~the-next-web | Bookmarks (135)

The Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs have ruffled feathers across the world — and reignited Europe’s push for digital sovereignty.  One of the key focus points has been Europe’s cloud infrastructure, which is currently dominated by US tech giants: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Together, the “big three” account for more than 50% of the continent’s cloud market. “Europe...

“The Future is Here,” declares a glowing neon sign at the entrance to IQM’s quantum data centre in Munich. It’s a bold claim — but one the Finland-based startup is determined to fulfil. To the right of the entrance sign stands a hefty, metal blue door. My host, physicist Frank Deppe, IQM’s head of quantum processing unit (QPU) technology, ushers me inside. Opened last...

Dutch neobank Bunq, Europe’s second-largest digital bank, is gearing up to expand across the Atlantic. The fintech company has filed for a broker-dealer licence with US regulators, completing the first phase of its two-step expansion strategy. The licence will allow Bunq to offer American users investment options — stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds — alongside cash management tools. These will include features like automatic...

If you’ve been scrolling social media over the past week, you may have noticed miniature action figure versions of friends, family, or colleagues neatly wrapped in a blister pack. These plastic-fantastic portraits are the latest AI-powered photo trend to sweep the internet — especially LinkedIn. After digital avatars and Studio Ghibli-inspired selfies, we now have the action figure, produced using ChatGPT’s free image generator. ...

Motorheads have long theorised that the extreme downforce generated by high-performance cars could one day let them drive upside down. Now, British carmaker McMurtry has turned that wild idea into a reality for the first time. In a stunt that would make Batman jealous, McMurtry drove its insanely fast electric Spéirling flipped over. More impressively, it did that for over a minute while keeping...

Quantum professionals around the world overwhelmingly agree that quantum utility will arrive within the next decade, according to a new survey by Economist Impact. Quantum utility refers to the point at which quantum computers provide practical advantages over classical computers in solving specific real-world problems. A whopping 83% of the survey’s respondents think that moment will come within 10 years or less.  One-third of them...

Five fast-rising scaleups from the DACH region have qualified for TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.” The DACH entrants fought off off stiff competition to reach the finals, which will crown the hottest scaleup in Europe. Comprising Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, DACH blends deep industrial roots, high R&D spending, elite research institutions, and a growing startup scene. Collectively, the three nations have created a...

After steering Dutch chip giant ASML to become Europe’s most valuable tech firm, Peter Wennink is now focused on the next frontiers of deep tech. Wennink has already been involved in numerous breakthroughs in the field. Over his 25-year career at ASML — including over a decade as CEO — the company laid foundations for countless deep tech innovations. Under his leadership, the business...

US biotech startup Colossal Biosciences has resurrected the dire wolf — or at least that’s what the company would like you to believe. Social media is abuzz with viral videos, memes, and images of fluffy white wolf puppies. The Game of Thrones references are — predictably — omnipresent. The news even made it to Time magazine’s latest cover.  But behind the hype lies a...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its first major report on the AI gold rush’s impact on global energy consumption — and its findings paint a worrying, and perhaps contradictory, picture.   Energy use from data centres, including for artificial intelligence applications, is predicted to double over the next five years to 3% of global energy use. AI-specific power consumption could drive over half...

German startup ARX Robotics has announced plans to invest £45mn into a new UK facility, where it will build autonomous battlefield robots for deployment in war zones around the world. Located at an undisclosed site in southwest England, ARX expects the plant to produce 1,800 ground-based drones each year once up and running. ARX’s battlefield robots look like small tanks — but without guns. The...

Body-scanning startup Neko Health has opened its largest clinic yet, continuing its expansion in London — just six months after launching its first site in the city. The futuristic new facility expands access to Neko’s high-tech health vision. Blending body scans, lidar sensors, and AI with blood tests, eye pressure checks, and strength tests, the startup maps millions of data points in minutes.  The...

