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The obscure world of quantum computing is emerging from the lab and into the public domain — fuelled by Big Tech’s recent progress in quantum processors. In the past few months alone, Google launched a chip called Willow, Microsoft unveiled Majorana, and this week, Amazon revealed Ocelot. While tech giants are making great strides, these companies are still working in dozens of qubits — far from...
It’s no secret that European tech has a gender equity problem. Men dominate the leadership of most companies in the sector. Women founders struggle to raise VC money, and there’s a stark pay gap between male and female workers. This gender imbalance is especially glaring in the STEM-dominated world of deep tech. Women lead just 22% of European deep tech companies, according to a new report from...
Opera has previewed a new AI agent feature that promises to complete online tasks on your behalf, based on simple, written prompts. Want to book a flight but don’t want to spend ages comparing prices? Tell the bot your preferred flight times, seats, and budget and it’ll get to work in the background, letting you carry on with whatever it was you were doing. Once it’s done, it’ll add the item to...
British autonomous driving startup Wayve is set to establish a testing and development hub in Germany as it prepares to deploy self-driving vehicles in Europe’s largest automotive market. Wayve’s new hub will be built near Stuttgart, home to big name car brands including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi. Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve, called it the “perfect place” for the company to...
Germany’s armed forces have commissioned Bremen-based startup Polaris to develop a two-stage, fully reusable hypersonic space plane — and given the team just three years to build it. Dubbed Aurora, the 28-metre-long aircraft will be part rocket, part plane — designed to take off and land on a runway but also blast through the atmosphere and place payloads up to 1-ton in low-Earth orbit. Under...
For decades, European tech insiders have looked across the Atlantic with a mix of admiration and frustration. Casting envious eyes on the deep-pocketed VCs, an enormous consumer market, and a pipeline of elite talent, they often view the US as a promised land for business growth. The sentiment fuels calls for Europe to replicate Silicon Valley’s model. But Vidya Peters, CEO of Dutch unicorn...
Gene-edited pig livers, synthetic embryos, and 3D-printed tissue implants… the world of organ transplantation is becoming increasingly bizarre as scientists explore high-tech ways to keep people alive. These experiments are birthing new business opportunities. One company cashing in is University of Oxford spinout OrganOx, which this week secured $142mn in funding to fuel its expansion in the US...
Most of us share and store huge amounts of personal data online, from our names and addresses to photos of our loved ones. In many ways, firms like Apple, Google, and Meta are the gatekeepers of this sensitive information. But what happens when the authorities come knocking? It appears that Silicon Valley often rolls over and complies. Over the last 10 years, Apple, Google, and Meta have handed...
Venus Williams is most famous for being one of the best tennis players of all time, but she’s also a prolific angel investor. In her latest business move, Williams has backed French startup WeWard. WeWard is a free app that offers real-world rewards for walking. It tracks your steps and lets you earn points (called “Wards”), which can be exchanged for gift cards, donations, or discounts. The goal...
An AI-powered note-taking app developed by Munich-based startup Bliro could offer a more secure way to transcribe audio. Bliro uses natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to extract relevant information from in-person or virtual conversations. It then generates structured meeting notes and automates follow-up tasks. So far, pretty standard. However, unlike popular...