flexible. They can also convert indoor light into electricity. That can be from sunlight streaming in through an open window or completely artificial light, such as LEDs or halogen bulbs. The downside is that organic solar panels degrade a lot faster…
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As I write this, two contrasting regulations on the development of artificial intelligence — namely generative AI — are making their way through the European and British parliaments. The British approach is very simple — looking to ensure AI companies fit into existing laws governing technology companies. In contrast, the EU approach, as White & Case analysis describes, is an entirely new piece of legislation, and is risk-based — looking to counter the most serious risks that come with developing more advanced AI. Whether that is data scraping, infringements on individual liberty, as well as fake news and election involvement. …
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A British startup has devised a way to speed-up enhanced rock weathering using protein powder in a potential step forward for the budding carbon capture industry. Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) involves spreading silicate rock dust on fields to capture carbon. When it rains, the dust reacts with the CO2 in the droplets, permanently storing it in the rocks as carbonate (think chalk or baking soda). This relatively simple technology has taken off in recent years, attracting funding from the likes of Meta, Google, and Microsoft. However, there are a few kinks that need ironing out. One issue is that ERW…
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Friday is here and so is TNW’s weekly round-up of tech news from our glorious home country. This week saw advances in medtech, quantum breakthroughs, and calls to further boost the Dutch chip industry. Our highlights have you covered, but we’d also love to hear your thoughts on the local ecosystem. Drop us a line if you want to showcase your startup, share a digital tip, or just tell us your deepest, darkest secrets. In the meantime, let’s get to the news. What we’re writing Dutch startup to test hearing via brain-computer interface Dutch minister fears ‘national security risk’ from…
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Estonian mobility startup Bolt has secured a €220mn credit facility as it plans to go public next year. This type of financing is a more flexible loan option, which allows a business to withdraw and repay funds as needed, on an ongoing basis. Kind of like a credit card for companies. The credit facility provides Bolt “with additional flexibility as we work towards being IPO-ready,” CEO and founder Markus Villig said in a statement. Lenders include Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan. The money supplements Bolt’s “strong cash position” and “strengthens its liquidity profile,” the company said. Alongside…
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Flemish venture capital firm Imec.xpand has raised €300mn to invest in deeptech startups. The VC is a spinoff from Leuven-based Imec, one of the world’s largest microelectronics research institutions. The new fund targets AI, semiconductors, nanotechnology, photonics, and quantum computing. It will also invest in startups working on new ways to diagnose and treat medical conditions. To date, Imec.xpand has invested in 23 companies that have so far raised a combined €1.5bn in funding. This includes two unicorns — companies valued at €1bn or more. Imec.xpand recently opened a new office in the Netherlands, according to Dutch newspaper Het Financieele…
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Today’s NHS faces severe time constraints, with the risk of short consultations and concerns about the risk of misdiagnosis or delayed care. These challenges are compounded by limited resources and overstretched staff that results in protracted patient wait times and generic treatment strategies. Staff can operate with a surface level view of patient data, relying on basic medical histories and recent test results. This lack of comprehensive data interferes with their ability to fully understand patient needs and compromises the accuracy and individualisation of diagnoses and treatments. Such a healthcare approach, characterised by these limitations and engagements, could aptly be…
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When the EU approved the European Green Deal in 2020, the bloc unveiled a plan to lead the clean energy transition. Yet it has since faced growing competition from both China — which has quickly and quietly buried Europe’s solar panel industry and is now taking aim at its EV market — and the US, which under the Biden administration took an about-face on sustainability with the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. As the EU invests more into renewables, it will need to overcome hurdles around reliability, storage, transmission, and scalability to reach its ambitious 2030 renewable…
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Lithuanian climate investment firm HeavyFinance has added over 700,000 football pitches-worth of farmland in Ukraine to its soil carbon credit programme. Modern agriculture has taken its toll on soils. Centuries of plowing, cutting, and overgrazing has made land less fertile. This has also released billions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. HeavyFinance pays farmers to put some of this carbon back into the ground. Specifically, the company issues loans to encourage the switch to regenerative farming practices. This includes rotating crops, growing cover crops during the off season, or plowing less often. These processes can remove carbon from the…
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In June, Kubernetes celebrates its tenth birthday. The system is now so widely used by hundreds of thousands of companies worldwide to scale their applications to meet demand it’s hard even to remember a time before it existed. But there was a time when other options were available, and I even remember using some of them. Despite this relative vintage, many large developers teams and companies are still yet to embark on a migration to Kubernetes, or are in the middle of the process. But to many developers who like to live on the edge, 10 years of a technology…
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Another Dutch tech firm has been caught in the simmering tensions between the West and China. Amid growing calls to curb Chinese access to chipmaking equipment from ASML, a Dutch minister has raised a separate alarm about the sale of Philips spinoff Anteryon. Although the digital-optics developer remains based in Eindhoven, the business was bought in 2019 by China’s Jingfang Optotelectronics. The Suzhou-based firm reportedly spent between €40mn and €50mn on the acquisition. Following a separate buyout in 2021, the chip company China Wafer became Jinfang’s majority shareholder. These deals attracted the concerns of Micky Adriaansens, the outgoing Dutch Economy…
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Utrecht-based Vitestro has raised €20mn to bring its robotic blood drawing device to market. Founded in 2017, Vitestro aims to improve the blood draw experience for patients and address personnel shortages in healthcare — where the demand for skilled laboratory professionals is growing at a higher rate than any other occupation. The startup’s device relies on infrared to locate the vein and ultrasound to create an image of the blood vessel. Then, an AI-based robotic needle uses this information to determine the right puncture location with submillimetre precision. Since 2023, Vitestro is running the world’s largest-scale clinical trial for autonomous…
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Blockchain is often criticised as a solution in search of a problem. But one group of people has already found immense value in the tech: money launderers. Their crimes cause painful headaches for financial institutions, crypto businesses, legitimate law enforcement agencies, and cryptocurrency regulators. All of them need to tackle illicit activity on blockchains. Enter Elliptic, a British firm that specialises in cryptocurrency forensics. The company uses blockchain analytics to protect customers from financial crimes. Its latest safeguard taps the power of AI. By applying machine learning to transaction data, Elliptic has created a new method of detecting money laundering on…
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Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast — the show where we discuss the latest developments in the European technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most interesting people in the industry. In today’s episode, Linnea and Andrii talk about the availability of AI compute, Getir’s imminent departure from Europe, quite some cash for German game developers, and a few things in between. The guest of the show is Alexandra Balkova, general partner and head of portfolio at Startup Wise Guys. In the interview recorded at TechChill in Riga, Alexandra talked about the current state of…
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Vinted, the popular online marketplace for second-hand fashion, has announced its first-ever annual profit. The milestone follows a strong 2023, reaching €596.3mn in revenue — a 61% increase compared to the previous year (€370.2mn). With an adjusted EBITDA at €76.6mn, Vinted turned a €20.4mn net loss in 2022 into a €17.8mn net profit in 2023. The startup attributes its profitability to significant growth, starting with increased penetration in existing markets and its expansion to Romania, Denmark, and Finland. In addition, the company continued its expansion into luxury fashion with verification, and further developed Vinted Go, its own shipping service. “Second-hand…
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MindAffect, a Netherlands-based healthtech startup, has raised €1.1mn to bring its hearing diagnostics technology to market. A spinout from Radboud University, MindAffect has developed a patented brain computer interface (BCI) technology, which enables diagnosis of hearing impairments using brain signals. The startup aims to provide a more equitable testing solution that specifically caters for hard-to-test patients, such as children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Current methods, such as pure-tone or speech testing, depend on the constant responses of patients. But this can be challenging or ineffective for individuals who are unable to communicate due to age or disability —…
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has secured a ride for its solar wind satellite. The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer — or Smile for short — will blast into space aboard a Vega-C rocket. The launch is scheduled for late 2025 from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. “We are delighted to be launching Smile on such a versatile launch vehicle,” said David Agnolon, project manager of Smile. “Vega-C has been selected as it perfectly matches the needs of the mission, such as required mass capability and injection orbit.” Vega-C — a small-life rocket developed by the ESA and Italian…
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Paris-based Klineo has raised €2mn for its AI platform that facilitates access to cancer clinical trials. Klineo’s platform connects doctors and patients directly with relevant clinical trials. It provides trial search, contact with medical centres, as well as real-time updates and notifications when a new clinical trial matches the patient’s criteria. The startup’s solution currently covers trials on skin cancer, breast cancer, and lymphoma. Klineo was founded in 2021 by oncologist Dr Arnaud Bayle and two engineers, Thomas Peyresblanques and Nicolas Drizard. The startup aims to accelerate the inclusion of patients in clinical trials, which play a key role in…
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The Financial Times (full disclosure — the owners of The Next Web) have inked a deal with OpenAI. The American firm will use the British publisher’s content to train its generative AI models. The deal is the latest in a string of new partnerships between OpenAI and global news publishers like Axel Springer, Associated Press, and Le Monde. The company did not disclose the financial terms of any of the contracts. In 2023 alone, hundreds of pages of litigation and countless articles accused tech firms of stealing artists’ and publishers’ work to train their AI models. OpenAI has come under…
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Under the UK’s new cybersecurity law, consumer smart devices can no longer allow the use of weak, easy-to-guess passwords, such as “admin” or “12345.” This is part of a set of minimum-security standards the UK is requiring to protect consumers from hacking and cyberattacks. The law covers every smart device that comes with internet or network connectivity, ranging from TVs and phones to game consoles, connected fridges, and smart doorbells. Manufacturers of such products will also have to publish contact details so that users can report bugs and other issues. In addition, they’ll need to be transparent about the timing…
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Polestar has successfully charged its upcoming EV model in just 10 minutes. The Swedish car maker achieved the feat using a “silicon-dominant” battery built by Israeli startup StoreDot. Polestar installed the battery in a fully drivable prototype of its Polestar 5 model, set to go on sale next year. It managed to charge the EV from 10% to 80% under the 10-minute time cap. StoreDot’s batteries use silicon anodes instead of graphite. Silicon anodes can store 10 times the amount of lithium ions that graphite can, while taking up a lot less space. This means more efficient batteries that…
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Our understanding of the challenges women face in the startup ecosystem is limited. Past research has focused on overt negative sexist attitudes that question women’s competence and suitability for entrepreneurship. This view overlooks the existence of more subtle, yet pervasive and socially acceptable, sexist attitudes that often go unnoticed. Given the sheer number of people interested or working in startups today, from investors to suppliers to job applicants, the effects of these subtle forms of sexism can accumulate across a large and diverse group of decision-makers. For initiatives tackling gender inequality in entrepreneurship to be effective, we must gain a…
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Hallo, Netherlands! Welcome to TNW’s first weekly round-up of tech news from our glorious home country. As we count down to TNW conference in Amsterdam on June 20 and 21, we’re ramping up our coverage of the Dutch IT sector. We’d also love to hear your thoughts on the local ecosystem. Drop us a line if you want to showcase your startup, share a digital tip, or just tell us your deepest, darkest secrets. In the meantime, let’s get to the news. What we’re writing Chip giant ASML plans Eindhoven expansion in big win for Dutch tech ‘Airbnb for cars’ platform…
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In 2022, over 20,000 Lithuanians returned to their country of birth from abroad. A high quality of life coupled with a booming entrepreneurial ecosystem and a collaborative mentality has contributed to what investors are calling a “reverse brain drain.” Many of their minds reemerge in the country’s startup scene. It was on a visit to Lisbon that I first heard someone refer to Lithuania as “a hidden gem” of Europe’s startup ecosystem. A recent trip to Vilnius convinced me they were right. To further drive the inspiring transformation it has achieved since regaining its independence from the Soviet Union in…
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DeepL, which has been rivalling machine translation giants such as Google Translate and Microsoft Translator, has launched an AI writing assistant tailored for businesses. Dubbed DeepL Write Pro, the product acts as a creative assistant for use during the drafting process. It provides suggestions on word choice, phrasing, style, and tone, aiming to improve the text, while preserving the writer’s own voice. Currently available in English and German, the tool comes with customisation options for both style (such as business, academic, or casual) and tone (such as friendly, diplomatic, or enthusiastic). Its use scope covers multiple types of business communication,…
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British cybersecurity flag bearer Darktrace is set to leave London’s stock market after agreeing a £4.3bn sale to US private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Shareholders will have to approve the takeover before it’s rubber-stamped. The chair of Darktrace, Gordon Hurst, said the deal represents “an attractive premium and an opportunity for shareholders.” “The proposed acquisition will provide Darktrace access to a strong financial partner in Thoma Bravo, with deep software sector expertise, who can enhance the company’s position as a best-in-class cyber AI business headquartered in the UK,” he added. The deal would end a turbulent spell on the London’s…
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Time and again, leading scientists, technologists, and philosophers have made spectacularly terrible guesses about the direction of innovation. Even Einstein was not immune, claiming, “There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable,” just ten years before Enrico Fermi completed construction of the first fission reactor in Chicago. Shortly thereafter, the consensus switched to fears of an imminent nuclear holocaust. Similarly, today’s experts warn that an artificial general intelligence (AGI) doomsday is imminent. Others retort that large language models (LLMs) have already reached the peak of their powers. It’s difficult to argue with David Collingridge’s influential…
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Cyber attackers battered Poland after the country’s change of government late last year. DDoS attacks at the end of 2023 were nearly quadruple the country’s average, according to cybersecurity firm NetScout’s observations. The surge began when the Law and Justice party (PiS) lost its majority in last year’s Polish general election. PiS had ruled the country since 2015. It was replaced by a coalition government, which reaffirmed support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion. NetScout described these developments as “a perfect storm” for adversaries. Several hacktivist gangs promptly responded with a barrage of cyberattacks. The most notable group was NoName057, which…
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Demand for industrial robots is rising in Europe, especially driven by the benefits of automation. However, there are ongoing challenges in ensuring seamless collaboration with humans while maintaining safety. To address this issue, a consortium of European universities, technology accelerators, and private research labs is launching the RoboSAPIENs project. The aim is to build the necessary safety mechanisms with a particular focus on adaptive industrial robots — a category of autonomous robots that can learn new behaviours without being reprogrammed and adapt to changes in their system structure or environment. One eye-catching ambition targets a big problem for adaptive robots:…
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A British startup today unveiled new AI humans that blur the line between the virtual and the real. Synthesia calls the digital beings “Expressive Avatars.” They promise the most realistic emotional expressions on the market. Generated by an AI model that’s trained on footage of real actors, the avatars are built for video creation. Users simply enter a text prompt and the synthetic humans read them out on a screen. The photorealistic renders are certainly impressive. But what makes them unique is their capacity to convey human feelings. Using a technique called “automatic sentiment prediction,” Synthesia’s AI models infer the…
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Dutch car-sharing platform SnappCar, which claims to be the largest of its kind in the Netherlands, has been fully acquired by AutoBinck Group — a shareholder in the scaleup since its founding in 2011. The ownership change also sees the return of SnappCar’s founder, Victor van Tol, in the role of the CEO. Van Told told local newspaper mt/sprout that the acquisition will enable faster decisions and eliminate the need for external investments. AutoBinck, which specialises in mobility and energy solutions, has a turnover of approximately €1bn. According to the two companies, the deal aims to support SnappCar’s further growth.…
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Amid the increasing commercialisation of space tech, Ubotica has partnered up with IBM to simplify the use of AI applications on board low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites. Founded in 2016, the Dublin-headquartered startup provides its CogniSAT edge computing platform for artificial intelligence systems on satellites, which enables AI inference to be performed on data directly in space. This is with the aim of addressing a pressing challenge: the costly and time-consuming storage and processing of data on the ground. And that’s also what the new partnership is all about. According to the two companies, their mutual customers will be able to deploy…
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Treefera says it wants to transform the accuracy, transparency, and efficiency of the carbon offset industry with AI and data from a trillion trees across the globe. It just received a vote of confidence in the form of a €2mn seed round led by Concept Ventures and participation from the CTO of Intel, among others. The practice of voluntary offsetting has faced criticism from various quarters, with concerns ranging from it being simply inefficient to directly detrimental to the quest for decarbonisation as a whole. Nonetheless, it is big business. Most companies touting net-zero carbon emissions by 2035, 2040, or 2050…
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Europeans have become “pioneers in online rights” and now want to lead a “global framework for AI,” the EU’s top official said today. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, revealed the bloc’s digital plans during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg. She used the speech to flaunt the achievements of her three-year reign. A particularly large spotlight was shone on her tech policies. “We have set the path for the digital transition and become global pioneers in online rights,” von der Leyen said. The former German defence minister praised the bloc’s work on semiconductor self-sufficiency, which centres on the Chips…
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Fintech funding in Europe has been greatly affected by the challenging economic environment, the latest report by Finch Capital has found. Specifically, startups in the sector raised a total of €4.6bn in the first half of 2023 — down 70% from €15.3bn in H1 2022. “Since mid-2022 we have seen an increase in investment discipline in public and private markets, resulting in less funding, lay-offs, less IPOs, flight to quality, and focus on capital efficiency,” said Radboud Vlaar, Managing Partner at Finch Capital. Amid this increased funding discipline, this year’s first half has seen a 48% decline in the number…
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Climate change anxiety is real, and it can cause feelings of powerlessness, or even apathy. While it is true that no soggy straws in the world will help as long as billion-dollar industries keep indiscriminately pumping oil out of the ground, it is also false to believe that our individual efforts do not matter. In a new game published last week, called The Time is Now: Toolkit for Change, the creators have taken to a good old low-tech tabletop approach to make people think about how, for instance, their relationship with technology can have a more positive impact on the…
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Single-glazing. Old electric-powered heat emitters. Walls with hardly any insulation. Damp throughout the ground floor. Welcome to Europe. While these problems vary in prevalence from country to country, even nations rated highly in assessments of household energy efficiency have room for improvement. Sweden, for instance, often does very well in such analyses. But for Magnus Petersson, cofounder and chief executive of Stockholm-based Dryft, there’s plenty of work still to do. “We need to fundamentally transform the houses,” he says. Dryft, a startup with 150 employees that has raised €6 million to date, numbers itself among a fleet of new businesses…
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New iPhones always arrive with upgrades, but this year’s crop will feature one improvement that Apple didn’t want to make. As a result of new EU rules, the US tech giant is set to ditch its Lightning charging cable for a USB-C wire. The entire range of iPhone 15s is expected to make the transition. Full details will be revealed at Apple’s Wonderlust event, which begins at 19:00 CEST today. The move will satisfy EU requirements to standardise mobile chargers. From 28 December 2024, every new phone sold in the bloc will have to use USB Type-C for wire charging. The…
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Today, the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, along with early-stage VC OpenOcean, released what they call “the world’s most accurate open access startup insights platform” — the O3. The platform is the result of three years of research from Oxford Saïd and 13 years of experience of data economy investing from OpenOcean. It leverages public and private data sources and is meant to help improve decision making across the UK tech ecosystem, through “granular data on startups and their technology stack, solutions, and go-to-market strategies.” “In my time in venture capital, far too often the choice of…
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A Swiss startup has unveiled a solution to the global shortage of security guards: an autonomous patrol robot. Named the Ascento Guard, the two-wheeled sentinel is equipped with thermal and infrared cameras, speakers, a microphone, and GPS tracking. The bidepal design promises all-terrain mobility, fall recovery from any position, and top speeds of 5km/h. Using these features, the Ascento Guard can spot trespassers, monitor parking lots, and record property lights. It can also identify floods and fires, as well as check that doors and windows are closed. When an incident is detected, an alarm is sent to an operator. Only then is…
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NordicNinja, the largest Japanese VC in Europe, has raised a fresh fund of €200mn for early-stage startups active in climate and deep tech, with particular focus on the intersection between sustainability and digitalisation. Alongside the funding, startups will receive support and access to a network of over 120 blue chip Japanese corporations. Founded in 2019, NordicNinja is led by a team of founders, engineers, and operators turned investors from Northern Europe and Japan. While the firm’s focal point has been so far on the Nordics and the Baltics, it’s now expanding to the UK, Ireland, and BeNeLux countries. Its headquarters…
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Dell and University of Limerick (UL) in Ireland have teamed up to advance cancer research using AI. Specifically, the tech giant will be working with UL’s Digital Cancer Research Centre to help doctors provide more efficient cancer care for patients suffering from B-cell lymphoma. This covers the entire spectrum of care, from speeding up diagnosis to improving treatment and long-term outcomes. To achieve this, Dell has developed an AI platform, powered by the company’s latest storage arrays and PowerEdge servers. The platform is now part of the Centre’s multicloud ecosystem, and is able to produce digital twins of patients. The…
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Space startup Open Cosmos will accelerate its mission to protect our planet after raising $50mn in a new funding round. The UK-based company uses satellites to tackle environmental issues. By tapping AI, sensors, and Earth Observation (EO) imagery, the probes provide unique insights into climate change. These findings can shine new light on global temperatures, greenhouse gases, polar ice caps, sea level changes, natural disasters, and deforestation. Scientists can then use the data in damage mitigation programmes. Rafel Jordá Siquier, Open Cosmos’ CEO and founder, told TNW that sustainability is at the core of the company. “I’ve always believed that space data…
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Tech companies spend over €113mn per year on lobbying the EU’s decision-making policies, a new study by the Corporate Europe Organisation (CEO) has found. Alarmingly, the tech industry’s lobbying power has also increased by 16.5% over the past couple of years — from €97mn in 2021 to €113mn in 2023. Overall, a total of 651 companies are attempting to influence the bloc’s digital economy. Among them, big tech is (rather expectedly) dominating the efforts, digging deeper into its pockets more than ever before. Specifically, Meta is at the top of the list, having increased its budget from €5.75mn in 2021…
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Last week, Stellantis announced it had inaugurated its first, €40mn, battery tech centre in Turin, Italy. This will allow for in-house testing and development of EV battery packs for the company’s upcoming products. The move is part of a plan to expand battery building capacity to 400GWh — and significantly reduce battery weight. The Mirafiori Battery Technology Centre is 8,000 square metres in total, which makes it the largest battery testing facility in Italy, and one of the largest in Europe. (For reference, the largest, is 12,000 square metres and located in Sandersdorf-Brehna close to Leipzig, Germany.) Spread over three…
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Our world runs on semiconductors. The slivers of silicon provide electronic brains to phones, computers, cars, data centres, and stock markets. They’re also the digital backbone of modern militaries. Some of the first chips ever made were used in missile guidance systems. Today, they power countless military devices, from fighter jets and howitzers to radios and radar. In the Russian-Ukraine war, chips power HIMARS rocket launchers, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and the Starlink communications satellites. They’re also integral to the arms race underway in East Asia, where territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas risk spiralling into a major…
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At a somewhat small and unassuming airport in Maribor, Slovenia, German hydrogen propulsion startup H2FLY has quietly been building up to a major milestone in zero-emission aviation over the summer. And all the hard work has come to fruition, with the successful completion of the world’s first crewed liquid hydrogen-powered flights. Before any aviation history enthusiast out there goes “but what about the Tupolev Tu-155?” — yes, the Soviets did try out liquid hydrogen as fuel 35 years ago, but only for one of the three engines. In contrast, H2FLY’s HY4 has now operated using only liquid hydrogen (as opposed…
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Intel Ignite, Intel’s accelerator for early-stage deep tech startups, has unveiled the 10 companies that will comprise its newly-launched London cohort — the first one in the UK. Starting on September 12, the selected startups will take part in a 12-week programme, during which founders will receive mentorship and guidance on their growth journey. This will include areas such as product development, technology, marketing and sales, fundraising, and go-to-market strategies. The programme will also focus on co-founder dynamics, founders’ mental health, and diversity and inclusion practices. Meanwhile, the finalists (selected from a total of over 200 applicants) will have access…
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After months of negotiations, the UK is rejoining Horizon, the EU’s €95.5bn flagship research and innovation programme, prime minister Rishi Sunak announced Thursday. Although the country’s participation in the programme was part of the Brexit deal, its membership had been blocked for three years following Brussels’ and London’s feud over the trade rules for Northern Ireland — the UK’s only land border with an EU member state, the Republic of Ireland. But the issue’s resolution in February has now opened the way for the UK’s re-entry into Horizon, which was confirmed on Wednesday, September 6, during a call between Sunak…
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Estonian startup VOOL has secured a fresh capital injection of €2.92mn to boost production and development of its EV charging solutions. Specifically, the company closed an additional seed round of €1.3mn and received a €1.6mn grant from the Estonian government. Founded in 2018, VOOL offers a smart EV charging system, which combines in-house developed hardware and software. This includes the charger, hub, app (B2C), web platform, and admin portal (B2B). VOOL’s EV charger is suitable for both businesses and private customers. Credit: VOOL The company claims its solution uses the existing grid three times more efficiently than average thanks to…
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When COVID-19 hit, suddenly commutes were a thing of the past, and many home offices took the shape of kitchen tables or even stacks of cushions on the bed. While Zoom fashion may have been the height of comfy for some, for many the isolation and lack of separation between work and home was torture, and exacerbated an already escalating crisis of loneliness and mental health. Enabled by the digital age and turbocharged by the pandemic, remote working is so much more complex than the Instagram-touted ideal of a ‘digital nomad’ swaying with their laptop in a hammock between palm…
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The European Commission has named today six tech giants whose market power it aims to control through its Digital Markets Act (DMA) — a landmark pro-competition regulation, designed to ensure a fair and open digital market for both companies and consumers. The six companies are designated as “gatekeepers” of the EU’s digital market. This means that their core platform services: are active in at least three member states; gather over 45 million end users per month and more than 10,000 business users per year; and have an annual turnover of at least €7.5bn or a market capitalisation of at least…
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TikTok has launched its first European data centre, as part of its efforts to address Western fears over surveillance-related privacy risks. The Chinese-owned company says it has started migrating European user information to its new data centre in Dublin. Two more centres under construction, one in Norway and another one in Ireland. TikTok first announced its plan to localise European data storing in March, under the name “Project Clover.” The full migration of the app’s 150 millions users in the region is expected by the end of 2024. Currently, TikTok stores its global user data in Singapore, Malaysia, and the…
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When Russian troops flooded into Ukraine last year, an army of propagandists followed them. Within hours, Kremlin-backed media were reporting that President Zelenskyy had fled the country. Weeks later, a fake video of Zelenskyy purportedly surrendering went viral. But almost as soon as they emerged, the lies were disproven. Government campaigns had prepared Ukrainians for digital disinformation. When the crude deepfake appeared, the clip was quickly debunked, removed from social media platforms, and disproven by Zelenskyy in a genuine video. The incident became a symbol of the wider information war. Analysts had expected Russia’s propaganda weapons to wreak havoc, but…
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This morning, one of Sweden’s largest newspapers, Svenska Dagbladet (SvD), published a thorough investigation into how criminal networks have used Spotify to launder money for years. Specifically, they have been paying for false streams of music published by artists with ties to the groups, and then capitalised on the engineered popularity. Analysts at the National Operative Unit of the Swedish Police Force have been looking at (or listening to) rappers publishing their music on the streaming giant since autumn 2021. First, as a means of gathering clues and information about crimes from the lyrics. Then, as streaming patterns began to…
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Apple and Microsoft are pressing the EU to omit iMessage and Bing, respectively, from a list of “gatekeepers” subject to new regulatory requirements. Their reasoning? The services, claim the companies, simply aren’t popular enough. The dispute stems from the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, a landmark law designed to constrain the power of big tech. A key aim of the rules is to prevent digital giants from squashing smaller rivals by boxing users into closed services. The targets of the policies are the so-called gatekeepers — companies that provide “core platform services” prone to unfair business practices, such as social…
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Just as the chill of autumn sets in, the recruitment business heats up. With key decision-makers returning from summer holidays, the job boards are suddenly repopulated with exciting new opportunities. This makes September one of the busiest months in recruitment (second only to the New Year rush in January) and a strategic time to put your best foot forward with potential new employers. It also makes it a great time to self-assess. How do you look on paper? A second or third pair of eyes on your CV is a good idea. Refresh your résumé to include recently acquired and…
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Q-day may still be somewhere far in the future. However, that is not hindering cautiously optimistic investors from putting their money into the oh-so-seductive promise of quantum technology. Latest in line to be on the receiving end of such confidence is Dutch startup Orange Quantum Systems. The company, which builds quantum chip test equipment, just raised €1.5mn in pre-seed funding to support the emerging industry’s transition from “lab to fab.” There are many challenges to scaling quantum technology. Decoherence, error correction, and qubit quality and consistency are all issues that need to be addressed, to say nothing of the algorithms,…
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Late last week, Sweden’s Scania revealed a world-first hybrid semi-truck covered in solar panels. Because of its self-produced energy, the unique prototype has the potential to reduce both operational costs and CO2 emissions of heavy transport. The hybrid truck’s trailer is covered in 100 square metres of solar panels that are plugged into an electrical system carried on board. It is being deployed in a research project to examine how much solar energy such a configuration can generate, and how much it is possible to lower CO2 emissions through the use of the attached photovoltaic panels. As it swooshes silently down…
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As part of the UK’s decommissioning efforts of the Dounreay nuclear site in Scotland, a dog-like robot has mapped out a radioactive section that’s been sealed off for 25 years. Developed by Boston Dynamics, the quadruple robotic device, called “Spot,” is described as a “mobile agile robot.” Thanks to its ability to move over rough terrain, avoid obstacles, and climb stairs, it can monitor and collect data in hazardous areas. At Dounreay, two Spots were deployed at an evaporator cell in the Fuel Cycle Area, which houses the facilities where the separation of spent fuel and the recovery of uranium…
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Hydrogen is being hailed as, if not a silver bullet, then at least a crucial component to decarbonising the world’s energy sources. And no wonder — when burned, hydrogen produces zero greenhouse gas emissions. However, the transition to a renewable hydrogen economy must first overcome a non-insignificant list of challenges. So-called green hydrogen, produced through electrolysis of water using renewable energy, currently accounts for only about 1% of global production. It is also about three times as expensive as its grey counterpart, produced from fossil fuel sources. One of the major pieces of the puzzle to scaling green hydrogen is…
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Although academic researchers have the knowledge and skills to develop potentially life changing products for patients, they often face unique challenges compared to other founders. Lengthy and expensive R&D costs often make VCs hesitant to invest. While spinoff founders are experts in their field, they often lack the necessary skills to build a successful startup, particularly in sales and business management. Finally, regulations and certifications often make it difficult to get solutions into the hands of the patients who need them most. According to a recent report by Techleap.nl, the Netherlands in particular is lagging behind other European countries when…
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Our phones have lamentably short lives. Batteries die before they’re old, compatibility is transient, software support expires, and minor upgrades soon arrive that are presented as must-haves. It’s an insidious model — and one that Fairphone is upending. The Dutch startup this week released a handset that sets new standards for sustainability: the Fairphone 5. Laudably, the company envisions the device functioning for 10 years. The modular machine is built for repairability. Not only can you replace fading batteries, but also nine other parts, including the screen, USB-C port, and speakers. To change them, just grab a screwdriver and follow…
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VanMoofers, rejoice — the ebike gods have not abandoned you. Yesterday, McLaren Applied and its escooter department Lavoie announced they had agreed to purchase the bankrupt ebike startup. The details of the deal have not been made public. However, the F1 engineering and technology company stated that it would invest in stabilising and expanding VanMoof’s existing business. This will be in the realm of “tens of millions” of pounds in the short term, according to McLaren Applied Chairman Nick Fry, quoted by Reuters. “This is a huge opportunity for us as this [VanMoof] is a company with a brilliant product,”…
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In a bid to allay EU antitrust concerns, Microsoft will start unbundling Teams from the Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites in European markets. Microsoft announced the move on Thursday. The company said the software will be split in the European Economic Area, which unites the EU member states with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, as well as in Switzerland. The changes will commence on October 1. From that point, enterprise customers can buy Office 365 and Microsoft 365 without Teams at a lower price of €2 per month or €24 per year. To access Teams, they will need to buy…
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Today, Paris became one of the first European cities to implement an outright ban on rented e-scooters, after residents previously voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion. During a referendum in April, voters were given two choices: “for” or “against” a city-wide ban on shared e-scooters. Almost 90% voted in favour of the ban, but the overall turnout was low — only 7.5% of eligible voters casted ballots. Nevertheless, the result was celebrated as a win for democracy by Mayor Anne Hidalgo who vowed to follow through on the verdict. The ban applies to rental e-scooters (known as trottinettes in…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Melina Zacharia and Luis Minvielle. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. The Spanish job market is booming — and so are opportunities for developers. After a turbulent 2020, official sources pointed out that the resuscitation of the services sector and the overall uptick in economic activity will positively impact employment and lower the unemployment rate in Spain in the coming years. The government projected a 7% growth in the…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Melina Zacharia and Ines Almeida. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. It’s that time again: the annual Honeypot breakdown of software developer salaries in Germany. We’re building on the data we shared in 2022 and 2021 with new insights from 2023, providing you with the learnings you need to make informed choices around your salary options. 2023 has been a more conservative year of growth but growth persists. Our…
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Vienna-based advocacy group Noyb has filed complaints against Fitbit in Austria, the Netherlands, and Italy, alleging that the Google-owned fitness tracking company is in violation of EU data privacy regulations. Fitbit — which sells watches that track activity, heart rate, and sleep — “forces” new users of its app to consent to data transfers outside the EU, said Noyb. Currently, the only way Fitbit users can withdraw their consent is by deleting their accounts entirely, which would mean losing all their previously tracked workouts and health data. “This means there is no realistic way to regain control over your data…
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The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is warning organisations to be wary of the imminent cyber risks associated with the integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) — such as ChatGPT — into their business, products, or services. In a set of blog posts, the NCSC emphasised that the global tech community doesn’t yet fully grasp LLMs’ capabilities, weaknesses, and (most importantly) vulnerabilities. “You could say our understanding of LLMs is still ‘in beta’,’’ the authority said. One of the most extensively reported security weaknesses of existing LLMs is their susceptibility to malicious “prompt injection” attacks. These occur when a…
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Dutch VC firm PhotonVentures has raised €60mn for its new fund aimed at stimulating Europe’s photonics industry. The capital targets startups and scaleups active in photonic chips — a crucial technology for applications in robotics, quantum computing, and autonomous vehicles. Specifically, the fund will initially invest in 15 early-stage companies that show international growth potential and have an integrated photonics-based MVP connected to the European ecosystem. It will prioritise Series A rounds, while investments will vary between €1mn and €2.5mn. The deep tech VC expects to raise an additional €40-90mn by the start of 2024. Joachim de Sterke, General Partner…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Melina Zacharia and Ines Almeida. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. In this report, we’re exploring developer salaries and trends in the Netherlands. How does the country perform against other tech hubs in Europe? Will it remain an English-speaking haven for software developers and data scientists? 2023 has been yet another year of growth when it comes to software developer salaries in the Netherlands. The average salary grew by…
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As governments increase demands for labels on AI-generated content, Google DeepMind has released a potential solution: a watermarking tool. Named SynthID, the system harnesses deep learning to embed digital stamps into the pixels of images. According to DeepMind, the watermarks are imperceptible to the human eye, but detectable with an algorithm. The UK-based research lab said the watermark doesn’t compromise image quality. It also remains detectable after modifications, such as adding filters, changing colours, and cropping. The concept resembles watermarks applied to movies and stock photos. But in this case, the objective isn’t to protect rights holders from counterfeits, but…
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It’s been nearly 2,000 years since Vesuvius’ eruption buried the vibrant Roman city of Pompeii under a deadly blanket of ash. The eerie ruins and the famous casts of Pompeii represent an invaluable window into the dramatic event. However, one of the most pressing questions about that day remains: what exactly was the cause of death of the victims? Applying a new research and technological method, a European team led by the University of Valencia has determined that a number of the fossilised Pompeians died of asphyxiation — and not from dehydration or heat as previously theorised. The researchers performed…
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First discovered in 1773 by French astronomer Charles Messier, the Whirlpool galaxy (aka ‘M51’) is one of the most well-known objects in the night sky. Everyone from amateur astronomers to NASA have been sharing images of the Whirlpool galaxy for decades. But never have you seen an image like the one just captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful of its kind. What exactly am I looking at here? This mesmerising picture (featured top) is a composite image from the telescope’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments. Both devices are built to capture the distant universe by decoding infrared…
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After being banned from Belgium in June, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance, has resumed operations in the country by redirecting customers through its entity in Poland. Binance said its Polish division would comply with the “regulatory obligations” for residents of Belgium, who can now expect an uninterrupted experience on the crypto exchange platform. However, in keeping with the regulatory requirements, Belgian customers will need to comply with the terms defined by Binance Poland. This may include submitting specific KYC (Know Your Customer) documents to meet the stipulations of Polish regulators. The move comes roughly two months after Belgium’s…
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Rohingya refugees are taking Meta to Ireland’s High Court for the tech giant’s alleged role in the 2017 Myanmar genocide, one of the worst war crimes of this century. Friday (25 August) marked six years since the start of the ethnic cleansing, which saw more than 25,000 people of Muslim Rohingya descent killed by Myanmar’s military, with a further 700,000 displaced. Most fled to nearby Bangladesh, where many still live, often in refugee camps like Kutupalong, the world’s largest. In 2018, UN human rights investigators said the use of Meta’s social media platform Facebook had played a key role in…
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Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania has selected two Nordic companies to provide the battery and propulsion technology for the world’s largest electric ship, as the industry looks to charter a course toward greener voyages. Incat is currently constructing the 130-metre-long battery-electric vessel at its factory on the island of Tasmania, off the coast of Australia. It is building the vessel for South American shipowner Buquebús. Once the ship launches, scheduled for some time in 2025, it will ferry up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles on a route between Argentina and Uruguay. Finland’s Wärtsilä will provide the electric motors and water…
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In a breakthrough for the EV industry, researchers have discovered a way to prevent a damaging and potentially dangerous side effect that can occur during fast charging: lithium plating. The phenomenon takes place when lithium ions build up on the surface of the battery’s anode (aka the negative electrode) instead of inserting themselves into it via a process called intercalation. As a result, the ions form a layer of metallic lithium which continues to grow on top of the anode. This can damage the battery, reduce its lifespan, decrease its overall performance, and cause short-circuits that could lead to fire…
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AI has a notorious history of biases, from facial recognition systems misidentifying Black people to chatbots admiring Hitler. In some settings, the outcomes can be deadly. A case in point was exposed this week. According to new research, the pedestrian detection systems used in autonomous vehicle research have major age and race biases. The study adds another obstacle to the rollout of driverless cars. It also uncovers an alarming potential addition to road safety. The findings derive from a systematic review of eight popular pedestrian detection systems. Researchers from King’s College London (KCL) tested the software on over 8,000 images of pedestrians.…
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Google will provide more information on targeted advertising, content decisions, and product policies as it strives to comply with the EU’s new content moderation rules, the tech giant said on Thursday. Known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the bloc’s landmark legislation kicks in today for 19 big tech companies. It sets multiple far-reaching measures designed to empower and protect users online against disinformation, harmful or illegal content, and the violation of privacy and free speech. “We will be expanding the Ads Transparency Center, a global searchable repository of advertisers across all our platforms, to meet specific DSA provisions and…
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A spacecraft has detected tiny jets that could be the elusive source of the sun’s solar wind. The discovery was made by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Solar Orbiter. According to ESA, the satellite is the most complex scientific lab ever sent to the sun. Using the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) —a suite of remote-sensing telescopes — the probe spotted jets of material emerging from the sun’s outer atmosphere. Each jet lasts between 20 and 100 seconds. During these fleeting moments, they expel charged particles — known as plasma — at around 100km per second. Scientists suspect the jets are powering the…
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The EU’s latest crackdown on big tech begins before the end of the week. Starting on Friday, a total of 19 major companies must adhere to the sweeping rules of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Essentially, the DSA is a landmark content moderation rulebook, designed to empower and protect users online against harmful or illegal content, disinformation, and the violation of privacy and free speech. The tech firms listed are not only the first required to comply, but also the ones facing the act’s strictest and most far-reaching measures. That’s because they reach at least 45 million European active users…
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On Wednesday, the German government announced that it would nearly double its funding for artificial intelligence research. The money pledged towards the development of AI systems now amounts to nearly €1bn, which is still far behind the $3.3bn (€3.04bn) in public funding the US reportedly threw at the field last year. The Federal Ministry for Education and Research said that AI is a “key technology” that offers enormous opportunities for science, growth, prosperity, competitiveness, and social added value. It further added that “technological sovereignty in AI must be secured,” and that Germany and Europe should take a leading position in…
