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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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 —...

Copenhagen-based Tiimo has raised an additional $1.6mn in funding to expand its app supporting neurodivergent individuals in their daily life. Neurodivergent individuals — those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other cognitive differences — make up about 15% to 20% the population. However, tailored tools to boost productivity and daily life management for people who think differently are still insufficient. Tiimo is on a mission...

Spectricity has a new target for the startup’s “true colour” camera: skin care analysis. The Belgian company has signed a deal with Korea’s Lululab to develop the application. Together, the partners plan to create a new generation of smart skin care on mobile devices. Spectricity’s unique camera system will collect the underlying images. The tiny snapper is powered by a multispectral sensor, which measures light from...

 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 silent hangar in the UK, the fate of Boeing Starliner, the detention of Pavel Durov in France, renewable...

The cumulative value of Europe’s active unicorns now sits at €447.4bn — 3% higher than in 2023, according to a new report from PitchBook. The report also found that unicorn deal value continued to show signs of recovery during the second quarter of 2024. Specifically, it jumped from €1bn in Q1 to €2.4bn in Q2. The continuous valuation growth of 2024 implies a 12.3% increase...

Google’s plans for a third data centre in Dublin have hit a snag. Unimpressed by the lack of on-site renewable energy sources to power the facility, the South Dublin County Council today announced it had refused the tech giant’s expansion scheme.  Along with many other tech firms, Google has its European headquarters in the Irish capital, and currently employs around 5,000 people in the...

Volkswagen has teamed up with gaming platform AirConsole to make multiplayer games part of the in-car experience for European drivers and passengers. AirConsole offers a large number of casual games, ranging from racing and sports to puzzles and quizzes. The German carmaker expects to launch the feature in the first European countries in September. It will add more countries by the end of the...

A group of six entrepreneurs and angel investors have announced today the launch of their first fund, aiming to support Dutch early-stage tech startups. Named the Dutch Operator Fund I, it has raised €2mn in capital. The amount is provided by the team itself, as well as a loan from the Seed Business Angel scheme of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Investments will range...

The Dutch data protection authority (DPA) has hit Uber with a €290mn fine for transferring personal European driver data to the US. According to the DPA, the transfers constituted a “serious violation” of the EU’s GDPR, as they failed to provide the necessary safeguards for data storage outside the block. Following an investigation, the DPA found that, between August 2021 and November 2023, Uber...

What’s your work from home situation like these days? For Andriy Klen, co-founder and CFO of smart device startup Petcube, it is not only email notifications popping up on his laptop screen, but also incoming missile alerts. He pauses our conversation to follow the rocket’s calculated trajectory, before being notified that it has disappeared from the radar. We continue our call, he from Kyiv,...

In recent years, there have been several attempts at building a hydrogen boat. But UK startup Drift is navigating new territory with a vessel that isn’t hydrogen-powered, but hydrogen-producing.  Drift is developing an autonomous yacht capable of making green hydrogen at sea. It could offer a quicker, more efficient way to produce and transport the fuel, especially in remote regions. “One of our main...

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Spotify’s CEO Daniek Ek have taken aim at European lawmakers for enforcing “stifling” and “inconsistent” regulation that hampers the growth of tech companies. “Instead of clear rules that inform and guide how companies do business across the continent, our industry faces overlapping regulations and inconsistent guidance on how to comply with them,” wrote the pair in an op-ed Wednesday....

Today, divers recovered the body of tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch from the wreckage of his family’s superyacht Bayesian, which sunk off the coast of Sicily on Monday.  Lynch — sometimes referred to as “Britain’s Bill Gates” — was holidaying in Sicily with his family and friends when disaster struck. An intense storm caused the Bayesian to capsize, plunging it to the bottom of the...

Space has become a crowded place. Astronomers estimate that over 10,000 active satellites were in orbit last month — four times as many as just five years ago. The surge in launches has ignited excitement about a new space race. But the cosmic traffic may be heading for a catastrophic crash. Back on Earth, the UK’s Space Operations Centre is tracking the threats with growing alarm. In...

The bodies of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and four others have been recovered from the wreckage of the superyacht Bayesian, the Financial Times reports, citing Italian officials. Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, and four others have been missing since Monday, after an intense storm struck the Bayesian, causing it to sink off the coast of Sicily.  A total of 22 people were on...

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...

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...