DiscoverThe Next Web
The Next Web
Claim Ownership

The Next Web

Author:

Subscribed: 166Played: 6,635
Share

Description

Original and proudly opinionated perspectives for Generation T
4835 Episodes
Reverse
Ekaterina Zaharieva hasn’t even started work as the EU’s first startup commissioner, but tensions are already rising around her role. The Bulgarian politician was nominated for the job on Tuesday. Alongside startups, her brief will also cover research and innovation. But first, her appointment needs approval from the European Parliament. Her critics hope that confirmation never comes. Here are three big reasons for their opposition. 1. She lacks experience in tech Zaharieva was a lawyer before climbing the ranks of Bulgarian politics to become deputy minister. In the world of tech, however, her experience is slim.  Her resume contains scant evidence…This story continues at The Next Web
In its most expensive project to date, Germany’s Cyber Agency (Cyberagentur) has awarded three different contracts to four quantum computing startups — Quantum Brilliance, ParityQC, Oxford Ionics, and neQxt. Their mission is to deliver the world’s first quantum computer for “mobile security and defence” by 2027. After that, phase four of the project will kick in, and only one of the candidates will remain. Qubits from defect diamonds A portable quantum computer will be able to function independently of a network connection or a large data centre, which could be critical in crisis situations. These types of systems can also…This story continues at The Next Web
 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 flight tracking and its community, the new European Commission, health trackers for pets, revisiting Prince of Persia, and much more. Here are the stories and things mentioned in the episode: This Swedish startup wants to pay the flight tracking community using blockchain Thierry Breton on X Ursula von der Leyen unveils her new European commissioners…This story continues at The Next Web
A German drone firm claims to have made a “major breakthrough” in autonomous swarm technology. Munich-based Quantum Systems announced on Tuesday that it has successfully flown AI-controlled Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in swarms. The company said the AI ensured “reliable mission execution” — even when individual drones completely failed. The system also operated effectively under radio interference. Commissioned by the German Armed Forces, the tests were conducted last month at the Airbus Drone Centre in Manching, Bavaria. The team first trained the AI with deep reinforcement learning — a trial and error approach made famous by DeepMind. This enabled the system…This story continues at The Next Web
Since its founding in 2017, DeepL has been raising machine translation standards, successfully rivalling giants such as Google Translate. Today, the startup unveiled an ‘industry-first’ AI-powered glossary generator for businesses. The new tool works as a supplement of DeepL’s Glossary feature, first launched in 2020. Glossary enables professionals and companies to personalise translations based on their needs, from technical terminology to product names and branded terms. “Many businesses struggle to get consistent and accurate messaging when they are communicating in different languages and across platforms,” David Parry-Jones, DeepL’s chief revenue officer, told TNW.  These difficulties range from internal communication between…This story continues at The Next Web
Espoo outside of Helsinki is turning into quite the quantum hub. The city’s latest addition to the Finnish quantum computing ecosystem is QMill. The newly minted algorithm startup just raised €4mn in seed funding to leverage near-term hardware to deliver real benefits to industry through quantum computing.  “There is momentum growing at the moment [in quantum], and investors can see that a lot of companies are experimenting with quantum computing now — but so far they have not found quantum advantage,” Hannu Kauppinen, QMill co-founder and CEO, told TNW. “We are the ones who will be the first to provide…This story continues at The Next Web
Ekaterina Zaharieva has been nominated as the EU’s first ever commissioner for startups, the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen announced today. Zaharieva served as Bulgaria’s deputy prime minister for judicial reform and foreign affairs between 2017 and 2021. She’s currently a member of the Bulgarian Parliament. Von der Leyen has now proposed Zaharieva as the designated commissioner for startups, research, and innovation. “We must put research and innovation, science and technology at the centre of our economy,” Von der Leyen said. “[Zaharieva] will help ensure that we invest more and focus our spending on strategic priorities and on groundbreaking innovation.”…This story continues at The Next Web
Data centres gobble up roughly 2% of global electricity, which translates to around 1% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.   Streaming Netflix, storing stuff in the cloud, and meeting up on Zoom are just some of the online activities fuelling machines’ appetite for energy. But perhaps the biggest culprit of all is artificial intelligence.  AI models require immense amounts of computational power to train and run, particularly for machine learning and deep learning tasks. Consequently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts energy use from data centres will double by 2026.   Either way you slice it, data centre energy use is a…This story continues at The Next Web
Flink, one of the few rapid grocery delivery startups left operating in Europe, has secured $150mn to grow its business in Germany and the Netherlands. The funding comprises $115 million in equity and $35 million in debt, with backing from both new and existing investors, including BOND, Northzone, and supermarket chain REWE. This reportedly brings the company’s valuation to nearly $1bn. With the fresh capital, Flink plans to “expand [its] footprint, improve operational efficiency, and continue delivering […] its service” in the two countries, said Oliver Merkel, the startup’s founder and managing director. The Berlin-based startup will carry out this…This story continues at The Next Web
In a first for London, electric drones will soon fly urgent blood samples between Guy’s and St Thoma’s hospitals in the centre of the city. The upcoming flights are part of a joint pilot between the NHS, healthcare logistics startup Apian, and drone manufacturer Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet, spun out from the company’s moonshot factory X. The aim is to improve patient care by accelerating turnaround delivery times. Currently, blood sample transport relies on van and motorbike couriers, for whom the journey can take more than half an hour. Drones can reduce the duration to less than two minutes.…This story continues at The Next Web