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There seems to be no end in sight for Getir’s woes in Europe. Following exits from multiple markets, the rapid grocery delivery platform is now reducing operations in the Netherlands as well. The Turkish startup is set to close four dark stores in Amsterdam, the company told local paper Het Parool. This is a result of the city council’s new zoning plan which no longer allows the establishment of such stores in exclusively residential areas, following complaints about noise, waste, and traffic nuisance. The five locations are on Karperstraat, Baarsjesweg, Overtoom, Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat, and on Jan Rebelstraat. While…
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Franky Zapata, the French inventor-slash-daredevil who flew across the English Channel on a hoverboard, has launched an ‘airscooter’ to go alongside his jet-powered flyboard and flying deckchair. Zapata, Franky’s company, unveiled the egg-shaped hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) prototype at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, France. The “personal flying machine” is supposedly compliant with the Federal Aviation Authority Regulations and can be flown without a pilot’s license in the US as an “ultralight aircraft”. Thanks to the fly-by-wire flight controller and plenty of safety sensors, piloting the airscooter should be as easy as flying a drone. Its market…
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A piece of space junk being monitored by the European Space Agency as part of a mission to remove space junk has been hit by another piece of space junk. The collision highlights the mounting threat of space debris, and the need to deal with it sooner rather than later. The ESA announced this week that the US’ 18th Space Defense Squadron had detected debris in the vicinity of an object named VESPA, earmarked for removal from orbit. The most likely cause of the debris was the “hypervelocity impact of a small, untracked object” smashing into VESPA, said the ESA. …
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3D eye scans used in eye clinics and high-street opticians could help detect signs of Parkinon’s disease about seven years before clinical symptoms appear, a new study has found. Using eye data to identify health conditions is no novelty in the medical word. But advancements in ocular health monitoring tech and computing power have, in recent years, broadened the scope of diagnoses. A type of 3d scan, known as optical coherence tomography (OCT), has been key to this progress. An OCT scan produces a cross-section of the retina (the back of the eye) in remarkable detail — down to one…
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Across the globe this year, from Greece and Portugal to Canada and Hawaii, wildfires have been burning out of control. And as the world heats up, blazes like these are only predicted to get worse and more frequent. Faced with this imminent threat to lives and infrastructure, authorities are doubling down on tried and tested firefighting techniques. But they are also investing in new, high-tech approaches, pioneered by an emerging segment of ‘firetech’ startups. Telecoms specialist Dryad Networks, based out of Berlin, is one of them. By tapping AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, Dryad hopes to bring down…
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The French government is close to passing a new law that threatens the free internet, Mozilla has warned. Named SREN, the bill ostensibly aims to fight online fraud, but its approach has sparked alarm. The concerns centre on a requirement for web browsers to block sites listed on a government-provided list. Critics fear that the plan will turn browsers into censorship tools. Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser, is among the most vociferous opponents of the bill. According to the non-profit, the rules would be disastrous for the open internet and create a dangerous yardstick for autocrats. “Such a move will…
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Job searching can be invigorating, like when you get to imagine yourself sitting behind a new desk or out meeting new clients. But it can also be disappointing if you find exciting roles that you’re not fully qualified for. Don’t get discouraged when you don’t meet 100% of the criteria in a job listing. Whether you want to move up a level in your career or you’re looking to transition into a completely new job field, you won’t get an offer if you don’t apply. Instead of passing up interesting opportunities, you might just need to think outside the box,…
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A cargo ship retrofitted with two huge sails has set out on its maiden voyage, potentially chartering a greener course for the global shipping industry. The ship Pyxis Ocean will test the so-called “WindWings” as it travels across the globe from China to Brazil. American firm Cargill, which is chartering the vessel, said this is the first time sails of this size have been fitted to a cargo ship and tested in the real world. The rigid, foldable sails were designed by British company BAR Technologies, a spin-off from the 2017 UK team of America’s Cup, a world-famous sailing competition…
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Chip designer Arm has filed for an initial public offering, which is expected to be the biggest IPO of the year. The UK-based company announced on Monday that it’s applied to sell shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the US — a move that is a big blow to its home country. Arm is reportedly eyeing a valuation of between $60bn (€55bn) to $70bn (€64bn). The lofty target stems from the ubiquity and efficiency of Arm’s semiconductor architectures — particularly in mobile devices. Arm estimates that more than 99% of the world’s smartphones use Arm-based chips. In recent years, however,…
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Lamborghini unveiled its first concept for an all-electric grand tourer last week, as it becomes the latest carmaker to hop on the battery-powered bandwagon. The Lanzador looks strikingly different to the iconic low-slung two-seaters supercars for which Lamborghini is famous. The muscular, angled look coupled with high-ground clearance makes it more of a hulky crossover than a supercar. The bulk is to accommodate for the large “new generation high-performance” floor-mounted battery packs which will power the car’s two electric motors. A peak output of over one megawatt (equivalent to 1,341 horsepower) will make the Lanzador the most powerful Lambo ever. …
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In an intensifying global battle for semiconductor self-sufficiency, the UK will reportedly spend £100mn of taxpayer money to buy AI chip technology from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia. The initiative is part of the UK’s intention to build a national AI resource, but critics say it is too little, too late. As reported by The Guardian, a government official has confirmed that the UK is already in negotiations with Nvidia for the purchase of up to 5,000 graphic processing units (GPU). However, they also stated that the £100mn was way too little compared to what for instance the EU, US, and…
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A new satellite designed to analyse X-ray light in space is set to launch on August 26. The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM — pronounced “crism”) brings together Nasa, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Together, they aim to resolve mysteries about the formation of the universe and the structure of spacetime. The X-rays released in the cosmos’ most energetic explosions and hottest places can reveal some of these secrets. One particularly powerful example involves galaxy clusters — the universe’s biggest building blocks. These groups of galaxies are enveloped by a super-hot gas.…
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Among the many benefits of artificial intelligence touted by its proponents is the technology’s potential ability to help solve climate change. If this is indeed the case, the recent step changes in AI couldn’t have come any sooner. This summer, evidence has continued to mount that Earth is already transitioning from warming to boiling. However, as intense as the hype has been around AI over the past months, there is also a lengthy list of concerns accompanying it. Its prospective use in spreading disinformation for one, along with potential discrimination, privacy, and security issues. Furthermore, researchers at the University of…
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A new watermarking tool detects pirated content from a single smartphone photo or screenshot. The system was developed by castLabs, a video software provider based in Berlin. The company says the tech can protect videos, images, documents, and designs from piracy and intellectual property theft. It can also spot media that’s been manipulated for disinformation. To safeguard the content, an algorithm first embeds a hidden watermark within a digital asset. Detailed user data, including IDs, IP addresses, and session information, can be stored in the watermark. When a user takes a picture of the content, a cloud-based extractor scans the…
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Thousands of hills across Britain could be transformed into renewable energy batteries thanks to a new ‘high-density’ hydropower system buried underground. Developed by UK startup RheEnergise, the system puts a modern spin on pumped storage hydro, a centuries-old technology which accounts for 95% of today’s energy storage capacity. Pumped storage hydro uses surplus electricity to pump water into an uphill reservoir, later releasing it back downhill over a set of turbines and into the original lake, generating electricity on demand. Except RheEnergise’s hydro system doesn’t use water at all, but a proprietary high-density fluid. Named R-19 it is 2.5 times…
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To say that Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund made a killing these past months would be an understatement. The world’s largest investor in the stock market earned 1,501 billion crowns (€131.1bn) in the first half of 2023, and much of it due to the recent boom in AI. To a large extent, the profits came from the fund’s shares in tech companies such as Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Nvidia that all saw a surge from the current AI craze. Meanwhile, the fund is telling the very same companies to get serious about the responsible deployment and risks of artificial intelligence. “As…
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Scientists at Imperial College London have invented a leaf-inspired technology that captures solar energy and makes freshwater in the process. The design, known as PV-leaf, is made up of glass, photovoltiac cells, bamboo fibres, and hydrogel cells which combine to mimic a real leaf. Water can even move and distribute throughout the artificial leaf’s structure and evaporate from its surface, cooling it down. In hot and sunny conditions, solar panels can heat up to temperatures of 65°C or more, which takes a big knock on their efficiency. This is because the increased heat causes the electrons in the semiconductor…
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The UK has devised a novel solution for a funding gap: more funding. In a bid to strengthen the country’s financial sector, up to £1bn (€1.2bn) has been allocated to a new investment vehicle for fintech firms. Named the FinTech Growth Fund, the scheme will invest predominantly in companies between Series B and pre-IPO, with the aim of scaling them into global leaders. The first capital deployment is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. The fund plans to make an average of four to eight investments every year, each between £10mn (£11.7mn) and £100mn (€117.1mn). All of them will be…
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In the divided world of semiconductors, Arm is frequently compared to Switzerland. The UK-based business is built on a foundation of neutrality. Rather than build chips, Arm merely designs their blueprints. The company then licences the IP to almost every major semiconductor maker without directly competing against them. That approach — as well as the energy-efficient architectures — has driven Arm’s designs into over 95% of smartphones, alongside cars, computers, and countless other applications. But the independence that underpins Arm has become contentious. Meanwhile, a budding contender has emerged with a promise of true impartiality: the RISC-V Foundation. The anxieties…
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Elon Musk said in April that Tesla would prioritise mass production over profit, in an attempt to spur demand and fend off competition — and the bold tactic seems to be working. Tesla’s Model Y was Europe’s best-selling car in all categories in the first half of 2023. You heard that right: the electric SUV even elbowed out combustion engine cars like the Dacia Sandero and Volkswagen T-Roc to take the top spot, the first time ever for an EV in Europe. Tesla sold 138,814 Model Y’s between January and June of this year, almost double the volume sold during…
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Quantum computing holds a lot of promise. The question is when the hyped and indeed potentially revolutionising technology will begin to deliver on it. According to UK quantum startup Phasecraft, it’s not that far off. The secret? Algorithms that can work on today’s “imperfect” quantum computers, without having to wait for the very tricky hardware to draw level. You could forgive the quantum sceptics for their “I’ll believe it when I see it” attitude. To date, no quantum computer or algorithm has been able to solve any problem of actual significance. However, according to Ashley Montanaro, Phasecraft CEO and University…
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A team of researchers at King’s College London, has demonstrated that, despite being the more vulnerable group when it comes to cyber abuse, women engage much less than men with security and privacy tech. Led by Dr Kovila Coopamootoo, lecturer in Computer Science within the Cyber Security Group at King’s College, the research revealed a significant gender gap in the utilisation of tools designed to keep users safe online. From a survey of 600 people, in near equal proportion men and women, the team concluded that the habits of protecting oneself from cyber harassment and crime differ greatly between the…
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The UK’s first bank account dedicated to accelerating science and technology is set to launch next month. Science Card is the brainchild of Daniel Baeriswyl — during his PhD in biomedical engineering at UCL, he cultivated an appreciation of the importance of life-saving scientific research, but also the runway it requires. “I found it interesting that the investment side is so heavy on financial services, but by comparison, life-changing innovation is very underfunded,” said Baeriswyl, who also co-founded machine learning platform Marget Carpet AI, acquired by Blockchain.com last year. The entrepreneur is looking to bridge the gap between…
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Many of us have become accustomed to getting the newest, flashiest versions of our favourite gadgets, leaving yesterday’s tech destined for the dustbin. In 2022, the global economy produced 50 million tonnes of e-waste — equivalent to the weight of 5,000 Eiffel towers. This take-make-waste habit is unsustainable, and research shows, increasingly unpopular. The second-hand goods market is growing 20 times faster than retail as a whole and is expected to be worth €120bn by 2025. “Buying refurbished goods has got a huge tailwind at the moment,” James Murdock, Alchemy’s CMO, tells TNW. “More and more people want to do…
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Angel and seed funding in Europe are remarkably resilient to the startup market downturn, according to new research by Pitchbook. In the first half of 2021, noth median deal values and valuations in these stages exhibited positive trends The biggest increase was in median angel deal values, which were up 28.8% compared with 2022. The median angel valuation, meanwhile, was up 10.2%, while the median seed-stage valuation was flat. These figures illustrate the insulated nature of early-stage funding. Angel and seed rounds are typically more removed from public markets, as businesses at those stages are further away from maturity and…
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Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he believes forthcoming green tech investments will benefit the country’s stagnated economy as a whole. In a ‘summer interview’ with public broadcaster ZDF, the chancellor stated that the government has “moved at an incredible pace” when it comes to shifting legislation around hydrogen production and other renewable energy sources. Indeed, in June this year, Germany overtook China as the second most attractive country for investing in renewables (the US ranks first). The country has set a target for renewable sources to make up as much as 80% of its energy mix by 2030 (currently at…
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A groundbreaking study, based on observations from the European Space Agency’s billion-pixel Gaia space telescope, has revealed a “gravitational anomaly” that challenges our fundamental understanding of the universe. The anomaly occurs when loosely orbiting stars, known as wide binaries, seem to move in ways that defy standard models of gravity established by Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. Astronomer Kyu-Hyun Chae from Sejong University in South Korea made the discovery while studying binary star systems, which refer to two stars that orbit each other. At accelerations of lower than 0.1 nanometres per second squared, the orbit of the two stars deviated…
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Ed Newton-Rex, a creative AI pioneer and VP Audio at Stability AI, says that he’s become the first author to publish a piece of classical music that uses generative AI. The musician and entrepreneur wrote his “I stand in the library,” a piece for the choir and piano, to a poem produced by OpenAI‘s generative AI model GPT3. Written back in 2022, the 15-minute composition has been premiered at the Live from London online classical music festival, performed by a choral group VOCES8. The full version of the performance is available (behind paywall) on the festival’s website, but here’s an…
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The British government’s promise to protect encryption has been pilloried by security experts and libertarians. The dispute stems from a section of the Online Safety Bill. Under the legislation, messaging apps would be forced to provide access to private communications when requested by the regulator Ofcom. Proponents say the measures will combat child abuse, but critics are aghast about the threat to privacy. They fear the plans will facilitate mass surveillance and damage the UK’s tech sector. Signal, Whatsapp, and five other messaging apps have all threatened to leave the country if the law is passed. The British government has…
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The day following US President Biden’s unveiling of an executive order designed to curb investments in certain tech sectors in China has been marked by tentative reactions from both policymakers and the business community. The UK government stated early on Wednesday that the decision provided “clarity” on the approach of its close ally. Furthermore, it said it would “consider these new measures closely” as it continued to evaluate any potential implications for national security. Meanwhile, the European Union was only marginally less ambiguous in its response. Later in the afternoon, the Commission said that it was “in close contact” with…
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A number of the world’s largest media organisations have assembled to call for greater transparency in regard to the training of generative AI models. In an open letter to policymakers published yesterday, they ask to be involved in creating standards for the use of artificial intelligence, especially as it relates to intellectual property rights. With generative AI, it is now possible to produce and distribute synthetic content at a previously unimagined pace and scale. The threat, the letter states, is that the irresponsible use of the technology could come to endanger the media ecosystem as a whole by eroding the…
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Social media influencers are facilitating the trade in counterfeit goods, according to new research by Portsmouth University. After analysing surveys of 2,000 people in the UK, the study team found around 22% of consumers who are active on social media have bought counterfeits endorsed by influencers. The researchers believe it’s the first-ever estimate of its kind. They warn that counterfeiters are exploiting the popularity of influencers to peddle harmful products. “Counterfeit products injure and kill hundreds of thousands of people across the world,” Dr David Shepherd, the study’s lead author, said in a statement. “The working conditions in the counterfeit…
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On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden unveiled an executive order banning new investments in certain tech sectors in China, citing security risks. The order is set to come into effect next year, and the US will be waiting to see if its closest ally will follow suit. However, for now, the UK says it will consider the measures taken by its transatlantic partner, as it continues to evaluate security implications. “This executive order on outward investment gives important clarity on the US approach,” a spokesperson for the government said in a statement shared with the Financial Times earlier today. “The…
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The European Space Agency’s next-generation heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, definitely won’t launch until at least 2024, the agency’s director general confirmed this week. Ariane 6 was first scheduled to launch four years ago. However, the rocket has suffered a series of delays, attributed to technical issues, COVID-19, and design changes. The ESA said the most recent setback was because it failed to complete a short hot firing test,, mimicking the environment in space to provide data to operators,of Ariane’s engine system in a July attempt. The ESA wants to reattempt the test on August 29, with tentative plans for a…
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While the US and China have dominated the space sector for decades, Europe is carving out a niche for itself: small satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO). One of the most promising startups in this space is Germany’s Rocket Factory Augsburg, which has just raised €30m from KKR, an American investment firm. The cash injection will facilitate RFA’s upcoming launch test at the end of this year and help complete its launch pad at SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. SaxaVord Spaceport is a planned spaceport to be located on the Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst in the Shetland Islands, the most northerly…
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In a pivot toward Europe, Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC decided yesterday to invest in a €10bn chip factory in Germany. With Taiwan under mounting pressure from Beijing to submit to mainland China authority, politicians — and customers — are increasingly concerned about disruptions to semiconductor supply chains. As such, the Taiwanese producer is looking to geographically diversify its dominant computer chip industry. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, or TSMC, produces most of the chips in Taiwan. In turn, the East Asian island makes over 60% of the world’s semiconductors, and 90% of the most advanced ones. On the other side of the equation,…
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A team of UK researchers has trained a deep learning model to interpret keystrokes remotely based solely on audio. By recording keystrokes to train the model, they were able to predict what was typed on the keyboard with up to 95% accuracy. This accuracy dropped to 93% when using Zoom to train the system. According to the new research, this means that sensitive information like passwords and messages could be interpreted by anyone within hearshot of someone typing away on their laptop, either by recording them in person or virtually through a video call. These so-called acoustic side-channel attacks have…
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As July drew to a close, Getir announced plans to withdraw from three more markets. The Turkish rapid grocery delivery startup pulled out of Spain, Portugal, and Italy, in a move that reduced its European footprint to just four countries. It’s the latest chapter in a string of difficult encounters for the company and for the q-commerce or rapid grocery delivery market more generally in Europe. The space is undergoing a tough transition as VC money dries up and cost-of-living challenges abound for consumers. As for why Getir decided to slim down its operations, a spokesperson said that the “withdrawal…
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As fears of war with China escalate, Taiwan is seeking European support for its communications systems. The island nation recently tapped services from two satellite firms on the continent: the UK’s OneWeb and Luxembourg’s SES. To avoid disruption during a potential conflict, SES will implement a medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite network, Taipei’s digital ministry announced last week. SES confirmed the project to TNW on Monday. The company said it aimed to give Taiwan “an emergency backup network in case of damages to its current terrestrial networks.” The move is part of broader plans to strengthen Taiwan’s digital resilience. The country…
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We all know that feeling of nervous excitement on the first day of a new job. There’s so much potential ahead of you: to grow, to learn, to be part of a workplace, to make new friends. But not every job is supposed to last forever, and some have a shorter timespan than others. In recent years, we saw what was called the “great resignation”, but sometimes you just get the sense that you’ve done all you can in a role, and it’s time to move on. So how can you tell if you’re at that point? Here are some…
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In recent weeks devastating wildfires have swept across Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, causing several fatalities, the displacement of thousands of people, and widespread damage to infrastructure. More than 260,000 hectares of land across the EU has already burnt since January — an area the size of Luxembourg. Many fires are still raging across swathes of southern Europe and beyond. In response to the increasing threat of wildfires, the European Space Agency has released an upgraded version of its World Fire Atlas which harvests satellite data to track the blazes. Through the dashboard, users can compare the frequency of fires…
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Meta’s litany of European privacy sanctions in 2023 just got a little longer. After a €390mn fine for illegal personalised ads, another €5.5mn hit for similar violations in WhatsApp, and a GDPR record €1.2bn for unsafe data transfers, this week yet another punishment arrived — and the sentence did not disappoint. Norwegian regulators have demanded a gloriously round figure that would make Dr Evil proud: 1 MILLION crowns (€89,000) per day. The penalties are due to begin on August 14, but Meta wants a temporary injunction against the order, Reuters reports. The ruling follows news last month that Norway will temporarily…
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Scientists are edging closer to a fusion energy system that doesn’t rely on magnetic field-based tokamak reactors or twisty stellarators. German startup Marvel Fusion has teamed up with Colorado State University to build the world’s first facility dedicated to commercialising inertial confinement — a type of fusion reaction produced by slamming atoms together many times per second using high-intensity lasers. Interest in this type of fusion has increased since scientists at the US government’s National Ignition Facility successfully achieved net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the first time ever in December, and repeated the feat again in July. …
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UK-based aerospace software startup SATAVIA announced today that sustainability certification body Gold Standard has approved its methodology concept to issue what could be referred to as “contrail credits.” Rather than offsetting carbon emissions directly (like carbon credits), they will offer an avenue for airlines to “make up” for the warming effects equivalent to that of carbon dioxide, by mitigating the non-CO2 climate impact of air travel. Everyone knows that aeroplanes emit copious amounts of CO2 (whether that causes any changes to our flying habits is another matter). However, aviation’s climate impact goes far beyond carbon dioxide. Research has found that…
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Developers across the world are mourning the loss of Bram Moolenaar, renowned Dutch software engineer and creator of the Vim text editor. Moolenaar passed away on August 3, 2023, after suffering from a medical condition that “rapidly progressed over the last few weeks,” according to a statement shared by his family on the Vim-announce Google Group. Vim, short for “Vi IMproved,” is a free and open-source, screen-based text editor that has been at the forefront of many software developments since its release in 1991. RIP Bram Moolenaar – 1961-2023https://t.co/2R95NMLF8B pic.twitter.com/UuS7zuruvN — Guillermo Rauch (@rauchg) August 5, 2023 Vim is a…
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When Monzo published its latest annual revenue figures in February, it provided a flicker of light after months of headlines about fintech down rounds and job cuts. The accounts showed that the UK digital bank was now profitable with a net operating income of £214.5 million (€249mn). The news will cheer up Monzo after seeing its valuation cut during the pandemic but for some of its peers in Europe the challenges of the macroeconomic environment still loom large. A rumoured acquisition by Monzo of Nordic rival Lunar, the neobank backed by Will Ferrell and last valued at over $2 billion…
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As demand for industrial robots surges, new research suggests the rewards are slow to materialise. According to the Cambridge University study, robots typically cause early losses before they can yield a payoff. The researchers analysed industry data across 25 EU countries between 1996 and 2017. They found that when adoption levels are low, robots can have a negative effect on profit margins. As the uptake increases, however, automation drives the profits higher. This U-shaped effect was attributed to the integration process. At first, businesses using robots typically tend to focus on streamlining operations — an expensive and laborious task. But when automation…
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As the International Space Station approaches retirement, a transatlantic team is creating a replacement: Starlab. Airbus and US startup Voyager this week announced a joint venture for the project. The two companies will develop, build, and operate Starlab, which aims to further unite the US and Europe in space. “This pioneers continued European and American leadership in space that takes humanity forward,” said Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Space Systems at Airbus. “Together our teams are focused on creating an unmatched space destination both technologically and as a business operation.” The US-led venture plans to produce a commercial successor to the…
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A bad week for Elon Musk just got even worse. After enduring a scandal over Tesla’s driving ranges, a risible rebrand of Twitter, and a divisive feud with hate-speech researchers, Musk discovered yet another powerful enemy: Agence France-Presse (AFP). The French news agency announced on Wednesday that it’s suing X — Musk’s new name for Twitter — over alleged non-payments for displaying AFP content. The case stems from EU copyright reforms that became French law in 2019. Under the legislation, online platforms must remunerate publishers for distributing their content. The rules have proven controversial. Media outlets argue that their news provides…
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Meta operates a highly targeted advertising model based on the swathes of personal data you share on its platforms, and it makes tens of billions of dollars off it each year. While these tactics are unlikely to end altogether in the near future, the company could soon offer users in the EU the chance to “opt-in” to the ads, the Wall Street Journal reports. Since April, Meta has offered users in Europe the chance to opt out from personalised ads but only if they complete a lengthy form on its help pages. That process has likely limited the number of…
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British chip maker Arm is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of between $60bn and $70bn as early as September, amid surging demand for semiconductors for cloud computing, AI, and EV applications. The roadshow is scheduled to start the first week of September with pricing for the IPO the following week, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. A roadshow in this context is a series of lead-up events that give a company the chance to showcase its value proposition, wow potential investors, and ultimately, increase their buy-in. Arm looks to raise as much as $10bn…
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Google DeepMind has a new AI model that can direct robotic tasks it was never trained to perform. Named RT-2, the model learns from web and robotics data. It then turns this information into simple instructions for machines. In tests, the model was asked to take actions never seen in the robotic data, such as placing oranges in a matching bowl. To follow these commands, the system had to translate knowledge from web-based data. According to DeepMind, the model had a 62% success for these operations — double that of its predecessor, RT-1. “Just like language models are trained on…
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Europe’s new space telescope Euclid has returned its first sparkling images of deep space, in a “tantalising glimpse” of what is to come. The images are not only mesmerising, but they also show that all the telescope’s instruments are running smoothly. This must come as a major relief to scientists at the European Space Agency, who have spent €1.4bn over the last 16 years developing the telescope. Euclid was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 1 July and has almost arrived at its destination — a vantage point known as the Second Lagrange…
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Whether it’s excitement, confusion, apprehension, or outright pessimism, everyone feels something about AI. So it was no surprise that AI technology was one of the main talking points at The Next Web Conference 2023. In the wake of the EU Parliament’s decision to usher in the EU AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law drafted to ensure that AI systems used in the EU are, “safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory, and environmentally friendly,” the B2B marketing community FINITE hosted a roundtable event on ‘TNW Eve’ exploring the theme of reclaiming a positive future for technology. With the UK set to…
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Remote communities off the Scottish coast are now the first people in the UK to have their mail delivered by drone. Royal Mail and London-based Skyports Drone Services launched the project to make it easier for residents of Orkney, located off the north coast of Scotland, to receive their mail without delays. The drones will carry mail from Stromness to the remote islands of Graemsay and Hoy where postal staff will complete their usual delivery routes. While the service will initially operate for three months, the partners intend to continue it on a permanent basis. This is possible under existing…
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The UK’s antitrust watchdog has called for more public input on Microsoft’s bid for Activision-Blizzard, renewing hopes that the deal will be approved. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) originally blocked the $69bn (€63bn) merger in April. At the time, the regulator cited concerns that Microsoft would gain an unfair edge in cloud gaming and that consumer choice would be inhibited. The shock move was a potentially fatal blow to the takeover of Activision, which owns the Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Warcraft franchises. Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, called the decision “bad for Britain” and his company’s “darkest day”…
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According to WHO, people with disabilities represent 16% of the world population. They also find transportation 15 times more challenging than non-disabled individuals. But for mobility to truly be sustainable, it has to go beyond reducing emissions; it has to be inclusive and cater for every member of society. To this end, technology represents a beacon of hope as much as an invaluable tool. To find out more about its role in enabling universally accessible transportation, I spoke with Jonathan Chacón Barbero, Senior Accessibility Software Engineer at Cabify. “Technology helps us overcome our limits. Chacón Barbero joined the ride-hailing scaleup…
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The innovation arm of British telecoms giant BT — called Etc. — is looking to convert the Group’s street cabinets into EV charging points. The big green cabinets, a common sight across the UK, are currently used for providing copper-based broadband and phone services but are soon to be decommissioned as BT transitions to full fibre networks. The company estimates that as many as 60,000 of its 90,000 cabinets may be suitable for retrofit. Etc. will now conduct a series of technical and commercial pilots over the next two years to determine the feasibility of a conversion on this scale.…
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There’s a wind turbine being built in the forests of Sweden — or should I say from the forests. Budding startup Modvion, based in the Scandinavian country, is currently building the world’s tallest wooden wind turbine, and it’s on track for completion this year. The tower will stand 105 metres and is being built for local energy utility Varberg Energi for its wind power site near the town of Skara. A 2-megawatt turbine made by Danish wind giant Vestas will be mounted atop the wooden tower. Once the rig gets up and running it could power around 500 homes. The…
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On a typical visit to a sports stadium, you don’t bump into 20-metre-tall giants outside the gates. But this isn’t your typical sports stadium. It’s the MLB virtual ballpark — the first metaverse for a pro sports league. The venue opened on July 8, for a watch party during Major League Baseball’s All-Star Weekend. Hosting the event were the aforementioned giants, who begin the festivities with a tease: “Who knows what prizes will be up for grabs? Make sure you explore and have fun.” The incentives for engagement are accentuated. Sure, you could just chat with fellow fans and watch…
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AI image generators could undermine upcoming elections in the world’s biggest democracies, according to new research Logically, a British fact-checking startup, investigated AI’s capacity to produce fake images about elections in India, the US, and the UK. Each of these countries will soon go to the ballot box. The company tested three popular generative AI systems: Midjourney, DALL-E 2, and Stable Diffusion. All of them have content moderation of some form, but the parameters are unclear. Logically explored how these platforms could support disinformation campaigns. This included testing narratives around a “stolen election” in the US, migrants “flooding” into the…
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Wardrobe malfunctions are never fun. When on Earth, they might be a nuisance or prove somewhat embarrassing. In space however, they could be a matter of life and death. Not to mention, how do you handle, uhm, laundry on the Moon? The European Space Agency (ESA) says that the next generation of lunar explorers will be kitted with a wholly upgraded set of spacesuits. And textile tech has come quite a way since the iconic string of Apollo missions in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Other than having to stand up to an extra-terrestrial environment characterised by high vacuum, radiation, extreme…
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The rapid rise of AI has evoked mixed feelings to say the least. Some experts champion it as a “force for good,” while others forewarn it poses a “risk of extinction.” To assess how European consumers feel about artificial intelligence, decision intelligence company Morning Consult Pro surveyed 1,000 adults in five major markets across the continent: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK. The survey found that AI-powered online search is among the three most interesting applications across all countries but Spain, where it ranks fourth. Respondents are also excited about AI’s integration into healthcare diagnostics, road assistance, and flight…
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Scientists have developed tiny robotic tentacles that travel into the lungs to detect and treat cancer. The device is just 2.4 mm in diameter and ultra-soft. It’s sent to the periphery of the lungs from the end of a bronchoscope — a thin tube with a light and camera. During the journey, magnets adapt the robot’s shape to the body’s anatomy. As it moves, both its form and position and form are fed back to a clinician. After reaching its destination, an embedded laser fibre can deliver localised treatment. The robot was developed at the University of Leeds’ STORM lab, which…
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Since launching in 2009, VanMoof, known for its sleek, high-tech city bikes, developed an almost cult-like following — from the streets of Amsterdam to New York. Today, what was once the world’s most-funded ebike startup is bankrupt, leaving riders angry, loyal followers depressed, and the industry wondering — what’s next? Pretty much everyone and their dog has an opinion on the matter. But we wanted to hear from those closest to the action and perhaps the most affected in the long term: ebike startups. “The VanMoof story deserved a better ending,” says Tanguy Goretti, founder of Belgian ebike company Cowboy,…
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Next year, a Dutch company will put a new kind of battery in a drone and — if all goes according to plan — that drone will fly for 50% longer than it could with a standard lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery. Flight times of nearly an hour, say, rather than 34 minutes. The souped-up drone won’t be any heavier than before and the new battery will actually be smaller than the old one, despite offering more juice. Fixed wing and multi-rotor drones are just the beginning. LeydenJar is also targeting electric vehicles and Tim Aanhane, the company’s business developer, estimates that…
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On Thursday, the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s bundling of its Teams app with its Office suite, which includes Word, Excel, and Outlook. The EU is concerned that this practice may be in breach of the bloc’s competition rules. The investigation was prompted by a complaint filed in 2020 by Slack. The rival workplace messaging platform alleged that Microsoft had illegally tied Teams to its Office tools and was “abusing its market dominance to extinguish competition,” in violation of EU laws. Following analysis of the complaint, the Commission has now concluded that the bundling may indeed constitute…
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While our transition to renewable energy is critical if we are tomeet our climate targets, fully relying on sources such as solar and wind still presents a major challenge: efficient and sustainable storage. Now, a German research consortium led by Fraunhofer IZM aims to tackle this problem with a zinc battery technology that can not only store electrical power, but also produce green hydrogen on demand. To realise this goal, the research institutions teamed up with two commercial partners (Zn2H2 and Steel PRO Maschinenbau) to work on the Zn-H2 project. The group opted to experiment with zinc batteries that, compared…
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German multi-modal travel unicorn Omio has teamed up with compatriot search engine Ecosia to create a tree-planting rail travel booking tool. It means users will be able to search and book train journeys through Ecosia’s website, powered by an API-integration with Omio’s travel platform. The booking platform will automatically pop up via a simple query search for trains, or for destinations where train travel is possible, say London to Paris. It will be available in 15 countries: the UK, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Nordics, North America and Canada, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine. The intention behind the new…
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When Russia cut off Europe’s gas supply following the invasion of Ukraine, it exposed the vulnerable underbelly of a continent largely reliant on imported energy. To be fair, the bloc responded pretty quickly by sourcing gas from other countries and stockpiling it for a rainy day. And, it turns out, Europe was also hoarding mountains of another commodity: solar panels. Some €7bn worth of solar panels — or 40 gigawatts direct current (GWdc) of capacity — are currently gathering dust in European warehouses. That’s enough to power 20 million homes a year. The stockpile is expected to more than double…
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Seven European countries have joined forces to begin construction of the European Space Telescope (EST) — the largest of its kind to ever be built in the continent. On Tuesday, nine research institutions from the participating nations (Czechia, Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK) established the EST Foundation, which committed to lead the project in the next phase of development. The new body will also see to the creation of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) — the legal entity responsible for overseeing all aspects of the telescope’s construction and operation. The EST is a large-aperture solar telescope,…
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Germany’s finance ministry is investing €20bn from its climate fund to bolster local production of semiconductors — critical components in everything from smartphones to fridges. The money will be doled out to a handful of chipmakers by 2027, Bloomberg reports. The lion’s share of the subsidies will go to Intel’s planned megafab in Magdeburg, which will build advanced Angstrom-era chips. After months of protracted negotiations, the American chip giant managed to squeeze €10bn from the German government to fund the plant, which will cost around €30bn in total. Another €5bn in subsidies will go to Taiwan’s TSMC for the construction…
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Paris-based and female-founded AI startup Pathway has announced the general launch of its data processing engine. Reportedly, it is up to 90x faster than existing streaming solutions, and promises to be the “fastest data processing engine on the market.” The secret? A unique ability to mix batch and streaming logic in the same workflow, which lets the system forget things that are no longer useful. Basically, this means it can learn and react to changes in real-time — like humans. Traditionally, the complexity of building batch and streaming architectures has resulted in a division between the two approaches, says Pathway…
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The tech sector is in the throes of a so-called “double disruption,” dealing with the economic fallout of a two-year pandemic and wrestling with the swift advance of AI at the same time. What it means for workers is simple: half of us will need to re-skill in the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum. That isn’t as daunting as it sounds. Upskilling is a core practice in a dynamic jobs market, and many employers are advertising in-house skills programmes as part of their employee incentive packages. The penny has dropped: keeping the best talent in the…
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Thales Alenia Space will fine-tune plans to “harvest” solar energy in orbit, the European firm announced on Monday. Named Solaris, the project aims to provide Earth with energy from space-borne solar power plants. The idea emerged amid an EU push to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Solar energy from space could provide a clean alternative. It would also be available 24/7, ensuring electrical supply continuity without needing significant storage systems. The European Space Agency, which is leading Solaris, enlisted Thales Alenia Space (TAS) to conduct a feasibility study for the initiative. The study seeks to create new concepts for…
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When chatbots first became commercially accessible, companies big and small embraced them with open arms. “Have a robot handle easy customer service questions in seconds? Amazing!” — we thought. The problem was, these early chatbots were less C-3PO and more an annoying barrier to an actual human. From being asked: “Can you repeat the question” 10 times over to being directed to a completely unrelated information page — customers simply don’t have the patience to deal with badly made chatbots anymore. In fact, a study by Zoom found that over half of respondents would switch to a competitor after just…
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Laying in a hammock on a tropical island with a cold beverage in one hand while the other types leisurely away at a keyboard surely sounds like heaven. But what is the digital nomad life really like? And where are the best places to work remotely from? Housing company Flatio asked 1,200 digital nomads of different ages, genders, and nationalities to find out their motivations, frustrations, and favourite destinations. Here’s a summary of the key takeaways. Firstly, who are digital nomads? Out of those surveyed, the greatest proportion were from the US (37%) followed by the UK (12%), and Germany…
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More than 1,500 developers in the UK are suing Apple over the company’s “excessive” App Store fees. The £785m (€912m) class action lawsuit is seeking compensation for the developers, who pay the iPhone-maker commissions of up to 30% for in-app payments. Companies and lawmakers around the world have lambasted the policy. Critics accuse Apple of operating a monopoly that diverts earnings away from developers. They note that Apple’s services business — which includes the App Store — grew 5.5% to $20.9 billion in the first fiscal quarter of this year. The new lawsuit was filed by Sean Ennis — a…
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A robotic arm made solely by European manufacturers has passed its qualification review for launch into space on the OneSat range of satellites. The robotic deployment and pointing system enables the satellite’s plasma thrusters to be positioned far away from the satellite’s body, optimising consumption of the xenon fuel. The approval of the system means that OneSat is now fully propelled by European technology. Designed by Airbus in France, the robotic arm was made and qualified by manufacturer Euro Heat Pipes in Belgium. The robotic arm will help engineers optimise OneSat’s fuel consumption. Credit: ESA In addition, Sener from Spain…
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Dutch researchers have found vulnerabilities in TETRA — a radio technology used across the world to control critical infrastructure such as power grids, gas pipelines, and trains. The researchers, Job Wetzels, Carlo Meijer, and Wouter Bokslag of cybersecurity firm Midnight Blue, found a deliberate backdoor in the encryption algorithm of these radios — made by Motorola, Damm, Hytera, and others — that was “easy” to hack. “The results of this research are serious,” said Jacobs, who is also a professor of computer security at Radboud University Nijmegen. “It is serious for the government, but also for business. It concerns vital…
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Greek shipping software startup DeepSea Technologies has sold a majority share to Japan’s automation giant Nabtesco for an undisclosed amount. DeepSea will continue to develop the company’s fuel optimisation platforms that reduce emissions (and cut costs) of fossil-based maritime fleets, while also becoming a “centre of excellence for AI research and product development.” Furthermore, the Athens-based startup will support Nabtesco Marine Control Systems in its quest for scalable semi-autonomous shipping. The company will continue to function (fittingly enough) autonomously, and carry on work on its two platforms — Cassandra and Pythia — and on “the broader digital transformation of the…
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For millennia, farmers have monitored the health of their potatoes, pumpkins, or pineapples by walking through the fields and looking at them. As you can imagine, this process is time-consuming and often inaccurate, especially over large areas. German deep tech startup constellr believes there is a better way. A spin-off from the Fraunhofer, Europe’s largest organisation for applied science, constellr is developing a satellite-based crop monitoring system that acts as a farmer’s eyes in the sky — and has just raised €17m in seed funding to scale it up. The startup’s tech, which it claims is a world-first, comprises constellations…
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London-based startup accelerator Founders Factory has gained a new partner in the form of Mediobanca. The Milan-based investment bank is looking to increase its presence in the UK, and has pledged €12mn to the joint venture. Specifically, Mediobanca will be looking to back as many as 35 fintech startups that focus on technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence over the coming five years. However, it will also include early stage fintech startups in other parts of Europe. Founders Factory, co-founded by Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox, and George Northcott in 2015, has thus far supported over 300 companies globally…
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New laws proposed in the UK could normalise surveillance of personal devices, experts have warned. The concerns stem from a planned update to the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA). When the original rules passed in 2016, critics described them as the “most extreme spying powers ever seen.” They’re now set to become even more intrusive. Under the new proposals, messaging services would have to clear security features with the government before releasing them. The Home Office could also demand that features are disabled —without telling the public. Apple has threatened to remove FaceTime and iMessage from the UK if the plans are…
