Bookmarks (306)

Levels of job satisfaction among young tech workers in Europe have bounced back this year. The proportion of employees feeling unhappy in their role fell from 35% in 2022 to 15% in 2023. The findings come from the Young Generation in Tech report (backed by Eight Roads Ventures Europe and HR platform HiBob), which surveyed 2,000 20- to 30-year olds working in tech across...

Neustark, a spin-off from Switzerland’s ETH Zurich university, has inaugurated its first commercial-scale carbon capture plant in the EU, located at a construction waste recycling facility on the outskirts of Berlin.  The plant, built in partnership with building and recycling company Heim, has the capacity to permanently store over 1,000 tons of CO₂ per year by injecting the gas into granules of demolition concrete....

The decision to permit TikTok in Europe is “insane,” according to Professor Scott Galloway of New York University. At an event in Helsinki last week, Galloway described TikTok as probably “the most ascendant technology company in history” — and “a national defence threat.” The professor’s concerns stem from two key factors: TikTok’s alleged links to the Chinese  government and the platform’s peerless content recommendation...

In the latest round of geopolitical tech chess, the European Commission today published a list of critical technologies to keep safe from geopolitical rivals, in an effort to bolster the bloc’s own economic (and not only) security.  The document, prepared by the Commission’s digital, defence, and trade chiefs in consultation with the member states, will serve as the basis for an outgoing investment and...

Welsh startup Space Forge is preparing for a second shot at propelling its semiconductor manufacturing satellite into orbit.  ForgeStar-1, as the new satellite is known, will be launched from the US either later this year or early next. The satellite contains an automated chemistry lab that allows the remote mixing of chemical compounds and the development of semiconducting alloys.   Space offers a unique environment...

Norwegian startup Hystar has announced plans to construct a fully automated 4GW electrolyser factory on the outskirts of Oslo, scheduled for completion in 2026. The company already operates a small research and production facility at the site, which has 50MW of electrolyser capacity, with first deliveries of actual green hydrogen expected later this year. Hystar  also said it would establish a new headquarters in...

Social media is in the crosshairs of European regulators. In both the EU and UK, sweeping new laws now require platforms to identify and remove illegal content — or face severe penalties. Unitary, a startup based in London, has proposed a solution: an AI-powered moderation tool for videos and images. The system is designed to simultaneously analyse multiple signals. As a result, Unitary can...

Amsterdam-based startup Orquesta today announced an oversubscribed €800,000 pre-seed funding round. The company has developed a platform through which companies can integrate various Large Language Models (LLMs) directly into their business operations.  Generative AI and LLMs have been developing at breakneck speed over the past year — a velocity seemingly matched  by investor appetite for all things GenAI. Indeed, just last week, Europe’s homegrown...

From fusion energy plants and gigantic wind farms to tidal energy mega-turbines, there is no shortage of ambitious renewable energy projects underway in Europe. But when British startup Xlinks announced in 2021 its plans to send several gigawatts of Moroccan solar and wind power to the UK via the world’s longest subsea cable, I’m sure even the most bullish engineers (and investors) were sceptical,...

The European Commission has been too focused on tackling Big Tech and not enough on improving digital services for citizens. That is according to Poland’s minister of digital affairs, Janusz Cieszyński. He believes the EU needs to shift its digital policy focus to helping Europeans interact with government services. Speaking to TNW at the recent Tallinn Digital Summit in Estonia, Janusz Cieszyński said that...

While on a tour to woo UK lawmakers ahead of the adoption of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, Daniel Ek has taken a swing at big tech’s dominance.  The Spotify CEO urged the UK to “show leadership” as it prepared to regulate big tech according to its own agenda outside of the EU. However, it is unclear just exactly how much further...

Anything World, a 3D content creation startup, has launched a new AI tool that rapidly rigs and animates static models. The product, named Animate Anything, aims to democratise 3D animation and game development. To use the tool, creators can upload any version of their own static 3D model. After a few steps to check the rig, mesh, and rotation, a fully-animated 3D model will...

