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Europe has a unique chance to lead in software — but only if it improves its ability to turn startups into profitable businesses. That’s the conclusion of a new report from McKinsey and Boardwave, which warns that unless the region tackles structural barriers, its startups will continue to lag behind global rivals. The report, Europe’s Moonshot Moment, found that the continent has over 280...

Remote-controlled robots could one day build giant solar farms in space, according to a recent trial in the UK. British startup Space Solar conducted the test at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) facilities on the University of Oxford’s Culham Campus, which hosts several fusion research initiatives. The company used two remotely operated robotic arms to assemble a section of the support structure for...

Earlier this month, the father of a wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur was abducted in Paris while walking his dog. The attackers, wearing balaclavas, forced him into a van, later severing one of his fingers and sending a video of the mutilation to his son alongside a demand for millions of euros in ransom. The incident joined a growing list of violent crimes in France linked...

Human organs could be bioprinted for transplants within 10 years, according to Lithuanian startup Vital3D. But before reaching human hearts and kidneys, the company is starting with something simpler: regenerating dog skin. Based in Vilnius, Vital3D is already bioprinting functional tissue constructs. Using a proprietary laser system, the startup deposits living cells and biomaterials in precise 3D patterns. The structures mimic natural biological systems...

The European Commission has unveiled ambitious plans to cut red tape and make the EU a more attractive place for tech businesses to scale.  Launched today, the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy comes as the bloc scrambles to attract and retain tech startups amid stiff competition from the US and Asia.  Under the new initiative, the EU has laid out a five-point plan to...

A quarter of European organisations have banned Elon Musk’s generative AI chatbot Grok, according to new research from cybersecurity firm Netskope.  In contrast, the most popular AI app, ChatGPT, is only blocked by 9.8% of organisations in Europe. The runner-up, Google’s Gemini, is banned by 9.2%. Grok has been under the spotlight recently for a string of blunders. They include spreading false claims about...

David Reger, founder and CEO of Munich-based Neura Robotics, is building humanoid robots — and a reputation with a touch of déjà vu. In the German press, he’s sometimes dubbed the “Young Elon Musk.”  It’s a nickname Reger embraces, despite all of the controversy surrounding the world’s richest man. “For me, it’s a positive, not a negative,” he told TNW in an interview. “I...

Sophie Rucker had been living and working in London for five years when a trip to a yoga training school in Bali presented her with an alternative to the rat race. Despite enjoying life in London, witnessing digital nomads balance work with sun, sea, and relaxed vibes in the Indonesian island province prompted her to pursue more freelance work.  At the start of 2020,...

The collapse of Builder.ai exposes the growing threat of “FOMO investing,” according to an expert in tech growth intelligence. Builder had become one of Britain’s best-funded startups, but is now filing for bankruptcy due to financial problems. The insolvency comes after enormous sums were invested into the business. Big-name backers including Microsoft and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund had poured a total of over $500mn...

Again, the German-Danish startup using ancient bacteria to turn CO2 into new chemicals, is building a new bioreactor plant in Texas. The facility will be located at Texas City, a major petrochemicals park located on the Gulf Coast. The industrial centre is run by Diamond Infrastructure Solutions — a joint venture between chemicals giant Dow and Macquarie Asset Management.   “We’re building a global...

Europe’s not lacking talent — it’s lacking confidence. That’s the verdict from Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, who says an “inferiority complex” among European media and investors is holding back the continent’s tech industry. “The main reason why the European tech industry is small is a mistaken assumption of technological inferiority on the part of the European media,” wrote LeCun in an X...

Paris-based AI startup Veesion has secured €38mn to fuel expansion to the US — where it looks to help cure the country’s shoplifting “epidemic.” Veesion’s AI-based computer vision software is trained to spot gestures in security camera feeds, such as a shopper putting an item in their pocket. If it sees something suspicious, the AI pings the store owner or security guard via an...

TNW Backstage returns this week to explore one of tech’s most fascinating frontiers: brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). The capabilities of these neural devices are rapidly expanding. They’ve been implanted in skulls and worn as headbands. They’ve measured focus, treated Parkinson’s disease, and enabled paralysed people to control computers with their minds. A range of research labs and tech firms are developing BCIs. Yet the spotlight...