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Approximately 48.6 billion cubic meters of water are lost around the world every day. According to the International Water Association (IWA), the main culprits for this loss are underground leaks on water mains and service pipes. To monitor leaks in water pipeline networks, researchers at the Polytechnic University of Milan have experimented with a novel method using fibre optics — the inexpensive and commonly- used technology that allows us to have fast internet at home. The scientists developed a distributed fibre optic sensing (DFOS) cable based on the so-called Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) technology, which enables the processing and storage…
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Getir’s woes are dragging on in Europe, raising concerns over the grocery delivery platform’s future in the region. On Wednesday, the Turkish-owned company started auctioning off parts of its equipment, as it closes down a number of its dark stores in the UK. The bidding closed on Thursday morning. The items, listed on the website of commercial property agent Sanderson Weatherall, range from scooters and crash helmets to insulated food delivery boxes and retail freezers. According to the auction’s description, the assets are a “surplus to requirements, due to the closure of retail hubs.” Getir’s scooters on auction. Credit: Sanderson…
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Scientists fear using AI models such as ChatGPT in healthcare will exacerbate inequalities. The epidemiologists, from the universities of Cambridge and Leicester, warn that large language models (LLMs) could entrench inequities for ethnic minorities and lower-income countries. Their concern stems from systemic data biases. AI models used in healthcare are trained on information from websites and scientific literature. But evidence shows that ethnicity data is often missing from these sources. As a result, AI tools can be less accurate for underrepresented groups. This can lead to ineffective drug recommendations or racist medical advice. “It is widely accepted that a differential…
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The UK Space Agency has identified 11 critical technology areas to strengthen the country’s position in the space sector and enable further cooperation with international partners such as NASA, the ESA, and Japan’s JAXA. The technologies are listed in the agency’s newly-published Space Exploration Technology Roadmap, which will guide research, development, and future funding decisions over the next 10 years. The roadmap’s overarching aim is to help the UK fully benefit from the growing commercialisation of space exploration and the global space economy — estimated to reach $1tn (€897bn) by 2040. “We are entering a new era of space exploration…
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Vertical Aerospace’s electric urban air taxi has completed its maiden untethered flight, marking a significant milestone for the Bristol-based startup. The flight took place on Wednesday at Cotswold Airport in southwest England, where a full-scale prototype of the VX4, the company’s eVTOL, flew at about 70km/h or 40 knots. According to the company, the aircraft was remotely piloted and reached the targeted speed powered only by its battery propulsion system. It managed to lift, hover, fly, and land successfully. You can see footage of the flight in the video below: Founded by British entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick, Vertical Aerospace entered the…
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Venture capital funding in Europe is plummeting as investors shift focus from growth to cutting costs. In the first half of 2023, European VC deal value was 61% lower than at the same time last year according to a new report by Pitchbook, a financial data firm. The total capital raised in the continent was €8.9 billion. At the current rate, the full year is on track to pace 37% below 2022 levels. Analysts blame the decline on surging interest rates, high inflation, fundraising hurdles, and a subdued IPO market. These economic headwinds have prompted new investment strategies. Instead of prioritising…
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Spain’s antitrust watchdog has fined Amazon and Apple €194mn for colluding to limit the sale of Apple products by third-party sellers on the huge online retail platform, which “drastically” reduced competition. The fine is the result of a case opened by the regulator, known as the CNMC, in July 2021, that sought to prove that the pair unfairly colluded to “reduce competition in the internet retail market for electronic products.” Clearly, the CNMC found the proof it was looking for. “Over 90% of resellers who used Amazon’s website in Spain to sell Apple products were excluded from Spain’s main online…
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British plans to police the internet may be unlawful and force Wikipedia to shut down in the country, critics have warned. The proposed legislation, named the Online Safety Bill, aims to protect people from illegal or “harmful” content. Under the rules, any platforms that host user-generated content will need to quickly remove any proscribed material, which ranges from porn to cyberbullying. Failure to comply could lead to massive fines, services being blocked, or even jail terms for executives. Campaigners have long been alarmed about the threat to privacy and free speech. They now believe the rules could be unlawful. Their concern stems…
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Researchers at Semmelweis University in Budapest have tapped into VR to help the rehabilitation process of schizophrenia patients. According to WHO, the disease affects approximately 24 million people worldwide and is associated with considerable disability, often impacting all areas of life such as personal, social, and occupational functioning. The scientists have developed the so-called VR-ToMIS therapy method (short for “Virtual-Reality based Theory of Mind Intervention in Schizophrenia”), which aims to enhance the patient’s mentalisation (Theory of Mind) skills — a fundamental component of human cognition and social interaction. “Theory of Mind is our ability to interpret the feelings, thoughts, and…
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Today’s cars, especially EVs, rely on hundreds of different types of microchips to function. But supply chain shortages of semiconductors during the pandemic forced many automakers to cut down production of certain models, sounding a clear warning to the industry — securing a long-term supply of chips is a matter of business survival. Stellantis, the world’s third largest automaker, has inked contracts worth €10bn through 2030 with leading semiconductor manufacturers like Infineon, NXP Semiconductors, onsemi, and Qualcomm. Furthermore, Stellantis is partnering with autonomous vehicle tech firm aiMotive and SiliconAuto, both subsidiaries of the automotive giant, to develop its own “differentiating…
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Hydrogen-powered planes are, essentially, nothing new. The USSR flew the alternative fuel testbed Tupolev Tu-155 on hydrogen (and liquid natural gas) more than 35 years ago. However, challenges associated with the technology meant that it was basically moth-balled for commercial aircraft operations (rocket fuel is another matter) — until now. With the future of the planet in peril, almost everyone in air transport wants to talk about hydrogen propulsion. From startups to multinational original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), much of the industry is adamant that hydrogen can make zero-emission flights a reality. It is just a matter of actually building the…
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Six years ago I moved from the US to the EU to break from American culture and try something new. But in this short time, I’ve seen Amsterdam, my adopted home, morph into a place that can sometimes feel culturally more like San Francisco than a major European capital. My anecdotal experience is the result of a larger commercial exchange between Europe and the United States reaching new heights. A flurry of retail investment apps inspired by America’s Robinhood are getting Europeans, historically more prone to saving, to invest their money for the very first time. Mobility startups looking to…
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After pausing sales, closing stores, and being unable to pay its bills, beloved Dutch ebike maker VanMoof has officially been declared bankrupt. Just last week, Dutch courts granted the company a two-month ‘suspension of payment’ to protect it from creditors while it worked with administrators to find a solution. However, yesterday, the court of Amsterdam withdrew the suspension of payment and declared all three of VanMoof’s legal entities in the Netherlands bankrupt. VanMoof’s units outside the country are not affected. Such a swift bankruptcy decision usually occurs in cases where authorities can see that a company has exhausted all available…
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After decades of admirable, if slow, progress toward gender balance in its boardrooms, Norway has taken a giant leap. Last month, the pioneering Nordic state mandated that 40% of seats on the boards of all large and medium-sized companies should go to women within five years. This makes Norway the first country in the world to take such a monumental measure and it means that by next year, 8,000 companies should have hit the target quota, expanding to around 20,000 firms with more than 30 staff by 2028. It’s a step that goes even further than anything the EU—of which…
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The startup investment climate has been somewhat grim of late. And despite ever-mounting evidence of approaching catastrophe, financing of climate tech has also suffered, with venture funding down 40% in H1 2023. However, there are some rays of hope shimmering on the horizon. With less money available, it is perhaps understandable that investors (even the Earth-conscious kind) want to back founders with a proven track record. One such is Eamon Jubbawy. Having co-founded successful AI-powered ID verification startup Onfido, Jubbawy has now turned his attention towards fighting climate change by fostering trust in the budding carbon removal industry. Jubbawy’s latest…
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The first-ever biometric corridor for train travel opened today at Eurostar’s London terminal. The system, developed by British tech firm iProov, replaces border checks with a facial verification checkpoint that you just walk straight past. Before travel, the passenger downloads the app, authenticates their ID, scans their face, and links their ticket. On arrival at St Pancras Station, they stroll through a dedicated lane for the tech — dubbed SmartCheck — which verifies their entry. The system lets users skip ticket gates and manual border control in the UK. After baggage inspection and a passport check at the French border,…
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Datatilsynet, Norway’s Data Protection Authority, will temporarily ban behavioural advertising on Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram due to privacy violations. The ban will apply from August 4 and last for three months – or until the US giant addresses the legal requirements. If Meta doesn’t take action, it risks a fine of up to €88,600 per day. The decision follows the latest ruling by the EU’s Court of Justice (CJEU), which deemed Meta’s behavioural advertising practices incompatible with the GDPR. As the name suggests, behavioural advertising displays targeted ads to individuals by observing their online behaviour. Companies who employ it…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Luis Minvielle. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. Remember when you first saw a Hollywood-imagined IRL developer, furiously typing lines of code while ominous music played in the background? Little did you know that one day you’d become a full-stack developer yourself, well, maybe minus the dramatic musical background? If you’re already here, you’re probably sitting in your coffee-smelling workroom pointlessly trying to decipher the enigmatic world of frameworks…
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has been exploring an innovative solution to help us meet our climate targets: transmitting solar power from space to Earth — also known as space-based solar power (SBSP). Harnessing the sun’s power from above our planet comes with two main advantages: access to higher energy intensity and the lack of weather-dependence, a major problem of terrestrial solutions. To test the feasibility of SBSP, the ESA has partnered up with the European tech industry to work on the Solaris project. One of these partners is Switzerland-based Astrostrom, seeking to deliver space-based solar power to the Moon,…
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In the second half of the year, early-stage European SaaS companies will see a significant funding increase across Series A and seed rounds. That’s according to the aVC index, a new monitoring tool developed by London-based AlbionVC and Google Cloud. The aVC index is based on an anonymous survey of 40 investors, who are actively deploying capital into the European ecosystem at seed, Series A, and Series B stages. The respondents expect to invest £2.4bn (€2.8bn) early-stage SaaS startups by the end of the year. The projected recovery follows stagnant investment activity in Q2 2023. Specifically, 25% of VCs chose…
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A new deal on data transfers between the EU and US has alarmed businesses and privacy campaigners. The pact, known as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, was announced on Monday by the European Commission. The EU’s executive body concluded that the US offered an “adequate level of protection” for data transfers under the new arrangements. The framework replaces the Privacy Shield, which the EU’s top court had struck down in July 2020 over concerns that the US didn’t provide sufficient protection against government surveillance. As a result, companies were forced to move data by using a mechanism called Standard Contractual…
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The UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is extending the deadline for its review of the Microsoft-Activion $69bn merger, in the latest twist of a complex regulatory saga. The cut off date has been moved from July 18 to August 29. “The Inquiry Group has decided to extend [the period] by six weeks… as it considers that there are special reasons to do so,” the watchdog announced on Friday. In April, the CMA had initially blocked the takeover, concluding that the purchase would give Microsoft an unfair edge in the country’s nascent cloud gaming market. In May, the US tech…
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We live in a world characterised by mobility. More and more people are choosing to work remotely and live wherever they want without damaging their careers. While this trend had been on the rise in recent years, since the pandemic, the number of digital nomads worldwide is now up to 35 million. About 17 million of them are Americans, mostly setting up shop in European nations. Technology has improved in tandem with the willingness to explore working from anywhere. Now it sets the stage for the creation of a new, larger generation of digital nomads. The question, however, remains —…
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A car-sized spacecraft is falling down to Earth — but there’s a plan to catch it. Aeolus, the first satellite to directly observe wind profiles from space, is almost out of fuel. Earth’s atmosphere and gravity are now dragging the 1360-kg craft down to our planet at increasing speed. In the original plan, Aelous was expected to fall naturally back to Earth. But the European Space Agency (ESA) has proposed another idea: an assisted re-entry — the first of its kind. Data from Aeolus was used by meteorology centres to improve weather forecasts. Credit: ESA To reduce the threat of…
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll probably know that ebike darling VanMoof is facing bankruptcy. Obviously, this isn’t good news for VanMoof riders, who could be locked out of their own bikes which largely rely on a unique software app created by the Dutch company. But fear not VanMoofers, Belgian ebike rival Cowboy has released an app to keep you on the road. ‘Bikey’ enables VanMoof riders to generate and save their own unique digital key in case VanMoof’s servers go offline. The app is now live on the Apple app store in beta, but will be available…
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A group of 150 NGOs including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Transparency International, and Algorithm Watch has signed a statement addressed to the European Union. In it, they entreat the bloc not only to maintain but enhance human rights protection when adopting the AI Act. Between the apocalypse-by-algorithm and the cancer-free utopia different camps say the technology could bring, lies a whole spectrum of pitfalls to avoid for the responsible deployment of AI. As Altman, Musk, Zuckerberg, et al., dive head first into the black box, legislation aiming to at least curb their enthusiasm is on the way. The European…
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Solitary lunar rovers have been invaluable to our efforts exploring the Moon. But a group of scientists led by ETH Zurich is now looking at sending an entire squad of robots that collaborate and complement each other instead. To test the idea, the researchers used three ANYmal robots — a type of four-legged, dog-like robot developed at the ETH. They gave them different tasks and specialties and fitted them with the respective equipment. “Using multiple robots has two advantages,” explained Philip Arm, a doctoral student in the group. “The individual robots can take on specialised tasks and perform them simultaneously.…
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Google’s Bard AI chatbot is now available across the EU, following the tech giant’s compliance with the bloc’s GDPR regulation. In June, Google was forced to delay Bard’s rollout in the region, after the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) demanded stricter privacy measures to ensure the protection of European citizens. Today, ahead of the release, the chatbot’s Product Lead Jack Krawczyk said that the company has satisfied the DPC demands, providing users with information and control over how their data is being used and stored. “Google has made a number of changes,” specifically when it comes “to control for users,”…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. As you know, being a tech lead is much more than defining the technical aspects of a project. I’ve found that they tend to worry much more about another aspect they face in their day-to-day: The difficulty of keeping a solid team for a long period. It’s a problem that can substantially impact a team’s productivity. Remember, no matter how…
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While AI’s impact on the labour market has been limited so far, concerns about job security are heightened, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has found. To assess the emerging opinions around artificial intelligence in the workplace, the OECD surveyed over 2,000 employers and 5,300 workers in finance and manufacturing across seven of its member countries. The survey showed that three in five employees working in these sectors fear they’ll be replaced by AI in the next decade. Two in five are worried about AI-related wage decreases. Overall, jobs with the highest risk of automation (those relying on…
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As EVs surge into the mainstream, industry and consumers alike are looking for quicker and easier ways to charge. While advancements in battery technology promise the former, Dutch startup Rocsys believes automation will help make charging a whole lot more efficient. Rocsys has created a robotic arm guided by AI-powered computer vision technology that can convert any charger into an autonomous one. Once you pull up in your EV, the robot’s ‘eyes’ locate the vehicle, move the plug toward the socket, and charging begins. The robot essentially replaces the human hand. This makes the charging process easier for drivers but…
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On Tuesday, the European Parliament adopted the Chips Act, a landmark law aiming to bolster the bloc’s autonomy and competitiveness in the semiconductor sector. The act has been in the works for over a year now, but recent developments seem to have sped up the process. Specifically, the announcement comes after China’s recent export controls on gallium and germanium, two metals critical for semiconductor manufacturing. “The EU Chips Act will be an instrument of technological and industrial leadership for Europe,” tweeted EU Commissioner Thierry Breton. Chips Act massively adopted! ✅ The EU #ChipsAct will be an instrument of technological and…
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A wannabe politician says he “has no policies” and will instead use AI to write his manifesto. Andrew Gray, who wants to become the new Member of Parliament for Selby and Ainsty, UK, will tap machine learning to assess what people want. “If elected, I will vote in Parliamant [sic] in accordance with the consensus. Simple,” Gray wrote on LinkedIn. The tool he’s using, Polis, collects and analyses public opinion in real time. The software first attracted attention in Taiwan, where it powers a platform for political debate. Dubbed vTaiwan, the project invites citizens and government to co-create legislation. Polis…
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Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ online retail behemoth that registered over 300 million active users and raked over $500bn last year, says it doesn’t fit the EU’s definition of a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP). The Silicon Valley firm is so adamant it isn’t a VLOP, it is suing the EU over the matter, making it the first (and probably not the last) US company to challenge the bloc’s new digital content rules. Amazon was among the first of 18 companies to be designated a VLOP in late April under the EU’s new Digital Services Act (DSA), designed to curb hate speech…
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Semiconductor chips have emerged as the hottest commodity in the global race for technological supremacy. That’s because they constitute a fundamental component of electronic devices, critical for advances in a vast array of industries: from telecoms, AI, and computing, to healthcare, clean energy, and military applications. Historically, the EU and the US have relied heavily on East Asian countries for chip imports and supply of the necessary chipmaking materials. But following the invasion of Ukraine, increasing geopolitical tensions, especially with China, have intensified the demand for self-sufficiency in the West. Signs of an escalating chip trade war were evident already…
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Chasmic wealth gaps, soaring crime rates, exorbitant living costs, and horrifying homelessness… no wonder everyone dreams of being “the next Silicon Valley.” The latest bearer of the nickname is Cambridge, England. Under new government plans, billions of euros will be poured into new houses, business parks, laboratories, and science hubs in the city. The investment reportedly aims to create “the Silicon Valley of Europe.” The city joins a growing list of places to earn the tired tagline. It’s a particularly prevalent desire in Europe, where half the continent seems to have earned the ambitious epithet. Here are six leading contenders for…
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Dutch ebike startup VanMoof has paused sales of its bikes and all accessories for almost two weeks now, stoking rumours that the business is in financial difficulty. Since June 29, visitors to VanMoof’s website have been met with a pop-up explaining that the company has paused orders to catch up with current demand. “We have temporarily paused sales to catch up on the production and delivery of existing orders. Rest assured – this has no effect on servicing,” says the notification. But, according to TechCrunch, which cited “multiple sources,” VanMoof might be running out of cash, despite being one of…
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A UK startup is building a nuclear fusion rocket engine that aims to halve the journey time to Mars. Pulsar Fusion, an aerospace firm based in Bletchley, expects the system to exceed speeds of 805,000kmph and the hottest temperatures in the solar system. To reach those eye-popping targets, the startup will harness nuclear fusion, a reaction that gives the Sun its energy. In brief, nuclear fusion fuses two atoms together to liberate vast amounts of energy. Scientists believe the process can create limitless, zero-carbon energy to replace fossil fuels. But the benefits could reach space before they’re felt on Earth. “Space is the ideal place to do fusion in terms of it being a vacuum and the extremely cold temperatures,” said Richard…
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Last month was the hottest June on record globally and if the EU is to meet its ambitious climate targets to tackle climate change, it’s going to need more skilled workers. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, the continent needs nothing short of a green skills revolution if it is to fully harness the potential of solar and wind energies alone. It’s not just the EU. The US has committed to developing the sector too, yet the supply of skilled talent there is also low. All in all, it means those with the skills to work in the…
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NATO has picked the investment team that will oversee the management of its €1 billion deep tech venture fund, set for launch this week in Vilnius at the alliance’s annual summit. The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) is slated to be the world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund and will back startups developing deep tech for defence and security applications. The fund will invest €1 billion euros over a 15-year period into early-stage companies and other VC funds developing emerging and disruptive technologies — to be used in military and defence applications. These include artificial intelligence; big-data processing; quantum technologies; autonomy;…
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One of the best ways to make buildings greener is to cover them with solar panels — turning homes, offices, and factories into clean energy generators. Rooftop solar is particularly popular in the Netherlands because, well, it’s a tiny country with lots of people, where every square inch counts. Adding solar panels to the empty exterior of a building, rather than occupying swathes of countryside, simply makes sense. Rooftop makes up the largest number of solar installations in the EU, and demand is skyrocketing. But, while solar panels will be an increasingly common feature of architecture going forward, for some…
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Early this morning, Meta’s new Twitter rival, Threads, hit 100 million sign-ups, less than a week after launch. This makes Threads the fastest growing online platform in history, dethroning ChatGPT, which took two months to reach the same number of users. When Mark Zuckerberg commented (posting on Threads, naturally) on hitting 70 million users on Friday last week, he stated this was already “way beyond our expectations.” However, it is still a long way to go to the two-billion user base accessible through Instagram. It is worth noting that the record-breaking growth is despite Threads currently being unavailable on EU…
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UK Finance, which represents more than 300 companies, has written to the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, requesting that ministers make tech companies take responsibility for payment fraud on their platforms. Specifically, the lobby group is pointing the finger at Meta, which it claims is connected to over 60% of all push payment fraud. An Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam, also known as bank transfer fraud, is a type of scam in which fraudsters trick individuals or businesses into authorising the transfer of funds from their bank accounts to accounts controlled by the criminals. It typically involves social engineering techniques to deceive…
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While many of us in Europe take it for granted, access to freshwater today, and in the future, is far from guaranteed. Demand is skyrocketing but supply is diminishing. Many of the ways in which water is used are inefficient and antiquated, and climate change is making the entire problem a lot worse. Europe just had its most severe drought in 500 years. Industries are being forced to shut down or divert water from other sources to maintain operations, while protests have broken out over shortages, most recently in France and Spain. Experts predict that global freshwater demand will outstrip…
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This week, after nearly three decades of providing Europe access to space, the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket completed its final mission. On Wednesday, July 5, at 22:00 GMT, the rocket took off from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Its final flight launched two payloads into geostationary orbit. The first was the 3,400kg Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit that will test advanced communication technologies on behalf of the German government. The second was the 3,750kg Syracuse 4B satellite belonging to the French military. Bowing out in style, Europe’s #Ariane 5 rocket has completed its final flight, placing @DLR_de's Heinrich Hertz…
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Last week, Vilnius became the first European city to introduce a small fleet of autonomous delivery robots on public roads. Developed by Estonia-based startup Clevon and in collaboration with Lithuanian delivery platform LastMile, three driverless robots are now bringing groceries to shoppers’ doors in the capital’s city centre. Credit: Clevon The robots pick up the goods from the IKI supermarket store on Mindaugas Street. After making their order, customers receive a text message with the arrival time and the code to unlock the vehicle’s door. And the best part? Delivery is free of charge. Credit: Clevon “We believe that these robots…
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Parts of modern life are inescapable. We all use mapping software for directions, check the news on our phones, and read online reviews of products before buying them. Technology didn’t create these things, but what it has done is democratise them, make them easier to access or add to. Take online reviews. Nowadays, people can share their honest opinions about products and services in a way that, back in the times gone by, would’ve been impossible. Yet, what the internet giveth, it can, uh, taketh away too? It didn’t take long for nefarious actors to realise they could exploit this…
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Yesterday, the Dutch government released an official letter announcing it will allow the tasting of meat and seafood products cultivated from animal cells under specified conditions. Following in the footsteps of the US and Singapore, the Netherlands is now the first country in Europe to permit tastings of lab-grown meat, a move that is particularly welcome by leading Dutch startups in the field. Collaborative competition in the lab-grown meat space Cellular agriculture might not make a huge dent in the food industry for many years yet. However, given time, the breakthrough technology of growing meat in labs can form part…
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European VC deal activity continued to decline in the second quarter of 2023, the latest report by Pitchbook has found. Unsurprisingly, the ecosystem has been heavily impacted by inflation, limited capital availability, slow economic growth, and high interest rates. While the deal value jumped from €13.3bn in Q1 to €18.3bn in Q2, VC deal counts fell quarter-on-quarter from 2,625 to 1,824. Nearly 40% of those deals were made by early stage VCs, followed by later stage funds at 31.2%, and angel and seed investors at 28.1%. Based on this data, Pitchbook estimates a €31.5bn value across 4,449 deals for the…
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Today, Balderton Capital launched a Founder Wellbeing Platform based on how professional athletes approach reaching peak performance. The London-based VC is making the wellbeing and performance programme available to all its portfolio company founders. It consists of four pillars — a six-month personalised health and fitness program, CEO forums for peer-to-peer support, executive coaching, and events and resources. The idea behind the platform is based on research confirming that founders experience the startup ecosystem as a high-stress environment. Balderton conducted online surveys with 230 entrepreneurs, all of whom were either founders or co-founders of VC-backed companies. Marathon in sprint-mode The…
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Europe finally has all the pieces in place to challenge the US as the world’s leading tech hub, according to an analysis from venture capital firm Creandum and Dealroom, released today. Europe’s total number of unicorns has grown 88% compared to the US’ 56% since 2014. Moreover, its share of global VC funding has quadrupled in the last 20 years — the continent now takes more than a third of global investments at early-stage. According to the report, Europe has the highest density of tech unicorn cities globally — with 514 companies valued at $1bn or more spread across 65…
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Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek’s preventive healthcare startup just received a very strong vote of confidence from venture capitalists. Earlier today, Neko Health announced it had raised €60mn in a round led by Lakestar and backed by Atomico and General Catalyst. The funds will be put towards expanding the concept outside of the company’s native Sweden, where it currently operates a private body-scan clinic. Neko Health, named after the Japanese word for cat, was founded in 2018 by Ek and Hjalmar Nilsonne. After much secrecy, its first clinic opened in February this year in Stockholm. Within two hours, it…
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Meta’s new social networking app and Twitter rival, Threads, will not be launched in the EU “at this point,” according to a spokesperson from Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC). The DPC has not blocked Threads from EU app stores. Instead, Meta is postponing its launch of the platform in the bloc to avoid getting into trouble with regualtors. The new Threads platform will pull sensitive data from Instagram, including behavioural and advertising information, which risks breaching EU privacy laws. Meta has repeatedly clashed with EU regulators over the way it handles user data. Most recently, it was slapped with…
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Next month, 50 homeowners in Ireland will start renting out their home electric car charging points to their neighbours with the help of a new app. It’s “the Airbnb of electric vehicle (EV) home chargers,” says GoPlugable co-founder Maebh Reynolds. The app’s trial launch will be limited to that first group of 50 people who have their own charging point at home, and around 50 people with electric cars who would like to park up and pay to use them. If all goes well, a wider public launch could follow in September or October. “We are drastically falling behind in…
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Cycles Peugeot has unveiled a new range of “digital” e-bikes designed to meet the increasing demand for cleaner, greener, healthier (and sometimes quicker) modes of urban mobility. In 2022, the European market for electrically-assisted bicycles reached a record 5.5 million units sold, representing an annual growth of 8.6%. One in every four bikes sold in Europe last year was electric. Cycles Peugeot, which branched out from the popular French car brand over 100 years ago, will launch “several new innovative models” in late 2023 and early 2024 to cater to this growing market. Of the new range, details and renders…
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The UK’s new data bill would allow the state and corporations to circumvent EU rules, experts warned today. Set to pass into law this autumn, the Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill will amend the UK’s implementation of the GDPR. The British government touts the bill as a post-Brexit chance to create a new data regime “tailor-made for our needs.” Ministers say the bill will cut red tape, reduce cookie pop-ups (please, Lord), and foster international trade. Over 10 years, they predict the bill will add £4.7 billion to the UK economy — a claim that’s been derided. …
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In a significant first for Europe, Sweden’s privacy watchdog has fined two companies for transferring personal data to the US via Google Analytics. In addition, it is urging other firms to stop using Google’s web statistics tool. In response to allegations issued by digital rights organisation None of Your Business (NYOB), the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) audited four companies in total: CDON, Coop, Dagens Indusri, and Tele2. IMY found that personal data had indeed been transferred across the Atlantic and, alarmingly, without sufficient safeguards in place. According to the GDPR, personal data may be transferred to third countries…
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Europe’s first “lightning hunter” has generated striking animations of severe storms hitting the Earth. Built by Italian firm Leonardo, the system is the first satellite instrument that can continuously detect lightning across Europe and Africa. The imager is comprised of four powerful cameras. Each of them can capture 1,000 images per second, day and night, and detect a single lightning bolt faster than the blink of an eye. Algorithms then send the data back to Earth, for use in weather forecasts, climate research, and air transport safety. According to Eumetsat, the European weather agency, severe storms have caused an estimated €500bn…
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A student team from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has set a new Guinness world record for the longest distance driven by a hydrogen car without refuelling. The student team, called Eco-Runner, succeeded in driving their ultra-efficient city car no less than 2,488.4 km in three days using just one kilogram of hydrogen fuel — equivalent to driving from Berlin to Istanbul. The marathon feat, which took place from 23-25 June, smashed the previous record of 2,055.7 km. The Eco-Runner student team smashed the current world record by over 400km. Credit: Eco-Runner/TU Delft The team headed to…
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It’s summertime and the peak holiday period is upon us. Global air travel looks set to return to its pre-Covid levels this year, representing a return to the air for both business travellers and holiday-makers. And, sometimes, travellers might tick both boxes. Following the provisions made for remote working during the pandemic, more and more work is being done by distributed teams and remote workers. And while it’s commonly called “work from home”, remote work can really mean “work from anywhere” –– as long as there’s a good internet connection. For employees allowed this level of flexibility, some attractive destinations…
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Humanity has always relied on a revolution in materials to advance to the next stage of civilisation. Dutch nanoparticle technology startup VSParticle says it is on the verge of opening up a century’s worth of material innovation in the next 10 years, helping, well, to save the planet. Co-founder and CEO Aaike van Vugt is convinced that in order to reach our targets of keeping global warming well below 2°C, we need to speed up the process of material development significantly. “The amount of material innovation that we need to unlock in the next decades to make the whole energy…
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Emmanuel Macron has a new scapegoat for the riots engulfing France. As violent protests sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager spread across his nation, the president first blamed social networks and parents, before pointing the finger at a beloved boogeyman: video games. “It sometimes feels like some of them re-live in the streets the video games that have intoxicated them,” Macron said at a crisis meeting on Friday. The 45-year-old was echoing a common claim, but it’s one with scant empirical evidence. Studies have consistently rebuffed connections between violent video games and violent behaviour. Christopher Ferguson, a professor at…
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Following its upcoming exit from France, quick commerce startup Getir is losing yet another European market: Spain. According to Spanish trade union CCOO, Getir failed to raise sufficient capital in a recent funding round. As a result, it will cease operations in the country and lay off its entire workforce of 1,560 employees. “We condemn the disastrous business management of Getir, which has not known how to grow or have a market strategy in Spain. Now its staff will suffer the biggest harm,” the union said in a statement. The Turkish-owned Getir Group emerged as the greatest rapid grocery delivery…
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Artificial intelligence sure is keeping the post office busy. After a recent flurry of open letters about runaway AI, unregulated AI, and apocalyptic AI, another missive arrived on the EU’s doorstep today. In this case, however, the signatories have raised a contrary concern. Rather than call for more rules, they fear there will soon be too many. Their target is the impending AI Act. Billed as the world’s first comprehensive legislation for the tech, the new rules are trying to walk the fine line between ensuring safety and supporting innovation. The new letter, signed by executives at some of Europe’s biggest companies,…
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ESA’s mission to unravel the mysteries of the dark universe is set for launch. Following a one-year delay caused by the Ukraine invasion, the Euclid space telescope is scheduled for takeoff on July 1 at 5:11PM CEST time from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US. Named after the famous Greek mathematician, the telescope will embark on a month-long journey to reach its destination at a position in space known as the second Lagrange point (L2) — located 1.5 million kilometres away from our planet. There, it will be able to observe deep space, with the sun, the Earth, and the moon…
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Two Italian researchers have died after a solar-powered hybrid car prototype they were test-driving exploded last week near the city of Naples. The vehicle, a rejigged VW Polo, was being developed as part of an EU-funded project to convert old combustion engine cars into solar-powered hybrids. The prototype caught alight last Friday during a test drive, leaving the two occupants in critical condition. Maria Vittoria Prati, a researcher at Italy’s National Council of Research (CNR), died of complications from third-degree burns on Monday. Earlier this week, the CNR paid tribute to Ms Prati as “a brilliant researcher” and “an expert…
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Let’s face it — climate change is humanity’s greatest screw-up. We’ve known about it for almost a century. The science is clear. And yet, we’ve done nothing. It’s a f**king embarrassment. Now, finally, global leaders are scrambling to clean up the mess. But, even though most of the climate solutions we need already exist, we can’t seem to get our arses in gear to deploy them at the pace and scale required. In short, the world is heating up, and we are failing to cool it down. Humans emitted more CO2 into the atmosphere last year than ever before (uh…WTF?).…
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Cultivated seafood has edged closer to our plates after a German startup bagged fresh cash to bring the produce to market. The Berlin-based Bluu Seafood this week announced it’s raised €16m in Series A funding. The company now plans to focus on gaining regulatory approval for its lab-grown cuisine, which is grown from fish cells. According to Bluu, the process protects oceans, prevents harming animals, and ensures quality. The startup says it’s also more energy efficient and robust than cultivated meat, as fish cells can be grown at room temperature and are more tolerant of life in bioreactors. Bluu now…
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The digital euro is edging closer to reality, despite concerns over the project’s privacy risks and functionality. The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a legal framework for the electronic currency. Under the draft legislation, digital euros would be accepted for transactions anywhere in the eurozone, but cash would remain safeguarded as a form of payment. It would then be up to the European Central Bank (ECB) to decide if, and when, to issue the digital currency. “In the euro area, the digital euro would offer a digital payment solution that is available to everyone, everywhere, for free,” said Valdis Dombrovskis,…
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Like a runaway train, the tech sector’s layoff spree shows no sign of hitting the brakes in 2023. Layoffs.fyi found that between January and May this year, more than 200,000 people around the world found themselves on the wrong end of the pink slip. Echoing through the industry like a gong are the layoffs from big tech. Silicon Valley giants collectively slashed over 104,000 roles last year, and these cutbacks are far from over. Meta, for instance, began a round of layoffs last month targeting up to 6,000 people, as part of plans to eliminate 21,000 total roles across a…
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Negotiators representing the European Parliament and EU countries struck a deal this week on a new set of rules governing how individuals and businesses access and share data in the bloc. The Data Act, proposed by the European Commission last year, aims to give users more control over the data generated from internet-connected devices and protect them against illegal data transfers. The new legislation will empower consumers and companies by giving them a say on what can be done with the data generated by their connected products, said the Commission. This includes letting users access the data generated by smart…
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The UK’s dream of having the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion power plant has taken a digital turn. As part of plans to put fusion energy on the grid by 2040, a digital twin of the reactor is now being built. The virtual model will be used to design the power plant, which aims to unleash the immense promise of fusion energy. With the potential to provide abundant clean energy, fusion is frequently called the “holy grail” of power sources. Unfortunately, it’s also immensely complex. Across decades of experiments, only tiny quantities of fusion power have ever been generated. An illustration…
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Flying cars have captured the public imagination for decades, but have yet to enter the mainstream. However, with investors pouring cash into the sector, could the 2020s be the decade when sci-fi vision becomes reality? German startup Lilium certainly hopes so. The startup announced this week that the design of its all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet has been approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Lilium’s primary airworthiness authority, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), issued its approval — known as a ‘certification basis’ — for the jet in 2020. Lilium, which has raised a whopping…
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AI’s use in travel apps is nothing new — just think about the destination or hotel recommendations you get when booking a trip. But recent advances in generative AI are further shaking the sector. Booking.com is the latest major travel agent to test the potential of the tech. Starting on June 28, the company is offering a beta AI trip planner, built upon its existing machine learning models and partially powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In essence, the planner is a conversational chatbot that’s designed to help consumers across the entire scope of the trip planning process. “We’re able to start…
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Some of the world’s leading human and robot minds are heading to the United Nations. At a UN summit in Geneva next week, tech luminaries ranging from futurist Ray Kurzweil and DeepMind COO Lila Ibrahim will discuss AI for good. It’s a stellar lineup of speakers, but the real stars in our eyes are the robots. Over 50 of the beasts — the majority from Europe — will be in attendance. All of them are worthy of places in your dreams and nightmares, but we’ve narrowed the roster down to a list of our 10 favourites. 1. Sophia Sophia is arguably the…
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Aiming to ensure the development of trustworthy AI, EU member states, the Commission, and 128 partners have committed €220mn to establish four new testing and experimentation facilities (TEFs) within the bloc. These TEFs are large-scale physical and virtual facilities, where AI-based software and hardware technologies can be tested in real-world environments. They will also act as a “safety filter” between emerging digital technologies and European citizens, in turn securing a responsible and society-ready approach to building trustworthy artificial intelligence. The four TEFs focus on distinct high-impact sectors. These are: Manufacturing: The AI-Matters TEF will aim to improve the resilience and…
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Being green can make a company look good––and who wouldn’t want to work for a business that says it’s doing a stellar job with sustainability? But in a world of greenwashing (or even greencrowding, greenhushing and greenshifting), consumers and workers are asking more questions about the green promises that companies are making. That’s particularly the case with Gen Z workers, who are the future of the workplace. One in three (31%) of them would turn down roles in companies with poor ESG (environmental, social, and governance) credentials, and over half (54%) would take a pay cut to work for a…
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EU member states have approved draft legislation allowing governments to spy on journalists in the name of “national security.” The Council published a draft of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) last week that would extend media surveillance powers, including placing spyware on journalists’ phones. The original purpose of the EMFA was to safeguard media independence and pluralism. First presented by the Commission last September, the act was hailed as a major step forward for the protection of press freedom. But earlier this month, France introduced an exception to the ban on deploying spyware against journalists, provided it was used…
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A research team, led by the University of Cambridge, has developed a novel computer memory design, which promises to significantly improve performance while reducing the energy demands of internet and communications technologies. As per the university, AI, algorithms, internet usage, and other data-driven technologies are estimated to require over 30% of our global electricity consumption within the next decade. “To a large extent, this explosion in energy demands is due to shortcomings of current computer memory technologies,” said first author Dr Markus Hellenbrand, from Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. “In conventional computing, there’s memory on one side and…
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Hamburg-based 1KOMMA5° is the latest startup to join the expanding club of climate tech unicorns, after bagging €430m in fresh funding. Founded just 23 months ago, the startup’s main product is Heartbeat, an IoT device that acts as the air traffic control of your home’s energy system. The device connects your solar panels with other energy infrastructure such as energy storage, car chargers, and heat pumps, and optimises the whole system. By intelligently linking all the energy devices in the home, 1KOMMA5° aims to not just decarbonise the energy grid (and keep global warming within 1.5 °C — as…
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Police forces across the UK have been receiving an increasing number of false calls to 999, the country’s emergency services number. This isn’t attributed to a jump in crime, but largely to an Android feature, the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) reports. Nationally, all emergency services are currently experiencing record high 999 call volumes. There’s a few reasons for this but one we think is having a significant impact is an update to Android smartphones… 📷thanks to @NYorksPolice pic.twitter.com/TbmRQgTsUe — National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) (@PoliceChiefs) June 17, 2023 According to the NPCC, Android’s Emergency SOS feature prompts the device…
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The Vision Pro arrived with great fanfare. At the launch event in California on June 5, Apple CEO Tim Cook described the new headset as a “revolutionary” device that heralds a “new era of spatial computing”. Bold claims indeed, but Apple’s track record lends them credibility. The tech giant has already redefined music players, tablets, laptops, desktops, smartwatches, and headphones. Analysts are now proclaiming an “iPhone moment” for extended reality (XR). Across the Atlantic, the launch was being watched closely by Europe’s XR kingpin: Varjo. The Helsinki-based startup claims to produce the world’s most advanced VR and XR. But it now…
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Cultivated grown is on its way to American plates — and European startups want a spot in the kitchen. In a landmark moment for the sector, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given two companies approval to sell lab-grown meat, which is made by taking cells from living animals. After extraction, the cells are placed in a bioreactor and grown into muscle tissue. Finally, the flesh is shaped into the type of cuts found on supermarket shelves. Proponents say the process reduces our carbon footprint and prevents animal suffering, while producing the same meat products that we know and…
