The subscription model beloved of software is now creeping into cars. Volkswagen has become the latest automaker to adopt the pricing structure. The German marque has introduced a monthly subscription fee to access the full performance of some of its ID.3 electric vehicles. Auto Express spotted that the Volkswagen ID.3 Pro and Pro S were listed in the UK as producing 201bhp, but could hit 228bhp...
There’s no doubt that Europe has ambition. Over the last decade, we’ve laid the foundation for a thriving digital economy, from regulatory leadership to tech-driven reforms and rapidly growing regional hubs. But infrastructure alone doesn’t build the future; people do. And today, we face the very human challenge of how to win — and retain — the talent that powers innovation. We’re seeing highly...
The scientific world is reeling. New discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope — a joint project by the European Space Agency(ESA), NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) — aren’t just surprising, they’re contradicting our deepest assumptions about how the universe works. Fundamentally, it seems the universe may not be playing by the rules we mostly thought we understood. So, what could...
Arguably the most important thing that the rise of intelligent AI could potentially bring is access. Access to goods, services, and information not just for the few, but for everyone. Victoria Slivkoff, Head of Ecosystem at Walden Catalyst and Managing Director of Extreme Tech Challenge — a nonprofit uniting startups and VCs to accelerate progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs...
“Microbial protein,” says Katelijne Bekers, waving a vial of beige-coloured powder in front of me like it’s a magic potion. It doesn’t look like your typical lunch fare, but this unassuming dust could play a crucial role in the future of food. Bekers is the co-founder of MicroHarvest, a Hamburg and Lisbon-based startup that turns agricultural waste streams into protein powder using microbes —...
Crypto crashes, money laundering, and digital fraud — the EU’s financial watchdogs have had enough. Regulatory bodies need to keep up by rolling out tighter regulations aimed at strengthening consumer protections and stabilising the market. As EU lawmakers scramble to protect consumers, others worry they are smothering growth. Case in point: in 2024, the FCA fined HSBC £6.2mn for not properly...
You’ve spent a lifetime building skills, learning lessons, nurturing relationships, and developing a perspective as prescient and powerful as your personal drive. You’ve poured it all into your business. Now, you have five minutes (or less) to communicate an irresistible vision for the world and convince a panel of respected — and sometimes disrespectful — judges that you can make the vision real...
It’s harvest day at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. As sunshine bathes the leafy university campus, scientists inside the labs work under cool fluorescent light. Clad in green protective gear, they tend meticulously to test tubes within hermetically sealed cleanrooms. The containers hold the fruits of today’s labour: mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Each cell is barely a quarter the width of...
Imagine drones that map disaster zones today and scout military targets tomorrow. Or seismic activity sensors built for construction that go on to detect submarines underwater. These ideas represent the promise of dual-use technologies that serve both civilian and military purposes. For the first time, the European Commission is explicitly proposing to fund them through programmes such as Horizon...
Roei Samuel, founder of networking platform Connectd, has been hiring at speed — 14 roles in six months. But he’s begun to wonder if candidates’ answers are genuine, even on video calls. “I can see their eyes shifting across the screen,” he says. “Then they come back with the perfect answer to a question.” The trust gap between employer and jobseeker is widening, and it’s fast becoming one of the...