Belgium-based Ravical has secured €7.3mn in pre-seed funding to bring AI agents to professional services firms in tax, legal, accounting, and insurance.  Joris Van Der Gucht, Ravical’s CEO and co-founder, said the “virtual employees” could do 80% of the work in these firms.   “Ravical’s agents take on the repetitive, time-consuming tasks that slow experts down,” he told TNW, citing examples such as retrieving data...

The Dutch startup ecosystem has slipped to 10th place globally and sixth in Europe, according to the newly released Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025.  The annual report, compiled by research platform StartupBlink, benchmarks the startup strength of over 1,400 cities and 110 countries worldwide.  The US took the top spot globally, with the UK coming in second. Among the European nations, Britain was followed...

Our latest and most advanced technologies — from AI to Industrial IoT, advanced robotics, and self-driving cars — share serious problems: massive energy consumption, limited on-edge capabilities, system hallucinations, and serious accuracy gaps.  One possible solution is emerging in the Netherlands. The country is developing a promising ecosystem for neuromorphic computing, which draws on neuroscience to boost IT efficiencies and performance. Billions of euros are...

As Europe pushes for tech sovereignty, one open-source advocate has a warning: don’t forget global cooperation. Amanda Brock, CEO of industry group OpenUK, told TNW that the EU must “get real” about the trade-offs of going it alone. Brock said tech policymakers must move beyond “tit-for-tat schoolyard politics” and instead “protect global collaboration whilst ensuring the needs of their citizens are met.”   Her comments...

Google DeepMind’s AI systems have taken big scientific strides in recent years — from predicting the 3D structures of almost every known protein in the universe to forecasting weather more accurately than ever before.  The UK-based lab today unveiled its latest advancement: AlphaEvolve, an AI coding agent that makes large language models (LLMs) like Gemini better at solving complex computing and mathematical problems.  AlphaEvolve...

Helsing, Europe’s best-funded defence tech startup, has unveiled its latest product — an autonomous mini-submarine for underwater reconnaissance.  Dubbed SG-1 Fathom, the sub is the latest addition to Europe’s growing fleet of ocean drones, which aim to better protect the continent’s ships and subsea infrastructure from surveillance, sabotage, and attacks.  The 1.95-metre Fathom is designed to slowly patrol the ocean for up to three...

Elon Musk has outlandish plans for Neuralink’s brain-computer interfaces, from giving people “superpowers” to downloading their memories. Spanish rival Inbrain Neuroelectronics has a simpler goal: improving our health — and nothing more. “I know Elon Musk might want to use Neuralink to drive a Tesla or something like that, but we will never go beyond therapeutic applications,” Carolina Aguilar, Inbrain’s CEO and co-founder, told...

Five standout scaleups from the UK have made it into TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.”  The selections complete the UK and Ireland regional round of the tournament, which will now crown Europe’s hottest scaleup. Both Ireland and the UK had no shortage of contenders. Each nation boasts impressive digital track records. The UK is often regarded as Europe’s leading tech hub. The...

A year ago this week, a viral hit offered a glimpse into the future of AI music: “BBL Drizzy.” The song emerged during the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. As the rappers traded disses, a New York-based comedian named Willonius Hatcher — aka King Willonious — brought his own track to the beef. Inspired by a dubious claim that Drake had a Brazilian...

The Danish Armed Forces are set to trial four autonomous sea drones that will patrol Northern Europe waters, looking for signs of criminal activity.  Powered by wind and solar, the uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) will gather real-time data using sensors and cameras positioned both above and beneath the water. An onboard computer will stream this data to a machine learning algorithm that is trained...

Britain requires a “colossal” overhaul of its cybersecurity systems to defend against future quantum computers, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned this week.  Speaking at the CYBERUK conference in Manchester, the body’s CTO Ollie Whitehouse urged organisations to start preparing now for a sweeping transformation in how digital security is built and maintained — warning of grave consequences if they don’t.   Quantum...

Have you heard of the privacy paradox? It’s the contradiction between our claims to care about privacy — and our refusal to protect it. The paradox came to mind while working on the debut episode of our brand-new podcast: TNW Backstage. The show takes you behind the scenes of TNW Conference — and the tech shaping our world. Our first episode features a standout guest:...