Europe’s startup contribution to the generative AI bonanza, Mistral, has released its first model. Mistral 7B is free to download and be used anywhere — including locally.  French AI developer Mistral says its Large Language Model is optimal for low latency, text summarisation, classification, text completion, and code completion. The startup has opted to release Mistral 7B under the Apache 2.0 licence, which has...

The European Space Agency (ESA) is enabling tech companies to take part in its Terrae Novae exploration programme, calling for proposals for small missions to the Moon. Sending the first European astronaut to explore the Moon’s surface stands at the core of the Terrae Novae 2030+ strategy. It further aims to boost Europe’s presence in low-Earth orbit and participate in the first human mission...

The UK government has quietly dismissed the independent advisory board of its Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) — tasked with promoting the responsible deployment of data and AI technologies, especially within the public sector. The board’s webpage was officially shut down on September 9, but a rather uninformative public announcement was released only yesterday. Recorded Future News (which first broke the news)...

European Union bureaucracy might not conjure the most exciting of connotations. However, being part of the “infinity team” surely puts a superhero-esque spin on your average Frankfurt grey high-rise working day.  Minute takers watch out. After surveying employees on where deploying generative AI could be most effective, the ECB’s newly established working group has launched nine trials, the results of which could speed up...

In six years time, the UK will house what’s set to become the world’s most powerful laser. According to its developers, it will be “a million, billion, billion times brighter” than the brightest daylight of the Sahara Desert. To realise this ambitious endeavour, the Central Laser Facility (CLF) of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) will begin construction of the laser at its...

After lobbying against it for years, Apple was recently forced to make a change it didn’t want to make. To comply with the EU’s new rules on standardising mobile chargers, the tech giant has ditched its Lightning charging cable for a USB-C wire. Now, Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, is asking the company to take a step further. That is, “opening up gates...

JPMorgan’s digital bank Chase will restrict all cryptocurrency-related transactions for its customers in the UK, as lenders step up measures to tackle fraud on their networks. Starting 16 October, customers of Chase Bank in the UK will no longer be able to make crypto transactions using their debit cards or through outgoing bank transfers.  Chase, which offers fee-free banking via its mobile app, has...

In the first two weeks of October, Volkswagen will stop making two of its flagship EV models at a pair of its factories in Germany. The automaker is citing shrinking demand, fuelled by recent cuts to government subsidies.  Production of VW’s ID.3 and Cupra’s Born will be put on hold at the carmaker’s main EV factory in Zwickau until October 16. Assembly of the...

German energy giant RWE has put a new airborne wind test facility in Ireland to work for the first time, as it explores alternative forms of green electricity.  The experimental technology was developed by Dutch startup Kitepower. It connects a large kite to a generator with an ultra-strong rope, generating electricity as the kite goes up in altitude. “Kitepower, as the name suggests, uses...

Spotify has launched a new feature today called “Jam,” which will give you and your buddies a way to curate a shared playlist and listen to it together in real-time.   Unlike existing multi-playlist features Blend and Duo Mix, Jam will sync everyone’s playback so you’re all listening to the same songs simultaneously — whether you’re in the same room, or scattered across the world. ...

The EU Commission has blocked Booking’s €1.6bn takeover of Swedish online travel agency Etraveli, citing competition concerns. “Booking’s acquisition of Etraveli would strengthen Booking’s dominant position in the online travel agencies market and likely lead to higher costs for hotels and, possibly, consumers,” said Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice. According to the Commission, Booking is already the leading online hotel agency in the EEA,...

AI has thrust deeper into carnal pleasures with the launch of a new “roleplaying” chatbot system. The feature is the brainchild of Bloom, an erotic audio platform based in Germany. The app also comes with 800 original sex stories, which range from the vanilla to the kinky (anyone for sploshing?). Some of the tales offer guided erotic play, while others feature creator content from...

London-based startup Bioniq, which creates hyper-personalised supplements for its customers — who range from pro athletes to regular people on the quest for longer life — has gone global. Founded in 2019, Bioniq leverages a patented algorithm based on blood test data from more than 40,000 people across 4 million biochemical data points to create a supplement regime tailor-made to your body and health...