Hospitality software firm Mews raised Dutch tech’s biggest funding round in the first quarter of 2025, in what was a tough start to the year for the sector. Dutch startups raised around €460mn in the quarter, with a 59% decline in growth-stage funding raising alarm bells, according to the Quarterly Startup Report. Together, the top 10 deals accounted for over €320mn — more than 75%...

A UK startup wants to build a cosmic radio station in the Moon’s orbit to listen to radio waves from the early universe.   Blue Skies Space has secured a contract from the Italian Space Agency to design a fleet of tiny satellites that could orbit the Moon and listen for signals from the cosmic “dark ages.” That’s the time before the first stars lit...

Despite recent claims that European startups aren’t working hard enough, new research shows the continent’s founders are putting in serious shifts to turn their ideas into successful businesses. A survey of 128 founders by early-stage VC firm Antler found that three-quarters of them work more than 60 hours weekly, with 19% exceeding 80 hours.  German founders emerged as Europe’s hardest workers, with 94% working...

Consumer tech devices, including smartwatches, have deplorably short lives. Most are tossed aside when the screen cracks, the battery dies, or the software falls behind — adding to the world’s whopping great pile of e-waste.   Scottish startup Una aims to upend this take-make-waste cycle. The company’s sports smartwatch is built to be repaired. Users can easily swap, replace, and upgrade individual components like the screen,...

Five fast-growing Nordic scaleups have reached the finals of TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.” They join a standout quintet from Benelux, unveiled last week, in the race to be crowned Europe’s hottest scaleup. The Nordics — comprising Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden — boast just 27 million people but punch well above their weight in innovation. The region has Europe’s highest density...

Future lunar bases could run on solar panels forged from molten moon dust, turning the Moon’s surface into an energy source, thanks to a new research breakthrough.  Scientists at the University of Potsdam have engineered so-called “moonglass” solar cells made by melting artificial moon dust or “regolith” and then combining it with a layer of perovskite crystal to create a working solar panel.  The...

Europe’s tech industry is bracing for impact after the Trump administration announced sweeping tariffs yesterday. The US slapped a 20% tariff on imports from the EU — twice the rate for the UK. Switzerland fared even worse, receiving a hefty 32% levy.  Several European tech firms, investors, and analysts told TNW that the measures could disrupt supply chains, force pricing adjustments, and stem the...

“Hello, I will be your driver for today,” says Bartek Szurgot, a software engineer at German startup Vay and my chauffeur for this ride. He disengages the handbrake, gently presses the accelerator and the new Kia Niro EV I’m sitting in slowly pulls out of the parking lot.    As we approach the first intersection, Bartek indicates, turns the steering wheel, makes his observations, and...

Google DeepMind’s reported clampdown on sharing research will stifle AI innovation, warns the CEO of Iris.ai, one of Europe’s leading startups in the space. The UK-based lab has tightened its rules on releasing AI studies, the Financial Times reported this week. Citing seven current and former DeepMind scientists, the newspaper said the company has introduced stricter vetting and additional bureaucracy, making it harder to...

One of Europe’s leading climate tech VC firms has called for a “fundamental redesign” of traditional computing methods amid surging energy consumption from AI applications. The Berlin-based World Fund warns that simply transitioning data centres to renewable power will not be enough to fully decarbonise AI compute.  “We need to rethink the way we go about computing, from the materials and chips we use to...

Gone are the days when a bean bag and free kombucha made your office cool. Today’s top tech talent wants something far more valuable: their health. That’s the view of Lucien Engelen, a renowned healthcare innovation expert, who believes workplace wellbeing is about to spark a seismic shift. This transition will not only transform employment perks, but also create a new tech market. Engelen’s...

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover is back on course for a landmark trip to Mars, where it will probe the red planet for signs of extraterrestrial life.  ESA initially designed the Mars rover alongside Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, as part of the ExoMars programme. The vehicle was set to launch in 2022, but when Russia invaded Ukraine, ESA severed ties with...