The beat just dropped on a new era of music, and it’s coming not from a recording studio but from the weird and wonderful realm of quantum physics. UK-based tech startup Moth has released the track “Recurse” in collaboration with British electronic artist ILĀ. It’s billed as the world’s first commercially available song created using “quantum-powered generative AI.” “Recurse” certainly sounds otherworldly — like...

Dutch startup Eyeo has emerged from stealth with €15mn in funding to advance a breakthrough photonics technology for cameras that could radically disrupt the way we take images. Eyeo spun out last year from Belgium’s Imec, one of the world’s leading nanoelectronics centres. The startup’s waveguide colour-splitting technology — an optical technique that uses tiny structures to guide and separate light by wavelength —...

German drone maker Quantum Systems has raised €160mn at a valuation north of €1bn, becoming Europe’s latest defence tech unicorn.   Quantum Systems builds electric, AI-powered autonomous surveillance drones that are dual-use, meaning they can serve both military and civil purposes.   Defence forces can use the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to spy on enemies and gather intel. The drones can also be used by farmers...

Five standout scaleups from the Baltics have made it into TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.”  Representing Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, the quintet will now challenge rivals from six other regions for the title of Europe’s hottest scaleup. To earn their place in TECH5, the Baltic contenders have already had to fend off stiff competition. For a combined population of just over six...

Spain and Portugal have largely restored power after Monday’s unprecedented blackout — the worst in recent European history. The fallout has put the region’s reliance on renewables under fire. Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party, even called on the country to abandon “climate fanaticism” in response to the power cut. Yet, experts stressed to TNW that the problem isn’t green energy, but...

Danish startup Teton has used Gefion, one of Europe’s most powerful supercomputers, to turbocharge the development of its AI “care companion” for hospital staff.  Teton installs cameras and sensors in hospital rooms to gather real-time data. This gets fed to an AI algorithm, creating a virtual “digital twin” of the room. The model monitors patient and staff behaviour such as movement, breathing, or posture...

Unprecedented power cuts swept across Portugal, Spain, and parts of France on Monday — instantly unravelling the tech-dependent lives of me and tens of millions of others.  At first, I wasn’t worried. Then the owner of my Lisbon apartment forwarded me a link: an article in The Sun newspaper titled “Spain & Portugal hit by huge power cuts…” I tried to open it, but...

Swedish electric plane startup Heart Aerospace is relocating its headquarters from Gothenburg to Los Angeles in a move it says will “bolster product development.”  The company will lay off all of its 75 employees in Sweden, company spokesperson Christina Zander told TNW. “Recruitment in the US is ongoing,” she added.   Founded in 2018, Heart Aerospace is building a hybrid-electric 30-passenger airliner called the ES-30....

Dutch neobank Bunq today launched a crypto trading service for over 300 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The service launches today and is available to Bunq users in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and Belgium. It’s offered via Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.   Bunq plans to “gradually expand” the offering to the rest of the European Economic Area (EEA), the...

German defence tech startup ARX Robotics has secured €31mn to ramp up production of its autonomous battlefield robots, which look like mini tanks — minus the guns.  ARX — backed by NATO’s Innovation Fund — will also use the fresh capital to advance its operating system, Mithras OS. The software is designed to modernise existing military vehicles through AI, sensor systems, and autonomous driving...

In the global race to become the next big tech hotspot, many countries pour billions into nurturing homegrown talent, courting VCs, and crafting startup-friendly policies. While some struggle to gain momentum, others seem to leap forward—fast. So, what sets apart these rapid risers? What’s the secret to ecosystem transformation? Look no further than Bulgaria—a country that’s quietly but confidently building one of Europe’s most...

Five standout scaleups from Southern Europe have reached the finals of TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.” They’ll now face off with rivals from across Europe to be crowned the continent’s hottest scaleup. Southern Europe’s digital scene is still maturing — but growth is accelerating. Deep talent pools and academic strength are now backed by rising support from investors and policymakers. These developments...

As our favourite Dutch holiday approaches, TNW is celebrating the tech titans shaping the future in the Netherlands. Our beloved home country is the proud parent of a prodigious brood of digital talent. It’s given birth to cultivated meat, raised Booking.com to become the world’s largest online travel agency, and watched with joy as ASML grew into Europe’s most valuable tech company. The family...