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The EU’s industry chief Thierry Breton travelled to Silicon Valley this week to prep tech giants for sweeping new rules governing social media, AI, and data. Breton also made the trip to inaugurate the Commission’s first-ever office in Silicon Valley, as the bloc looks to plant its flag firmly on big tech’s home turf. EU officials entered Twitter’s headquarters yesterday to conduct a mock exercise with the company’s staff to analyse its handling of issues such as Russian propaganda, fake news, and criminal activity. This “stress test” was aimed at preparing Twitter for the bloc’s new Digital Services Act, which…
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Lithuania is planning to build Europe’s largest startup campus in the capital Vilnius, as it looks to attract the next in tech talent. Lithuanian co-working company Tech Zity is investing €100m into the new campus which, upon completion in 2024, will provide private workspace for some 5,000 tech workers. The hub will also house co-working and co-living spaces, events spaces, meeting rooms, and no less than 10 restaurants. The site will be open 24/7 to cater to an “increasing number of hybrid workers.” The centre has a floor space equivalent to 10 football fields, making it two-thirds larger than Europe’s…
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A new algorithm can determine male fertility at a faster and more accurate rate than previously possible, according to research by UK startup Bayezian. The breakthrough arrives amid growing issues for couples trying to get pregnant. A recent report from the World Health Organisation estimated that one in six people globally is now affected by infertility. Despite perceptions that it’s “women’s business,” men now contribute to approximately 50% of fertility problems. Indeed, the male factor has become a growing concern. Recent research found that sperm counts have dropped by more than 50% over the past 45 years, with double the…
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This story is syndicated from the premium edition of PreSeed Now, a newsletter that digs into the product, market, and founder story of UK-founded startups so you can understand how they fit into what’s happening in the wider world and startup ecosystem. The space race is back on, with a growing number of commercial operators keen to follow in SpaceX’s exhaust trail. This means there’s real demand to accelerate the timelines for testing a wide range of devices and materials for use up in space. After our recent coverage of Space DOTS, let’s take a look at another company doing…
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Quick commerce platform Getir is bidding adieu to the French market — less than two years since starting its operations in the country. In a press release sent to AFP, the company said that it will soon exit France and seek a buyer for “all of parts of the group.” The Turkish-owned Getir Group encompasses Getir, Gorillas, and Frichti. “The complex legal environment and the regulations imposed by local administrations have made the success of the company very difficult,” said the platform. Specifically, in March, the French government decreed that “dark stores” — where the products are stored before delivery…
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European ride-hailing firm Bolt will start using self-driving robots to deliver customers’ food as part of a new partnership with fellow Estonian company Starship Technologies, announced yesterday. Bolt, one of Europe’s most highly valued tech companies, plans to roll out thousands of the robots across multiple countries, starting in its home city of Tallinn later this year. A competitor of Uber, Bolt has more than 100 million customers in Europe, Africa, West Asia, and Latin America. Starship, meanwhile, has completed 5 million commercial deliveries around the world, the first autonomous delivery company to do so. “It is natural that two…
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From virtual assistants to voiceovers for audiobooks, AI voice generation has emerged as a rapidly growing field — and it’s no wonder that companies are rushing to tap into the technology’s potential. Among them is Valencia-based Voicemod. The startup has developed an AI voice changer and soundboard software that enables instant speech-to-speech conversion. Unlike most of its competitors, the company claims that it transforms voices in real time and with low latency, enabling users to converse as they would in real life. According to Jaime Bosch, Voicemod’s CEO and co-founder, the company trains its AI model using publicly available data…
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Two years after Mark Zuckerberg launched it into orbit, the metaverse is crashing back to Earth. As the hype sparked by Facebook’s rebrand fades amid jaw-dropping losses, risible selfies, and the generative AI boom, reality is setting in — which is when things start getting interesting. Metaverse stalwarts are now fighting for competing visions. On one side are the centralised platforms owned by the likes of Meta and Roblox. Under the control of all-powerful tech giants, these virtual worlds exist in siloes. On the other side stand advocates for open, interconnected, and decentralised metaverses. In these utopian realms, users can freely traverse…
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The EU’s new pay transparency directive won’t close the gender pay gap by itself. But it will help. After all, if you want to close the gender wage gap you first have to have data. Under the new directive, EU companies will be required to share information about how much they pay men and women for work of equal value and will have to take action if their gender pay gap exceeds 5%. The new directive includes provisions on compensation for victims of pay discrimination and penalties, including fines, for employers who break the rules. Equal pay for equal work…
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Edinburgh-based aerospace startup Skyrora announced yesterday it had commenced a series of full-duration tests of its updated 3D-printed 70kN engine. The new design features an improved engine cooling chamber and can be built approximately 66% faster at a 20% cost reduction. It is meant to take the company closer to commercial orbital launch later this year from the SaxaVord Spaceport that is being developed on Lamba Ness in Unst, Shetland. Skyrora says the tests will evaluate various parameters, such as life cycle and full operational envelope testing, while the engine runs for 250 seconds — the same time it will…
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The EU risks falling short of its ambition to become a global superpower in EV battery production, a report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) warns. Although the union’s industrial policy on batteries has been promoted effectively over the past few years, the bloc still faces three major challenges: limited access to raw materials, uncertainty on whether battery production will reach the required levels, as well as insufficient and uncoordinated funding. According to the ECA, nearly 20% of the new cars registered in the bloc in 2021 had an electric plug. Demand is expected to increase even further with…
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Intel and the German government have struck a deal on how to split the bill for a massive chip factory in Magdeburg, marking the end of a months-long funding dispute. The US chip giant agreed yesterday to fork out more than €30bn to develop the plant, a deal Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed as the single biggest foreign direct investment in German history. The government has also agreed to up its subsidies for the megaproject from €6.8bn to €10bn. “Today’s agreement is an important step for Germany as a high-tech production location — and for our resilience,” Scholz said. “With this…
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In a world scorched by climate change, cooling technology is far from a luxury. It saves lives, keeps food fresh and ensures comfort at home or in the office. Ten new air conditioners are to be sold every second between now and 2050, according to the International Energy Agency. But all those machines, running for hours on end, gobble up vast quantities of electricity. These devices also tend to contain refrigerant gases that are many thousands of times more damaging in terms of global warming potential than CO2. The gases gradually leak, including after old air conditioning units or fridges…
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Helixx has a unique vision of urban mobility. The British startup has engineered a range of affordable electric vehicles. The company also designed a manufacturing system for the EVs. But Helixx doesn’t plan to actually build the cars. Instead, it wants Helixx customers to build them. At first glance, that may look like a lazy strategy. But the pitch has an intriguing foundation: a “factory in a box” that clients use to produce cheap EVs from almost anywhere in the world. The project promises rapid results. According to Helixx, the system can take a local business from an empty building…
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Intel has announced plans to build a €4.6bn semiconductor assembly and testing facility in Poland, as the EU looks to ramp up production of the chips — critical components in everything from cars to refrigerators. The site in Wroclaw, western Poland, will employ 2,000 people and is expected to be completed in 2027. Design and planning will begin immediately, with construction to commence pending European Commission approval. 2027 is also when Intel plans to complete its €17bn mega-fab in Magdeburg, Germany. Once operational, both facilities will support the company’s existing manufacturing hub in Ireland. While Intel’s factories in Germany…
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Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic will grant the UK government “early or priority access” to their models for research and safety purposes, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak revealed during his speech at London Tech Week. While it’s still unclear what type of data the tech companies have pledged to share, the aim of the move is to help the government better understand and evaluate the opportunities and risks of these systems. Sunak re-emphasised the “extraordinary potential of AI” in sectors such as healthcare, education, and public services, aligning the development of artificial intelligence with the UK’s goal to become “the best…
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TNW Conference 2023 is a wrap! And what a couple of days it has been; a whirlwind of phenomenal insights, extraordinary events and connections across the entire tech ecosystem. We have talked about diversity and inclusion, why to design anything in the first place, the importance of building not only scaleups but “stayups,” how to secure funding from VCs and beyond, and, of course, there were plenty of discussions on AI. Although they were incredibly difficult to choose, here are some of the highlights from the past two days. The speakers and sessions Nagin Cox, interplanetary storyteller and NASA engineer…
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A new generation of talented and sustainability-focused tech entrepreneurs are already dreaming up innovative ideas to shift our daily habits and tackle climate change. Over the past five years, the Battle of the Minds competition has called on students and recent graduates from across the globe to pitch and develop novel solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental problems. Together, country based teams compete in a pitch competition for the chance to win funding from Btomorrow Ventures and the opportunity to join BAT’s Global Graduate Programme. From making glue out of gelatinized marine waste to edible…
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The tech sector is experiencing an unprecedented slowdown, but analysts see immense opportunities for startups that survive the downturn. Across the world, VC funding in 2022 plummeted by 35% from the previous year, according to a new study from Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023 (GSER 2023) also observed slowdowns in deal counts, exits, and unicorns. But a deeper dive unearths grounds for optimism. After a year of heavy market losses, inflation is now slowing and economic growth appears to be holding up. The headwinds remain challenging, but the GSER 2023 notes that…
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The artificial intelligence hype shows no sign of fading just yet, and investors are practically falling over themselves to fund the next big thing in AI. Yesterday, Paris-based startup Mistral AI announced it had secured €105mn in what is reportedly Europe’s largest-ever seed round. Mistral AI was founded only four weeks ago, by a trio of AI researchers. Arthur Mensch, the company’s CEO, was formerly employed by Google’s DeepMind. His co-founders, Timothée Lacroix (CTO) and Guillaume Lample (Chief Science Officer), previously worked for Meta. The company has yet to develop its first product. However, on a mission to “make AI…
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Holly Blondin will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! Few are the blessed people in the world who are entirely immune to procrastination. Whether from lack of motivation, fear of failure, succumbing to distractions and temptations, or an overestimation of future productivity, habitual or “chronic” procrastinators make up approximately 20% of…
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This week, Ford opened its new EV production facility in Cologne. The move is part of the American automaker’s push to make its entire European passenger vehicle lineup all-electric by 2030. Originally opened back in 1930, Ford has spent the past two years — and $2bn — redeveloping the facility into a solely EV manufacturing centre. The Cologne Electric Vehicle Centre will produce Ford’s next-gen EVs, the first of which will be the electric Explorer, followed by a yet-to-be-named sports crossover. The plant is expected to churn out over 250,000 vehicles per year, a big chunk of Ford’s target to…
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A great work-life balance, excellent transport, a chosen spot of major tech companies, and a social culture featuring currywurst and Oktoberfest… welcome to Germany, a country that’s trying to make itself a top choice for workers keen to move abroad. Germany badly needs more skilled workers, but one major barrier to attracting international talent has been the country’s love for bureaucracy. In the face of an ongoing skills gap, it’s having to move with the times. That’s why Germany recently decided to make it easier for people from outside the EU to move there for work, with new legislation on…
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Munich-based Infineon is considering moving a bigger chunk of its production to the US, the FT reports. The prospective move would be made to comply with the Biden Administrations’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — a $369bn package of subsidies and tax incentives, aiming to accelerate domestic production of green technologies, which include semiconductors. Infineon is amongst the world’s biggest silicon chip suppliers for the automotive industry. It already operates six factories in the US, next to eight in Asia, and five in Europe, where Germany counts three facilities. Peter Wawer, head of the chipmaker’s green technology division, told the FT…
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Ladies and gentlemen, friends and nemeses, the moment has finally arrived: TNW Conference is this week! After taking our show on the road to València in April, we’re returning to where it all began: Amsterdam. The two-day event kicks off on June 15 — and you’re all invited. Expect our usual smorgasbord of talks, networking, learning, and festival vibes, but with a new unifying theme. Following a turbulent few years, this year we want to reclaim the future — and reignite the positive power that tech can have. That spirit has been infused throughout the conference agenda. It featured prominently in…
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Drumroll, please! The moment we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived: TNW Conference 2023 is taking place this week, on June 15&16 — and you’re all invited. This year we’re not only going to discover what’s next in tech, but also reclaim the future and join forces to explore how technology can help us build a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive world. At TNW Conference, technology is the beating heart of what we do. As usual, we’re bringing together the whole tech ecosystem: from startups and investors, to industry leaders, C-level executives, and policy makers. Across the two days, attendees…
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Germany’s finance minister says there is no money in the budget for higher subsidies for Intel’s planned semiconductor plant in eastern Germany, Financial Times reports. Intel’s plan to construct a massive €17bn chip fabrication plant in Magdeburg, Germany, is a cornerstone of the EU’s plan to produce 20% of the world’s semiconductors by 2030. However, the project has faced a number of cost overruns, leaving Intel and Germany at a stalemate over who will foot the bill for the plant, now expected to cost in the region of €20bn. Intel said in March that it wants €4-5bn more in state…
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Lubomila Jordanova and Jamie Crummie will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! The goals of decarbonisation and the circular economy are two sides of the same coin. We cannot achieve one without the other, and both are vital to a sustainable and equitable future for humanity. Just a few years ago,…
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The EU has approved an €8.1bn state aid package to boost the development of chips, aiming to strengthen the bloc’s microelectronics and comms sector. The subsidy falls under the framework of “Important Projects of Common European Interest” (IPCEI) — an initiative that provides easier access to public funds. The IPCEI will undertake 68 projects across 14 member states: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Slovakia. It will involve 56 companies in total — from major players such as Airbus and ASML, to startups and SMEs — and over 30…
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This article features an interview with Lila Ibrahim, COO of Google DeepMind. Ibrahim will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! AI safety has become a mainstream concern. The rapid development of tools like ChatGPT and deepfakes has sparked fears about job losses, disinformation — and even annihilation. Last…
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Global livestock contributes 14.5% of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions. Our food systems need a significant revamp, not to say a revolution, if we are to have any chance of feeding a growing population while also making sure there is still a planet that is worth populating at all. Some of that revamping is happening in the lab, with cell biology taking centre stage. With global meat consumption showing no sign of slowing down (in fact, quite the opposite), cellular agriculture could be one of the keys to reducing livestock-related emissions. UK-based cultivated meat startup Uncommon announced today it has…
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British startup Hilo — co-founded by Andy Palmer, often referred to as the ‘godfather’ of EVs — has launched a new e-scooter crammed with high-tech safety features, in a bid to tackle the sector’s poor safety rep. The e-scooter, dubbed Hilo One, is equipped with the same kind of collision warning tech found in cars. Using computer vision AI, the e-scooter alerts the riders of impending dangers through visual, audible, and sensory feedback in the handlebars. “E-scooters have faced challenges with safety and public perception,” said Palmer, who helped supercharge EV adoption in the UK during his time as COO…
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This article is by Alex Pasykov, CEO and founder of dating apps Hily and Taimi, who will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! 2023 has been a rough year for startups. Getting funding has become increasingly difficult, and this is no different for the dating app industry. Investors…
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By travelling on modern day cruise ships, we inevitably leave our (carbon) footprint behind, in an ironic twist of fate destroying the very nature we have come so far to admire. That could soon change, at least along the magnificent fjord landscape of Norway. Weeks before its 130th anniversary, cruise company Hurtigruten has revealed the concept design for its very first zero-emission ship. Cruise ships are among the most polluting means of travel. They utilise enormous amounts of fuel, and generate a ridiculous amount of waste. Noise pollution from the engines disturbs marine life, harming the sensitive hearing of dolphins…
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DeepMind has applied its mastery of games to a more serious business: the foundations of computer science. The Google subsidiary today unveiled AlphaDev, an AI system that discovers new fundamental algorithms. According to DeepMind, the algorithms it’s unearthed surpass those honed by human experts over decades. The London-based lab has grand ambitions for the project. As demand for computation grows and silicon chips approach their limits, fundamental algorithms will have to become exponentially more efficient. By enhancing these processes, DeepMind aims to transform the infrastructure of the digital world. The first target in this mission is sorting algorithms, which are used to order…
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The European floods of 2021, which affected large areas of Germany and Belgium, took the lives of 209 people and cost over €30bn in damages. Catastrophic floods like these are becoming more and more common as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. While there is no easy fix for preventing floods, there are ways in which we can be more prepared for them. One company tackling this challenge head-on is Norwegian climate tech startup 7Analytics. Founded in 2020 by a team of data scientists and geologists, the startup aims to help municipalities and businesses better…
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As a lover of good food, but someone who dislikes cooking, I’ve always fantasised about having a robot chef at home. Now, thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Cambridge, my dream may soon come true. The research team has succeeded in training a robot to watch cooking videos, learn from them, and then recreate dishes. “We wanted to see whether we could train a robot chef to learn in the same incremental way that humans can — by identifying the ingredients and how they go together in the dish,” said Grzegorz Sochacki from Cambridge’s Department of…
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Work can be pretty stressful these days: globally tech workers have had to deal with the effects of the pandemic, adjust to remote work—and handle all those more recent return-to-office mandates—in addition to dealing with fears of redundancy in an environment that has seen hundreds of thousands of sector layoffs since mid-2022. It’s not surprising that workers are feeling the strain. Forty-four percent of European workers reported that their work stress had increased as a result of the pandemic, according to an EU-OSHA workers’ survey. Burnout is rife, with a 2021 study finding that 66% of Polish workers and 59%…
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Most of us have heard of carbon offsets by now. However, the average person perhaps doesn’t give them much thought beyond when prompted by an airline to “offset the CO2 of your journey” (for a suspiciously small amount). But how familiar are you with carbon removals? Offsetting and carbon credits (sort of like permission slips for emissions) are not only big business, but part of a new climate-accounting reality to which companies will have to adapt sooner or later as they embark on net-zero roadmaps. Offsetting as a practice has gotten a pretty bad rep, and not at all unjustified.…
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This article features an interview with Nick Foster, former Head of Design for Google X. Foster will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! When we think about the future, our minds tend to conjure up images of cyberpunk cities where flying cars zoom overhead, 3D hologram advertisements pop…
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European tech startups will see a 38% investment drop in 2023 compared to 2022 levels, the latest report by Atomico finds. Specifically, startups are expected to raise $51bn in funding — down from $83bn in 2022 and $106bn in 2021. But Europe isn’t alone in navigating a tough year for tech. The US and China are also looking at a 49% investment decrease in 2023 compared to 2021. According to the report, this global retraction in funding has a domino effect on the flow of capital between the regions. For Europe, this translates to a significant reduction of capital from…
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This article features an interview with Lubomila Jordanova, founder and CEO at Plan A. Jordanova will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! In 2016, on a surfing trip in Morocco, Lubomila Jordanova experienced a serendipitous moment that would redirect the course of her life. That moment came not in the barrel…
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The EU is pushing big tech to apply a new method for tackling AI disinformation: labels. The bloc wants online platforms to mark any AI-generated photos, videos, and text, a top official announced on Monday. “The labelling should be done now — immediately,” said European Commission Vice President Vera Jourová, per DW. The request was made amid explosive growth in synthetic media. ChatGPT has been named the fastest-growing consumer application in history, while the rise of image generators has sparked claims that “art is dead.” Jourová warned that “malicious actors” can use these services to spread fake news. The EU’s impending…
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There’s a lot of buzz around generative AI’s potential to push productivity into hyperspeed, from quickly spitting out lines of code for developers to text and image tools that allow marketing teams to produce new campaigns faster. But one area where it can really make a direct and measurable impact for your customers is by adopting it within your support and customer experience teams. Perhaps you’ve heard that consumers are less patient than ever before? Zoom recently conducted a survey with Morning Consult to learn more about what consumers think about their customer support experiences with businesses. Over half of…
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Blockchain is frequently derided as a solution in search of a problem. But buried beneath the crypto scams and Web3 utopianism hide some intriguing use cases. Some of the most powerful applications are in traceability. When embedded in supply chains, blockchain can track the entire product lifecycle, from origin to consumption. As the tech provides permanent, indelible, and unalterable records, extensive data about items and transactions can be securely stored and authenticated. In the food sector, the benefits are particularly attractive. In one pilot project by UK startup Provenance, blockchain and smart tagging were used to track illegal tuna fishing, seafood fraud,…
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Green hydrogen will almost certainly play a key role in the energy transition, but it does come with a number of inherent challenges. It’s highly flammable and must be stored at high pressures or cryogenic temperatures, which makes hydrogen storage and transport complex and expensive. A student team at Eindhoven University of Technology, called SOLID, is trying to solve this problem by using small iron balls (iron pellets) as hydrogen energy carriers. To achieve this, the team has developed a steam-iron process. When iron is exposed to a flow of hot steam under high pressure it reacts with the water…
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LSD, magic mushrooms, MDMA, ketamine, DMT… it’s a suspicious product line for a legitimate business — and psychedelics startups know it. With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that the sector are wary of the stereotypes around hallucinogens. “What the industry really needs is the most boring person in the room to be presenting the topic,” says Clara Burtenshaw, co-founder of Neo Kuma Ventures, Europe’s largest VC fund for psychedelic healthcare. It would be harsh to call Burtenshaw the most boring person in the room, but she’s not the clichéd lover of trips. More polished entrepreneur than kaleidoscopic hippy, Burtenshaw was…
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Apple is a sector definer. While the company rarely creates entirely new products, its hardware ends up being the baseline other devices are measured by. You only need to look at how the iPod, iPhone, and iPad defined what people expect from MP3 players, phones, and tablets. Now, Apple is hoping it can repeat this trick with an entirely new product: its rumoured VR/AR headset, expected to be announced on June 5th. This is a huge moment for not only the company, but the European extended reality (XR) sector as a whole. While Apple has had some successes with products…
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A group of international researchers has shed further light on genetic variants responsible for human diseases by analysing primate DNA data with a novel AI algorithm. Initially, the scientists sequenced over 800 individual samples from 233 species of non-human primates representing all 16 families, from lemurs to gorillas. To interpret the data, they developed a new algorithm: PrimateAI-3D. PrimateAI-3D is built on deep-learning language architectures similar to those used in ChatGPT, but designed to model genomic rather than linguistic sequences. The team used natural selection to train its parameters, by presenting it with mutations that are ruled out for disease…
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The European Commission launched a new initiative this week to help 100 deep tech startups become unicorns, as the bloc looks to accelerate growth in green and digital technologies. “We will identify one hundred of Europe’s future tech champions, engage them, and provide them with support on their scaleup journey,” said EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager, who announced the EIC Scale Up 100 initiative at a deep tech conference in Stockholm yesterday. These “future tech champions” will be picked from a pool of startups already enrolled in national and EU-led innovation programmes across the Continent. Only the “best performing” startups…
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A European airline today opened reservations for its first-ever commercial electric flights — but don’t expect a booking for this year’s summer holiday. Or the next four after that. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) aims to make the maiden voyages within Sweden, Norway, and Denmark in 2028 — and even that sounds ambitious. The company still hasn’t chosen the aircraft for the trip, which is unsurprising as the planes are still being built. SAS also isn’t ready to tell customers the date, departure location, distance, or duration of their flights. The airline promises to reveal further details “when decided.” Another potential obstacle…
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This article features an interview with Alberto Prado, Head of R&D Digital and Partnerships at Unilever. Prado will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! From microbiome-protecting skincare to a vegan bee-saving lipstick, Unilever is transforming how it innovates its portfolio products by harnessing the power of AI. Alberto…
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Sam Altman’s turbulent relationship with European regulators has taken two more turns. The OpenAI CEO is reportedly set for further talks with the EU — and a new HQ on the continent. Altman last sparked an uproar after criticising the EU’s AI Act. The 38-year-old threatened to withdraw OpenAI’s services over plans for the landmark legislation, which would force his company to comply with extra obligations. Following a fierce backlash from lawmakers, Altman made a swift U-turn. The ChatGPT maker was “excited to continue to operate here,” he tweeted, and had “no plans to leave.” The charm offensive continued in an interview…
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Here’s the thing, it doesn’t take long for an outsized ego to manifest itself in the workplace. Everything is self-referential. Any topic leads back to wonderful them. One of my clients was offered a job recently that would pay roughly twice what she’s earning now. She nailed the interview, so I figured all she had to do was read and sign the contract. I was surprised when she said she wasn’t taking the position. Why not? Because the boss of the new company had led the interview panel. The HR manager asked relevant, open questions. The external interview panellist probed…
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Italy is the latest country looking to quickly shore up domestic development of an AI ecosystem. As part of its Strategic Program for Artificial Intelligence, the government will “soon” launch a €150 million fund to support startups in the field, backed by development bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). As reported by Corriere Communazione, Alessio Butti, Italy’s cabinet undersecretary in charge of technological innovation, relayed the news of the state-backed fund yesterday. While he didn’t provide specific details on the amount to be made available, government sources subsequently told Reuters the figure being discussed in Rome was in the vicinity…
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Dutch architecture firm MVRDV has completed Matrix One — a 6-storey, energy-efficient, office and laboratory block constructed using over 120,000 reusable components. The building is the largest of seven that make up the Matrix Innovation Center in the Amsterdam Science Park, which serves as a hub for scientists and entrepreneurs developing solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges. Matrix One has been designed for disassembly: almost everything from the doors and windows to ceilings and furniture is fully detachable and reusable. Even the floors are made from prefabricated concrete slabs with no fixed connections — they can simply be…
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Einride, a pioneer in electric and autonomous freight transport, is expanding its services to the Middle East, following a collaboration with the UAE government to accelerate the region’s transition to sustainable shipping. Founded in 2016, the Swedish startup is on a mission to decarbonise the industry by developing and deploying a holistic freight mobility ecosystem. This includes its electric and autonomous fleets, its intelligent platform, called Einiride Saga, charging infrastructure, and connectivity networks. Einride, which is already operating in Europe and the US, has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE government to deploy its ecosystem over…
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No matter who your favourite character was, The Office (both the UK or US versions, let’s not get into a fight here) became an iconic series because it played on one thing we all know to be true: offices are boring. The tech industry tried to change all that by infusing some ‘fun’ into the office. Their plan was to attract adults to the workplace with bright colours, slides, rock walls, and a relaxed dress code, echoing kid’s jungle gyms. They did away with the cubicles of the 90s and introduced open office plans, assuming that having people from different…
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A UK startup has tapped ChatGPT to build a text-to-music playlist generator. The AI system is the brainchild of Uppbeat, an audio platform based in Leeds. Targeting content creators, the feature finds copyright-free tracks for video soundtracks. Uppbeat claims it’s the first tool that lets people use their own language to find the songs they want. “Generative AI music is rife with copyright and overall quality issues,” said Lewis Foster, CEO of Uppbeat, in a statement. “Our catalogue is full of incredible artists and AI doesn’t come closet. But, we asked ourselves, ‘What if we can use AI to help creators pinpoint…
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Following a decision to pull Twitter out of the EU’s (voluntary) disinformation Code of Practice last week, the reactions have not been long in coming. Upon receiving the news, the bloc’s industry chief Thierry Breton said that Twitter would still need to abide by EU rules soon enough. Or, as Monsieur Breton put it (tweeted, in fact) when referring to the Digital Services Act (DSA), which will make fighting disinformation a legal obligation from 25 August, “You can run, but you cannot hide.” Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But obligations remain. You can run but you…
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Some of Europe’s top technologists today joined a global group of IT luminaries in warning that AI could lead to extinction. At just 22 words long, their statement is short and stark: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” Issued by the non-profit Center for AI Safety, the message has been signed by an array of business leaders, researchers, and public figures. They include Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, Kevin Scott, the CTO of Microsoft, and, err, the musician Grimes. Her ex-boyfriend, Elon Musk,…
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A German startup has secured its first investment to scale a bizarre twisted-looking fusion machine that could power the world with abundant, clean, and limitless energy. Proxima Fusion raised €7mn in funding to build a device known as a stellarator, a little-known fusion reactor that could hold the key to unlocking the potential of atom-fusing power within our lifetime. While the initial funding round was small, it is noteworthy because the startup is the first spinout from Germany’s esteemed Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. The institute is solely dedicated to fusion research and is home to the world’s largest…
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If you, like me, have been waiting for the day when urban sprawls begin to resemble your favourite sci-fi scene with flying taxis journeying in silent files high up amongst the skyscrapers, it seems you may have to wait a little while longer. Bristol-based urban air mobility (UAM) startup Vertical Aerospace is the latest in a long line to announce the (second) delay of entry into service of its aircraft, the VX4. The company has told investors it is now targeting certification from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) by the end of 2026 – two years behind the original…
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It’s as if I am chatting to a merchant on a European dockside more than a century ago when I ask Jorne Langelaan, founder and CEO of Dutch shipping startup EcoClipper, how his vessel’s maiden voyage is going. “In the beginning the winds were really favourable,” he says of the progress made by the 1912-built De Tukker, which recently embarked on a regular sailing schedule taking it to ports around Europe. Chocolate, olive oil and wine are among its first items of cargo. On the way from The Netherlands to Portugal, like many thousands of mariners in centuries gone by,…
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It’s been 66 years since the EU first introduced the principle of equal pay for male and female employees conducting work of equal value. Yet, the gender pay gap stubbornly persists in the bloc. Women earn, on average, around 13% less than men, with significant variations among member states. To narrow this gap, the European Parliament and Council recently approved a set of new rules that establish binding pay transparency measures. For the first time in the union’s history, this legislation also tackles intersectional discrimination (on the combined basis of ethnicity, race, religion, etc.) and addresses the rights of non-binary…
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Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, really wants AI regulation. Truly, madly, deeply, he wants it. Because of safety and stuff. Unless, of course, it’s the type of regulation that he doesn’t want. If that’s the case, he’ll threaten to withdraw his services instead. Altman issued the warning this week during a tour of European regulators. He said OpenAI could “cease operating” in the EU if it can’t comply with the bloc’s impending AI Act. The 38-year-old is particularly worried about the plans for “high-risk” systems. Under the current proposals, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and GPT-4 models would both be designated high-risk,…
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BMW has partnered with Swiss gaming platform AirConsole to bring in-car gaming to its new all-electric 5 Series. Drivers and passengers can play the games to kill time while the vehicle is charging, for example. Sadly, but probably for the best, you can’t play while the car is moving. In addition to the new BMW 5 Series, which debuted this week, the AirConsole app will be rolled out in other BMW vehicles. The service has been available on TVs for some time, but this is the first time it has been available in a car. To use the gaming…
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Dutch aviation startup ELECTRON Aviation has inked an agreement with Twente Airport, in the next step of its plans to launch a zero-emissions short-haul flight service from 2027. The startup’s planned fleet of electric air taxis will transport up to four passengers at a time to various European cities within a 500km radius of the airport. “To be clear, that gets you to Berlin, London, or Paris, all in under 2 hours,” said Josef Mouris, CEO and co-founder of ELECTRON. The startup’s Electron5 plane, which is still in the prototype phase, will fly at around 300km/h with a max range…
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Over a decade ago, a cycling accident left Gert-Jan Oskam paralysed after causing him a spinal cord injury. Now, he’s able to stand and walk again thanks to an innovative brain-spine interface (BSI) developed by a team of Swiss neuroscientists. To walk, the brain must send a command to the region of the spinal cord that’s responsible for movement control. But a spinal cord injury interrupts this communication. “Our idea was to reestablish this communication with a “digital bridge”, an electric communication between the brain and the region of the spinal cord that is still intact,” said Professor Grégoire Courtine,…
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GDPR turned five this week — and celebrated in customary style: by slapping Meta with another eye-watering fine. At a record-breaking €1.2bn, the punishment was the perfect self-gift for the EU regulation. For Meta, however, it marks another miserable anniversary. According to research by Privacy Matters, Mark Zuckerberg’s demonic brainchild has accrued over half of the €4bn in total GDPR fines. After amassing a staggering €2.5bn across seven separate penalties, it’s safe to say that Meta won’t be attending the birthday party. But it wasn’t likely to have got an invite anyway. The social media behemoth has been feuding with…
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London has been named the world’s most high-tech city, according to Z/Yen Group’s seventh edition of the Smart Centres Index, published today. The British capital secured the top spot for its world-leading financial services, deep talent pool, quality of its business environment, and international reputation. Climbing from second place, London was joined in the top five by New York, San Francisco, Zurich, and Lugano. Oxford came in seventh place, putting four European cities in the top 10. The news that London has taken the top tech title from New York will undoubtedly be welcomed by British PM Rishi Sunak, who…
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You might already know that humans are planning to permanently settle on Mars sometime in the near future. When and how that will happen is anyone’s guess, but scientists at the University of Birmingham believe some of the answers could lie beneath our feet. The researchers have set up a laboratory 1.1km underground in Britain’s deepest mine to investigate how scientific and medical operations would take place in the challenging environments of Mars and the Moon. The lab is located in a 3,000m3 tunnel network adjacent to the Boulby Underground Laboratory, a deep underground research facility in Yorkshire focused on…
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Microsoft’s appeal against a veto of its Activision Blizzard takeover offers a chance to “find a third way” in the feud, say legal experts. The Xbox maker on Wednesday formally appealed a UK regulator’s decision to block the $69bn (€64bn) deal. The shock intervention was a potentially fatal blow to the bid for Activision, which owns the Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Warcraft franchises. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had concluded that the purchase would give Microsoft an unfair edge in the nascent cloud gaming market. The decision made the CMA an international outlier among antitrust regulators —…
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Experts estimate around 60% of buildings that will exist in 30 years’ time have yet to be built. This equals constructing a city the size of Stockholm every week until 2050. However, the construction sector currently doesn’t have the people or the skills to deliver the infrastructure and homes we need at the pace required. But what if we could offload some of the work to robots? Enter 3D concrete printing — an emerging technology that uses 3D printers to create all manner of structures, from bridges and sculptures to houses and even whole neighbourhoods. These huge printers work much…
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According to a study by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) released late last week, digital technologies will become an increasing factor in European democracy in the coming decade. This is perhaps not entirely surprising; after all, the pandemic shifted much of our lives into the digital realm, why shouldn’t our political participation? The report, based on interviews with more than 50 government and industry representatives, finds that the market for online participation and deliberation in Europe is expected to grow to €300mn in the next five years, whereas the market for e-voting will grow to €500mn.…
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Gran Canaria is perhaps best known for its sandy beaches, eternal sunshine, and volcanic past. But isolated far from the European mainland, the island relies heavily on imported fossil fuels to power its growing economy — 76% of its electricity comes from burning oil. In an effort to decarbonise, the government has been investing heavily in renewable energies to harness the island’s abundant wind and solar resources. In 2022, renewables made up 24% of the island’s energy mix, up from just 12% in 2018. But as more renewables come online, the island faces another problem: storage. Last year, the government…
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Every tech baron worth their Patagonia vest is talking about AGI these days — albeit with mixed feelings. Some await our robot overlords with rapturous excitement; others anticipate a digital apocalypse. The divergence stems from varied motivations: personal perspectives, vested interests, and the ambiguity of what exactly constitutes artificial general intelligence. DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis defines it as “human-level cognition” — and his opinion carries weight. Hassabis has made the London-based DeepMind one of the world’s leading AI labs, with building AGI as its core mission. “The progress has been pretty incredible. This week, the former chess prodigy and video…
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TSB is urging consumers to remain wary of financial fraud on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as scams through Meta’s platforms are increasing at a worrying pace. The UK bank analysed its internal customer fraud data between 2021 and 2022. It found that the Meta-owned sites and apps account for a whopping 80% of all scam cases within its three biggest fraud categories: purchase, impersonation, and investment fraud. Facebook Marketplace is responsible for 60% of TSB’s purchase fraud cases, seeing a 97% year-on-year increase. Remember that vintage table you had to pre-buy because the seller was conveniently in the Bahamas, but…
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Swedish low-carbon battery startup Northvolt is on a bit of a roll lately. Recently, the company revealed a new collaboration with Scania to produce the longest lasting EV batteries on the market. Now, its wholly-owned subsidiary Cuberg has unveiled a program to develop high-performance batteries to achieve “safe and sustainable” electric flight. One of the biggest stumbling blocks to zero-emission electric aviation is, apart from access to renewable energy, battery technology. Today’s batteries are, simply put, too inefficient and too heavy. However, Cuberg says it has already achieved significant milestones in its next-generation lithium metal cell battery technology. This involves…
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Carrara, the Italian city famous for some of the world’s finest marbles, has given birth to the masterpieces of Renaissance masters, such as Michelangelo and Antonio Canova. Now, right in the heart of the city’s quarry district, a startup aims to carve a new era of sculpture in which robots pick up — or rather become — the chisel. Founded by Filippo Tincolini and Giacomo Massari, Robotor’s mission is to revolutionise the industry by simplifying the sculpting process with the use of robotics and artificial intelligence. The aim is to make sculpture faster, easier, and more sustainable, while enabling artists…
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An AI tool that decodes what mice see could enhance future brain-computer interfaces, according to a new study. Named CEBRA, the system was developed by researchers at EPFL, a university in Switzerland. Their aim? To uncover hidden relationships between the brain and behaviour. To test CEBRA (pronounced “zebra”), the team tried to decode what a mouse sees when it watches a video. “Given the brain is the most complex structure in our universe, it’s the ultimate test for CEBRA. First, the researchers collected open-access neural data on rodents watching movies. Some of the brain activity had been measured with electrode probes in…
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The first quarter of 2023 was pretty bleak for the European startup ecosystem, to say the least. Funding fell a whopping 57% compared to Q1 of 2022, and fundraising is on pace for the lowest total since 2015. As such, the recent developments being heralded from Berlin might bring particularly welcome succour. German VC firm HV Capital announced today it has raised its ninth and largest fund ever, with €710 million for investments across all growth phases – all the way from pre-Seed to Series D and beyond. The fund is backed mostly by institutional investors from Europe and the…
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The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a review of the artificial intelligence market, in an effort to weigh up the potential opportunities and risks of a technology Bill Gates dubs as “revolutionary as mobile phones and the Internet.” The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would investigate the systems underpinning tools such as ChatGPT in order to evaluate the competition rules and consumer protections that may be required. This, the CMA stated, is to ensure the development and deployment of AI tools is done in a safe, secure, and accountable manner. “It’s crucial that the potential benefits of this…
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Ever dreamed of being a Jedi? Armed with an elegant weapon for a more civilised age, many of us have fantasised about cutting a bright green (or blue) swathe across a galaxy far, far away. Disney even released a patent in 2018 for one such device, although ‘Sword device with retractable, internally illuminated blade,’ doesn’t quite evoke images of cutting through blast doors or droid armour. That begs the question on this Star Wars Day: is it actually possible to build a lightsaber, and if so, how far away from holding it in our hands and whistling ‘Duel of Fates’ are we? The answer might…
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Germany’s Infineon has broken ground on its new €5bn semiconductor manufacturing plant in Dresden, less than six months since announcing the project. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the construction as a “major step forward” toward the bloc’s goal of boosting its market share in semiconductors. Europe is currently scrambling to reduce its reliance on foreign imports of semiconductor chips from, among others, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. “These are regions where tensions can flare up at any time,” said von der Leyen, in a nod to the current tensions between Beijing…
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Coordinated by Europol and the US Department of Justice, yesterday, Operation SpecTor seized over €50mn in cash and cryptocurrency, 850 kg of drugs (including amphetamines, cocaine, MDMA and ecstasy pills) and 117 firearms. The latter, contrary to Europol’s choice of emoji, were in all likelihood not water pistols. 🚨 288 dark web vendors arrested in major marketplace seizure. Operation #SpecTor led to the seizure of:💶 EUR 50.8 million💊 850 kg of drugs🔫 117 firearms The #MonopolyMarket vendors arrested were also active on other illicit marketplaces. More ⤵️https://t.co/fDbWJbeFiM pic.twitter.com/086e1XMCUo — Europol (@Europol) May 2, 2023 The arrested vendors were operating…
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Nearly a quarter of the world’s jobs will be disrupted in the coming five years, the latest report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has found. Specifically, the job market will experience a 23% churn, as a result of emerging and vanishing positions. According to WEF, the companies surveyed anticipate that 83m jobs will be lost, albeit offset by the creation of 69m new roles. This still leaves a deficit of 14m eliminated positions, which translates into a 2% contraction of the global workforce. The report identified three key factors fueling the transformation of the labour market: the green transition,…
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As dry and bureaucratic as EU legislation may seem, it can also be groundbreaking and, dare we say it, radical. The bloc has taken a global lead in tackling regulation in areas such as green taxonomy and the much-anticipated AI Act. European lawmakers are also at the forefront in trying to curb the seemingly ever-growing dominance of Big Tech. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is the EU’s tool to attempt to open the digital app marketplace up for smaller competitors. It sets criteria to identify the “gatekeepers” of the market and make them comply with a certain list of do’s…