With the plethora of legitimate streaming options available today, you’d be forgiven for thinking pirated TV shows were a thing of the past. But a new study by the EU’s Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) shows that after a multi-year decline, online piracy is on the up.  The study, based on data from UK piracy tracking firm MUSO, suggests that there was a notable increase...

The world’s first self-stabilising walking exoskeleton, Atlante X,  has entered a rehabilitation trial in Germany. The exoskeleton will be provided to patients with hemiparesis, an after-effect of stroke that causes muscle weakness on one side of the body. Atalante X’s efficacy will be compared with standard rehabilitation methods. The trial, named EarlyExo, will take place at two renowned neurorehabilitation clinics: the Vivantes Klinikum Spandau...

The future of influence is here: a digital avatar that captivates millions of adoring fans while offering unparalleled customisation and round-the-clock availability. Virtual influencers are transforming the way content is created, consumed and marketed online. They represent an electrifying dance between cutting-edge technology and our desire for connection. But, at the same time, they are yet another product being peddled by marketers that want...

Poland’s data protection watchdog is investigating OpenAI’s ChatGPT after an unnamed complainant accused the company of GDPR breaches. “The case concerns the violation of many provisions on the protection of personal data, which is why we will ask OpenAI to answer a number of questions in order to thoroughly conduct the administrative proceedings,” said Jan Nowak, president of the country’s Personal Data Protection Office...

ChatGPT is a hot topic at my university, where faculty members are deeply concerned about academic integrity, while administrators urge us to “embrace the benefits” of this “new frontier.” It’s a classic example of what my colleague Punya Mishra calls the “doom-hype cycle” around new technologies. Likewise, media coverage of human-AI interaction — whether paranoid or starry-eyed — tends to emphasise its newness. In...

The EU’s Chips Act finally entered into force yesterday (September 21), after spending over a year winding its way through the legislature. The landmark law is designed to bolster the bloc’s domestic supply, sovereignty, and competitiveness in the semiconductor sector. Semiconductor chips are the backbone of all electronic products — and as such, theyr’e fundamental components in everything from smartphones and cars to applications...

Hoxton Farms, a London-based biotech startup, has opened today the UK’s first pilot production facility for cultivated animal fat. Launched in 2020, the company combines cell biology and mathematical modelling to produce cultivated fat from pig and cow stem cells as an ingredient for plant-based meat. Its targets food ingredient suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers of meat alternatives. According to the startup, optimised taste isn’t...

The European Investment Fund (EIF) announced today it would invest €40mn with Blume Equity. Based out of London, the VC was founded by three women in 2020, and invests into European high-growth climate tech scaleups.  Blume Equity backs companies focusing on decarbonisation as well as broader environmental sustainability. These include carbon accounting platform Normative, sustainable femtech startup Elvie, Matsmart Motatos that looks to combat...

On Wednesday, the UK’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiled a new campaign against Meta, urging the tech giant to rethink its plan to roll out end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on Facebook Messenger and Instagram. The company aims to finalise the encryption rollout later this year, but the British government is worried that the move will hinder the detection of child sexual abuse. According to the...

Apple is having a rough time of it in France as of late. As if mandated updates to the iPhone 12 due to radiation concerns weren’t enough, Apple customers in the country may now struggle to get their mitts on the latest model when it’s released.  French Apple store workers have voted to strike at the end of the week — coinciding with the...

The computer systems of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world’s most high-profile war tribunal, were hacked last week, according to a statement released by the court yesterday. The tribunal said that its services detected “anomalous activity” affecting its information systems and that “immediate measures” were adopted to respond to this cybersecurity incident and to mitigate its impact.  The ICC, headquartered in The Hague,...

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has seen exponential growth over the past decade, analysis by the European Patent Office (EPO) reveals. In its latest study, the EPO found that international patent families (IPFs) in 3D printing tech increased at an average rate of 26.3% each year between 2013 and 2020. Notably, this growth rate is nearly eight times faster than the average...