Oftentimes, even in the tech world, people equate the term quantum computing to something almost mysterious. But as much as concepts of quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement may seem akin to magic, they still happen (in the context of quantum computing) on pieces of hardware.  While research breakthroughs will be crucial in scaling quantum computing as a technology, ramping up hardware production capacity will become increasingly important to keep up with rising global demand. IQM, founded in 2018, established its first quantum computer production facility just outside of Helsinki in 2021. Today, the company announced that it has…This story continues at The Next Web
Lithium-ion batteries are a critical element for our transition away from fossil fuels. It is equally critical to ensure the sustainability of their supply chains for the benefit of society and businesses alike. The mining process of the raw materials necessary for lithium batteries has long been linked not only to pollution, but also to human rights abuses. New research from Infyos, an AI-powered supply chain risk platform, has once again raised the alarm. It found that the companies that account for 75% of the global battery market (from automotive to consumer electronics industry players) have connections to one or…This story continues at The Next Web
Back in the early 2000s, Estonia was rapidly modernising, shaking off the remnants of Soviet influence. It was ambitiously transforming itself into a digital society with innovations such as e-government and online voting.  And, of course, it gave birth to Skype, the company that would launch the small Baltic nation’s journey towards becoming a startup powerhouse and a “unicorn country.” Since then, Estonia has established itself as a leader in breeding high-profile software companies, such as Bolt and Wise. Now, it’s aiming to become a deeptech hub, accelerating the development of research- and science-based entrepreneurship. Deeptech in Estonia is still…This story continues at The Next Web
Swedish startup Heart Aerospace has unveiled its first full-scale demonstrator hybrid-electric aircraft as it targets commercial flight by the end of 2029, a year later than previously planned.  Heart revealed the prototype, dubbed HX-1, at its hangar in Gothenburg yesterday, which we toured earlier this year.   The HX-1 prototype outside Heart’s hangar in Gothenburg, Sweden. Credit: Heart Aerospace The company will initially use the aircraft for ground-based testing, with the first flight scheduled for the second half of 2025 at the latest. It is set to be the largest electric plane to ever take to the skies.    “It is a…This story continues at The Next Web
Every week, millions of adults pretend that they’re football managers. I am one of them. We live out our dreams in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), an online game that’s become a global phenomenon.  With a budget of 100 million (digital) pounds, we build virtual squads of footballers. If their real-life counterparts play well, we win points. By the end of the season, the team with the most points wins. But what exactly do they win? Well, that depends who you ask. Here’s the official answer: over 10 million players compete for the grand prize of — drum roll, please — …This story continues at The Next Web
Paris-based AI startup Poolside is in discussions to raise nearly $500mn at a $3bn valuation, Bloomberg reports.   Poolside is developing a ChatGPT-like large language model (LLM) that writes software code — but the business plan remains hush-hush. The company has yet to launch its first product. However, on its website Poolside states that it is currently training its LLM by “allowing it to improve by completing millions of tasks in tens of thousands of real world software projects.”  The startup is currently focused on winning over developers and has shown a demo code-generation product to investors, a person familiar with…This story continues at The Next Web
German startup Reverion has secured $62mn as it looks to scale a mini power plant that can generate clean energy, capture CO2, and make hydrogen all in one shipping container-sized unit.  “Reverion’s technology works very efficiently in both ways — you can use the plants to store that energy and provide it back to the grid when there is demand,” Christoph Baumeister, principal at Possible Ventures, one of the investors in the round, told TNW.   Reverion — spun-off from the Technical University of Munich in 2022 — will use the fresh funds to begin serial production of its power plants…This story continues at The Next Web
A Ukrainian startup forged by war is bringing counter-disinformation to the business world. Osavul was founded in 2022 to fight Russian propaganda. To analyse the threats, the company applied AI analytics to the information landscape. The startup surveys open-source data from social media, websites, and messaging apps. It then identifies harmful narratives — and the sources spreading them.  The narratives have diverse forms. Osavul has detected fake news videos plastered with BBC logos, racial slurs hidden by slang, and generative AI amplifying Russian propaganda. Ukraine’s government has frequently sought the startup’s insights. So have NATO and the UK. But Osavul is…This story continues at The Next Web
Tech Nation has announced the 25 startups that will participate in the second cohort of this year’s Future Fifty programme — the UK’s only accelerator that focuses on late-stage companies. Future Fifty supports startups from the Series B to the IPO stage and beyond. Since its launch in 2013, it counts alumni such as Revolut, Monzo, and Skyscanner. “We use mechanisms of access and growth instead of learning and validation,” Johnny Mayo, programme lead of Future Fifty told TNW. “The reason for this is our companies typically already have proven product market fit, and our founders will often already have…This story continues at The Next Web
What’s the best way to attract attention for your startup from a room full of investors, journalists, potential partners, customers, and talent all in one go? For early-stage startups, entering pitch battle competitions is a cost and time-effective way to get in front of the right audiences. Rather than pitching to individual investors, prove your product and team’s value in one quick-fire shot. Let potential partners and customers come to you after sharing your innovative idea on stage. Do you have what it takes? This October, there are four pitch battle competitions taking place at Expand North Star in Dubai…This story continues at The Next Web
loading