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Move over Tony Stark, there’s a new player in town. Augsburg-based startup German Bionic has developed wearable exoskeletons that endow superhuman strength — although they are a little more modest than Iron Man’s. Founded in 2017, the startup is one of several companies around the world developing exoskeletons to make physically demanding jobs easier. Whether for warehouse staff, elderly care professionals, or construction workers, “everyone can benefit from a little added support,” Norma Steller, CPO at German Bionic, tells TNW. Germanic Bionic’s two commercially available exoskeletons — the Cray X and the recently launched Apogee (pictured) — are worn like…
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Dr Geoffry Hinton, widely referred to as AI’s “godfather,” has confirmed in an interview with the New York Times that he has quit his job at Google — to talk about the dangers of the technology he helped develop. Hinton’s pioneering work in neural networks — for which he won the Turing award in 2018 alongside two other university professors — laid the foundations for the current advancement of generative AI. The lifelong academic and computer scientist joined Google in 2013, after the tech giant spent $44m to acquire a company founded by Hinton and two of his students, Ilya…
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At the beginning of the year, news readers were treated to images of German police forcefully removing climate activists from the village of Lützerath to make way for an open-air coal mine. Indeed, Germany may have averted a looming energy crisis this past winter by upping its coal consumption. While prioritising energy independence may have caused a detour from the transition to renewables, the country’s goal is to reach climate neutrality by 2045: five years ahead of the EU target. A small step on the way but a step nonetheless is Europe’s first solar panel roof-covered cycling path which opened…
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If you’ve been reading about the current state of the tech industry in traditional media reports, you’d be forgiven for assuming that the industry is trembling on a precipice, about to plunge into the inky abyss. The truth, though, is somewhat more nuanced. While sites such as layoffs.fyi, which tracks tech redundancies, are reporting that around 616 tech companies have laid off 184,101 employees so far this year, those layoffs should be viewed within a wider context. Gartner’s Mbula Schoen, a senior director analyst, said in a recent blog post, “Gartner research found that the companies behind the 10 largest…
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ChatGPT has spawned a new sector of AI chat apps — and Europe’s at its epicentre. Since the tool launched in November 2022, these apps have been downloaded 23.6 million times from the Google Play Store, according to research by App Radar. The study uncovered 40 AI chat apps with over 10,000 users that harness ChatGPT or similar tech. Europe emerged as the global leader of the nascent segment. The continent was the birthplace of 14 apps that bagged a total of 8m downloads — 34% of the entire sector. The remainder was divided between the Americas (nine apps with 2.7m downloads)…
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Much of the world may currently be fretting about how to limit the impact (lack of privacy, copyright issues, loss of jobs, world domination, etc.) of artificial intelligence. However, that does not mean that there isn’t enormous potential for AI to improve quality of life on earth. One such application is healthcare. With the ability to process big data sets, the deployment of AI could lead to significant advances in predictive diagnostics, including early detection of cancer. While more research is needed, one of the latest studies in the field shows promising results for AI-assisted diagnosis of lung cancer. Doctors…
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In March, Italy became the first Western country to temporarily ban access to ChatGPT within its borders. Citing concerns over “unlawful” data collection and the lack of an age verification mechanism for minors, the country’s data protection agency — Garante — blocked the service, requiring OpenAI to meet a series of demands for the suspension to be lifted. As of April 28, Italian users have regained access to the AI system, after OpenAI implemented the majority of the measures ordered by Garante. These address age verification, transparency, and the rights of users and non-users alike. First off, the US-based company…
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The COVID-19 pandemic was a veritable gold rush for food delivery startups — as the world shut down, people ordered in. These companies promised rapid delivery of groceries from local stores using bikes and scooters, and as demand skyrocketed, investors poured cash into the booming industry. But now, amid soaring inflation and a post-pandemic downturn, the ‘quick commerce’ market is undergoing rapid consolidation with small companies being swallowed up by a few big players. Founded in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, German-based grocery delivery startup Flink remains one of Europe’s last remaining independent grocery delivery groups. But that…
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While the UK is being labelled as “closed for business” and Rishi Sunak is playing Unicorn Kingdom in Silicon Valley, the British chip industry risks losing some of its strongest players due to a lack of supportive policies. Based in Cambridge, UK, Pragmatic Semiconductor, funded in part by the CIA’s investment branch In-Q-Tel, has created an ultra-thin, ultra-low-cost, flexible integrated circuit (FlexIC). Instead of relying on silicon, it is made from indium gallium zinc oxide at a fraction of the cost. The application of the technology spans a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, packaging and games. In the…
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A group of over 23 VCs across Europe and the US have joined forces this week to guide startups and their early-stage investors towards net zero, in an effort to decarbonise the global economy and the venture capital industry. The Venture Climate Alliance (VCA) consists of both generalist and climate-focused firms, and its members manage a combined $62.3 billion in assets, according to Crunchbase figures. To begin with, participating VCs pledge to inventory their Scope 1-3 emissions and, in turn, reach either net zero or negative emissions for their own operations (such as office energy consumption and employee commuting) by…
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Barcelona’s food tech startup Heura has unveiled its new patent-pending technology aimed at producing meat substitutes without the lengthy and sometimes off-putting ingredients list. The company says it is the first scalable technology of its kind to add “superior” nutritional value to plant-based foods. The data is abundantly clear – if we are to have any chance at halting global warming, we need to revolutionise our food systems. Approximately 14.5% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gases come from the raising of livestock. Furthermore, research has shown processed red meats to be carcinogenic. This means that what we choose to put on…
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The UK’s competition regulator has blocked Microsoft’s $68.7bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the maker of world-renowned games including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it’s concerned that the deal would tamper with the future of the rapidly-growing cloud gaming market, resulting in reduced innovation and fewer choices for UK gamers. According to the CMA, Microsoft, which already accounts for an estimated 60% to 70% of the global cloud gaming market, would further increase its advantage by making some of the world’s most popular games exclusively available on its own platforms. The regulator…
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Netflix’s password sharing crackdown has cost it one million users in Spain during the first quarter of 2023, a new study by market research group Kantar has found. This translates to an approximately 15% decrease of its total users. The streaming platform introduced the new measures in Spain in early February, asking for a €5.99 monthly fee from users sharing their passwords with other households. According to Kantar, this is directly linked to the decline of the country’s user base. Out of the one million users who opted out of Netflix, two-thirds were benefiting from password sharing. One-third were actually…
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The EU’s latest crackdown on big tech is taking shape. The bloc yesterday released a list of companies that must adhere to the strictest rules of the landmark Digital Services Act (DSA). The 17 platforms and two search engines reach at least 45 million monthly active users. All of them have four months to comply with the full obligations of the DSA. The services are now mandated to mitigate their systemic risks and establish robust content moderation (this means you, Elon). They range from banning ads that target sensitive user data to special risk assessments for mental health impacts. Violations…
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A startup claims to have launched a world-first AI speech-to-speech translation system. The tool, called Aivia, was developed by Interprefy, a Zurich-based provider of translation services. The firm focuses on interpreting meetings and events — a market being turbocharged by globalisation. As interactions spread across borders, they can become harder to understand. Although English is the language of international business, it’s only spoken by an estimated 17% of the world. The remainder is often excluded from the conversation. Interprefy supplies a way to remove this language barrier — and the demand seems strong. In the eight years since the company…
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A Dutch startup has been awarded a contract to install floating solar panels at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Oceans of Energy secured the contract from CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco. The renewable energy startup has been tasked with building a 0.5MW floating array between wind turbines at the 750MW Hollands Kust Noord wind farm, located 18.5km off the coast of the Netherlands. According to the startup, which was founded in 2016 by Dutch engineer and entrepreneur Allard van Hoeken, this would be the first offshore solar farm in the world to be connected,…
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The UK will splash an initial £100m in funding to establish a government-industry AI taskforce, dedicated to boosting the country’s sovereignty and competitiveness in the field. The taskforce will develop foundation models — systems that train on large amounts of data such as ChatGPT and Google Bard — with the aim to benefit from their applications in public services and across the UK economy. According to the government, the technology is estimated to contribute billions of pounds to the country’s GDP, which based on the predictions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to drop by 0.3% this year.…
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Heavy truck manufacturer Scania and emerging EV battery powerhouse Northvolt have developed a battery for electric trucks that they say will last as long as the vehicles themselves — about 1.5 million kilometres. The lithium-ion battery is the product of a five-year partnership between the two Swedish companies that began in 2017. At the time, Scania was on the lookout for more robust, cost-efficient, and sustainable battery cells for its heavy-duty trucks and buses — and Northvolt was poised to deliver. “Northvolt’s mission to build the world’s greenest batteries perfectly matched Scania’s purpose to drive the shift towards sustainable transport,”…
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Assumed remote work was here to stay? Not so fast. Three years ago, lockdowns confined everyone to their homes, eager bosses rolled out policies to support WFH-ers’ wellbeing and the office was being gleefully denounced as a relic from the past. WFH was the “new normal.” Two years ago, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon famously took issue with that: “It’s not a new normal. It’s an aberration that we are going to correct as quickly as possible.” Fast forward to 2023 and the reckoning is happening. Leading the charge to correct that “aberration” is Disney’s chief executive Bob Iger who…
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Everyone is talking about the potential of generative AI as buzzworthy tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E make the headlines. But just what is generative AI and is there actually a use for these tools within the tourism sector? First of all, it’s important to note that, although ChatGPT is one of the most popular examples of generative AI on the market right now, there are many examples of tools employing this technology. Second, while the adoption of AI in general has been growing, this technology represents a new leap forward. Generative AI is seen as a breakthrough within the AI…
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Swedish startup H2 Green Steel has announced its plans to raise more than €1.5bn in equity funding to build steel plants that emit virtually no emissions. The startup, backed by high-profile investors such as Mercedes, Maersk, and Spotify’s chief executive, is constructing a ‘green steel’ manufacturing plant in Boden, north Sweden. Construction of the plant will be financed through more than €5bn in debt and equity. The startup said in October that it had received support from European financial institutions for €3.5bn in debt financing, making it one of the most capitalised climate tech projects in Europe. H2 Green Steel…
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An Irish startup has teamed with CERN to develop a new form of insulation for superconducting cables, which are designed to accelerate the green energy transition. Named SuperNode, the company has invented energy transmission cables that can transfer immense power across long distances. As the system requires less space and voltage than conventional copper-based cables, the environmental impact is reduced. These benefits derive from superconductivity. This phenomenon occurs when certain materials are cooled below their critical temperature — typically -180°C for high-temperature superconductors. As a result, superconductors can offer a hefty power density and zero electrical losses. To harness this potential,…
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Reykjavik-based Akthelia Pharmaceuticals and the University of Iceland have been awarded a €6m grant by Horizon Europe to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat. AMR is listed among the WHO’s most pressing health threats of our time, with the potential to give rise to the next global pandemic as “pan-drug”-resistant strains emerge. It’s also estimated that AMR associated infections already contribute to approximately 5 million deaths per year — more than AIDS/HIV or malaria. Now, the EU-funded IN-ARMOR project, led by Aktelia…
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Despite the tech startup funding landscape appearing gloomier than in many years, there are a few potential bright spots. Long-term climate targets in Europe and beyond are creating new opportunities for cleantech developers and investors. While there may be a recent dip in activity, funding has practically catapulted in the past couple of years. In order to recover from our addiction to fossil fuels, it is going to take a fundamental shift of the current paradigm. And there are significant amounts of money being thrown at the problem. As reported by Bloomberg, the total global investment into the energy transition,…
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SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket may have exploded during launch this week. However, that does not mean that Elon, or humanity for that matter, is not determined to enter a new era of space exploration. To reach further out into the universe, we will need to not only figure out how to send people to Mars, but also how to upgrade our life-support systems and accommodations. To that end, European aerospace manufacturer Airbus has dreamt up LOOP, a “multi-purpose orbital module” meant to replace the ageing International Space Station (ISS). According to Airbus, it has designed LOOP to “make long-term stays…
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Alphabet has merged the UK-based DeepMind and US-headquartered Google Brain into a single AI research unit. Imaginatively named “Google DeepMind,” the new group unites two camps that had developed an internal rivalry. “Combining all this talent into one focused team, backed by the computational resources of Google, will significantly accelerate our progress in AI,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a Thursday blog post. The new unit will be led by Demis Hassabis, the co-founder of DeepMind and a UK government AI advisor. Born in London, Hassabis is a former child chess prodigy who finished high school two years early and…
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Wherever you fall on the quantum sceptic spectrum, you cannot deny that the potential of the technology is fascinating. Don’t worry, we will admit to not understanding it fully yet either, but the founders of QuiX Quantum do. Together with scientists from the Leibniz University Hannover, the team has demonstrated a fully-integrated quantum light source on a chip smaller than the size of a one-euro coin. The study, called “Fully on-chip photonic turnkey quantum source for entangled qubit/qudit state generation,” just FYI, was published in Nature Photonics this week. Its results could reportedly prove a game-changer for technologies such as…
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It turns out you don’t need a rocket to explore the edge of space. French startup Zephalto has just announced plans to send eager tourists to the stratosphere in a space balloon by 2025. Starting at €120,000 per person, the six-hour round trip would offer “unparalleled views” of Earth and a fine dining experience from the comfort of a luxurious pressurised capsule named Celeste. “We choose 25 km high because it’s the altitude where you are in the darkness of space, with 98% of the atmosphere below you so that you can enjoy the curvature of the Earth in the…
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The popularity of motorsports shows no sign of waning. With its reach amplified by the Netflix hit show Drive to Survive, Formula One in particular has gained an entirely new audience platform. What its electric car Formula E sister league may lack in characteristic sound profile (and on-screen drama), it makes up for in environmentally friendlier engineering. With new battery technology, Formula E cars might soon beat those of F1 for speed. Furthermore, the experience gleaned from the tracks could also be applied to enhance commercial EV batterylife and performance. Ultra-high performance platform on display in Bologna This week, WAE…
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A new EU-backed project aims to help quantum tech startups and SMEs move faster to hardware production, enter this very competitive field early, and remain within the union’s borders. Dubbed Qu-Pilot, the €19m project aspires to solve a pressing challenge of the European industry: transitioning innovation from lab to market. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the time-to-market of the bloc’s industrial innovation in quantum technology and help establish a trusted supply chain. Qu-Pilot will remove a significant barrier for companies, namely piloting, which requires considerable cost, infrastructure, and time investments. The project will leverage existing piloting infrastructure, primarily spread…
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A Spanish hospital has successfully completed what is believed to be the world’s first fully robotic lung transplant. Surgeons at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona used a four-arm robot dubbed ‘Da Vinci’ to carry out the procedure. The patient was a 65-year-old man called Xavier, requiring a lung transplant due to pulmonary fibrosis, a life-threatening lung disease. Typical lung transplants are highly invasive: a 30 cm incision must be made in the chest and multiple ribs broken. This allows surgeons to access a patient’s lung, remove it, and replace it with a healthy lung from a donor. But…
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Following its European expansion in Dublin, London, and Berlin in the past few years, Reddit is now opening its first regional sales hub in Amsterdam. Centrally located in the wider European market, adjacent to countries with a strong customer base such as Germany and France, and breeding a competitive talent pool, the Dutch capital emerged as the perfect location to further drive the growth the US-based company has seen in Western Europe. The hub’s mission is to bring together the platform’s EMEA markets in a central location and support a wide array of customers spread across Europe in meeting their…
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ChatGPT has had anything but a triumphant welcome tour around Europe. Following grumbling regulators in Italy and the European Parliament, the turn has come for German trade unions to express their concerns over potential copyright infringement. No less than 42 trade organisations representing over 140,000 of the country’s authors and performers have signed a letter urging the EU to impose strict rules for the AI’s use of copyrighted material. As reported first by Reuters, the letter, which underlined increasing concerns about copyright and privacy issues stemming from the material used to train the large language model (LLM), stated, “The unauthorised…
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The European Space Agency (ESA)’s Euclid satellite has taken another step on its journey to explore the dark universe. On 15 April, Euclid set sail for a port near its launch location in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the ESA announced today. The spacecraft is expected to reach the take-off site at the beginning of May. The launch is due to take place on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in July. After lift-off, Eulic will travel 1.5 million km from Earth to the Lagrange point L2, an auspicious location for studying deep space. From L2, it will start investigating the dark universe. ESA…
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EU member states reached a provisional agreement on Tuesday for a €43 billion plan to bolster domestic production of semiconductor chips — essential components in everything from phones to cars and refrigerators. The EU Chips Act, proposed by the Commission in February of last year, looks to double the bloc’s global market share in semiconductors from 10% to 20% by 2030. The act also seeks to build resilience in Europe’s semiconductor supply chain, which is highly dependent on a limited number of foreign suppliers. “Chips are essential for all our digital and digitised products,” said Margrethe Vestager, Danish politician and…
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It’s been a tough start to the year for tech investments. According to a new report, European VC fundraising is on pace for its lowest annual total since 2015. Research by PitchBook, a financial data firm, found that European VC funds raised over €20bn in each of the past four years — but only €3.4bn in Q1 2023. Total VC deal value fell 32% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to €11.8bn. Deal count, meanwhile, dropped 19%. Pitchbook called the quarter “the first substantial decline” from the pace set in the past four years. “The VC ecosystem could finally be displaying the effects of…
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A group of 12 Members of the European Parliament working on the EU’s upcoming AI Act, are rallying for a set of preliminary rules to control the advancement of AI systems. They warn that technological progress is “faster and more unpredictable” than expected. “The recent advent of and widespread public access to powerful AI, alongside the exponential performance improvements over the last year of AI trained to generate complex content, has prompted us to pause and reflect on our work,” state the MEPs in an open letter. Correspondingly, they believe that a complementary series of preliminary rules is also needed…
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Not too far in the future, camper lovers could be going on holidays that are much kinder to the very nature they are looking to enjoy. At the beginning of this week, London and Vancouver-based startup First Hydrogen revealed the design for its next-generation zero-emission Recreational Vehicle (RV). The concept has been developed in collaboration with Switzerland-headquartered EDAG Group. Its introduction follows the presentation of First Hydrogen’s next-generation light commercial vehicle (LCV), also a result of a partnership with the global mobility expert. The company states that the first generation of its fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) have already entered…
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Everybody can breathe out. Next generation artificial intelligence isn’t the existential threat to tech jobs the AI doomers imagined it would be. In fact, Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Bing Chat are not only revolutionising how we access and share information, they’re shaking things up in tech recruitment, too. This fast-changing landscape is spawning tons of new opportunities, and among them is the highly specialised role of the prompt engineer. The prompt engineer is at the coalface of generative AI, responsible for designing the instructions that feed AI tools such as ChatGPT, the…
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The UK has been told it won’t have to pay for the two years it had been out of the EU’s Horizon research programme — removing a big barrier to rejoining the €95.5bn scheme. Britain had been locked out of Horizon because of a post-Brexit dispute over trade in Northern Ireland. The recent Windsor Framework deal had opened the door to reentry, but talks have stalled over the financial terms. The British government argues that its contributions to the seven-year innovation scheme should be cut, because its late entry has reduced the potential returns. A key concern involved the payments…
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When Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, work stopped at thousands of Ukrainian businesses – including carbon capture-focused startup Carbominer. As tanks approached the capital Kyiv, inhabitants of the city, including employees of the company, were forced to flee for their own safety. Among them was Viktoria Oseyko, chief marketing officer, and her father Nick, founder and chief executive officer of Carbominer. But Ukraine soon retook control of the area. “When the Russian forces were kicked out of the Kyiv region, it was like three or four weeks and the managing team decided to get back,” explains Oseyko. Nick…
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The European Commission has announced the results of the second round of Women TechEU — a programme designed to help women-founded deep tech startups scale. The round, which has a budget of €10m, saw applications from 467 women-founded deep tech startups from across Europe, 134 of which have been selected to participate. It follows on from a successful pilot in 2021 which featured 50 startups. The startups selected for the second round will now each receive an individual grant of €75,000. The female founders will also be offered mentoring and coaching under the European Innovation Council (EIC) Women Leadership Programme,…
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This story is syndicated from the premium edition of PreSeed Now, a newsletter that digs into the product, market, and founder story of UK-founded startups so you can understand how they fit into what’s happening in the wider world and startup ecosystem. The burgeoning industry around space technology is based heavily on hardware, but the materials that hardware is built from need to undergo rigorous testing on Earth before they’re sent out into orbit and beyond. Space DOTS is a startup that wants to transform material testing in the space industry by skipping the tests down here, and sending the…
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Under the European Union’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to increase competition, large online platforms, including Apple, must open up their devices to third-party app stores. The DMA also requires these online platforms to permit sideloading, i.e., letting users install software that they download from the Internet. These platforms have until 2024 to comply with the DMA. Passed in 2022, the goal is to prevent dominance of so-called “gatekeepers” within the market and ensure a level playing field for all EU businesses. In particular, EU regulators have been concerned about the advantage Apple currently has in the market…
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The ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission — ‘Juice’ — successfully launched today from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch was supposed to take place yesterday but was postponed due to poor weather conditions. Today, the stars aligned and Juice was successfully blasted into orbit at approximately 14:19 CEST. It took only two minutes for the Ariane 5 rocket to transport Juice into space, shortly after which it separated from the satellite, which now begins its 8-year journey to Jupiter. Juice will make the 6.6 billion km trip to study three of Jupiter’s 92 known moons: Ganymede,…
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Anyone who has ever experienced phantom ringing in their ears knows that it is a nuisance to say the least. Those who have tinnitus – hearing continuous ringing, buzzing, humming or even roaring sounds – often experience anxiety and depression as a result. The condition affects approximately 15% of the global adult population. However, treatment has remained elusive, with those afflicted left to find their own ad hoc mitigation solutions. Neuromod, a medtech startup from Ireland, is looking to change that. The company has just received €30 million in funding to further commercialise its tinnitus treatment device, Lenire. A different…
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Intel’s plan to construct a massive chip plant in Magdeburg, Germany, is arguably the centrepiece of the EU’s strategy to ramp up domestic production of semiconductors. But cash flow has proven to be a major stumbling block for the mega-project. Intel attributes this to rising costs, partly a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To close the funding gap, last month, the US semiconductor giant requested an additional €4-5 billion euros in subsidies to construct the plant. But German officials want Intel to meet them in the middle — they will consider boosting subsidies, but only if the company is…
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Fossil-free though it may be, hydropower comes with its specific set of challenges. It has a high initial cost, and can often be invasive and destructive to local communities and biodiversity. Furthermore, it will, in all likelihood, become increasingly susceptible to droughts. But what if we could harness the power of the oceans themselves? This is what Scotland-based Orbital Marine Power is aiming to do with its 2MW+ O2. Its developers say it is the world’s most powerful tidal turbine under commercial operation and a result of 15 years of refinement. Now, Orbital has just won an Option Agreement from…
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Seeking to modernise the UK’s energy system and maximise the potential of renewables, the British government has awarded £30 million to three pioneering companies to develop new energy storage technologies. According to the government, accelerating the uptake of these technologies will not only save billions of pounds in energy costs, but also help balance the National Grid, and increase the country’s energy security. The funding will help the businesses test and prepare their technology for the market, encourage private investment, and create new jobs across the UK. The selected companies are the following: Invinity Energy Systems The battery maker will…
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Oh, to be an innocent young techie in the ’90s again. Merrily downloading Metallica albums from Napster, joyriding from bird’s eye views in GTA 1, and praying that 30-second porn clip would buffer before mom got home in four hours. It was a golden era — I mean, that’s what my friend told me. One thing we both enjoyed, however, was the magical world of Winamp. A skeuomorphic design resembling shelf stereos, gorgeous visualisations that matched audio frequencies, cutting-edge features like the colour-changing volume slider… and the customisations. Oh, the customisations. Not only were there endless skins to transform the…
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Last month, Italy became the first Western country to temporarily ban ChatGPT within its borders. Prompted by a data breach that occurred on March 20, the Italian data protection agency, known as Garante, accused OpenAI of “unlawful” collection of personal data — against the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — and the absence of an age verification system for minors. Correspondingly, it ordered the US-based company to cease offering access to ChatGPT in the country. Now, Garante has announced nine measures OpenAI must comply with for the ban to be lifted. These can be summarised in five main demands:…
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The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission — ‘Juice’ — is ready to embark on its journey to the solar system’s largest planet. Juice is scheduled to launch today, April 13, at 14:15 CEST (13:15 BST) from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Juice will make the 8-year, 6.6 billion km trip to study three of Jupiter’s moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. Each of these worlds has an ocean of water hidden underneath an icy shell — an important target for astronomers searching for life beyond Earth. ESA will stream the launch live on its website…
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For the first time ever, Europe has surpassed the US in private spacetech investment, according to new research. A study by Seraphim, a leading spacetech VC firm, found the European sector attracted $565m in the first quarter of this year. The whole of North America, meanwhile, raised $456m. Asia followed, with investments of $306m, while the rest of the world totalled around $29m. The figures made Europe the world’s biggest market for private spacetech funding. The quarterly investment in Europe hit almost 50% of the entire previous year. In contrast, US investment has fallen further compared to 2022. Asia was the…
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When TNW Conference first took place in 2006, the digital disruption was still in its early stages. The conference served as a platform for forward thinkers to explore what a tech-enabled future could, and eventually would, look like. Today, technology has transformed everything. Yet somehow, the future used to feel more promising than it does now. There’s no need to elaborate on the emotions that come to mind when thinking about the future in a time of such uncertainty and anxiety. As one of the premier tech events and media brands in Europe, we are acutely aware of the power…
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Flying across the world from Europe to Australia currently takes around 20 hours in a regular passenger jet. But Swiss startup Destinus is looking to slash that time to just four hours — by taking jet travel to hypersonic speeds. Founded by Russian-born physicist and serial entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich, Destinus is developing a prototype hydrogen-powered aircraft capable of travelling at Mach 5 and above. That’s five times the speed of sound: over 6000 kph. This would take you from Frankfurt to Sydney in just over four hours. London to New York? 90 minutes. To achieve such speeds the aircraft would…
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The UK’s proposed alternative to the EU’s Horizon research programme has failed to sway support for the bloc’s funding scheme. Named Pioneer, the programme provides a backup plan in case the UK doesn’t rejoin Horizon. A recent trade agreement for Northern Ireland had opened the door to reentering the EU scheme, but negotiations over Horizon’s terms have stalled. Pioneer will be activated if a deal is not agreed upon. “We hope our negotiations will be successful, and that is our preference, but it must be on the right terms,” said Michelle Donelan, Britain’s minister for science and technology. “We must ensure we…
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Cambridge-based climate startup Levidian is expanding its operations to the EU. The company is bringing its next-gen decarbonisation device targeting methane emissions — the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide — to Luxembourg. Using a proprietary low-temperature, low-pressure method with no additives, the so-called LOOP device breaks down and converts methane into its component atoms: hydrogen and carbon, which is stripped in the form of wonder material graphene — the thinnest and strongest material ever discovered. Luxembourg-based construction company Stugalux will use LOOP to process biomethane gas produced from food and agricultural waste. The resulting hydrogen will…
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The digitisation of cars has made comparisons to “data centres on wheels” so common that they’ve become clichéd. It’s also built a booming market for tech firms — few of which have capitalised as adeptly as Arm. Often described as the UK’s leading IT company, SoftBank-owned Arm designs energy-efficient computer chips. The company’s architectures are found in endless applications, from smart cities to laptops, but they’re best-known for powering mobile devices. Around 95% of the world’s smartphones use Arm’s technology. In recent years, however, the company’s fastest-growing division has been the automotive unit. Arm has reportedly more than doubled its…
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There was plenty of excitement late last year when Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced a European testbed for its drone delivery subsidiary, Wing. Wing’s delivery drone network is already being tested at scale in Australia and, last October, a small suburb of Dublin was selected for its first trials in the EU. It signalled a vote of confidence from the Big Tech giant for the region’s drone ecosystem, with a spokesperson from Wing citing “the progress on drone regulations” in the EU as a reason for moving forward with tests there. Ireland has already served as a successful launchpad for…
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Next time you board a bus in Scotland and it’s driving itself, don’t freak out — this is all part of a government plan to bring self-driving tech into the mainstream. Five fully autonomous buses will be taking to the streets near Edinburgh next month, announced Stagecoach, the UK’s largest bus and coach operator, who will be managing the fleet. The UK government said the project, named CAVForth, would be the world’s first full-size, self-driving public bus service. CAV stands for “connected and autonomous vehicles.” The service, which aims to transport 10,000 passengers weekly, will initially run a 22.5km circuit…
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Digital twins — virtual replicas of real-world things — are already commonplace in manufacturing, industry, and aerospace. There are highly complex digital models of cities, ports, and power stations — but what about people? The idea of digital doppelgängers has long been confined to the realm of science fiction. But a new book presented at London’s Science Museum last week suggests the concept could be coming to life. In Virtual You, Peter Coveney, professor of chemistry and computer science at University College London, and Roger Highfield, science director at London’s Science Museum, show how far researchers have already got in…
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For 16 memorable years, TNW Conference has been at the center of Amsterdam’s tech ecosystem, but on March 30 and 31, TNW València brought — for the very first time — the heart of tech to Spain’s east coast. But we didn’t choose Valencia simply for its bright blue sea, delicious paellas, or sunny weather. The vibrant city is Spain’s fastest-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, and has the most startups per capita of anywhere in the country — transforming itself into Mediterranean’s startup powerhouse. “Valencia’s tech ecosystem is a breath of fresh air,” says Myrthe van der Erve, TNW’s CEO. At València’s…
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A bitter feud has erupted over who first resurrected the woolly mammoth — as a meatball. The de-extinct delicacy was unveiled last week at Nemo Science Museum in the Netherlands. Naturally, no mammoths were harmed in the making of this product — and nor were any other animals. In lieu of dead flesh, an Australian startup called Vow produced the meatball from DNA. First, the team identified the DNA sequence for mammoth myoglobin, a protein that creates a meaty taste. To fill in some gaps in the sequence, they added genetic data from the African elephant — the pachyderm’s closest living relative. Using…
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It may seem like the fantasy of every ’80s kid who ever picked up a Game Boy but being obsessed with video games can actually offer you an array of career opportunities. The industry continues to go from strength to strength, and powering it is a global network of game-players, creatives, technologists, and many others whose skills bring games to life. According to the International Software Federation of Europe, 52% of Europeans between the ages of six and 64 play video games. And it’s not the kids who dominate the stats either. More than three-quarters (76%) of these gamers are…
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What do you get when you mix motorcycles with origami? The answer, dear reader, is the Stilride 1. The unique vehicle is the brainchild of Swedish startup Stilride. The company today unveiled the final design and price for the new electric ride, which is due to launch in 2024. For €15,000, each customer will get a made-to-order motorcycle that combines looks, performance, and sustainability. To manufacture each vehicle, Stilride uses a pioneering method dubbed “industrial origami,” which applies the Japanese art of paper-folding to sheet metal. The startup’s software first defines the geometries, which industrial robots and laser-cutting then bring…
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OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which took the world by the storm after its launch in November, is now facing a temporary ban in Italy over “unlawful” personal data collection and the lack of an age verification system for children. The Italian data protection agency, known as Garante, was prompted to act by ChatGPT’s data breach on March 20, which, according to OpenAI, allowed a number of users to see other users’ information, such as their first and last name, email address, and the last four digits of their credit card number. Garante accused the US-based AI company of having “no legal basis”…
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Spain has officially launched its own national space agency, at a time when Europe looks to establish itself as a global space industry leader. Plans for the Spanish Space Agency, or Agencia Espacial Española (AEE), were first announced in May 2021, and finally got the political thumbs up last month. The agency will be based in Seville, near the Arenosillo launch facility in Huelva, which was built in the 60s as part of a collaboration between the Spanish government and NASA. Initially, around 75 personnel will be based at the site. The agency will serve to “guarantee Spain’s strategic action…
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Parisians overwhelmingly voted to ban e-scooters on Sunday, in a hotly-debated referendum that has divided the French capital. Voters were given two choices: “for” or “against” a city-wide ban on shared e-scooters. 89% voted in favour of the ban, but the overall turnout was low, with only 7.5% of eligible voters casting ballots. The vote was non-binding but city authorities have vowed to “abide by the decision”, said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. The streets of Paris will be cleared from shared e-scooters by September 1, the mayor said. That’s when the contract with Dott, Tier, and Lime — the three…
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Some of Europe’s hottest startups arrived at TNW València last week to develop ideas, expand networks, create new leads, and — and most importantly of all — fight. Not in the physical sense, of course, but in a fiercely-contested TNW València pitch battle. After surviving a series of fiery knockout clashes, eight of Europe’s most electrifying startups were selected for the contest final on Friday. València provided the perfect stage for the showdown. The region is Spain’s fastest-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, with the most startups per capita in the country. It was also bathed in glorious sunshine — but this was no vacation…
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TNW València is finally here! Founders, investors, business leaders, and tech enthusiasts descended on València’s marina this morning to discover the next in tech, now. Before long, the venue — nestled between the historic inner city and the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean — was bustling with talks, deals, pitches, and a whole lot of fun. TNW València is officially open! It’s #Time4València and you are all invited to enjoy the @FinancialTimes #tech festival and to discover the Valencian innovative ecosystem. Let the future of technology surprise you! 🖤👾 pic.twitter.com/e1oAse7yEF — VLC Tech City (@VLCTechCity) March 29, 2023 …
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Once predominantly known for IKEA, Ericsson, and Volvo, in the past decade, Sweden has emerged as one the most valued tech ecosystems in Europe, with Stockholm ranking as the fifth top performer in 2021. The success of Swedish startups such as Tink and Spotify has turned the capital city into a world-renowned tech hub, attracting the attention of international investors — and for good reason. Stockholm is home to nearly 3,000 startups and scaleups, and counts 208 VC investors and 101,000 tech employees. The city has also bred more tech unicorns per capita than any other region in the world…
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By now, you’ll have seen it. Pope Francis walks across the frame, his focus on the mid-distance. He’s brightly lit as though it’s early morning. A silver cross hangs from his neck, dangling over his snow-white, Balenciaga-inspired puffer jacket. It’s the baller bishop, the steezy father, his holy drippiness — and he’s been ordained from on high. If you were on social media at any point over the past weekend, you would have seen the image. And — if you were anything like me and seemingly millions of other people — you didn’t immediately realise it was AI-generated. In history…
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With the passage of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) in 2022, online platforms, including Apple, with EU revenues of 75 billion euros or more and at least 45 million active monthly end users must open up their devices to third party app stores. The DMA aims to end unfair practices by large online platforms that hold a high degree of market power and function as so-called digital “gatekeepers,” providing key gateways between consumers and business users. The goal of the DMA is to make it easier for small and mid-size tech companies to enter markets currently dominated by…
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The gender equity gap in the tech sector is well-documented. Research has found that women occupy only 22% of all tech roles across European companies, while the proportion of funding raised by female-only teams has dropped from 3% to 1% since 2018. The issue is prevalent at every level of the industry. A 2022 poll by Web Summit showed that 67% of European women in technology feel unfairly paid compared to their male peers. Despite this pessimistic picture, technology can also provide a means to close the gender equity gap. That’s the mission of acclaimed gender economist and former Global 500…
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Congratulations! You’ve just landed an interview for a position you really want… although now comes the hard part. Generally considered to be the most daunting stage of the entire job hunt, the interview experience can be overwhelming, nerve-wracking and wholly unpleasant, quite frankly, especially if you haven’t put the preparation and practice in. Lucky for you, we’ve narrowed down the top three things you need to do to stand out in any job interview. You can thank us later when you get the gig. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail You’d be surprised at just how many people fall at…
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Is it a boat or is it a plane? Put your glasses on! This is clearly an electrically-powered hydrofoil passenger ferry. The brainchild of Swedish startup Candela, the P-12 Shuttle is set to become the fastest and longest-range electric passenger vessel in the world when it launches this summer. Founded in 2014, Candela has spent years perfecting its design on recreational boats, and now, fuelled by a $20m cash injection, is looking to scale up production and bring hydrofoil passenger boats into the mainstream. The startup is currently building the first two vessels at its new factory in Stockholm, and…
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Building a startup in a sector you’ve never worked in might seem a risky move, but it can actually provide a competitive advantage. That’s certainly proven true for Vivino. Founded in 2010 in Copenhagen, the scaleup has raised $221 million in funding, and become the world’s most downloaded wine app and largest online wine marketplace, with a community of 50 million users. This success came despite an unconventional background. Vivino’s cofounders didn’t come from a place with a rich history of wine, and neither of them had previously worked in the sector. For Heini Zachariassen, co-founder of Vivino, and founder…
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Drop me on a Balinese coastline with a decent paperback and my smartphone, and I’ll luxuriate for two weeks straight. But fly me out to the same spot with a Nokia 3310 and a physical map, like the one my dad used to carry, and I’ll probably have a nervous breakdown. Most of us can agree that we’re hyper-dependent on tech, especially when we’re navigating a new place abroad. And the further or more remote you go, the more likely you are to run into tech breakdowns that can put a damper on your plans to wander freely. From racking…
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Riders working for Deliveroo are employees, not freelancers, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled on Friday, in a potentially precedent-setting case for the country’s platform economy. The case was brought to trial by trade union FNV, which has been engaged in a legal battle with Deliveroo since 2018. The dispute started when the British firm announced it would discontinue work contracts for its delivery drivers, instead offering them the option to continue as freelancers. FNV immediately filed a lawsuit, arguing that the drivers deserved the legal protections afforded to permanent staff members. FNV deputy president, Zakaria Boufangacha, said that, as freelancers,…
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Ladies and gentlemen, the moment has almost arrived: TNW València is next week! In case you’ve been living under a rock (or frequenting another tech site, you traitor), we’re taking our cherished festival on the road. After 16 glorious years in Amsterdam, we’re bringing the show to Spain’s Mediterranean coast — and you’re all invited. We’re not only there for the sun, sea, and sand — far from it, in fact. València has the fastest-growing innovation ecosystem in Spain, and the most startups per capita in the country. On March 30th and 31st, we’ll showcase the best tech in the region…
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Recently, we asked if it was possible for Europe to have a dominant smartphone again. The answer was simple: no, not unless there’s some sort of miracle. The reason behind this is multifaceted, but the core point is that because Asia hosts the majority of the world’s mobile manufacturing facilities, it’s borderline impossible for European companies to create a good enough phone at a low enough price to succeed. But, here at TNW, we had another question: could Europe launch its own mobile operating system? Why do we need a European mobile OS? On first inspection, it’s an excellent idea.…
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BMW has invested in DeepDrive, the German startup behind a new type of “ultra-efficient” motor for electric vehicles. The €15m Series A funding round also saw participation from the likes of UVC Partners, the Continental Corporate Venture Capital Unit, and former board member and CTO of Audi and Volvo, Peter Mertens. Founded in 2021, the Munich-based startup has developed a radial flux dual-rotor motor that boasts the highest torque and power density of any EV motor available today, the startup claims. It also has low noise emissions, and is built using far fewer rare earth materials. All of this translates…
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Michael Schlein will be speaking at TNW Valencia 2023 about How fintech innovation can drive inclusive growth. Check out this discussion on the Impact stage on Thursday, March 3oth. The world has changed so much over the past few years. The global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, worsening climate change, widespread social unrest — all these challenges have had major consequences for families, small businesses, and communities globally. For the first time in our lifetimes, global poverty and hunger are on the rise, and the economic environment remains uncertain and unstable. As challenges evolve, so do solutions. While today’s challenges…
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Ah, the joys of pitching. Your entire masterplan squeezed into a few sentences, a room of powerful strangers with your future in their hands, and mere seconds to impress them. Who doesn’t love a quick dip in a shark tank? Quite a lot of people, unfortunately. Luckily for them, pitching coach David Beckett is here to help. Beckett has spent decades mastering the art of public speaking. He first honed his skills through over 1,000 corporate presentations across 16 years at Canon, before switching to the crisper craft of startup pitches. In 2013, Beckett founded Best3Minutes, which provides in-person and online training…
