Business

Portuguese authorities strongly advised organisers of the Web Summit to cancel events this Wednesday because of risks of tidal flooding and severe disruption to public transport. Storm Charles is expected to be at its most dangerous on Wednesday afternoon, with winds reaching up to 120 km/h and potentially very dangerous wind gusts as well. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin reports from Lisbon and also introduces a pre-recorded interview with the CEO of Epoch Biodesign, who has developed a process to recycle up-to-now very difficult to reuse nylon materials found in sportswear, seatbelts and airbags.

US firm Anthropic, the company behind the AI chatbot Claude, has announced it will offer 825 million shares at a price between $70 and $78 apiece during its planned IPO. This will give the firm a valuation of around $1.4 trillion. The blockbuster IPO will come at a time when investors are increasingly concerned about the risks associated with the AI boom. But first, chip giant Nvidia continues to face pressure over its CEO's affair with a suspected Chinese spy. 

As artificial intelligence makes machines more capable and autonomous, businesses are racing to embrace robotics. But while many executives expect to deploy robot fleets in the coming years, far fewer have a clear strategy for doing so. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to John Healy, Intel's Vice President of Robotics and Industrial Solutions, about the opportunities, risks and workforce challenges behind the growing robot revolution.

One of Europe's biggest annual tech events, the Web Summit, kicked off in the Portuguese capital this week with the biggest ever delegation of Chinese business leaders and policymakers. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin talks to Dr. Dan Wang, China Director at Eurasia Group, about EU-China tech relations, the climate of suspicion created by the spying scandal at Nvidia, and what the EU's quest for tech sovereignty could mean for China.

Shares of Tesla and SpaceX dropped after the Democratic party swept to power in America's midterm elections. Their founder, tech titan Elon Musk, poured over $440 million into Republican candidates and causes, the single biggest campaign donor in the election cycle. But his investment fell flat, as his preferred candidates lost races in Texas, where he has put down roots. We take a closer look.