Google DeepMind has unveiled its novel AI tool that can predict whether DNA mutations are likely to cause genetic diseases. The ambition is that it will  facilitate faster diagnosis and development of life-saving treatments. The new AI model, called AlphaMissense, makes predictions about missense mutations, which occur when a single letter is substituted in the DNA code. The letters correspond to four nucleotides: adenine...

Berlin’s corporate carbon accounting platform Plan A has just received a fresh boost of capital in the form of $27mn from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Visa, and others. The ESG reporting SaaS startup will use the money to double its headcount to 240+ employees and expand market presence across Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, France, and the UK.  Greentech software provider Plan A was founded in...

Munich-based autonomous trucking startup Fernride has closed a further $19mn in its Series A funding round, neatly pushing the total amount raised in the round to $50mn.  Founded in 2019, Fernride has developed autonomous vehicle software that converts trucks into self-driving machines. These haulers operate at Level 4 autonomy which means the vehicle can drive itself within a specific area — albeit with a...

Britain’s controversial Online Safety Bill will soon become law after passing through parliament on Tuesday. The sweeping legislation places strict news content moderation rules on social media companies. Platforms will become legally responsible for the material they host. Under the new rules, platforms will have to quickly remove any illegal content — or stop it from appearing in the first place. They also must...

French car battery startup Verkor has secured €2bn to build its first manufacturing plant in France, at a time when Chinese competitors are rapidly gaining market share in Europe.   The funding round includes €650mn in French subsidies, a sizeable level of state support indicative of the government’s commitment to boosting local production of lithium-ion batteries — the beating hearts of electric cars.   Construction of...

The fight against “fake news” appears to have overwhelming support in the EU. According to a new study, 85% of the bloc’s citizens want policymakers to take more action against disinformation, while 89% want increased efforts from platform operators. Just 7% do not feel that stronger responses are required. The findings emerged from surveys by Bertelsmann Stiftung, a pro-business German think tank with close...

When it comes to saving the world — or, let’s face it, civilisation, the planet will recover — there is no silver bullet. Rather, it is going to take a holistic approach of caring for the Earth and each other.  A technological revolution got us into this pickle. Ironically, technology might just be the Hail Mary that will pull us, if not entirely out...

Britain has expanded its principles-based approach to AI regulation, which aims to create a pro-innovation edge over the EU. In an announcement yesterday, the UK government unveiled seven new principles for so-called foundation models (FMs), which underpin applications such as ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Midjourney. Trained on immense datasets and adaptable to various applications, these systems are at the epicentre of the AI boom....

Dutch packaging and materials manufacturer Avery Dennison has opened what it claims to be Europe’s largest concentrated solar thermal platform and storage unit at its factory in Turnhout, Belgium.   The new thermal solar energy plant comprises 2,240 surface mirrors, with a peak energy yield of 2.7GWh thermal power. It also contains six thermal modules that store energy for when the sun isn’t shining.   Concentrated...

“Should I bother going for this job at all? I’ve never managed anyone.” Clients regularly ask this and my answer tends to be, “Yes, of course you should.” A quick glance at a job spec will tell you why. You may not have headed up a team of software engineers but you have most likely done something along the way that proves you could....

ZeroAvia, one of the leading zero-emission aviation companies in the world, just announced its largest financing round to date. The funding round was co-led by Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, and NEOM. Other participants included Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Alaska Airlines, and the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund. No exact funding amount has been disclosed due to legal reasons, but a spokesperson for the...

Europe’s dawdling on the Ariane 6 is becoming increasingly costly as the new era of space race exploration — and exploitation — heats up. The Exploration Company, based in Bordeaux and Munich, has just signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in service of its aim of making it to the Moon by 2028.  The startup will partner with ISRO’s commercial arm,...

European startups got just $1bn of the €22bn that VCs have invested in generative AI since 2019, according to data from Dealroom. Unsurprisingly, American companies attracted the bulk of the money. A whopping $20bn — 89% of the global total — went to US startups. Their Asian counterparts raised only $790mn, while the rest of the world combined bagged just $454mn. Dealroom’s data collection...