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When Barcelona decided to clamp down on dark stores, it opened a new chapter in the story of rapid grocery delivery. In January, the city’s authorities rolled out new restrictions on buildings used by the likes of Glovo and Getir, which had been relentlessly expanding. These startups use dark stores as distribution hubs for their speedy deliveries. Couriers zip in and out of the buildings all day to collect goods for customers. The facilities, however, have sparked a backlash in many European cities. Residents are complaining about the noise levels, the gatherings of couriers on the street, and the taking up of…
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While the tech downturn rumbles on, investment in nuclear fusion remains strong — in 2021, over €2.7 billion was injected in this field alone. More recently, the UK Space Agency committed £2.9 million to have Rolls-Royce develop a nuclear reactor that could work on the Moon and power future settlements there. Back on Earth, nuclear technology has a significant role to play in achieving global carbon neutrality and limiting global warming to 1.5°C. In its 2022 report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) flagged its importance in improving multiple sectors including power, which is responsible for more than a third…
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Search interest in ChatGPT has reached a 2,633% boost in interest since last December, shortly after its launch. For the artificial intelligence and machine learning industry, and for those working in tech as a whole, OpenAI’s chatbot represents a true crossing of the Rubicon. A generative form of AI, it uses prompts to produce content and conversations, whereas traditional AI looks at things such as pattern detection, decision making, or classifying data. We already benefit from artificial intelligence, whether we realise it or not—from Siri in our Apple phones to the choices Netflix or Amazon Prime make for us to…
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Most of us share huge amounts of personal information online, and Big Tech companies are in many ways the gatekeepers of this data. But how much do they share with the authorities? And how often do governments request user data? According to new research by VPN provider SurfShark, the answer is a lot, and a lot again. As detailed in SurfShark’s new report which analysed user data requests that Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft received from government agencies of 177 countries between 2013 and 2021, Tech giants get a lot of requests for user data, and the majority of the time,…
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The Netherlands has been selected as the headquarters of NATO’s Innovation Fund (NIF) in a decision disclosed on Monday. First announced at the organisation’s 2022 Madrid Summit, the fund will invest €1 billion on behalf of NATO member countries over the next 15 years. NIF is a multi-sovereign venture capital fund that will focus on investing in early-stage startups and other VC funds developing (dual-use) emerging and disruptive technologies — to be used in military and defense applications. These include: artificial intelligence; big-data processing; quantum technologies; autonomy; biotechnology and human enhancement; novel materials; energy; propulsion and space. “This will allow…
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Future astronauts living and working on the Moon will require robust technologies that store and deliver continuous, reliable energy. But with no wind, no combustible fuels, no water (as far as we know), and two weeks of darkness at a time —the Moon isn’t exactly the best place to set up a solar or wind farm. British aerospace company Rolls-Royce believes it has a solution to this conundrum: nuclear micro-reactors. The UK Space Agency (UKSA) seems to agree. It announced last week £2.9m of funding for Rolls-Royce’s lunar micro-reactor project. This follows a £249,000 study funded by the agency last…
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As Europe ramps up its efforts in launching commercial rockets into space, Elche-based startup PLD Space wants to put Spain on the map. The company plans to launch the first private reusable rocket from Western Europe. Named after a famous breed of bull in Spain’s bullfighting tradition, the Miura 1 rocket is set for its maiden voyage later this year, although the launch date hasn’t been specified. Miura 1 was unveiled on March 11, touted by Spain’s Prime Minister as an important development that will put the country “at the vanguard of this emerging but potent industry.” Welcome MIURA 1…
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2022 proved to be filled with ups and downs for the global tourism sector. At the beginning of the year, the challenge lay in attracting tourists back by providing social distance-friendly amenities and processes. Then, as regulations eased, “revenge travel” kicked in bringing with it a sudden flood of tourists. Yet, many businesses struggled to accommodate this surge in demand with fewer resources. Technology emerged as one answer that helped us navigate these different challenges, from solutions that supported social distancing regulations to tools that helped boost capacity, with fewer staff. As we head into 2023, it’s time to take…
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The first app to integrate GPT-4’s image-recognition abilities has been described as ‘life-changing’ by visually-impaired users. Be My Eyes, a Danish startup, applied the AI model to a new feature for blind or partially-sighted people. Named “Virtual Volunteer,” the object-recognition tool can answer questions about any image that it’s sent. Imagine, for instance, that a user is hungry. They could simply photograph an ingredient and request related recipes. If they’d rather eat out, they can upload an image of a map and get directions to a restaurant. On arrival, they can snap a picture of the menu and hear the…
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On Thursday, the European Commission unveiled the Net-Zero Industry Act, a much-anticipated proposal aiming at boosting the EU’s green tech production amidst an increasingly intense global race. The new regulation is a key part of the European Green Industrial Plan — the bloc’s response to the US’ $369 billion package of green subsidies — seeking to ensure that at least 40% of the union’s net-zero technology demand is produced domestically by 2030. “We need a regulatory environment that allows us to scale up the clean energy transition quickly,” President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a statement.…
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The UK government has pledged to invest £2.5bn in quantum computing over the next 10 years, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced today. The programme forms part of the new Spring Budget, which aims to reduce inflation and the risk of a recession. The British tech sector will play a central role in the plan. As part of a goal to make the UK a “science and technology superpower,” Hunt wants to build a world-leading “quantum-enabled economy” by 2023. To create this, the government is more than doubling its previous funding commitment to the field. It aims to attract another £1 billion…
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Greece has become the seventh EU country to introduce a principle called “router freedom.” This means consumers of any Internet Service Provider (ISP) can now use a modem or router of their choice, instead of equipment provided by the ISP. The freedom of choice for routers and modems is regulated in the EU by two primary sets of rules. The first one comes from the Net Neutrality Regulation in 2015, which establishes the people’s right to choose their own digital equipment. The second one is is a set of guidelines to identify the network termination point (NTP) in different network…
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The maritime industry may have long replaced sails with engines, but a UK startup is betting that wind-powered ships still have a bright future. Founded in 2014, Smart Green Shipping (SGS), has developed a new type of wind sail, called FastRig, that cuts carbon emissions. According to the company, it can be retrofitted to existing commercial vessels with available deck space, requiring no additional crew to operate it or port-side infrastructure changes. It’s also retractable to allow for standard loading and unloading operations, and it’s designed to be recyclable. FastRig is paired with the startup’s software tool, TradeWind, which provides…
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A startup has unveiled a UK-first solution to soaring energy bills: data centre heat. The company, called Deep Green, installs tiny cloud data centres at local businesses. The system then turns heat from the servers into hot water for the host site. Deep Green provides the equipment free of charge and refunds the electricity costs. As a result, the client can cut their carbon emissions and energy bills. In exchange, Deep Green gets a home for the data centre, which supplies computer power for AI and machine learning to customers. Computers inside the washing machine-sized data centre are surrounded by…
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If you lived in the 19th century and worked in manufacturing, you’d be looking at a working week of between 60 to 90 hours, according to research from the University of Groningen. These days, thankfully, things look a bit brighter. While working weeks differ across the EU—France famously has a 35-hour week—in general European staff can’t work more than 48 hours per week on average, including overtime. This means that we are now working between 50% and 125% less than we would have been in the 1800s—and the better news is that workers’ conditions have continued to improve. Weekly working…
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The British tech sector can rest a little easier tonight after the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was sold to HSBC for just £1. The intervention followed last week’s collapse of the subsidiary’s California-based parent company. The Bank of England (BoE) intervened over fears that mass withdrawals in the US would spread to the UK business. Many of SVB UK’s 3,300 customers, which include numerous VC investors and startups, warned they would go bust if their deposits were lost. The BoE had initially planned to put the bank into insolvency, which would have only guaranteed protection for deposits worth…
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The UK has finally unveiled plans for its GDPR replacement: the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDIB). Introduced in Parliament last week, the bill aims to boost economic growth while protecting privacy. The proposed rules promise to reduce paperwork, slash costs, foster trade, and (please, Lord) cut down on cookie pop-ups. They also controversially claim to produce savings of more than £4 billion over 10 years (more on that later). The shadow of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU looms large over the plans. In its pitch for the bill, the government pledges to unleash an elusive Brexit dividend.…
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On Christmas morning last year, dozens of households in the Republic of Ireland woke up to a hot water tank that had been heated overnight – for free. These households were part of a pilot run by the pioneering social enterprise EnergyCloud, which has found a way of using surplus wind energy on blustery nights to help people who are experiencing fuel poverty. All it takes is the installation of a special switch that allows EnergyCloud to activate water heating when there is bountiful energy on the grid. People can still heat their hot water tank via a manual switch…
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The reasons you’ll want to stay connected while traveling are pretty obvious: unless you’re planning an Into the Wild style off the grid experience, you’ll probably want to be able to use your data to find your way around, buy tickets, upload photos onto social media, fire up that local dating app, or whatever you like to do while abroad. But, international data and calling rates can place a hefty burden on your travel budget, not to mention roaming fees which vary with every border you cross. That’s why buying physical SIM cards has been the option of choice for…
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The EU Commission is extending the relaxation of state aid rules to prevent green tech firms from relocating abroad and enable the bloc’s transition to a net-zero economy. The rules around national subsidies had already been amended in 2022 as a response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, seeking to enable member states to more easily finance struggling companies and energy production in Europe. Now, rising concerns about an escalating global subsidy race have pushed the EU to further prolong this temporary crisis framework — and even expand its scope to include support to domestic clean tech companies fighting climate change.…
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Cargo ports are vital transport hubs in the world economy. Around 90% of all globally traded goods by tonnage is transported by sea and in 2021, a whopping 3.5 billion tonnes of freight passed through EU ports alone. Antwerp was the second-largest port in Europe — spreading across 120km² — before a merger with Bruges in 2022 created a combined port area of 160km² and the biggest chemical cluster on the continent. València’s expanding port is the largest on the European Mediterranean in terms of container traffic — and dates back to 1491. Its port authority, Valènciaport, is responsible for…
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Under the Chips Act, the EU is seeking to end its dependence on China and produce 20% of the world’s semiconductors by 2030. Amidst the political push, attracting global giants to invest in the union’s domestic production has been a key strategy — with Intel’s plan to construct a massive chip plant in Magdeburg, Germany, considered a big boost for the bloc. But now, Intel is asking the German government for an additional €4 billion to 5 billion in subsidies to move forward with the project, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. In March 2022, Intel announced an initial…
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Generative AI is entering the media — and hacks are getting worried. Except for your loyal correspondents at TNW, of course, as automated output can’t compare with our flair and reporting. At least, that’s what I’m telling my overlords. Other journalists, however, aren’t as blessed. Last week, the owner of Britain’s Daily Mirror and the Express became the latest media magnate to add bots to the newsroom. The publisher, Reach, has posted several AI-written articles on the local news site In Your Area. According to Reach CEO Jim Mullen, they include a listicle on “7 things to do with visitors to…
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This story is syndicated from the premium edition of PreSeed Now, a newsletter that digs into the product, market, and founder story of UK-founded startups so you can understand how they fit into what’s happening in the wider world and startup ecosystem. Whether you believe it’s the future of everything, or just a useful tool that will be part of the mix of tech we regularly use a few years from now, augmented reality is a rapidly developing field with one major drawback – like VR, it can leave you feeling sick. For example, US soldiers who tried Microsoft’s HoloLens…
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Call it an “old boys’ club” or “brogrammer culture,” there’s no denying the tech world is still dominated by men. Much has been written about the industry’s lack of diversity, of course. Most tech companies are run by men, and female role models are few and far between. According to a report by The World Bank, women make up less than a third of the world’s workforce in technology-related fields. In the European Union, they make up just 17% of the ICT (information and communication technology) sector. This gap grows further at the executive level, where women hold a mere…
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Women’s Day is a day when we celebrate the achievements of the amazing women founders, developers, and VCs that are bringing innovation and disruption to the Dutch tech ecosystem. But it should also be a day when we confront the barriers and challenges women continue to face. The fact that International Women’s Day still exists is both a sign of progress but also a sign that, in our society, inequality is endemic and not always clearly visible on the surface. The ultimate goal will be when everyday is ‘Women’s Day.’ Although we’ve made progress and we should celebrate that, the…
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Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure have become a growing concern since war broke out in Ukraine. After the 2014 annexation of Crimea, a sustained barrage by Russian-linked groups pummelled infrastructure in Ukraine. The next year, the country endured the first confirmed hack to take down a power grid. The attacks have continued since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. According to a recent report from Google’s Threat Analysis Group, Russia’s military intelligence agency has repeatedly used destructive malware to degrade Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. Analysts are now increasingly worried about the threats spreading across the globe. In November, a general who commanded…
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Sunny weather, a reasonable cost of living, delicious food, stunning landscapes — Spain has it all. And with some of the best internet speeds in Europe, the Mediterranean nation has become a popular destination for expats and remote workers. The newly-launched digital nomad visa has made the country an even more appealing option. The scheme has been in force since January, as part of the recently approved Startup Law, which aims to make the nation a frontrunner in attracting investment, innovative entrepreneurship, and talent. While other EU countries such as Greece, Portugal, and Croatia have already introduced similar schemes, Spain’s…
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No one may fully understand quantum computing yet, but one thing is clear — the expectations are high. And where there are high expectations, there’s money. Both private and public funding for European quantum technologies has grown notably over the last few years. In 2021, private funding to quantum startups increased by 2.5x compared to 2020, and by 8x compared to 2019. Public funding has grown as well, with the EU planning to invest $7.2 billion (€6.8 billion) in quantum computing projects by 2025. Understandably, most of these billions already are or will be directed to building a successful quantum…
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The European Commission has launched a new €7.5 million grant scheme to help Ukrainian SMEs integrate and benefit from the single market. The so-called ReadyForEU scheme comprises two calls for proposals directed to Ukraine-based businesses and entrepreneurs: the Business Bridge and the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs — Ukraine. The calls follow the country’s recent entrance into the singlemarket programme, which is also providing the funding. “ We’re offering tangible financial support for small Ukrainian businesses and entrepreneurs. The Business Bridge With a budget of €4.5 million, this action offers financial support to SMEs affected by the war, in the form…
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Rishi Sunak has enraged British scientists after dimming hopes of rejoining the EU’s Horizon programme. Prospects of entering the €96 billion research scheme had grown after a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland was struck on Monday. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described the agreement as “good news” for scientists and researchers. She said work to associate the UK with Horizon could start “immediately” after implementing the terms. Scientists had overwhelmingly welcomed the breakthrough. Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, the UK’s foremost collective of scientific voices, called for access to Horizon to be swiftly secured. “These schemes…
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València’s tech ecosystem is growing and maturing at a brisk pace. Founders, investors, and business leaders in the city are unanimous that this region in Spain will cement itself as a tech hub to be reckoned with in the coming years. Names like Flywire, Fever, and Jeff are well-known, but there are tons more Valèncian startups and scaleups making waves at home and abroad. Ahead of The Next Web’s first conference in València on the 30th and 31st of March, we’re zooming in on 10 noteworthy local startups, selected by TNW and its key strategic conference partners: Lanzadera, Marina de Empresas,…
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Why can’t European tech companies compete with Silicon Valley giants? It’s a perennial conundrum for the continent’s IT leaders — and one that Phill Robinson is trying to solve. After a globetrotting career as a tech executive, Robinson returned home to the UK and founded Boardwave, a networking platform that wants to make Europe a software superpower. The concept emerged from Robinson’s diverse background in the sector. The entrepreneur spent decades traversing Europe and Silicon Valley, in roles ranging from CMO of Salesforce.com during its IPO to CEO of Dutch software giant Exact. These experiences exposed several advantages for tech firms…
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Artificial intelligence has been infiltrating every industry and the world of arts and culture is no exception. In other words, AI art is poised to explode. AI text-to-image generators such as DALL-E or Midjourney have been creating remarkable visual artworks. ChatGPT has taken the world by the storm with its ability to answer questions, write essays, and summarize texts, among other things. AI-generated art is even being displayed at world-renowned museums. These examples show just how powerful generative AI can be and bid this pressing question: is AI about to replace human artists? Seth Dobrin, IBM’s first-ever Global Chief AI…
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Developers become developers because they like to code. Many have taken up coding as teens after school, or during after-hours after their cubicle job. They realize how much power they can get from their IDE and their command line, and they get addicted to it. Even when developers land that dream job where they can code all day, many keep their side projects going in the evenings and during after-hours. I personally know developers who keep coding on the train after they leave their office — because what else is one going to do on a train? Coding is a…
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A new €15 million fund has launched to help quantum technology research in the Netherlands transform into venture capital-investable startups. Backed by Quantum Delta NL (QDNL), a foundation that seeks to boost and scale the Dutch quantum ecosystem, the so-called QDNL Participations fund has a twofold focus: early-stage startups in the sector and research teams working on promising quantum technologies before they incorporate as startups. In the first case, the funding will reach up to €1.5 million — with the foundation typically leading the investment round. In the second case, the fund will offer €50,000 to researchers via a SAFE…
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Evolving views on food are challenging traditional diets — and not just for humans. Innovative dining options are also being added to the menus of our pets. Startups have proposed numerous new ways to satiate their appetites. The UK’s Bella and Duke, for instance, caters to animals on raw diets, while Sweden’s Buddy Pet Foods serves natural dry food, and Portugal’s Barkyn personalises their grub. If none of those excites their palates, our furry friends could try a more avant-garde delicacy: insects. That’s what’s cooking in the kitchen of FlyFeed, an Estonia-based startup. The company has developed an automated farming…
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For a long time, the concept of work-life balance felt like an unattainable myth; all it took was a global pandemic and the ensuing government-enforced lockdowns to show employers that their staff could work remotely and still get the job done. In fact, studies show that remote employees work more hours overall than those based in an office for part or all of the week—remote workers put in an extra 8.7 hours per week on average compared to their office-based colleagues who average 6.5 extra hours. Post-pandemic a vast number of organisations have come around to the idea that flexible…
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In the fiercely contested smartphone market, photography can be a key battleground. Alongside the insatiable desires for better batteries, durability, storage, and processing, camera quality consistently ranks as a key factor when choosing a phone. At CES 2023, Spectricity, a startup based in Belgium, unveiled a new entrant to the competition: the S1 chip. Spectricity claims the S1 is the first truly miniaturised and mass-manufacturable spectral image sensor for mobile devices — and the company is targetting sector dominance. Within two years, Spectricity boldly predicts the sensor will be inside every smartphone. The bullishness derives from a singular focus: measuring…
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Adapting to technological advances is a defining part of 21st-century life. But it’s not unique to us: it’s been part of the human story since our earliest written records – even featuring in the plotlines of ancient myths and legends. While ChatGPT threatens to change writing (and writing-related work) as we know it, the Mesopotamians, who lived 4,000 years ago (in a geographical area centred in modern-day Iraq), went through this kind of seismic change before us. Their civilisation is credited with the invention of writing. The Mesopotamians are credited with the invention of writing. The city of Babylon, whose…
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Britishvolt, a prominent UK battery startup, had generated enthusiasm over its plans to build the country’s first battery gigafactory. But after filing for administration in January, it has now been bought by Australian firm Recharge Industries. Launched in 2019, Britishvolt had planned a £3.8 billion battery plant near the Port of Blyth in Northumberland, promising 300,000 batteries per year, the creation of 3,000 direct jobs, as well as a significant boost to the region’s economy and the UK’s production of EV batteries. Despite gaining a funding pledge by the government and partnering with major companies like Aston Martin and Glencore, in…
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On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine is commemorating horrific losses — and remarkable defiance. The country’s fierce resistance on the battlefield has been echoed on the digital front — where Kyiv has unique experience. The conflict with Russia has become the world’s first full-scale cyberwar, but Ukraine was a test bed for digital weapons long before the invasion of 24 February, 2022. Since Putin’s troops began flooding across the border, the cyber tactics have shifted dramatically. These developments have made Ukraine a bellwether for digital warfare. And to the surprise of analysts, cyber attacks have had a limited impact…
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With the goal of establishing a long-term presence on the Moon, the European Space Agency (ESA) is working on a new project that will help determine the feasibility of growing plants on the lunar surface. Led by Norway’s Solsys Mining, the project will seek to develop a method for converting lunar soil into fertiliser for use in hydroponic farming. The study builds on previous research on lunar soil samples. While lunar soil, also known as regolith, is rich in most nutrients necessary for plant growth, it compacts in the presence of water, making it problematic for seeds to establish healthy…
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Iker Marcaide is one of Spain’s most energetic entrepreneurs. Since stepping away from Flywire, the first Spanish startup to go public on the Nasdaq, Marcaide has focused his attention on impact investing, creating new startups with his company Zubi Group, building a school, and designing an eco-neighbourhood. In 2021, Forbes named him as one of Spain’s 100 Most Creative business people. Iker Marcaide. Credit: Zubi Group Marcaide meets us in a 60-hectare plot of land dotted with trees on the outskirts of the city of València on a sunny, chilly January morning. This is La Pinada, the site where he…
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A raft of research, supported by startup developments, suggests drones inspired by nature are the future of flight. Plans for the future of airborne transport include seeing a small army of drones competing for space in the sky with the 50 billion birds worldwide. But there’s also the potential of a halfway house, where drones that look like birds end up flying alongside the animals they’re inspired from and the traditional quadcopters. A new raft of drones inspired by nature, many of which are university spin-offs, are capturing the attention of investors. Animal Dynamics, which was launched in 2015 as…
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What is happiness? And how can we be happy? These questions are integral to the human experience, but their answers can be elusive. We can apply several perspectives to approach them, through philosophy or psychology, for instance. We can also use our personal view of our feelings and goals as we navigate through life. But can we bring a scientific approach to happiness? Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, believes we can. The institute combines qualitative and quantitative methods to provide insights on well-being, happiness, and the quality of life. Its mission? To inform decision-makers in…
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Predictive policing has exposed a new group of future criminals: MEPs. A new testing systems has spotlighted five EU politicians as “at risk” of committing future crimes. Luckily for them, it’s not a tool that’s used by law enforcement, but one designed to highlight the dangers of such systems. The project is the brainchild of Fair Trials, a criminal justice watchdog. The NGO is campaigning for a ban on predicting policing, which uses data analytics to forecast when and where crimes are likely to happen — and who may commit them. Proponents argue that the approach can be more accurate,…
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Big business opportunities are brewing in the cosmos. Morgan Stanley predicts the space economy will grow from €355 billion in 2020 to over €1 trillion by 2030 — and competition for the rewards is fierce. The USA remains a celestial superpower, while China is emerging as a powerful challenger. Europe has historically lagged behind the world leaders — but is now carving out a promising niche. Across the continent, countries are converging around a single segment of the market: small satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The maximum altitude in LEO is about one-third of Earth’s radius. Credit: ESA As the…
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In 2012, two former students from Hanze University of Applied Sciences in the Northern Dutch city of Groningen, took a major gamble. They made a list of 100 companies they’d like to work for — including Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, and Uber — and hacked them. As you can imagine, this little stunt certainly got their attention. Now, $159.4M in investment later, their cybersecurity company, HackerOne, reached unicorn status in 2022 and counts big players like Nintendo, AT&T, Hyatt, GM, and even the Pentagon amongst its clients. HackerOne is a bug bounty hunting platform that enables companies to enlist the help…
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A rough year in public markets has taken a heavy toll on startups. According to new research, every unicorn in Europe that went public in 2021 has since shrunk in valuation. The losses follow record-highs for VC exit valuations in 2021. PitchBook, a financial data firm, attributed the downturn to a shrinking public market. The company found that 13 unicorns went public during 2021’s bull market and IPO frenzy. Yet none have gone on to have positive share price returns. Their numbers paint a gloomy picture. By the end of 2022, more than half of them had lost over 75% of their…
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Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos: what these names have in common is they are all founders of some of tech’s most powerful companies. The other key thing they have in common is they’re all men. While there are many women founders—Melanie Perkins of Canva and Sandy Lerner of Cisco are just two, along with Mira Murati, the CTO of OpenAI, creator of the much-lauded ChatGPT—there is a significant gender disparity in the technology industry. There are many systemic reasons for this. Globally, women make up over 50% of the population, but own only 1% of the total…
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Although the UK has set out ambitious clean energy targets, it risks lagging behind the US and the EU in attracting the required investments, two of the country’s energy trade organisations have warned. Ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Budget next month, Energy UK and Renewable UK have published two separate reports, calling on the government to implement measures and rule changes that will enable the UK to attract vital private investment in renewables. “The renewable energy sector is facing a perfect storm this year. According to Energy UK’s report, investment in low-carbon electricity generation “has deteriorated significantly” in the past…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Chameera Dulanga. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. Software development is teamwork and having a good team structure is vital for its success. But, even a tiny misalignment could adversely affect our teams’ output. That’s why we should be extra careful when putting a team together. In this article, I’ll discuss some important factors you need to consider when building a software engineering team for your company. Why is team…
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According to EU data, numerous vital tech sectors in the bloc have been suffering from supply shortages in semiconductor chips, mainly as a result of the European dependency on imports from a limited number of companies and countries. To address this issue, the union aims to boost its domestic industry by implementing new legislation. On Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted its position on two proposed draft bills: the Chips Act and the Chips Joint Undertaking. On the Chips Act, MEPs endorsed the text put forward by the Industry Committee and expressed their support of its three main measures: Reinforcing technological…
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When it comes to investing in innovation, certain industries have flourished over others. Those that haven’t are now facing a do or die situation to keep up with the demands of a modern society, the ever-prominent concern around the climate crisis, inflation issues, and an aging population. Looking at the global stats Tracxn collected from 230+ sectors between 2013 and 2023, it’s clear which industries — education, hospitality, agriculture, industrial manufacturing, real estate and construction, and commercial airline — have fallen behind, received less funding and seen less successful startups being founded. Whether it’s been down to high costs, difficulty…
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The Dutch tech startup ecosystem has been steadily flourishing over the past five years, establishing itself as one of Europe’s most vibrant hubs. Yet, there are still hurdles the Netherlands needs to overcome in order to reach its full potential and successfully compete on a global scale. That’s according to the annual State of Dutch Tech report by TechLeap, a non-profit organisation which helps quantify and accelerate the ecosystem in the Netherlands. Here are seven key takeaways from the report you need to know about: The Netherlands houses the EU’s most successful ecosystem In 2022, the Amsterdam-Delta region was the…
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Five EU member states and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group have launched a new fund to support the late-stage growth of promising European tech startups and increase the continent’s competitiveness in innovation. The so-called European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) aims to address the issue with inadequate late-stage funding, especially for companies seeking more than €50 million in capital. Boosting European investment “Europe’s tech startups often do not have sufficient capital to compete on a global scale and are pushed to relocate overseas. Closing this scale-up gap could create a large number of highly skilled jobs and boost growth,” the…
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In a world first, scientists from the University of Sussex and Universal Quantum, a spin-off of the university, have demonstrated that quantum bits (qubits) can directly transfer between quantum computer microchips. This breakthrough is expected to overcome a major obstacle in building quantum computers that are large and powerful enough to address the crucial societal challenges they’re envisioned to: from medicine development, to the creation of new materials and climate change solutions. To address these issues, experts estimate that millions of qubits are required — a number currently out of reach, with existing quantum computers operating on the 100-qubit scale.…
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València regularly tops rankings of the best cities in the world, due to its stellar combo of 300-plus annual days of sun, the Med on your doorstep, and a lifestyle that values free time, exercise, and good food. But it’s not all paella and chill. The Valèncian region’s startup scene — based mainly in its capital plus the smaller cities of Alicante and Castellon — has been revving up in recent years, and is now making its mark in everything from AI, fintech, and cybersecurity, to cleantech, healthtech, and industrial IoT. With TNW’s first conference in València just around the corner,…
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Cover letters are something many job candidates really struggle with. Lots of people aren’t even convinced they’re necessary. With so many job applications happening these days via websites and apps –– surely that online form you filled out is all that’s needed? A recent survey from Cultivated Culture found that, while 53% of employers prefer candidates who add cover letters with their CVs, only 10% of hiring managers actually take time to read them, which further adds to job applicants’ frustration. And if you’re job hunting and want to send out as many applications as possible, does writing an individualized…
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The EU has announced the three winners of the European Social Innovation Competition (EUSIC), which seeks to find pioneering solutions to societal challenges. The 2022 challenge, named “the future of living,” was designed to attract participants who can advance the affordability, sustainability, and re-invention of European housing districts. “Social innovation is crucial to increase resilience and support the transformation of our economies, while putting people first,” Hubert Gambs, the Commission’s Deputy Director General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs, said. “With this competition, which celebrates its tenth edition this year, we support social innovations that will bring social, environmental,…
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It’s no secret that the Netherlands is a European leader when it comes to the tech and startup sectors. The country attracted €1.8bn in investment in 2021 alone, more than double the €790m raised in 2020. While many people think of Amsterdam as the country’s startup capital and a global tech powerhouse — and with success stories like Adyen, MessageBird and Mollie, they’re not wrong — the Netherlands’ lesser-known cities are becoming favorites amongst expats who want to be part of the country’s dynamic tech scene, without the hustle of big city life. Take Groningen. Known as the country’s “capital of the…
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The new Netflix murder mystery film Glass Onion is a cautionary tale – but not about influencers, tech bros, or ironic architecture, as some have suggested. Glass Onion (along with HBO’s Succession) is actually a warning about the potential perils of going into business with your friends or family. Such businesses are a huge contributor to any economy. Globally, between 70 and 80% of firms are co-owned or co-managed by family or friends. Close relations can be a great source of support and positive influence on a new idea or business. My research, focusing on new business development within universities, shows…
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In a coordinated action with US authorities, the UK has imposed sanctions on seven Russian cyber criminals associated with the deployment of the Conti and Ryuk ransomware as well as the Trickbot banking trojan. This follows a thorough investigation led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and marks the UK’s first-ever joint cyber crime sanctions. According to the British government, ransomware is a “tier one national security threat” that’s increasingly used to attack businesses and public sector organisations. Ransomware groups known as Conti, Wizard Spider, UNC1878, Gold Blackburn, Trickman, and Trickbot have been responsible for the deployment of ransomware strains…
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Magnetic floating pods traveling through a series of tubes sounds like a scene from sci-fi movies, right? But what if they could become a new mode of mass transport? Yes, we’re talking about the hyperloop. One of the companies working on the tech is Hardt Hyperloop. Since 2020, the Netherlands-based startup has developed numerous prototypes and test benches. It’s also part of the European Hyperloop Center and has received €15 million in funding from the EU Commission. The company is developing hyperloop tech for passengers and cargo, enabling travel through a network of low-pressure tubes using magnetic levitation. The pods are…
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Learning a new programming language can open your mind in ways you never thought possible. Just like learning a new human language like Spanish or Mandarin, you learn to think with different words and structures. You tap into the cultures and communities of the speakers and learn how they see the world. It’s enriching, to say the least. The neat thing about programming languages is that the first one you learn is always the hardest. Once you understand basic structures like if-clauses and for-loops, you’ll see them popping up in many new languages you might learn. And, unlike human languages,…
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For the first time, a car with no human inside has driven on a public road in Europe. The feat was accomplished by Vay, a German startup. The company uses an approach called “teledriving” to remote-control cars from sites located miles away. Operators pilot the vehicles with steering wheels, petals, and monitors. They also recieve road traffic sounds via microphones and headphones. The system resembles racing simulators for video games — only the action on the screens is happening for real. Redundant mobile networks provide the data transmission. In the event of a network failures or emergency, the vehicle automatically…
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No matter how beneficial increasing wind energy generation is, at the end of their lives, wind turbine blades end up in landfills. But now major a European wind turbine manufacturer — Denmark-based Vestas — has found a way to make the blades recyclable and circular. Unlike the vast majority of a turbine’s components that have established recycling circles, blade recycling has posed a serious challenge. That’s because of the presence of epoxy resin, a resilient substance that has so far proved problematic to break down into reusable components. “Until now, the wind industry has believed that turbine blade material calls…
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Here’s the truth: the tech industry has long had a gender imbalance problem, and it starts early. Globally, women obtain 53% of STEM university degrees, but in the EU only 34% of graduates in the field are women, according to data from Girls Go Circular. That has obvious knock-on effects. According to figures from Eurostat, women hold only 17% of major technology jobs, such as programming, systems analysis, or software development. Startup funding too poses particular challenges for women in technology. In 2021, despite a record amount of capital invested that year in Europe, women founders were on the receiving…
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The EU’s landmark AI Act is moving closer to reality, as a rival rulebook forms across the English Channel. The union aims to agree on draft rules for the world-first AI statute next month, Reuters reported on Monday. “We are still in good time to fulfil the overall target and calendar that we assumed in the very beginning, which is to wrap it up during this mandate,” Dragos Tudorache, an MEP and co-rapporteur of the EU AI Act, told the news agency. As the EU legislation nears enactment, lawmakers in the UK are shaping a very different approach. Their priorities are…
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The decline of pollinators, particularly bees, is having a grave impact on agriculture and human health. Scientists estimate that 4.7% of the world’s total production of fruit, 3.2% of vegetables, and 4.7% nuts is now lost because of inadequate pollination. But there’s hope. Researchers at Tampere University in Finland have developed a robot that could serve as an artificial pollinator. The team was inspired by dandelion seeds and tapped into the technological advances in stimuli-responsive polymers used in small, wirelessly-controlled soft-bodied robots, which can walk, swim, jump, or even hover. The result was a polymer-assembly robot that uses wind and light…
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A UK startup has produced another milestone in the strange science of lab-grown meat: the first-ever cultivated steak fillet. The landmark was laid by 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), a bio-tech firm based in Newcastle. Founded in 2019, the company cultivated human corneas for vision-impaired people before applying its techniques to meat. 3DBT has good reasons for the move. CE Delft, an independent research firm, estimates that cultivated meat could cause 92% less global warming and 93% less air pollution, while using 95% less land and 78% less water. There is also a strong business case for the produce. Consulting firm McKinsey predicts the market…
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Europe has a long tradition in geothermal energy, with Iceland, France, and Hungary historically dominating the industry. In recent years, however, a range of other countries have entered the sector. Their motivations are clear: geothermal energy is 100% renewable, endless, and reliable. And the attraction has only intensified amid the drive to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas. Currently, Germany is leading the transition. At the end of 2022, the country’s government published a plan targeting a tenfold increase in geothermal output: 10TWh by 2030. “We’re sitting on a gold mine,” Christian Peltl, director of geothermal energy at SWR, the…
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The EU’s new green tech funding plan has sparked concerns about an escalating global subsidy race. The initiative was launched in response to the US’ Inflation Reduction Act. The act provides $369 billion of subsidies for green technologies, largely through tax credits for products “made in America.” The incentives have triggered fears that EU companies will be enticed to redirect investment and production to the US. Critics claim the measures amount to protectionism that violates existing trade agreements. In response to the act, the EU this week unveiled the Green Deal Industrial Plan — a roadmap to make the bloc’s…
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How do you set your company apart from other brands? How do you sell people a product they’re not used to? And how is all that possible without a marketing department? John Schoolcraft, Chief Creative Officer at Oatly, has an answer to all these questions. In 2012, together with CEO Toni Petersson, Schoolcraft began to transform a 30-year-old maker of oat drinks into a worldwide movement devoted to promoting a more sustainable lifestyle. We caught up with Schoolcraft at TNW 2022 and learned how Oatly created a thriving marketing strategy… without a marketing department. If you’d like to get his insights in full, check…
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Spain-based Iberdola has secured an environmental license from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) to build a photovoltaic plant in Santiago do Cacém in Portugal. The company claims that it’s set to be Europe’s biggest solar farm and the fifth largest in the world. The solar farm, named after the poet Fernando Pessoa, will start operation in 2025 and will have an installed capacity of 1,200MW. According to Iberdola, it’ll be able to generate enough green energy to cover the needs of around 430,000 homes — equivalent to a population twice the size of the city of Porto. The facility is…
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An EV that cleans the air while driving might seem like a pipe dream , but a student team based at the Eindhoven University of Technology has made it reality. TU/ecomotive — as the team is called — has been creating inspiring, environmentally conscious concept cars for over a decade now. Among the concept vehicles presented by the students, last year’s Zem — which stands for “zero emission mobility” — is the most outstanding. It’s a passenger EV that not only paves the way towards vehicle carbon neutrality, but also cleans the air while driving, something that, in turn, reduces…
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The Netherlands-based Eleo is on a mission to accelerate the transition to a fossil-free future. How? Well, by providing high-tech batteries to the machines and vehicles most difficult to electrify. These mainly include industrial, off-highway machines in the construction, agricultural, and forestry sectors — but also cover electric mobility, ranging from cargo and last-mile delivery vehicles to vessels. Eleo started out as a student team at the Eindhoven University of Technology, and was founded in 2017. Since then it’s been designing and manufacturing in-house battery systems that boost a high level of performance and flexibility. Specifically, the startup offers modular…
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A “metal sock” in the ground stuffed full of hydrogen. Vats of scorching sand. Huge weights moving very, very slowly up and down old mineshafts. Is this the future of energy? This menagerie of strange machines and heat-retaining vessels is poised to emerge across Europe as the continent seeks ways of storing the surplus energy produced by renewables. The UK, for example, wasted half a billion pounds’ worth of wind energy in 2021 because it had nowhere to store it. Without such storage, electricity must be used at the very moment it is generated. As wind energy continues to go…
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Whether you suddenly find yourself out of a job, courtesy of the recent wave of tech layoffs sweeping through the sector, or feel like you’ve outgrown your current position and are looking for a new challenge, firing off a generic CV and hoping for the best isn’t going to cut it. In fact, according to online resume builder Zety, only 10% of job applications result in interviews, and job seekers need to send between 30-50 resumes to get hired. That means honing your application skills is essential if you want to stand out and secure an interview that will hopefully…
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Tyre wear is a major contributor to polluting microplastics — small particles which don’t biodegrade and tend to accumulate in the environment, leaking harmful toxins into the air and our waterways. And although there’s no respective EU regulation yet, a London-based startup has developed a device that can capture these particles. The Tyre Collective started out as a master’s project by three former students of the Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, who founded the startup in 2020. It claims to have developed the first-ever device that captures tyre pollution. The team discovered that tyre particles are…
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This story is syndicated from the premium edition of PreSeed Now, a newsletter that digs into the product, market, and founder story of UK-founded startups so you can understand how they fit into what’s happening in the wider world and startup ecosystem. The reignited excitement around the potential of AI as we hurtle into 2023 brings with it concerns about how best to process all the data needed to make it work. This is far from a new challenge though, and next-generation AI chips are being developed in labs around the world to address the challenge in different ways. One…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Luis Minvielle. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. Quiet quitting is a brand-new form of approaching the work-life balance. Contrary to what its name might suggest, quiet quitting doesn’t actually involve an official resignation from your job. It’s merely a transformation in how employees approach their work. The catalyst behind this movement is simple yet powerful: a generalized, overwhelming desire deep inside the minds of the new wave of…
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We might think that the conception of robots, AI, and automated machines is a modern phenomenon, but, in fact, the idea had already appeared in Western literature nearly 3,000 years ago. Long before Isaac Asimov conceived the Laws of Robotics (1942) and John McCarthy coined the term “Artificial Intelligence” (1995), Ancient Greeks myths were full of stories about intelligent humanoids. The fact that these mythical humanoids meet the criteria of modern definitions on robotics and AI is impressive in itself. But what’s even more astonishing is that these old tales can provide us with valuable teachings and insights into our…
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Researchers from the University of Birmingham have developed an innovative method for existing furnaces that could reduce steelmaking’s CO2 emission by nearly 90%. The iron and steel industry is a major cause of greenhouse gasses, accounting for 9% of global emissions. That’s because of the inherent carbon-intensive nature of steel production in blast furnaces, which currently represent the most-widely used practice. In blast furnace steel manufacturing, coke (a type of coal) is used to produce metallic iron from ore obtained from mining — which releases large quantities of carbon dioxide in the process. According to Dr Harriet Kildahl, who co-devised…