Researchers at Toshiba Europe have used quantum key distribution (QKD) cryptography to send messages a record 254km using a traditional fibre optic cable network. It’s the first time scientists have achieved a coherent quantum communication using existing telecomms infrastructure. The breakthrough marks a step closer to ultra-secure quantum encryption, which could fend off hacks from even the most advanced classical and quantum computers of...

Poland is set to power up its first full-stack quantum computer this year, following a deal with Helsinki-based startup IQM. IQM, Europe’s best-funded quantum hardware company, will install the machine at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology (WUST) in Poland.  Named “Spark,” the device is a superconducting quantum computer. This means that it uses superconducting circuits to create and manipulate quantum bits or...

Last year, NN Group and Rubio Impact Ventures launched the NN Social Innovation Startup Award providing grants and mentoring to startups to tackle mental, physical, and financial well-being challenges with tech-backed solutions. Over 360 startups applied. Based on the success of the first edition, NN Group and Rubio Impact Ventures will be hosting a second edition of the NN Social Innovation Startup Award at...

Europe’s climate tech startups raised $2.3bn (€2bn) in the first quarter of this year — the lowest total since Q3 2020, according to Dealroom data.  Behind the headline figure lies a complex mix of growing pains, shifting investor focuses, and broader VC market dynamics, experts told TNW. More specifically, they said the slowdown stems from a blend of market maturity, strategic repositioning, AI’s outsized...

German biotech startup Ovo Labs has developed new technologies to “rejuvenate” human eggs, potentially boosting the chances of conception.  The therapeutics are designed to enhance in vitro fertilisation (IVF), one of the most transformative advances in reproductive medicine. The first baby was born via IVF more than 40 years ago. Since then, the technology has helped millions of women get pregnant. However, IVF can...

UK startup Aquark Technologies has used Boaty McBoatface — the internet’s best-loved submarine — to test its quantum sensing technology underwater for the first time. The NATO-backed company put its so-called “cold atom” system inside the autonomous submarine. Boaty McBoatface then descended to the bottom of a giant indoor tank at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton. The idea was to test how...

Europe can dramatically cut its dependence on imported fossil fuels by adopting electricity-based technologies, according to a new report. Electric vehicles, heat pumps, and renewables could cut global reliance on imported fossil fuels by 70% when used to replaced them in transport, heating, and power, according to energy think tank Ember. They would also save importers an estimated $1.3 trillion (€1.14 trillion) globally each year,...

Highly dependent on imported fossil fuels and renewable energy technologies from foreign powers such as the US, China, and Russia, Europe’s energy security is in a precarious state. One potential fix? Harnessing nuclear fusion — the same atom-colliding reaction that powers the Sun and stars. While not yet proven commercially, fusion energy could provide Europe with a vital source of safe, locally produced, always-on...

Europe’s housing crisis is deepening. High building costs, tight regulations, and labour shortages have choked the supply of affordable homes. As cities swell with new arrivals and construction workers retire en masse, the gap between supply and demand is only widening. Endless solutions have been proposed. Mass housing projects, revamping the planning system, modular buildings, pre-fabricated materials, rent controls, and restrictions on corporate acquisitions...

IBM and the European Space Agency (ESA) today launched TerraMind, a new open-source AI model with an “intuitive” understanding of Earth. According to the research team, the system is the best-performing AI model for Earth observation. In an ESA-led evaluation, TerraMind beat 12 leading AI models on the PANGAEA benchmark — a community standard for Earth observation. The model excelled at various real-world tasks,...

As the Trump administration ramps up what academics call a  “war on science,” US researchers are increasingly looking to Europe for new opportunities — which could be good news for the continent’s tech sectors. France, in particular, is positioning itself as a safe haven for scientists. In a not-so-subtle appeal to disaffected US talent on Friday, the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, called on researchers...

Five flourishing French scaleups have made it into TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.” The quintet will now compete for the title of top scaleup in Europe. The contest concludes on June 19-20, when the TECH5 champion will be announced on the main stage of TNW Conference. But first, the contenders have to win a regional crown. For the French challengers, that’s no...