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A space tourism company promising stratospheric balloon rides has unveiled the vehicle’s capsule design. Halo Space is building the balloon for zero-emission commercial flights to altitudes of up to 40km. Tickets will cost a whopping €150,000 each. On each flight, a pilot and eight passengers will enter the pressurised cabin. The helium balloon will then gradually ascend with minimal G-forces to...
With the geopolitical landscape turning more unstable by the day, EU relations with China are also becoming increasingly turbulent. At the core of the rising tensions lies the quest for tech supremacy as well as economic and national security. “In a world powered by technology, those who lead are those who control the most critical technologies, and their supply chains,” EUcompetition chief...
A German startup has secured new funding for a peculiar twisted-looking reactor that could prove a quicker path to clean, virtually limitless fusion energy. Proxima Fusion has raised €20mn as it looks to bring its designs for the so-called stellarator fusion reactor to life. “We are working to deliver a demonstrator of net-energy production in continuous operation by 2031, and a first-of-a-kind...
There’s no escaping the hype around artificial general intelligence. Barely a day passes without a new headline about the concept, which envisions computer systems outperforming humans at various cognitive tasks. In the last month alone, a trio of tech luminaries have added fresh proclamations. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang suggested AGI would arrive within five years. Ben “father of AGI” Goertzel...
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 promising quantum breakthrough, a public funding disaster in Poland, the first Macintosh in Europe, and much more. The guest of...
Backed by state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Italy is committing €1bn to AI development over the course of the next five years. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni first announced the plan for a dedicated AI fund last month. “The purpose of this mechanism is clearly to act as a multiplier and serve to attract further investment,” Meloni said in a video message. CDP’s venture capital arm will...
A vertical farming startup from the UK is taking its technology to new heights. The UK Space Agency has awarded Vertical Future £1.5mn to build an autonomous farm in orbit. The high-tech veggie garden will be installed on the world’s first commercial space station. Currently being constructed by US-based Axiom Space, the station is due to open its doors to eager astronauts in 2026. Space...
Ukraine has launched a defence tech accelerator programme for new startups aiming to deliver innovative solutions for military applications. The Defence Builder Accelerator is a four-month-long training programme, which will provide full-cycle support for product development. This includes 100 hours of online lectures and eight 1:1 meetings with mentors. As part of the programme, startups will...
Helsinki-based startup ReOrbit is preparing for the first demonstration of its “software-enabled” satellite. This marks the next phase of the ESA’s UKKO programme, which works with ReOrbit to develop and test next-gen tech for Earth observation satellites. (Fun fact: Ukko is the god of the sky, weather, harvest, and thunder in Finnish mythology). ReOrbit’s first in-orbit demonstration satellite...