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Twitter has fallen out with yet another landlord: King Charles III. The Crown Estate, which manages the British monarch’s vast property portfolio, has sued Twitter over unpaid rent for office space in London. The complaint was filed last week at the High Court in Britain’s capital. The case joins a range of wranglings over rent engulfing Twitter. In December, the company had reportedly not paid rent on any of its global offices “for weeks.” Since then, landlords in San Francisco, Seattle, and London have all sued the bird app, while workers at a Twitter office in Singapore were briefly evicted…
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French startup Eolink — in collaboration with 15 European energy partners — will install a 5MW floating offshore wind turbine in Bulgaria by 2025. This is part of the EU-backed Black Sea Floating Offshore Wind (BLOW) project, which aims to advance sustainable energy solutions. BLOW will use Eolink’s patented floating offshore wind turbine design, which the company claims solves existing industry issues by using four steel masts instead of one to spread the turbine’s stresses. This is said to make the overall structure more than 30% lighter. As per the startup, its turbines can produce 10% more energy by reducing…
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By 2027, Europe has the potential to fully rely on domestic production of battery cells, meeting its EV and energy storage demands without any Chinese imports. That’s according to the latest forecast by Transport & Environment (T&E), a campaign group, which analyzed a range of manufacturer reports and press releases. The European NGO further estimates that, in 2030, the companies with the largest battery cell production in the continent will be CATL, Northvolt, ACC, Freyr, and the Volkswagen Group. About two-thirds of Europe’s needs for cathodes — an integral battery part — could also be produced in-house, the report finds.…
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For tech startups, the most valuable assets are often invisible. While businesses were traditionally built on physical resources, the contemporary economy is increasingly driven by intangibles. The chip firm Arm, for instance, earned a $40 billion valuation and a reputation as the UK’s leading tech company — despite never manufacturing a single chip. Instead, the company designs the processor architecture that’s used in countless devices. This intellectual property-based business model has transformed stock markets. In 1985, under a third of all assets in the S&P 500 were classed as intangible by 2020, that proportion had risen to around 90%. Startups,…
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Netherlands-based solar EV maker Lightyear has announced that it’s freezing production of its flagship model, the Lightyear 0 — less than three months after going into production. As part of a “strategic restructuring,” the company will now focus on making the Lightyear 2, priced at around €40,000. This is expected to go into production in late 2025. The company’s journey has been a long and impressive one. From a student team at a solar vehicle competition, Lightyear transformed into a startup in 2016, and quickly mapped itself on the automotive map with the Lightyear 0. The solar EV featured some…
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The road to TNW Conference 2023 has started! With only five months to go until Europe’s leading tech festival, TNW is touring several up-and-coming tech hubs across the Netherlands to uncover the best of Dutch tech ahead of its the flagship conference in June. First stop? Groningen. On Thursday, TNW’s event took place during the MXT 2023, in collaboration with Founded in Groningen and Founded in Friesland. This brought together startups, investors, corporates, and municipality representatives who shared how Dutch companies are enabling what’s next in tech in the Netherlands’ northern regions: Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe. Among Dutch startup tech…
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E-scooters in Paris have become a flashpoint for the industry in Europe and the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, is going to put the question to the people. As reported by France 24, Hidalgo will allow Parisians to decide whether to allow e-scooter rentals to continue. The vote — expected to take place in April — means the three companies that operate in Paris will be kicking off a charm offensive to retain their place in a vital city for micromobility in Europe. Critically, the outcome of the vote and the fate of e-scooters in Paris could have a wide-reaching effect around…
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Tech is notorious for its bountiful and fun perks: think nap pods, or free food including catered meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as open access to healthy snacks. On-site gyms too, are a frequent perk as are endless branded swag gifts—that Patagonia fleece vest being a strong contender among male finance and tech workers. Throw in some arcade games, ping-pong tables, and free beers from the fridge for when your brain just needs a bit of a rest, and it’s easy to think tech workers have it all sewn up. Some perks are so off-the-wall they just…
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Wolfspeed — a US-based silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor maker — is set to build a chip factory in Germany, Handelsblatt reports. That’s a significant step for both the country’s green mobility and Europe’s chip industry. According to the newspaper, the over €2 billion-worth facility will be located at a site in southwest Saarland. Series production is expected to begin in four years. German auto supplier ZF will hold a minority stake in the factory, but will be a majority shareholder in the accompanying research center. Wolfspeed’s decision to build a plant in Germany is a boost for the domestic car…
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From steam power and electricity to computers and the internet, technological advancements have always disrupted labor markets, pushing out some careers while creating others. Artificial intelligence remains something of a misnomer — the smartest computer systems still don’t actually know anything — but the technology has reached an inflection point where it’s poised to affect new classes of jobs: artists and knowledge workers. Specifically, the emergence of large language models – AI systems that are trained on vast amounts of text – means computers can now produce human-sounding written language and convert descriptive phrases into realistic images. The Conversation asked…
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Threats of jail tech bosses over “harmful content” will endanger the UK’s tech sector and civil rights, campaigners have warned. The penalty has been added to the British government’s Online Safety Bill. Under new amendments to the legislation, senior managers at internet platforms could be jailed for failing to protect children from online harm. The revisions also mandate the removal of videos depicting illegal immigration “in a positive light.” The changes follow pressure from politicians in the ruling Conservative party. The legislators had proposed introducing criminal liability for any breach of child safety duties, but the government has restricted this to…
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At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen stressed the bloc’s need to boost its clean tech industry and increase its competitiveness against the US and China– amidst increasing trade tensions with both nations. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the market for mass-manufactured clean energy tech will be worth around $650 billion a year by 2030 — three times more than today’s levels. And according to Von der Leyen, the targeted net-zero transformation is already causing tremendous industrial, economic, and geopolitical shifts — leaving the EU with a small window of…
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Picture this: a state-of-the-art community workspace within walking distance from home. A space you share with people not because you’re employed by the same company, but because of proximity. A professional atmosphere, but no office politics. Connection, wellness, and professional development are fostered through yoga classes, mentoring schemes and evening events, and an on-site daycare center supports parents of young children. The space is central to local life; reviving relationships and boosting businesses. Your community is reborn. This is coworking 2.0. For the remote work revolution to thrive, we need a viable alternative to the office — one that provides…
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An Italian company has unveiled a novel method of measuring AI progress: analyzing improvements in machine translation. Translated, a provider of translation services, used the approach to predict when we will achieve singularity, a vague concept often defined as the point where machines become smarter than humans. The Rome-based business sets this milestone at the moment when AI provides “a perfect translation.” According to the new research, this arrives when machine translation (MT) is better than top human translations. Translated’s analysis suggests this will happen before the end of the 2020s. “[It will be] within this decade, at least for…
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The EU-funded Smart European Shipbuilding (SEUS) project launched this month, aiming to improve the shipbuilding process via computational tools. The launch arrives as the maritime industry’s increasingly embraces digitization and automation, facilitated by rapid advancements in data science and software development. SEUS is backed by a consortium of eight organizations from five European countries, representing different technologies and parts of the design and shipbuilding industry: computational tools development, industrially applied research, and end-users (i.e. shipyards). These partners will work together to create a framework for data-driven shipbuilding. According to the project’s description, this will be realized through the development of…
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Not, in fact, a fun sports perk offered by tech companies eager to keep up with the latest in compensation trends, “job boomeranging” is actually a rising workplace trend. In a nutshell, it’s when a former employee bounces back to a previous employer. The trend has been observed by experts such as Anthony C. Klotz, associate professor of management at UCL School of Management in London; Klotz is also responsible for coining the term, the “great resignation.” One trend complements the other. The great resignation cohort left their jobs in droves during the pandemic: 47 million US workers quit their…
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Optical fibers have become the foundation of modern data transmission, used for everything from telecoms and internet services to governmental and space applications. This is because they’re capable of transmitting larger amounts of data at faster speeds and over longer distances, compared to other technologies. The structure of optical fibers, however, can occasionally lead to network failures, as any twisted or bent cables can hinder the information transfer. To address this issue, scientists at the University of Bath in the UK have designed a new type of fiber, aiming to enhance the robustness of these networks. A regular optical fiber…
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Quantum computing has immense potential but incredible complexities. While zealots claim it will cure cancer and save the planet, critics warn their promises are far from being fulfilled. One of their key challenges lies at the very heart of the field: quantum bits, or “qubits.” These units of information are the quantum analog of binary bits in classical computers. To make quantum computers useful, the qubits have to be reliably controlled and manufactured at scale. It’s a requirement that still confounds the world’s leading computer scientists. The likes of IBM and Google made impressive strides by building qubits into their…
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Swedish company LKAB has discovered what’s claimed to be Europe’s biggest deposit of rare earth metals, promising a critical boost in the continent’s trade security and green transition. “Rare earths” are a group of 17 chemical elements composed of scandium, yttrium, and lanthanides. Contrary to their name, rare earths are actually abundant; their rarity stems from the complexity of their extraction, separation, and refining, which can generate toxic and radioactive waste, negatively impacting the environment. But despite their environmental hazards, they are crucial for the manufacture of numerous high-tech products. This ranges from household goods (TVs, computers, and smartphones) to…
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Religious wars have been a cornerstone in tech. Whether it’s debating about the pros and cons of different operating systems, cloud providers, or deep learning frameworks — a few beers in, the facts slide aside and people start fighting for their technology like it’s the holy grail. Just think about the endless talk about IDEs. Some people prefer VisualStudio, others use IntelliJ, again others use plain old editors like Vim. There’s a never-ending debate, half-ironic of course, about what your favorite text editor might say about your personality. Similar wars seem to be flaring up around PyTorch and TensorFlow. Both…
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Finland clocked a 75% increase in wind power capacity last year, boosting the country’s renewable energy cred. According to the latest statistics from the Finnish Wind Power Association (FWPA), 2022 was a record time for green power. Specifically, 437 new wind turbines were put into operation, delivering a 2,430MW power capacity. What’s more, wind power covered 14.1% of the country’s electricity consumption, rising from 9.3% in 2021, a period in which 141 turbines were installed. As a result, Finland now has a total of 1,393 wind turbines with a combined power of 5,677MW — raised by nearly 43% in 2022…
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Concrete has been described as the most destructive material on Earth. After water, it’s the most used substance in the world, with twice the usage of steel, wood, plastics, and aluminium combined. To manufacture all this concrete, more than 4 billion tonnes of cement are produced every year. According to the Chatham House think tank, that creates around 8% of all CO2 emissions — more than what’s caused by all the trucks across the globe. Cement makers urgently need to reduce this footprint. To meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement on climate change, the industry needs to cut emissions…
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The UK’s space sector is searching for positives after the first orbital launch from western Europe ended in failure. The mission appeared to have started smoothly. At around 10PM GMT on Monday, the Boeing 747 carrying Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket successfully took-off in southwest England. The jet then climbed around 35,000ft before releasing the rocket over the Atlantic Ocean. But then, disaster struck. “We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. We are evaluating the information,” Virgin Orbit announced on Twitter. We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. We are…
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On Monday, the UK government launched a £7M tech fund aiming to decarbonize the freight industry and improve transport links. Over the course of three years, the Freight Innovation Fund (FIF) will go to up to 36 SMEs to develop innovative technologies that can make industrial transport more “efficient,” “resilient,” and “greener.” “Each year in the UK, we transport 1.6 billion tonnes of freight using many different modes of transport, and it has never been quicker or easier,” Nicola Yates OBE, CEO at Connected Places Catapult — the government’s innovation accelerator — said in the associated press release. “The freight…
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Both the EU’s ambitious 2030 climate target and the current energy crisis have highlighted the need to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. And while wind, solar, and green hydrogen are already on the rise, there are still important steps to be taken the coming year to increase their sustainability — and improve what they’re capable of. To find out how this will work, TNW spoke with three experts. Wind power Floating offshore wind is a “game changer” for the renewable energy industry and a “key technology” against climate change, Felipe Cornago — Commercial Director Offshore Wind, at BayWa r.e. —…
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2022 was a year of highs and lows for job seekers. A turbulent economic landscape was scarred with job losses across the tech industry, rising inflation across Europe, and high energy and grocery costs drove a cost of living crisis, which, combined with a looming recession, made many workers understandably nervous. Given that environment, it would be easy to think it’s a bad time out there for anyone looking for a new job, particularly if they work in the tech industry. The truth, of course, is a little bit different. Those layoffs we’re seeing across tech behemoths such as Salesforce,…
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The first ever orbital satellite launch from the UK — and Europe — is set for takeoff tonight (Monday, January 9). The so-called “Start Me UP” mission, led by US-based Virgin Orbit, will set out from Spaceport Cornwall at Newquay Airport at around 21:15 UTC. You can watch the launch via Virgin Orbit’s livestream below: At the center of the mission is a modified Boeing 747 aircraft, the Cosmic Girl, which is fitted with Virgin Orbit’s Launcher One rocket carrying nine civil and defense satellites. Cosmic Girl will take off from Spaceport Cornwall and will ascend to an altitude of 35,000…
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Amidst the climate and energy crisis, heat pumps have emerged on the housing heating market as a technology that can replace gas and oil, while lowering the energy bills. Yet, their air compression systems require refrigerants to work. These refrigerants, also known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), are amongst the most potent greenhouse gasses. Founded in 2017 and having raised €5 million, French deeptech startup Equium is seeking to provide a more ecological alternative. With this aim, it has developed a novel, acoustic heat pump core that harnesses the energy of sound. The so-called Acoustic Heat Pump (AHP) can cover a household’s heating…
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With a global recession impending, Europe’s startups are feeling the pressure. Investment opportunities are dwindling and customer acquisition is getting harder. So what can startups do to survive during this time? From hiring freezes to spending cuts, founders are making preparations to get through the recession unscathed. There are many ways to cut spending during this time that don’t involve layoffs, it’s just about being a little savvy and thrifty, and looking out for programs that are designed to give startups a boost. Here’s your go-to checklist for smart ways startups can cut spending and save during the recession: 1.…
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For a while, Evernote was on top of the world. The Californian note-taking app surfed the 2000s tech productivity boom to become the leader in its field. But then it fell from grace, becoming sluggish, buggy, and expensive. Users abandoned the platform, heading in droves to other note-taking apps. And it looks like more change is afoot. On January 3, the sale of Evernote to the Italian company Bending Spoons was finally confirmed. On one hand, this could be concerning for remaining users. Evernote will no longer be an independent company, meaning there could be huge changes to its current…
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Across Europe and North America, more and more people are deciding to ditch their reliance on public utilities such as water, gas, and electricity to live and operate independently. And they’re doing so for a number of different reasons — a desire to connect with nature, be more self-sufficient, save energy, or generally live a more sustainable lifestyle are just a few. In The Netherlands, this kind of living is increasingly seen as an attractive, and viable, option; there’s a whole thread dedicated to self-sustainable living in the r/Netherlands subreddit, and in 2016 The Netherlands became home to the first high-tech…
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Did you know that the world is predicted to produce more than 50 million metric tons of e-waste this year? And, according to the latest statistics, less than 20% of this is recycled properly, meaning that huge amounts end up in landfills. Gadgets play a big part in this. Just consider that 5.3 billion smartphones are expected to be thrown away in 2022. But here’s the good news: gadgets will get more sustainable in 2023, and that’s all thanks to the emerging trend of circularity. “In major markets such as Europe, consumers are looking for more durable, long-lasting products,” Stanton Thomas,…
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Chip designer Arm is rapidly expanding its automotive business, amid mounting competition from open-source rival RISC-V. Revenue from the segment has doubled since 2020, the Financial Times reports. Dennis Laudick, VP of automotive go-to-market at Arm, attributed the growth to the number of chips required by high-end cars, which he described as “data [centers] on wheels.” This trend is set to accelerate as demand for electric and autonomous vehicles grows. Semico Research predicts the automotive chip IP market will double by 2027 — which could prove crucial to Arm’s future business. The UK-based firm produces chip designs that are used…
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Happy New Year to you! If you’re in the market for a new career (and, let’s face it, who isn’t right now?), your timing couldn’t be more perfect—January is actually one of the best months to get a new job. Surprised? You’re not alone. Most people presume looking for a job early in the new year is futile, but that’s a myth. Hiring is a year-round process, and there’s never a bad time to apply for a job. What’s more, right now is actually one of the best times to apply. Here’s why: Hit the ground running For one, companies…
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Augmented Reality (AR) has promised some pretty big things, such as, you know, a total disruption to how we live and work. By overlaying a virtual world over our IRL one, endless possibilities in how we communicate with one another, take in information, and see the world, come into focus. But AR has fallen short of expectations. While many of us have used dog filters on social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, and played games like Pokemon Go!, we can’t really say it’s truly disrupted our daily lives — yet. One of the most cited reasons for AR’s lack of…
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The European Union is on a mission to curb the power of big tech. In recent years, the bloc has doled out vast antitrust fines to Silicon Valley giants, set global standards for data privacy, and proposed a raft of digital regulations. Yet critics say the rules have been ineffective. Analysts claim the legislation has failed to protect competition, while giving companies routes to avoid enforcement. In 2023, the bloc has grand ambitions to change that. A key component of the plans is the new Digital Markets Act (DMA). The landmark legislation prohibits platforms from ranking their own products more…
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We did it! Despite humanity’s best efforts, we made it through 2022. Before we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and brace for whatever 2023 has to offer, we should probably take some time to reflect on the year that was. Here at Neural, that means recounting our favorite stories from the past 12 months. There was a lot of mind-blowing news in the world of tech in 2022. From Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter to former Google engineer Blake Lemoine declaring that he’d met a sentient AI, it was a year to remember. But, rather than rehash months-old news,…
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The European Union has an unusual IT strategy. While the US prioritizes the development of global tech giants, the EU focuses on becoming the sector’s leading regulator. In 2022, the bloc launched two sweeping sets of stringent new rules: the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which seeks to bolster competition in online services, and the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to protect people from online harm. Analysts expect the regulatory drive to accelerate next year. “The only thing we can be certain about is that there will be more regulation next year, and increased enforcement of it,” said Alan Calder,…
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Here we go again! For the sixth year running, we present Neural’s annual AI predictions. 2022 was an incredible year for the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence. From the AI developer who tried to convince the world that one of Google’s chatbots had become sentient to the recent launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it’s been 12 months of non-stop drama and action. And we have every reason to believe that next year will be both bigger and weirder. That’s why we reached out to three thought leaders whose companies are highly invested in artificial intelligence and the future. Without…
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Talk of a tech recession and mass layoffs across the sector dominated the headlines in 2022. And while certain areas have contracted and companies have acted accordingly by reducing their workforces, various industries continue to go from strength-to-strength and have been bolstered by the growing demand for cloud-based technology, machine learning tools, blockchain technology, and the acceleration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in our everyday lives. Fintech’s future The last 12 months have rocked the foundations of fintech—in May, Swedish BNPL fintech Klarna slashed 10% of its workforce, and in November Stripe announced it was laying off…
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Few could have predicted the economic and geopolitical landscape that confronted the mobility sector in 2022. With the industry still reeling from materials shortages — particularly semiconductor chips — caused by COVID-19 lockdowns, the invasion of Ukraine has further tested the sector’s resiliency. This has led to companies scrambling to wean themselves off Russian oil. The outcome of this has created a strong focus on renewable energy, including preservation, optimization of operational efficiency, and electrification, topics that’ll extend across all areas of mobility in 2023. But there’s a lot more we can expect from the sector next year, and here…
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According to the International Energy Association (IEA), the buildings sector in 2021 was responsible for around one-third of global energy and process-related CO2 emissions. Specifically, 6% of these emissions resulted from the manufacture of cement, steel, and aluminium used for construction; 8% from the use of fossil fuels; and 19% from the generation of electricity and heat needed to maintain them. This makes one thing clear: more attention needs to be paid to making our buildings greener and more sustainable. Thankfully, 2023 will be the year when we start taking some significant steps towards this goal. “The building sector has not…
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In the month after Elon Musk triumphantly announced his takeover of Twitter with his now famous “the bird is freed” tweet, he implemented a large-scale cull of the social media platform’s global workforce. While Musk’s rationale for this move was to make Twitter more efficient, how he carried out the cuts was widely criticised as showing a lack of compassion for employees. Luckily, the public have spoken and Musk has promised to step down after embarrassingly being voted out in his own poll. But what can we learn from this and what kind of leader does Twitter need moving forward?…
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In the spring of 2010, physicist Jari Kinaret received an email from the European Commission. The EU’s executive arm was seeking pitches from scientists for ambitious new megaprojects. Known as flagships, the initiatives would focus on innovations that could transform Europe’s scientific and industrial landscape. Kinaret, a professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, examined the initial proposals. “I was not very impressed,” the 60-year-old tells TNW. “I thought they could find better ideas.” As it happened, Kinaret had an idea of his own: growing graphene. He decided to submit the topic for consideration. That proposal lay the foundation…
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New research values the UK tech industry at a whopping $1 trillion (€942 billion) — making it comfortably the leading ecosystem in Europe. This sector is now worth more than double Germany’s ($467.2 billion) and three times more than France’s ($307.5 billion), according to a report by data provider Dealroom. The UK also leads the continent in overall funding, unicorns, and startup numbers. “UK tech has remained resilient in the face of global challenges and we have ended the year as one of the world’s leading destinations for digital businesses,” said Digital Minister Paul Scully in a statement. “This is…
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On January 13, 2023, Spaceport Esrange — mainland Europe’s first satellite launch facility — will be inaugurated in Sweden. This marks a critical milestone for the continent’s space industry. Spaceport Esrange will provide the European Space Agency (ESA) with an independent getaway to the stars, enhancing its current capabilities in French Guiana. At first, the spaceport will be used to launch satellites into orbit. “Satellites are decisive for many functions of the daily lives of today’s modern world, and the need for them will only increase in the years to come with space playing an even more important role,” Stefan…
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As part of the 2022 European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program, the Commission selected 78 startups and SMEs to receive up to €470 million in funding. Depending on its needs, each company will get up to €17.5 million in grants and/or equity investments. The latter will be made through the EIC Fund, which is now “fully operational” after appointing Luxembourg-based Alter Domus as an external fund manager to streamline the equity payment process and avoid past delays. The selected companies span across 17 EU and EEA nations, with the addition of Israel and the UK. Among them, 17% of startups…
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War has decimated much of Ukraine’s economy, but a notable exception is the IT sector. As of November, the industry’s annual export revenues had hit a record $5.5 billion — 13% more than in the same period last year. Since Russia invaded in February, 58% of Ukrainian tech firms have processed new orders from clients. Despite brutal assaults, martial law, and general mobilization, 85% have restored their pre-war business activities. That’s according to Lviv IT Cluster, a community of companies, universities, and local authorities. “Ukraine’s tech industry is not only showing the ability to operate fully, but it’s demonstrating growth,”…
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The war in Ukraine has become the largest testing ground for artificial intelligence-powered autonomous and uncrewed vehicles in history. While the use of military robots is nothing new — World War II saw the birth of remote-controlled war machines and the US has deployed fully-autonomous assault drones as recently as 2020 — what we’re seeing in Ukraine is the proliferation of a new class of combat vehicle. This article discusses the “killer robot” technology being used by both sides in the Russian war on Ukraine. Our main takeaway is that the “killer” part of “killer robots” doesn’t apply here. Read…
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As we’re moving towards an EV-dominated future, efforts to introduce wireless on-road charging systems are increasing. Now, Germany’s famous Autobahn will welcome its own wireless charging system — although it won’t be available to individual EV drivers. Instead, it will power a public bus transporting passengers to the city of Balingen. The technology will be provided by Israeli wireless charging company Electreon, which will collaborate with German EnBW — an EV charging infrastructure provider — for the realization of the project. Electreon will deploy 1km of Electric Road System (ERS) along a stretch of the Autobahn, providing dynamic wireless charging…
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Content provided by IBM and TNW Thanks to the convergence of several trends and changes across different markets and industries, automation is becoming a critical factor in the success of businesses and products. Advances in artificial intelligence, in parallel with the accelerating digitization of all aspects of business, are creating plenty of opportunities to automate operations, reduce waste, and increase efficiency. From managing your Information Technology (IT) bill to finding bottlenecks in your business processes and taking control of your own network operations, here are three areas where companies can gain from applying automation. 1. IT automation Practically every large…
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As the new year approaches, many of us are thinking of moving into a new role or career in 2023. It’s an exciting time to try something new. But, don’t let the labor shortage fool you, the job market is more competitive than ever. While there are plenty of opportunities out there, particularly in the tech sector, the rise of remote working also means that job seekers in 2023 will be competing against a global talent pool. Two candidates may be equally qualified, but one will have the edge over the other because they know how to present that experience…
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JUPITER is set to become the first European supercomputer to make the leap into the exascale era. This means, it’ll be capable of performing more than an exaflop (or 1 quintillion) operations per second. In other words, the device’s computing power will surpass that of 5 million laptops or PCs combined. The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), which is being behind the project, has now signed a hosting agreement with the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) in Germany, where JUPITER will be located. Under the terms of the agreement, JUPITER (which stands for “Joint Undertaking Pioneer for Innovative and Transformative Exascale Research”) will be…
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Application development has a long history of quick evolution and transformation, perhaps faster than any other industry. The tools we use to create and host our applications are constantly changing. The fast developments in programming tools provide plenty of opportunities to create software for companies of different sizes, industries, and budgets. However, the added flexibility and diversity of tools — as well as the constantly changing landscape — also introduce their own set of challenges. Developers must be able to create their apps in ways that can adapt to the scale and changes that their organization, customers, and infrastructure undergo.…
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Over the past year, the skyrocketing fuel prices across Europe have increased consumer interest in alternative sources of energy, such as solar power. And as demand has been on the rise, 2022 was a good funding year for startups focusing on providing photovoltaic (PV) technology to residential customers. Specifically, European startups in the sector have raised over €488 million — and that’s excluding the €855-million debt funding round attracted by Berlin-based unicorn Enpal. Notably, 86.4% of the amount has been injected in German-based startups, including 1Komma5°, Zolar, Sunhero, Enpal, Einhundert, and Sunvigo. 1Komma5° has received the highest funding throughout the…
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Nowadays, just about every facet of daily life can be automated or altered to fit consumers’ preferences and moods. This shift towards customizing private spaces is especially prominent in the field of smart home technology — and other industries are following suit. A tech setting for every mood Inhalio, with just a quick verbal cue, can release scents that correlate with your mood, whether you’re feeling bright, cheerful, angsty, or drowsy. Philips Hue lights have pre-programmed scenes like ‘relax’ or ‘focus’ that sync directly with televisions and other entertainment systems to provide pulsing, complementary lighting. This trend of setting the…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Nadya Primak. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. The tech industry is not known for having great interviewing processes. From the notorious whiteboard interviews to algorithm challenges requiring a computer science degree to even wrap your head around, there are all kinds of outdated standards and approaches to interviewing developers that should have died out years ago. Unfortunately, like most legacy systems we love to hate, these interview processes…
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EU lawmakers have agreed on a new set of rules aiming to make batteries in the bloc more sustainable and reusable. The regulations will cover the entire battery life cycle: from the extraction of materials and industrial production, to disposal. They will apply to all types of batteries sold in the EU, including portable batteries used in electronic devices, industrial batteries, SLI batteries used in automotive applications, as well as batteries used in two-wheelers and EVs. The green requirements of the newly-agreed rules set an impressive milestone for the Union as part of its goals to advance its energy transition…
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App downloads are at an all-time high, but a growing number of innovators believe that a world beyond them is the next frontier for technology. We’re constantly shuffling back and forth from one app to another to carry out daily tasks. But this can be cumbersome, a drain on devices, and time-consuming. It’s not unusual for people to use a combination of apps simultaneously to carry out one task. Just think about all those times when you had to switch to your email, while using another app, because you needed to verify something in your inbox. With people averaging four…
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Elon Musk is progressing plans to slim down Twitter since he bought the 396 million-member platform for US$44 billion (£38 billion) on October 27. Musk’s deal has taken Twitter private, dissolved the platform’s board and enhanced his unilateral power as CEO. But mass redundancy announcements made since he took control have been scrutinized globally. Musk’s plans to restructure Twitter began with laying off top executives, before notifications were emailed to around half of the Twitter global workforce that they were being made redundant or that their jobs were at risk. In a memo to staff, Musk defended the firings as…
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A Berlin-based scientist has unveiled a novel solution for Europe’s tumbling birth rates: “the world’s first artificial womb facility.” Dubbed EctoLife, the concept is the brainchild of Hashem Al-Ghaili, a Yemen-born biotechnologist and science communicator. His invention comprises 75 separate labs, each of which accommodates up to 400 adorable “growth pods,” which replicate the conditions of a mother’s womb. Al-Ghaili claims a single building can incubate 30,000 babies a year. It’s the future that your unborn child deserves. Just peruse all the amenities that the designer fetus will enjoy. EctoLife can house the population of a large town. Credit: Hashem…
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Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter earlier this year has shined a bright light on how quickly the sands can shift under employees’ feet. “Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in the coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t,” the SpaceX CEO tweeted of his mission for Twitter 2.0. Some of those changes have, so far, included mass layoffs, some of which are now resulting in lawsuits from workers who say they weren’t given proper notice of termination, or sufficient severance pay. Musk has also reinstated former president Donald Trump to the platform,…
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The newly-adopted 2023 work program of the European Innovation Council (EIC) will grant €1.6 billion in funding to scientists and innovators who can scale up breakthrough technologies and create new markets. Notably, 70% of this amount (€1.13bn) is reserved for the EIC Accelerator, which supports startups and SMEs in developing and marketing high-impact innovations. Specifically, €525 million is made available for startups developing future technologies that will contribute to the EU’s strategic objectives. These include biomarkers for cancer, decontamination for pandemic management, energy storage, quantum or semiconductor components, resilient agriculture, space tech, and the New European Bauhaus initiative. The remaining…
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Shocking absolutely no one, it turns out the UK barely gives a diddly about the metaverse — especially when compared to the rest of the world. But, for startups and businesses, this apathy is actually an opportunity. First off though, the data. According to a report from law firm Gowling WLG, 10% of UK consumers aren’t interested in the metaverse, and 20% don’t expect it to become mainstream. On top of that, many people are concerned about its downsides: Credit: Gowling WLG The report also highlights that twice as many consumers in China (83%) want to take part in the…
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The UK government’s plans to weaken encryption can “easily be exploited” by hackers and officials, experts have warned. The proposals are part of the controversial Online Safety Bill, which is currently working its way through parliament. Ministers say the legislation would make Britain “the safest place in the world to be online,” but campaigners fear it will erode free speech and privacy. Their prime concern involves the threat to end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messenger apps. Under the mooted measures, telecoms regulators could force platforms to scan through private messages for illegal content. A new clause in the legislation requires services to…
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Scientists at ETH Zurich have developed a special coating that prevents the lenses in glasses from fogging up. Apparently, not all heroes wear capes. This has been a problem since the advent of optical lenses, but it’s fair to say it reached a peak during the pandemic when everyone wearing glasses found out the hard way that most face masks vent your breath up towards your eyes. You’d think someone would have fixed this by now, but it’s harder than you might guess. The difficulty of the problem is evident by the lack of current solutions. You can wipe your glasses off when they fog up…
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Getir, the Turkish fast delivery startup, has bought its German rival Gorillas. This further reduces the number of companies in Europe promising to bring groceries to your door within minutes. This merger leaves only three such businesses active on the continent: Getir, Berlin-based Flink, and US-based Gopuff. As Getir’s founder tweeted, the acquisition valued Gorillas at $1.2 billion — down from $3.1 billion in September 2021. Gorillas was among the most hyped-up startups in the instant grocery delivery sector, offering delivery times in less than ten minutes and numerous discounts. Founded in 2020, the company expanded rapidly covering multiple European…
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Content provided by IBM and TNW As our lives become more digitized, the IT infrastructure supporting the applications and services we use have become increasingly complex. There are a variety of options to run services in the cloud, on-premise, serverless, and hybrid, which makes it possible to accommodate different kinds of applications, environments, and audiences. However, managing such complex IT architectures is becoming increasingly difficult. There are too many moving parts, which makes it difficult to optimize IT, predict and prevent outages, and respond to incidents after they happen. Fortunately, AIOps — the use of AI in IT operations —…
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In an age when consumers expect products and services on demand, there are very few things more annoying than a sluggish website. And for businesses that fail to keep their website at optimal performance, there’s a big risk: it kills the customer experience. Studies show that just two seconds of additional loading time can increase bounce rates by 103%, meanwhile 100 milliseconds of load time can cause a 7% drop in conversion. Site speed is also a factor in Google rankings on desktop and mobile. Poor performance can reduce your site’s visibility on search engines, killing your traffic. But, you’re…
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Being a woman in business is incredibly tough. On average, it takes them 30% longer than men to achieve the CEO position. They hold under 25% of board room positions. And 42% of women have experienced sexism at work. These figures are just the tip of the iceberg. From socialization to society-wide prejudice, women are confronted by difficulties at every turn in the startup, tech, and business worlds. But that doesn’t mean success can’t be found, far from it in fact. There are rafts of women thriving in business — and one of those is Trinny Woodall, the co-founder of…
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The Netherlands is one of the best places in the world for startups and businesses working on green tech. Managing the climate is deeply rooted in Dutch culture. With nearly a third of its land below sea level, the country has been highly-adaptive to environmental challenges — finding ways to turn them into opportunities for technological growth. Think, for instance, of how the Dutch have managed to reclaim land from sea with polders, or avoid flooding from the North Sea with the construction of the Delta Works, a series of dams and surge barriers along the southern West coast. The…
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Almost weekly a friend or an acquaintance asks me, “I want to learn to code; which language should I start with?” More or less bi-weekly I get a DM on LinkedIn starting with, “My son should start programming; what is the best language for him?” It’s not just people who’ve never coded before. Often I get these messages from people who have several years of coding experience under their belts. I’m not saying this to complain. I make half a living from prodding the pros and cons of different programming languages, frameworks, and AI models here on Medium. I profit…
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Vivaldi browser is backing Mastodon to release online communications from Big Tech’s stranglehold. The Oslo-based company today became the first browser to integrate Mastodon — just weeks after launching its own server on the federated social network. The moves aim to accelerate the uptake of Mastodon, while attracting more users to Vivaldi’s privacy-focused browser. They arrive amid a backlash against Silicon Valley’s closed platforms and lock-in algorithms, which spread deeper into the mainstream after Elon Musk bought Twitter. Since the world’s richest person took over the bird app, Mastodon’s active user base has soared from 300,000 to 2.6 million —…
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In July, Sweden’s payments firm Klarna marked a drop in valuation at $6.7 billion, down from $46 billion in June 2021. The buy-now-pay-later firm — which was once seen as Europe’s most valuable private tech company — recorded its first ever large-scale layoffs in May as it shed 10% of its staff. Similarly, Berlin’s once fast-growing rapid grocery delivery startup Gorillas recently laid off 300 employees. Between the global economic downturn and poor public market performance, Europe’s world of tech is currently facing a major decline in venture funding, sliding to its lowest point in nearly two years. Investments in…
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When signing up for Facebook and Instagram, users are forced to agree to Meta’s privacy policy. This allows the company to deliver targeted adverts — but not for much longer. On Monday, EU privacy regulators ruled that users of Meta’s platforms should no longer have to accept these sort of adverts, sources from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reveal. The regulators declared that this kind of coerced consent falls foul of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU’s wide-reaching privacy law. This doesn’t mean it’s a done deal though. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission still needs to issue specific orders…
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Ministers at the European Space Agency (ESA) recently approved funding for a special project to build nuclear waste-powered batteries for use in space exploration. If successful, the new tech would make it possible to conduct operations in areas where access to solar energy is degraded or absent, such as on the dark side of the moon. Researchers working with the ESA believe they can use americium, a radioactive element derived from plutonium decay, to generate sufficient heat to both warm equipment and generate electricity to power functionality. This would represent the first time americium has been used in this manner,…
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The European startup scene is booming, with the total equity value exceeding $3 trillion in 2021 — the highest number ever recorded. Currently, four countries are the major players in the ecosystem: the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and France, which host nearly two-thirds of the continent’s top 1,000 startups and scaleups. Among them, Amsterdam has seen explosive growth, with a whopping 53% average year-over-year growth since 2011. It has also been ranked as Europe’s second top performing startup hub for 2021 — preceded by London, and followed by Paris and Berlin. Yet, compared to the other countries, the Netherlands is…
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Content provided by IBM and TNW Companies that don’t have a digitization and automation strategy will probably not survive in the next decade. Why? Because a host of technological developments are making it possible to free employees from a range of routine operations, so they can focus on the most impactful areas of business. Enterprises that embrace automation can have happier customers, more satisfied employees, and streamlined operations. From back-office tasks to the inspection of industrial complexes and manufacturing sites, there are tools and platforms to collect and analyze various types of data, and take actions that automate repetitive tasks…
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You can’t have been active in the workplace (or had an account on a social media platform) over the last couple of years and not come across the term the “Great Resignation,” also known as the Big Quit or the Great Reshuffle. It started as a US-based economic trend whereby employees voluntarily left their jobs en masse, and then spread to Europe. Whatever way it happened, the net result was the same: a lot of people left their jobs, took time off, moved abroad to check out life as a digital nomad, or changed sectors. Others reskilled during the pandemic,…
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The road to fully autonomous vehicles is long and marred by technological challenges, from the cost of developing the technology and commercial expansion, all the way through public acceptance and safety concerns. And that’s if people even want to give up driving in the first place. But there’s something that can help this transition, that can bridge the divide between the autonomous believers and self-driving sceptics: remote-controlled vehicles. And no, we’re not talking about toy cars, these are real, adult-sized, remotely-driven automobiles. In this piece, I’m going to explain how they work, the commercial and technological implications, and if they…
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France has been given the green light to ban short-haul domestic flights. Specifically, between locations where there is a train alternative that takes less than 2.5 hours. When the French government suggested the measure in 2021 as part of the country’s Climate Law, it was contested by the Union of French Airports (UAF) and the European branch of the Airports Council International (ACI Europe). This led to an investigation by the European Commission, which gave the final approval on Friday — making France the first EU member state with a short-haul flight ban. Initially, the measure will affect routes between…
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The evolution of data centers has been continuous since their advent, with the requirements of each technological era defining each phase of transformation. As the world abruptly shifted to digital during the COVID pandemic, we’re now producing more data than ever before. Naturally, the demand to manage, store, and process that data has also increased exponentially. Along with this heightened demand, comes a new set of challenges and things to consider when building the data centers of the future. How can we satisfy our growing data needs, without compromising the environment? How can we tackle the growing cybersecurity threat and…
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Amongst the 2022 Apple Store Awards winners, Gentler Streak emerged as the Apple Watch App of the year. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, the app — designed for iPhone and Apple Watch use — is a workout and fitness tracker that comes with a twist: a self-compassionate approach to exercise. Gentler Streak is the first product of Gentler Stories, a Slovenian-based mobile app studio that specializes in solutions for a sustainable lifestyle. The women-led company was founded in February 2021 by three Apple Entrepreneur Camp alumni and one alumnus of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator. The…
