~the-next-web | Bookmarks (327)

An AI design startup/generator will swerve the likes of Stable Diffusion after raising $12mn (€11mn) to build its own foundation model. Recraft is billed as the first-ever AI tool for generating and editing vector art, icons, 3D images, and illustrations within a brand’s style guide.  By leveraging generative AI, the product creates layouts, fonts, colours, and illustrations. In the eight months since launch, Recraft...

The European Parliament has called for more fairness and transparency in the music streaming sector, including better pay for smaller artists.  Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) overwhelmingly voted to adopt the new resolution on Wednesday. The motion aims to ensure European musical works avoid being overshadowed by the “overwhelming amount” of content being continually added to streaming platforms.  “The Parliament is giving voice...

A new certification scheme for copyright-compliant AI has launched, but ChatGPT and other text generators won’t qualify. Named Fairly Trained, the initiative arrives amid a brewing backlash against generative AI companies. Many of their tools — from OpenAI’s chatbots to Stability AI’s art generators — are trained on copyrighted content that’s scraped from the web. Inspired by this data, the systems then deliver endless creations...

In a move that has sparked widespread criticism from scientists and politicians alike, the UK government has approved plans to install carbon capture technology at Britain’s largest power plant. Under the plans, power generator Drax will install so-called bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology at two of four biomass units at the Drax power station in Yorkshire. Drax switched from burning coal...

AI translation has transformed the way we communicate, breaking down language barriers in an unprecedented way. The sector’s global market size is projected to reach $12.3bn (€11.3bn) by 2026 — and big and small players alike are aiming to cash in. Among them, Cologne-based DeepL has been raising industry standards even compared to tech giants like Google Translate and Microsoft Translator. “We’ve always been...

The EU has launched the Nostradamus project, aiming to enable high-level cybersecurity with quantum tech. Led by Deutsche Telekom, Nostradamus is an industry consortium, including academia and companies such as Thales and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. Its mission is to help create a network of quantum-safe communications. Specifically, the consortium plans to build testing infrastructure for quantum key distribution (QKD) and evaluate...

 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 and Linnea talk about the benefits of having a domestic android, micromobility consolidation news in Europe, Elon Musk and Diablo IV, the randomness...

Delft-based QphoX just raised the biggest round of a Dutch quantum startup to date. The €8mn will aid the company in its mission to develop core hardware required to allow quantum computers to communicate over an optical network — a quantum “modem,” if you will. As the quantum computing ecosystem continues to develop globally, it is becoming increasingly clear that no one company will...

UK startup VividQ claims to have created the first-ever holograms with a “retina resolution.” The milestone means holography can now match the resolution and real-life focus cues expected by the human eye, according to VividQ. The result is a “more natural viewing experience than ever before,” the company said. It now plans to deploy the tech in next-generation VR headsets. To create the holograms, the...

Deep Green has announced plans to heat between 100-150 swimming pools nationwide using recycled heat from data centres — and just landed a heap of cash to get the job done.  The London-based startup installs tiny data centres at energy-intensive sites like leisure centre facilities. Its system turns waste heat from the computers into hot water for the site.  In return, cold water from...

German startup Vay has launched a remote-driving service in Las Vegas — and Europe could be next. The rollout brings to market a concept known as “teledriving.” When users open the Vay app and request a ride, an electric vehicle comes to collect them. So far, so Uber — with one big exception: there’s nobody inside the car. Instead, it’s piloted to the pick-up...

Twenty-four European companies have banded together to accuse big tech of not doing enough to engage with smaller rivals ahead of an EU regulatory deadline.  In an open letter, the companies that include eco-friendly search engine Ecosia and Swedish media group Schibsted, say that Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok-owner ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft, should seek their input on how to comply with...

Deep tech startup QDI Systems has secured €5mn in Series A funding to further boost its ambitious mission: revolutionising X-ray imaging and mammography screening using quantum dots technology. Quantum dots are microscopic semiconductor nanoparticles that convert photons into electronic signals. Although first discovered in the 1980s, quantum dots have only recently been used in the electronics and biomedical industry. QDI Systems claims to be...

Swedish battery maker Northvolt has raised €4.6bn to boost the expansion of Europe’s first homegrown gigafactory and support the company’s battery recycling plans. Specifically, the capital will help expand cathode production and cell manufacturing at the Northvolt Ett factory in northern Sweden. It will also enable the development of Revolt Ett, the adjacent recycling plant in the final stages of its commissioning and is currently...

The escalating situation in the Red Sea has forced Tesla to halt production at its gigafactory in Germany, in what marks the latest headache for Elon Musk’s car company in Europe. The carmaker said last week that production at its plant in Berlin, which makes Model Y vehicles and batteries, will be put on hold from January 29 to February 11 due to a...

The Peregrine lunar lander is set to crash back to Earth in a sudden end to a mission that was set to put the first piece of European-built technology — and the human remains of a distinguished British sci-fi author — on the Moon.  Shortly after launching from Cape Canaveral space station on Monday January 8, the spacecraft suffered a “critical loss of propellant”...

Swiss startup Sirius Aviation has unveiled designs for the world’s first hydrogen-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.  The jet, which kind of looks like Night Fury from How to Train Your Dragon, is billed to travel 1,851 km at speeds up to 520 km/h. That is four times as far as competitors like  German eVTOL startup Lilium are targeting using batteries. It will...

As a kid, perhaps unsurprisingly, I was the only person I knew interested in birdwatching. Nevertheless, I regularly went out in nature armed with my binoculars, bird book, and camera, ready to document as many species as I could.  The process was largely manual — spot a bird through the binoculars, snap a pic (if it stood still for long enough), and then try...

A humanoid just has taken a step towards consumer households after robot maker 1x raised a cool $100mn. The Norwegian startup will spend the funds on bringing an android named Neo to the market. The bipedal is designed for everyday domestic tasks, from laundry to tidying. “The once-distant dream of having a versatile, intelligent home assistant is now becoming a reality,” Bernt Øivind Børnich,...

The European Space Agency’s budget for 2024 has hit a record €7.79bn — 10% more than last year. The largest portion of the funds will go to Earth observation (EO), which is allocated almost €2.4bn — around 30.5% of the total. It’s a share that reflects growing demands for satellite-based monitoring of our planet. The data can play a powerful role in managing pressing...

 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 is joined by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, co-founder, member of the board, and former CEO of TNW. The topics discussed include the jobs...

Old Tesla batteries can look forward to new lives thanks to new funding for an energy system built from the ageing power units. The concept is the brainchild of Cactos, a startup based in Finland. Cactos converts the batteries into smart electricity storage units, which optimise energy consumption. Investors are providing growing backing for the approach. Cactos today announced that it’s raised over €26mn in equity...

Europe is electrifying — literally. From EVs to heat pumps, more and more of our critical technologies need to get plugged in. This is a positive step toward net zero, but it is also putting a massive strain on the electricity grid.  Grid congestion is like rush hour traffic on a busy highway — excessive demand for electricity creates bottlenecks and slows the flow...

Antitrust regulators in the EU have joined their British counterparts in scrutinising Microsoft’s alliance with OpenAI. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said on Tuesday that it’s “checking whether the partnership should be reviewed under the EU Merger Regulation.” If such a review is required, it could put the multibillion-dollar deal in danger. The EU’s announcement comes just weeks after British regulators made...