Blogs

Youth and experience have combined to create an AI superpower Just a decade ago, the world’s biggest tech beast was a relative minnow. Microsoft had become notorious for disappointing product launches, stagnant innovation, and losing top talent. The first true software giant was becoming a big tech dinosaur. Fast forward to 2024 and Microsoft is the planet’s most valuable business. Under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella, stock has soared by over 1,000% in 10 years. In January, the compa...

The Finnish roaster collaborated with AI consultancy startup Elev to create an unusual combo of four beans I am really into (my friends might say somewhat obsessed with) coffee. Not just for the hits of caffeine that fuel our productivity-enthralled capitalist society, but also for the taste, as well as different styles of brewing (although my Swedish roots make me partial to a pour-over).  Sadly, I do not often get to write about it, as — even though coffee roasting and brewing rely on te...

The government's efforts to keep the company in the Netherlands seem to be working In a major win for the Dutch tech industry, chip giant ASML intends to remain and further expand in the Netherlands. The chip machine manufacturer has signed a non-binding letter of intent with the City Council of Eindhoven, eyeing a potential expansion at the Brainport Industries Campus (BIC), west of the city. ...

Blue Skies Space has an unusual offer for researchers A British startup aims to launch science satellites into space in 2025 after raising a fresh £2mn. Blue Skies Space has devised a unique business plan for the stargazers. They will be the first-ever science satellites that provide data directly to researchers via a membership model, the company said. ...

The RoboSAPIENS project paves the way for more efficient and trustworthy adaptive robotics Demand for industrial robots is rising in Europe, especially driven by the benefits of automation. However, there are ongoing challenges in ensuring seamless collaboration with humans while maintaining safety. To address this issue, a consortium of European universities, technology accelerators, and private research labs is launching the RoboSAPIENs project. ...

Meta will open up the operating system that runs on its Quest mixed reality headsets to other technology companies, it announced today. What was previously simply called Quest software will be called Horizon OS, and the goal will be to move beyond the general-use Quest devices to more purpose-specific devices, according to an Instagram video from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. There will be headsets focused purely on watching TV and movies on virtual screens, with the emphasis on high-end OLED ...

MindAffects aims to provide a new hearing diagnostics solution for hard-to-test patients MindAffect, a Netherlands-based healthtech startup, has raised €1.1mn to bring its hearing diagnostics technology to market. A spinout from Radboud University, MindAffect has developed a patented brain computer interface (BCI) technology, which enables diagnosis of hearing impairments using brain signals. ...

The feature provides suggestions on word choice, style, phrasing, and tone DeepL, which has been rivalling machine translation giants such as Google Translate and Microsoft Translator, has launched an AI writing assistant tailored for businesses. Dubbed DeepL Write Pro, the product acts as a creative assistant for use during the drafting process. It provides suggestions on word choice, phrasing, style, and tone, aiming to improve the text, while preserving the writer’s own voice. ...

Skyports said the funding puts the company in a "market-leading position" A British drone maker plans to launch air taxis in 2026 after raising a whopping $110mn. Skyports has already flown electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft on delivery and monitoring trials. The new funding brings commercial air taxis closer to the services on offer. ...

FlexAI plans to combat artificial intelligence's growing compute power A startup promising “universal AI compute” has joined France’s thriving artificial intelligence sector. Paris-based FlexAI emerged from stealth today with a €28.5mn war chest and an ambitious plan to “unlock the future of machine intelligence.” To pick that lock, FlexAI is rearchitecting compute infrastructure. ...

The Polestar 5 model was fitted with silicon anode battery tech Polestar has successfully charged its upcoming EV model in just 10 minutes.    The Swedish car maker achieved the feat using a “silicon-dominant” battery built by Israeli startup StoreDot.  ...

Roku CEO Anthony Wood disclosed plans to introduce video ads to the Roku OS home screen. The news highlights Roku’s growing focus on advertising and an alarming trend in the streaming industry that sees ads increasingly forced on viewers. As spotted by The Streamable, during Roku's Q1 2024 earnings call last week, Wood, also the company's founder and chairman, boasted about the Roku OS home screen showing users ads "before they select an app," avoiding the possibility that they don't see any ...