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We’ve long suspected the human brain is a quantum computer but we’ve never had any actual evidence to back this theory up. That is, until now. A pair of researchers from Trinity College in Dublin and the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw recently published what may turn out to be landmark research in the quest to understand the human brain, consciousness, and the physical nature of the universe itself. The team’s paper, titled “Experimental indications of non-classical brain functions,” details an experimental MRI paradigm in which it appeared test subjects’ brains were entangled with their hearts. Entanglement refers to…
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According to EU data, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Europe’s economy. They represent 99% of all businesses in the Union, employ around 100 million people, and account for more than half of Europe’s GDP. Yet, business survival for SMEs has been continuously challenged since the pandemic. After suffering the consequences of the COVID crisis, SMEs are now particularly affected by soaring energy prices, inflation, supply chain bottlenecks, and changed consumer behavior. That’s especially the case in the retail, food, and restaurant sectors — among those that were hit hardest during the pandemic. A survey conducted by…
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If you read a lot of tech news, you’d think we’re merely months away from being able to hail a robotaxi in Europe. Unfortunately, this will be wrong: because those articles are most likely talking about projects in North America, and the EU’s approach to autonomous ridesharing and ride-hailing is vastly different to the US. So, we had a simple question: when will we be able to catch a robotaxi in Europe? And why can’t we yet? Currently, there are robotaxis (and a small number of roboshuttles) operating in the US, but only roboshuttles in Europe — terms we’ll define…
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Amidst rising climate concerns and the current energy crisis, European oil companies are trying to pivot from fossil fuels to renewable power — and spending a huge amount while doing so. Most recently, British/Shell agreed to buy Europe’s biggest biogas producer, Denmark-based Nature Energy, for €1.9 billion. As part of the deal, the oil giant will acquire Nature Energy’s 14 industrial plants and an international development pipeline of about 30 plants across Europe and North America. This comes one month after rival BP announced its $4.1-billion plan to buy Archaea Energy, a US-listed biogas producer. What is biogas? Biogas —…
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When it comes to B2B products, it’s all about building relationships, something that can be challenging for startups entering traditional industries like rail. But over the last few years, the rail industry has reached out to startups to provide a way to gain their insights and draw them into its ecosystem. Examples of these initiatives include the UK’s Rail Innovation Group — an incubator for rail startups — and Deutsche Bahn’s DB Mindbox. Since 2015, the latter in particular, has organised hackathons and supported more than 150 startups with their proof of concept, 60% of which continue their business cooperation…
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Suddenly finding yourself unemployed is a precarious position to be in, and not even severance pay can take the sting out of the confidence knock a lay-off brings. The unprecedented tech layoffs that have occurred in recent weeks at the likes of Meta and Stripe have sent shockwaves through the industry, as thousands of workers brace themselves for the task of finding a new role in a less buoyant job market. However, the industry as a whole remains stable. In fact, according to a report by Gartner, IT expenditure is expected to increase by 5.1% and hit $4.5 trillion by…
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When British director Scott Mann’s latest film, Fall, was on the precipice of receiving an “R” rating from the MPAA over the number of “F” bombs dropped over its one hour and 47-minute run time, he did what any reasonable person would: he used artificial intelligence to digitally alter the actor’s performances in order to change the swear words into more palatable terms. A stroke of fricking genius, if you ask us. For those who are curious: about 35 “F” words stood between a PG-13 rating and an R rating. Mann’s dilemma, then, became trying to figure out how to…
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As much as we need to cut aviation’s emissions, batteries aren’t going to do the trick. To replace turbine-driven airliners with similarly-sized electric aircraft will require a monumental leap in battery technology — and we’re simply not there yet. So how can we make aviation sustainable? According to studies by the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), aviation can achieve the net-zero 2050 target through the development of both sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and green liquid hydrogen technologies. They also highlight that green liquid hydrogen is the optimum fuel for the first generation of zero-emission aircraft. As per the ATI, targeted…
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Content provided by IBM and TNW When learning a different language, the easiest way to get started is with fill in the blank exercises. “It’s raining cats and …” By making mistakes and correcting them, your brain (which linguists agree is hardwired for language learning) starts discovering patterns in grammar, vocabulary, and word sequence — which can not only be applied to filling in blanks, but also to convey meaning to other humans (or computers, dogs, etc.). That last bit is important when talking about so-called ‘foundation models,’ one of the hottest (but underreported) topics in artificial intelligence right now. According to…
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All around the world, governments are investing in public transport to reduce car use and create a greener world. And, now, Eastern Europe is going all in with the rail infrastructure project Rail Baltica. Rail Baltica aims to integrate the Baltic States within the European rail network. It’s one of Europe’s most substantial investments to improve mobility and travel options, and it’s the largest Baltic-region infrastructure project in the last 100 years. The project includes five European Union countries — Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and, indirectly, Finland. It will connect Helsinki, Tallinn, Pärnu, Riga, Panevežys, Kaunas, Vilnius, and Warsaw. But…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Mikaella C. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. Your professional experience is great. You’ve nailed the test problems. But halfway through the interview, they ask you, “What’s your motivation to work here?” and you find yourself rambling, or stammering, or staring blank-faced at them. Motivation is such a complex and nuanced feeling for each person that it can be difficult to sum up neatly in a job interview. Or…
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Welcome to the future. It’s 2022 and the near billion-dollar quantum computing sector has gone from a passion project for forward-thinking physicists to a thriving B2B industry. Experts predict the market for quantum technologies will quadruple in value by 2029. Simply put there’s never been a better time than right now for potential jobseekers to get in on what, arguably, could be the greatest technological revolution since the advent of the internet. But what if you don’t have a PhD in physics or a background in quantum research? Fret not. The world of quantum technologies will require a lot more…
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If you want to see drones flying through Europe, we have good news. This week aircraft company Dronamics was awarded a €2.5 million grant by the European Commission under the prestigious European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program. Dronamics is Europe’s first licensed cargo drone airline and The International Air Transport Association (IATA’s) first Strategic Partner for drones. This has taken far too long. But, first, let’s talk about Dronamics. The company develops large long-range drones built specifically for cargo, like its Black Swan, which can carry 350 kg for up to 2,500 km. This method of shipping is up to 80%…
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On Tuesday, the European Council approved the EU’s general budget for 2023. This was agreed in negotiations with the European Parliament a week earlier. The two institutions have committed to a total budget of €186.6 billion next year — an increase of 1.1% compared to 2022. According to the Commission, 2023’s budget aims “to boost the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, to put Europe on the path towards a sustainable future, to protect and create jobs, and to strengthen the Union’s strategic autonomy.” Notably, a significant amount of funding is being allocated to sectors that can benefit startups and SMEs…
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Transitioning to clean energy is imperative — and Europe is committed to achieving net zero emissions by the year 2050. But relying on existing renewable energy sources alone won’t do the trick. Intermittency of supply, pressures on land use, scalability, and toxic waste limit how quickly and effectively those solutions can be rolled out. But there’s hope. The European Space Agency (ESA) has been exploring a new technological solution that could overcome all these challenges: solar power delivered wirelessly from space to Earth — also known as space-based solar power (SBSP). Although this might seem like science-fiction, the concept is…
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It’s official. France, Germany and Italy, the three biggest contributors to the European Space Agency, have joined forces to compete with SpaceX. At a meeting this week, the ESA agreed to guarantee the future of the next-generation Ariane 6 and Vega-C rocket launcher systems. According to Stars and Stripes, the deal follows months of bickering between Paris and Berlin over issues “including intellectual property rights, export licenses, and the budget”. The ESA is asking its member states to contribute €18.5 billion to fund the next three years of space programmes — a significant increase of more than 25% from the previous…
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Although times have definitely improved, it’s still not easy being a queer person in the technology industry. There’s still rampant discrimination in the sector, and a “bro” culture that permeates many companies and teams. This can make the tech industry intimidating to any LGBTI+ people looking to break in. Thankfully though, there are a raft of experienced people who can help out. And one of those is Tracy Benson, CEO and co-founder of Obsesh. If you want to get her advice in full, then you should watch the video embedded at the top of this article. Or, alternatively, you can…
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The European Parliament’s website was briefly hit by a cyber attack claimed by pro-Russian hackers, officials said on Wednesday. The website went down shortly after EU lawmakers declared Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism” over its attacks on Ukraine. “MEPs highlight that the deliberate attacks and atrocities committed by Russian forces and their proxies against civilians in Ukraine, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and other serious violations of international and humanitarian law amount to acts of terror and constitute war crimes,” a press release from the EU Parliament stated. “The European Parliament is under a sophisticated cyberattack. A pro-Kremlin group…
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When most people apply for jobs, they expect the job description on postings to match the job that will be filled. However, our recently published study examining startup hiring shows that this isn’t always the case. Sometimes the job someone applies for might not end up being the same job they’re hired for. Jobs can evolve between the time a decision is made to hire someone, and the actual hiring process itself. Hiring managers might change job duties, hire someone for a different job than the one they are applying for, or abandon the job search altogether. While this might…
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It’s safe to say that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine hasn’t gone to plan. Russian forces are suffering mounting setbacks, after underestimating the resistance of his adversaries — and that’s just in cyberspace. The Kremlin’s hacker army – like its conventional military – hasn’t lived up to its fearsome reputation. At least, not yet. Analysts have offered an array of explanations for Russia’s cyber limitations. They range from upgrades to Ukraine’s defenses to changes in the Kremlin’s tactics. “Be afraid and expect the worst.” The early signs were ominous. Ever since armed conflict in the Donbas erupted in 2014, Russia-linked hackers…
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Telecommunications specialist Ericsson will invest tens of millions of pounds into 6G research in the UK, working with universities and industry partners on network security, AI, and cognitive networks. The Swedish company, which has already been supplying 5G networks across the globe, said that this 10-year partnership would help drive development of next-gen 6G networks, expected to be commercially available in the 2030s. The investment isn’t just a vote of confidence in the UK, which has been trying to protect its scientific research funding post-Brexit. It also expands Ericsson’s collaboration with other European countries working towards the development of 6G.…
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When it comes to advancements for people with neurological impairments and paralysis, brain-computer interface (BCI) projects by Neuralink and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA’s) Brain Initiative show huge promise, especially when it comes to mobility. There are some huge problems though. Progress on this front is often slow, expensive, and — by and large — fails to transfer from a lab setting into the real world. But that’s not to say that there aren’t other organizations making huge strides in BCI tech for people with paralysis. This week saw a paper published by a German, Italian, Swiss, and…
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What’s got two thumbs, can perform over 240 PFLOPS, and just gave Europe a 50/50 share of the world’s top four most powerful supercomputers? This supercomputer right here: “This supercomputer right here!” Dubbed the “Leonardo HPC System,” what you see above is the world’s fourth most powerful supercomputer and a potential quantum leap towards the creation of Europe’s first exascale computer. Leonardo is built on architecture designed and developed by French high performance computing company Atos. It’ll officially go online and start solving problems on the 24th of November. While folks in the US are enjoying their Thanksgiving turkeys, Leo…
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Europe’s biggest battery energy storage system has officially begun its operation in Cottingham, UK. The system — which is the largest by megawatts per hour — aims to store electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind turbines and solar farms, before releasing it at times of high customer demand. The so-called “Pillswood project” was developed by North Yorkshire renewable power firm Harmony Energy Income Trust and uses Autobidder, Tesla’s algorithmic trading platform. According to the company, the facility has the capacity to store up to 196MWh of electricity in a single cycle, making it able to power around 300,000 UK…
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Last month we shared the launch of Matter 1.0, a new smart home standard developed in collaboration within the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). They’re developing a single open-source stack that enables developers to build compatible cross-platform devices. Imagine, for example, an Amazon device that integrates with Google Home or Apple Home Kit. Since its launch, it has been well-received by hardware makers. 190 products have received certification or are queued for testing and certification. There have been 4,400 downloads of the new Matter specification and 2,500 downloads of the Matter software development kit (SDK) from GitHub. Crucially, Matter not only…
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A decentralized, distributed ledger that tracks and stores every transaction in a verifiable way, the blockchain records transactions across multiple nodes (or computers) in such a way that the registered transaction cannot be altered retroactively. That’s a big difference between a traditional database where information is held centrally and it makes it impossible for any single person or entity to control all the nodes. For a technology that is so relatively new — it was only invented in 2008 by an unknown person or persons using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto (The word “Satoshi” means “clear thinking, quick witted” in Japanese),…
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Usually, the winners of a pitching competition are bathed with accolades, media attention, and applause. After it’s done and dusted, all they have to think about is what to spend that sweet, sweet prize money on. But, this year, for one startup, things haven’t gone to plan. Immigram — the winner of the Slush 100 startup competition — is mired in controversy due to its links with the Russian tech scene. Not only are the founders Russian passport holders, but it’s also recruiting tech workers to move to Moscow. This left many wondering why the judging panel decided to invest…
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The EU has reached a deal to build a €6 billion satellite internet system, driven by the bloc’s push to boost its space and communications sectors, while ensuring internet security by curbing reliance on foreign suppliers. This initiative was first proposed in February 2022, but the European Parliament and Commission only reached a provisional agreement on Thursday. This new scheme comes amidst rising concerns about Russian and Chinese military advances in outer space and a surge in satellite launches. In response, the 27-nation bloc wants to reclaim its internet strategic autonomy and competitive position in space. “The secure connectivity program…
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If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in this life, it’s that the more stuff you have, the better. If you have a higher number of things, basic math tells you that you have more money. And we all know that more money is better than less money. That’s why I live life by this simple mantra: you can never have too many things. This doesn’t just apply to day-to-day life, as the same is true of your Mac. Yeah, losers might tell you that clogging up your Apple computer with data will lead to “problems” and make it “go slower,”…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Luis Minvielle. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. When you first stumbled across the celebrated Java the Hut coffeehouse joke in The Simpsons, did you ever figure you’d be compiling Java code in a café (in a hut by the beach) yourself? Although the hut part might be a stretch, that’s the way things role in Barcelona. The vivacious Catalonian city — home to beaches galore — is loaded with coworking…
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When I got Meta’s new scientific AI system to generate well-written research papers on the benefits of committing suicide, practicing antisemitism, and eating crushed glass, I thought to myself: “this seems dangerous.” In fact, it seems like the kind of thing that the European Union’s AI Act was designed to prevent (we’ll get to that later). After playing around with the system and being completely shocked by its outputs, I went on social media and engaged with a few other like-minded futurists and AI experts. I literally got Galactica to spit out: – instructions on how to (incorrectly) make napalm…
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Pharmaceutical manufacturing is closely linked to mass production. In order for medicines to be sold cheaply, they often have to be made in huge amounts. But what happens if you need a drug in a different dose than what’s being sold? Or a different ingredient in the mix than what’s on offer? While personalised medicine currently exists, its strictly small batch stuff, as compounding (the manual preparation of individualised drug treatments) is difficult, time-consuming, and lacks quality control. But now Helsinki startup CurifyLabs is automating the process by bringing 3D drug printing to hospitals and veterinary facilities. 3D printing creates the…
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The Schengen area, the largest border control-free travel zone in the world, may soon expand to include three new members. Currently, it comprises of 22 EU member states and four countries outside the Union: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Now, Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria — the youngest EU members — are on the right track to becoming part of Schengen. And this is a good thing for startups and businesses in the bloc. Last week, MPEs of the European Parliament approved the introduction of Croatia, urging the Council to move forward with the process and a final decision, having itself…
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Ahh, the pain of digital content. You want to buy one audiobook, or listen to a single premium podcast, but a damn paywall means you have to pay for a subscription to a whole platform. Sure, it might open you to new content, but more likely results in a subscription you never use. Or, even worse, accidentally auto-renew. But a Swedish startup is here to take away your pain: Sesamy. It’s the brainchild of the people behind Acast, the world’s largest podcasting platform. Simply put, Sesamy enables you to purchase single audiobooks, ebooks, and podcasts without needing a subscription. So…
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Programming’s big dirty secret is that everyone has, at some point in their career, broken something big. Big like, wiping the full production database on their first day of work, killing the live application while multiple sales people are showing it to clients, or bringing down half the internet by passing on the wrong piece of data. Oops. There are a million reasons why things go wrong, and not all are completely avoidable. But having a good setup for testing new code can at least mitigate some of the worst errors. Traditionally, deploying new code to a website or application…
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You’d think the Dutch had already covered their entire country with bike paths, but no, there’s more to be done. That’s why, this week, the Netherland’s national government announced a €780 million investment in cycling infrastructure. Combined with existing municipal and provincial commitments, it brings the total investment to €1.1 billion by 2030. This country has cycling in its veins. On a mission to reduce car journeys, the government is finding transport alternatives to get people to leave their cars at home — or not buy one in the first place. Meaningful last-mile solutions Bike infrastructure at railway stations is…
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Italy has introduced a new facial recognition ban, but it features a glaring exemption that is set to echo across the EU. The new ruling outlaws the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) — unless it’s used for crime fighting or judicial investigations. Italy’s Data Protection Agency pledged to maintain the ban until new legislation is adopted, or at least until the end of 2023. “The moratorium stems from the need to regulate eligibility requirements, conditions, and guarantees relating to facial recognition, in compliance with the principle of proportionality,” the watchdog said on Monday in a statement. Civil rights advocates…
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A team of researchers at the University of Sofia in Bulgaria may have figured out a novel method for detecting wormholes — assuming, of course, they exist at all. Wormholes are theoretical shortcuts through space and time. Supposedly, if you were to fly a spaceship into one, you could travel massive distances in a relatively short amount of time. This is quite different from a typical black hole — an object from which not even light can escape. The problem with trying to detect wormholes is that they look a lot like black holes. Currently, we don’t have the technology…
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London might be calling, but despite the rich seam of opportunities to mine in this capital of both England and the United Kingdom, it’s not a particularly easy time to carve out a career here. With a long history as one of the world’s top financial capitals, this is a costly place to live.The city tied for 17th place with Helsinki, a notoriously expensive location, in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living index in 2021. The index is compiled by comparing prices in US dollars for goods and services in 173 global cities. While this is just…
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All over Europe, companies are looking to reduce energy costs and their carbon footprint. And it’s more than just talk — the weekend saw the world’s largest floating (offshore) wind farm, Hywind Tampen, begin energy production. Developed by Equinor and located about 140 kilometres off the coast of Norway, the floating wind farm is the first in the world to power offshore oil and gas platforms. The wind farm is estimated to meet about 35% of the annual electricity power demand of five of the Gullfaks and Snorre partners’ rigs. Of course, this percentage will increase when wind speed is…
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The idea of using waves as an energy source is far from new; in fact, attempts have been documented as early as 1799. But since then, harnessing wave power for commercial applications has proven to be a challenging pursuit: devices are vulnerable to harsh weather conditions, they have a high capital cost, or simply don’t produce enough power to make for a viable business project. But Scotland-based AWS Ocean Energy aims to change that. The startup has reported results 20% better than expected for its Archimedes Waveswing, a prototype wave energy generator that, for the past six months, has been…
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Graphene’s spec sheet reads like a superhero’s profile. Two hundred times stronger than steel, a million times thinner than a human hair, and a thousand times more conductive than copper, it’s no surprise the substance is called a “wonder material.” When the sheet of carbon was first isolated in 2004 at Manchester University, the breakthrough rocked the scientific world. Countless applications for the “miracle substance” were envisioned, from storing solar power to stitching batteries into bodies. At the EU, plans to capitalize on the material’s promise were drawn up. In 2013, the bloc launched the Graphene Flagship, an initiative to…
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Digitals maps and navigation apps have become an integral part of not only how we move, but also how businesses and entire industries operate. Think about it. Geolocation data is necessary for delivery companies to bring goods to your doorstep, for ride-hailing apps to get you to your destination, and for automotive brands to make the most out of their driver assistance systems (ADAS) technology. The list of examples goes on and on. The requirement for location-based mapping services has increased to such an extent that the global digital map market is expected to rise by $33.18 billion in the…
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If you’re planning a new meeting room in your coworking space or startup office, you better buy that big-screen TV soon. From March 1st, 2023, the EU is set to ban all 8K TVs and some 4K models from the European market. That’s gotta suck if you have made booking the boardroom out to play Minecraft under the pretence of a meeting a fine art. What’s behind the ban? EU legislation on energy labelling aims to eliminate the least efficient products from the market. Since September 1st, 2021, every television and screen label has included the electricity consumption in kWh for 1,000 hours…
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A robot fish that collects microplastics from waterways has been turned from an idea into a working prototype. The design was brought to life after it won the University of Surrey’s public competition, the Natural Robotics Contest. The contest, which ran in the summer of 2022, invited the public to submit an idea for a bio-inspired robot that could help the world. An international panel of judges chose the robot fish concept designed by student Eleanor Mackintosh because it could help reduce the amount of plastic pollution in water. The winning design was subsequently turned into a functioning prototype. What the…
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Elon Musk is causing consternation among his new employees. According to Bloomberg News, Twitter’s new owner is set to cut around 3,700 jobs – about half the company’s workforce. Those who remain are also bracing for upheaval. Musk reportedly intends to scrap the platform’s work-from-anywhere policy and mandate returns to offices from Monday. The U-turn has reignited calls for legal rights to work-from-home on both sides of the Atlantic. Changing times Musk’s mooted move would scrap a groundbreaking policy. In 2020, Twitter became one of the first tech firms to allow staff to work from home indefinitely. The policy quickly proved…
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The Big Bang theory is, arguably, the most accepted science-based origin story for our universe. Too bad it might be a work of total fiction. European astrophysicist Sunny Vagnozzi, of the University of Trento and Cambridge University, alongside Israeli-American researcher Avi Loeb, of Harvard University, today published a (potentially) landmark research paper indicating that everything we think we know about the universe’s origins could be completely wrong. According to their work, the Big Bang was more of a Big Bounce. Their paper details a scenario wherein our universe, as we observe it, is merely the result of a previous cosmological phase…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Kalen McKlevey. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. When we think of negotiation, we picture intense discussions that go back and forth between two parties discussing a deal over huge sums of money. One side has a price in mind and won’t budge, the other has a budget in mind and won’t budge. Either one side adapts or both parties walk away. Add in the power struggle of appearing…
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Today is November 3, World Smart Home day — and that means it’s the perfect time to discuss the Internet of Things (IoT). We recently saw the launch (finally!) of Matter, an industry-unifying open standard for smart homes. If you’re building IoT devices, this (excuse the pun) matters. Let’s dive into what it’s all about — and especially what it means for European businesses. What is Matter? Matter-certified smart lightbulbs Traditionally, smart home devices exist across several ecosystems with limited interoperability. They don’t play nicely together and are plagued by the requirement for multiple apps, complex set-ups, and configurations. On…
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Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse dream is giving investors nightmares. His $10 billion annual bet on an “embodied internet” preceded a plunge in Meta’s value, a first-ever quarterly revenue decline, and grim forecasts for growth. Horizon Worlds, his initial foray in the space, has only added to concerns. The social platform is regularly derided for slow uptake, persistent bugs, and risible avatars. Despite the mounting criticisms, Zuckerberg remains bullish about making Facebook a “metaverse company.” But for Herman Narula, the CEO of UK unicorn Improbable, Meta’s vision overlooks a fundamental issue. “The problem is VR,” Narula said last week at Stanford University. “The…
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Once again, Gen Z leads from behind when it comes to the issues that affect the workplace. All through the pandemic, it has been this cohort that has self-assuredly shown the rest of the working populace how they’d really like things to be done. Studies show that this is the generation that is most values-driven, wants to know that the company they work for is strongly supporting diversity goals, and has an innate need for work-life balance. Gen Z is also the TikTok generation. As much else in their lives is played out on social platforms, so are snippets of…
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Around once a year, a magical thing happens: Apple releases a new version of macOS. When this hallowed day rolls around, you have one option and one option only: to make things as hard for your computer as possible. Look, life’s hard. Actually, life’s more than hard, it’s brutal. Every day is a challenge that’s more pressing than the last. So I ask you this… why should your computer have it so easy? If I want to update my life, it takes months, if not years, of hard work for some incremental change — but Apple thinks my computer should…
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You might wish you were more passionate about your job. Or that you had the kind of job you could at least imagine being passionate about. Something that made you jump out of bed in the morning, excited about a new day filled with fist pumps and joy. But psychologists differentiate between two types of work-related passion — and they may not both appeal, even if you’re more than a little fed up with your current role. “Harmonious” work passion refers to situations in which a person not only enjoys their job, but also has control over their relationship with…
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Every new car release means another competitor for brands — and the industry seems to be pumping out new vehicles every day. Companies are chasing every avenue to attract customers in this competitive market. And the latest? Well, that’d be gaming. Besides, of course, a vehicle’s visual appeal and the joy of being in the driver’s seat, designers are focusing their attention on our overall in-car experience. This is especially the case with EVs and their time-zapping charging. Sitting in the car gets boring, and carmakers want to entertain us. One company entering this space is N-Dream, the Swiss startup…
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The war in Ukraine extends beyond the front lines. While soldiers risk their lives on battlefields, those left defend the home front — and the economy. The conflict has ravaged businesses, but the tech ecosystem has shone amid the gloom. In the first quarter of this year, the industry generated a record $2 billion in export services. IT Arena 2022, an annual conference in the city of Lviv, showcased the sector’s vital role in the war — and in the peace that will follow. The event is the brainchild of Lviv IT Cluster, a community of companies, authorities, and universities…
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There was a time, long, long ago, that Europe sat at the top of the phone industry. Nokia was the most used handset in the world, Sony Ericsson made beloved devices, and people actually talked about Siemens. This, of course, didn’t last. While their downfall was multifaceted and took several years, it can be roughly linked to the time when our old dumb phones morphed into the touchscreen polymaths they are today. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Siemens Mobile crumbled, and Europe’s smartphone dominance vanished. In their place Apple and Samsung rose, companies that now dominate Europe’s smartphone market. The stats…
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Job hunting is exhausting, and it can be tempting to try and find shortcuts. However, no success comes from a lazy approach to cover letters. Like the marathon runner who takes a shortcut to cut out hours of hard work, a job seeker who sends generic cover letters to each employer is never going to win gold. The cover letter is your first impression, and needs to pique the interest of the hiring manager enough that they want to continue reading, but also want to seek out your CV to learn more about you. It’s that important. The ideal cover…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Adrien Book. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. Let me tell you about the future of work. You’ll work on something you love, without having to interview. You’ll work for numerous employers, all of which will pay you based on a contract you didn’t sign. You’ll compete for rewards with colleagues you don’t know, but you’ll see everything they do. You’ll get a say in the organization’s strategy, but…
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The conventional SUV is an environmental offender. Research in 2019 found that the vehicles were the second largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade — eclipsing even behemoths like aviation and trucks. But Polestar aims to redeem the category, launching their third vehicle: Polestar 3. This is the company’s very first SUV — and it’s all-electric, as well as underpinned by some serious sustainability cred. I attended the launch last week and got an up-close look at it. Sorry, but SUVs are popular First, let’s address the elephant in the room. It’s an…
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The good news first: The European cybersecurity market was valued at €28.05 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach €53.52 billion by 2027, with an average compound annual growth rate of 24.4% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Here’s some even better news: there are multiple cities and regions across Europe where a cybersecurity professional can locate — or relocate — to nurture a flourishing career in this rapidly growing sector. As we accelerate our cloud adoption and do more of our banking and shopping online, the potential for malicious actors to access our data increases; therefore the need for…
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The human body is miraculous. Just take the immune system for example. This adapts to pathogens and viruses, learning how they operate, and changing itself to deal with them. This means that once your immune system has come into contact with an attacker, it’s better prepared in the future. Because I’m an optimist, this is how I choose to believe computers work too. Don’t believe all the naysayers out there who claim that a laptop and a body are totally different things and work in utterly different ways. They’re small minded. Getting a virus or malware on your machine won’t…
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The European quantum computing sector might be the most exciting field in tech. Funding is at an all-time high and the number of quantum startups is increasing year over year. Yet the global media tends to portray the EU and UK as potential runners up in the supposed quantum computing race. In order to understand Europe’s position in the global quantum computing market we need to roll the clock back a couple years. Investors and entrepreneurs began flocking to quantum during the COVID-19 tech boom and, despite the expected post-pandemic drop off, analysts are predicting a massive increase in market…
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Europe’s political elite tend to focus on Gig work and platforms as the harbingers of a dystopian nightmare. A picture has been painted of workers with less freedom and fewer options; humans becoming slaves to algorithms and monopoly-seeking companies. More recently, out of the chaos of the early days of the pandemic, a new story shot into the public consciousness: a generation breaking free from the clutches of traditional working arrangements. For the first time, people are demanding increased flexibility with regard to where, when and how they work, with recent technological advances making this a viable possibility. This is…
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It’s a sunny time for solar power — and for good reason: it’s abundant, renewable, and sustainable. As the world is turning towards alternative energy sources, solar is the fastest growing renewable. In fact, it accounts for over half of the 302GW of renewable capacity installed internationally in 2021. But there’s still a long way to go. And one sector that solar can have a seismic difference? Consumer tech. Swedish deeptech startup Exeger entered this space in 2009, with the vision to harness solar energy for consumer electronics and make battery life woes a thing of the past. Now, 13…
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My cravings for meat are well-known to regular readers (hi mum!). But as a self-righteous vegetarian, I refuse to dine on murdered animals. Those beliefs are now being challenged by a heretic: cultivated meat. Cultivated meat, also known as cultured meat, brings the farm to the lab. Cells are collected from an animal, grown in vitro, and then shaped into familiar forms of edible flesh. Industry advocates proffer myriad benefits — and needs. According to the UN, around 80 billion animals are slaughtered each year for meat. This livestock produces an estimated 14.5% of global greenhouse gasses, grazes across 26%…
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Despite fears of a looming recession, global economic pressures, and worries over recent layoffs in many tech firms over the spring and summer, the jobs picture across Europe is still broadly good. Particularly so in tech where many areas within the IT industry are thought to be (so far) fairly recession-proof, notably across industries like AI, cybersecurity, and cloud services. In fact, the tech scene is currently experiencing levels of growth we haven’t seen since the early days of the dot.com bubble, with global IT expenditure expected to hit $4.5 trillion by early 2023 — a 5.1% increase, according to…
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Renewable energy is all the rage, but while homeowners can install things like solar panels, renters are being left behind. Fortunately, a Berlin startup is trying to change that. We Do Solar was founded in September 2021 by Karolina Attspodina and Qian Qin. They’ve created a solar panel kit that you can attach to your balcony or fence — and can help renters reduce their energy bills by up to 25%. The panels come with mounting straps, a micro-inverter, and a plug. They can be attached to a balcony railing or privacy screen. Once installed, connected, and plugged in, you…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Luis Minvielle. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. Many people might feel old in 2022 (remember how the 2012 London Olympics seem to have happened just yesterday? The 10-year-anniversary YouTube promotional video might drop anytime), but being aging and cranky shouldn’t stop anyone from attempting to become a programmer. With an ever-demanding tech market, researchers expect the German IT market to be worth US$129 billion in 2025 — boosting…
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Over the last decade, the maritime industry has undergone a digital transformation to increase efficiencies, save money, gain greater insights into vessels and cargo, and develop new business models. But digitization has created a playground for cybercriminals who are benefiting from the industry’s security shortfalls across cargo ships, cruisers, boats, yachts, and passenger ferries – and their infrastructure. Historically, ship owners protected themselves from pirates with weapons. Today, criminals also use an arsenal of digital weapons to attack. And globally, the maritime industry is struggling to keep up as cybercriminals get faster and smarter. Fortunately, Europe is leading in the…
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The future is green, because it has to be. There’s no denying our climate is in crisis. In the last year, we have seen soaring summer temperatures across Europe, raging forest fires in parts of North America, and terrifying floods in Australia and Pakistan. To save our planet and our future, we need innovative ideas and new ways of thinking. Different business sectors have been scrambling to become more eco-conscious, but one area that is driving change is mobility. Mobility covers a wide range of products and services from electric bikes and scooters, to car-sharing apps, and electric vehicles, right…
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Content provided by IBM and TNW. Today’s AI systems are quickly evolving to become humans’ new best friend. We now have AIs that can concoct award-winning whiskey, write poetry, and help doctors perform extremely precise surgical operations. But one thing they can’t do — which is, on the surface, far simpler than all those other things — is use common sense. Common sense is different from intelligence in that it is usually something innate and natural to humans that helps them navigate daily life, and cannot really be taught. In 1906, philosopher G. K. Chesterton wrote that “common sense is a…
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Content provided by IBM and TNW. Babies learn to talk from hearing other humans — mostly their parents — repeatedly produce sounds. Slowly, through repetition and discovering patterns, infants start connecting those sounds to meaning. Through a lot of practice, they eventually manage to produce similar sounds that humans around them can understand. Machine learning algorithms work much in the same way, but instead of having a couple of parents to copy from, they use data, painstakingly categorized by thousands of humans who have to manually review the data and tell the machine what it means. However, this tedious and…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Luis Minvielle, Inês Almeida. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. You’ve probably read this before: the Netherlands is an English-speaker’s paradise. Tied with the Nordic countries for proficiency, more than 90% of Dutch people speak English fluently. Indeed, language does not seem to be a barrier for developers looking to settle in the Netherlands, since companies seem to evaluate experience over speaking Dutch. Our research shows that in 2022…
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This article was originally published on .cult by Mikaella C, Inês Almeida. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. Last year we brought you our first comprehensive breakdown of developer salaries in Germany. We used extensive data gathered over the course of five years, breaking down all the variables that go into making up that magic number: your salary. In 2021, we found that while COVID-19 impacted developer hirings, it didn’t make a noticeable difference in salary. In…
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A UK scale-up this week unveiled an industry-first approach to identity verification: asking users to turn their heads. Onfido, an Oxford University spin-out, launched the software amid surging identity fraud. Growing economic pressures, increasing digitization, and pandemic-fuelled upheaval recently led politicians to warn that a “fraud epidemic” is sweeping across Onfido’s home country of the UK. Similar developments have been observed around the world. In the US, for instance, around 49 million consumers fell victim to identity fraud in 2020 — costing them a total of around $56 billion. These trends have triggered a boom in the ID verification market.…
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References: Didn’t they go out with the ark? These days we are far more inclined to think that all the power in job hunting lies in employee referral programmes or social media recommendations, and as a result, lots of job seekers forget about the power of a good reference. According to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey, 92% of employers conduct background checks, usually during pre-employment screening (87%). Some even repeat checks on an annual basis (15%) or when an employee is promoted (10%). Top tech companies such as Google, Stripe, Meta, and Microsoft all rely heavily on…
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You’ve got a brand new MacBook? Perfect. Now’s the time for you to completely ruin its battery, to ensure it only lasts for minutes when you’re out and about. I mean, what’s the point in your laptop being portable? As far as I’m concerned, none. That’s why we’ve put together a handy guide outlining everything you should do to mess up your MacBook’s battery as quickly as possible. And yes, you are very welcome. Keep all your apps running all of the time Answer me this: what’s the fastest way to open that bit of software you sometimes need? You…
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In the age of Google, we all naturally turn to the internet when we’re facing a challenge. For example, “How do you snake a drain?”, “What’s the best way to get over a hangover?”, or perhaps even, “How do I land my dream job?.” If you’re currently in the market for a new career, you’ve probably spent a little bit of time trawling through websites and blogs searching for sound advice. On the whole, the message is generally the same: use your network, dress appropriately, create an impressive online portfolio, yadda yadda. For years, we’ve listened to the same advice.…
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The digital platform economy has exploded in the last few years. According to European Commission figures, over 28 million people in the EU work through digital labor platforms today. By 2025, their number is expected to reach 43 million. Workforce digitalization, which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, has radically changed the European labor market. For some people, that means insecure contracts and stressful working conditions. While others are fortunate enough to freely embrace platform work as a way of escaping the 9-to-5 and increasing economic opportunities. It’s a really complicated issue, and these are the treacherous waters European policymakers are…
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Lithium-ion batteries have become a key component in the rise of electric mobility, but forecasting their health and lifespans is limiting the technology. While they’ve proven successful, the capacity of lithium-ion batteries degrades over time, and not just because of the ageing process that occurs during charging and discharging — known as “cycling ageing.” Batteries also degrade when not in use Lithium-ion battery cells also suffer degradation from so-called “calendar ageing,” which occurs during storage, or simply when the battery is not in use. It’s determined by three main factors: the rest state of charge (SOC), the rest temperature, and…
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Researchers from DeepMind, the UK’s juggernaut AI lab, have forsaken the noble games of chess and Go for a more plebeian delight: football. The Google sister company yesterday published a research paper and accompanying blog post detailing its new neural probabilistic motor primitives (NPMP) — a method by which artificial intelligence agents can learn to operate physical bodies. Per the blog post: An NPMP is a general-purpose motor control module that translates short-horizon motor intentions to low-level control signals, and it’s trained offline or via RL by imitating motion capture (MoCap) data, recorded with trackers on humans or animals performing…
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When it comes to mobility, the future is electric, and that means a lot of batteries. Unfortunately, batteries can potentially catch fire or explode, causing fast, ferocious fires. But we might have a solution – or several solutions. This article is Part Three, the final of a series I’ve been writing on lithium-ion battery fires in escooters and ebikes. Part One explored the incidence of battery fires, while Part Two looked at causation. Today I’m focusing on prevention. Let’s jump in: Prevent the fire from occurring What if we could prevent a fire from happening in the first instance? The…
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Scientists have tapped neuromorphic computing to keep robots learning about new objects after they’ve been deployed. For the uninitiated, neuromorphic computing replicates the neural structure of the human brain to create algorithms that can deal with the uncertainties of the natural world. Intel Labs has developed one of the most notable architectures in the field: the Loihi neuromorphic chip. Loihi is comprised of around 130,000 artificial neurons, which send information to each other across a “spiking” neural network (SNN). The chips had already powered a range of systems, from an smart artificial skin to an electronic “nose” that recognizes scents emitted from…
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Europe is experiencing one of the hottest summers on record. July 18th was the hottest day recorded in France in almost 20 years and London experienced a sweltering 40 degrees for the first time ever in July. Countries like Switzerland and Sweden also broke their previous records. When the weather is this hot, it’s hard to focus on anything work-related. Emails seem just a little bit unimportant when your friends are going on a beach trip. Meetings are a nuisance when you want to sunbathe in the back garden in peace. However, if you’re currently searching for your next role…
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A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics recently demonstrated a record-breaking experiment that could turn the quantum computing industry on its head. The quantum slalom One of the biggest challenges facing STEM researchers today is the difficulty of building a fault-tolerant, stable quantum computer. In essence, modern physicists are darting back and forth between trying to scale quantum computers to functional sizes and attempting to squelch all the noisy errors as the systems grow. When it comes to qubits, the quantum equivalent of computer bits, bigger is usually better. But it’s also much noisier. The…
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Nikita Gourianov, a physicist at Oxford university, yesterday published a scathing article full of wild, damning claims about the field of quantum computing and the scientists who work in it. According to Gourianov, the quantum computing industry has been led astray by greedy physicists who’ve hyped up the tech’s possibilities in order to rip off VCs and get paid private-sector salaries for doing academic research. Double, double Per Gourianov’s article, the real problems started in the 2010s after investors started taking notice of the hype surrounding quantum physics: As more money flowed in, the field grew, and it became progressively…
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If you’re impressed by the recent spate of text-to-image generators, get ready for the next step in AI artistry: text-to-video. While the huge compute costs and scarcity of text-to-video datasets have stunted the technique’s growth, recent research has brought the promise closer to reality. A computer artist called Glenn Marshall has given a glimpse at the potential. The Belfast-based composer recently won the Jury Award at the Cannes Short Film Festival for his AI film The Crow. Marshall had previously earned plaudits for an AI-generated Daft Punk video, but he applied a different approach to The Crow. While his earlier technique…
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