• Cosmic rays, XR, and 'multiverse’ quantum computing — welcome to EIC's deeptech Scaling Club

    “Do you believe in the multiverse?” our petite and cheerful guide Angelina asked me when I told her what I do for a living, while navigating the rambunctious street’s of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. It was not a conversation I was expecting to have on a vegan street food tour in Vietnam, but as Angelina studies AI and VR (and as we are both avid Marvel fans), our chat took a turn down a dimensional rabbit hole. I wonder what kind of questions she would have for the founders of Multiverse...

  • Astroforensics could be one of the coolest new careers of the future

    Nasa’s Artemis program is scheduled to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a permanent orbiting laboratory by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, private companies are making significant steps in taking paying customers further into space. As humanity’s footprint expands beyond the familiar terrains of Earth to the Moon and possibly beyond, an intriguing new field emerges from the final frontier: astroforensics. This discipline, still in its infancy, is propelled by the inevitability...

  • Flying cars edge towards takeoff after Chinese production deal

    A flying car that's certified for aviation just took another big step towards commercialisation. The Aircar's creator, KleinVision, today announced the sale of a "groundbreaking" license to manufacture the vehicle. The deal gives China's Hebei Jianxin Flying Car Technology Co exclusive rights to the system within a specific, undisclosed region. Also undisclosed is the cost of the license. KleinVision said the agreement brings flying cars closer to reality. The Slovakian startup...

  • TNW Podcast: Ukrainian startups, European quantum tech, Michiel Scheffer on the future of the EIC

    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, Tom (!), and Andrii talk about Ukrainian startups, drones, information security, European quantum landscape, reverse brain drain, and a lot more. The guest of the show is Michiel Scheffer, President of the Board of the European Innovation Council. ...

  • UCL spinout bags £10M to make AI 'super brains' for 100x faster LLM training

    Oriole Networks, a UCL spinout, has raised £10mn in seed funding to build AI “super brains” that promise to accelerate the training of Large Language Models (LLMs). Founded in 2023 by UCL scientists, the startup has developed a new method that harnesses the power of light to connect thousands of AI chips. This results in a network of chips, where the power of each individual GPU is combined to form a "super brain." According to James Regan, CEO at Oriole Networks, this "enables the...

  • Scientists think 'collective AI' will resemble Star Trek's Borg — only nicer (hopefully)

    Leading computer scientists have unveiled a vision of "collective AI" that resembles Star Trek species the Borg. Researchers from MIT, Yale, and Loughborough University explained the concept in a study published this week in Nature Machine Intelligence. The paper describes separate AI units continuously acquiring new knowledge and skills. They would then share the information across a network. Together, the collective would turn their insights into mutual benefits. Multiple skills,...

  • This snowboard is made from paper — and it shreds like a dream

    Professional freeride snowboarder Cody Bramwell carves through the deep white powder, left-right-left-right, down the mountainside. He’s snow surfing, a unique, bind-less style of snowboarding invented in Japan in the 1980s. Rather than focusing on speed and tricks, snow surfing is about finding the flow of the mountain, keeping speed through flat sections and becoming one with the terrain. The sport is best practised in fresh, uncompressed powder, as opposed to crowded ski slopes. It’s...

  • Gocycle releases first pics of F1-inspired folding cargo ebikes

    London-based Gocycle, founded by Richard Thorpe, a former industrial designer at McLaren, has released the first images of its new range of folding cargo ebikes. Gocycle, best known for its sleek folding ebikes, first announced its move into the cargo bike market back in February, along with some shiny 3D renders of two models — the CXi and the more premium CX-plus. “Right now all we have is a promise and a bunch of image renders, not even photographs of a real bike,” wrote The Verge at...

  • 5 steps to building an ESG-responsible software startup

    Many startups around the world will want to play their part in creating a more responsible business. But it can seem like an unattainable goal, with many regarding it as something to worry about after the business has reached a certain size. This is a mistake. Startups have every opportunity to take action now and build a long-term strategy in this area, tackling not just environmental issues, but the full range of ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) areas that go into building a...

  • UK says Chinese cyberattacks ‘part of large-scale espionage campaign’

    The UK government has accused China of two malicious cyberattacks against the country’s democratic institutions and members of Parliament. Specifically, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has found that a Chinesestate-affiliated cyber actor, nicknamed Advanced Persistent Threat Group 31 (APT31), was almost certainly responsible for online reconnaissance activity in 2021, targeting the email accounts of MPs. The NCSC also deemed it highly likely that China state-backed actors were...

  • Netherlands devises €1B plan to keep ASML in the country

    The Dutch government is reportedly finalising plans to inject at least €1bn in funding, in an agonised effort to keep ASML in the Netherlands. Rumours that the crown jewel of the Dutch tech ecosystem is considering relocation were unveiled by local newspaper De Telegraaf earlier in March. Citing anonymous sources, the paper said that the government set up a secret taskforce, dubbed “Operation Beethoven,” to alleviate ASML’s fears over the business climate in the Netherlands. Now,...

  • ESA to build ChatGPT-style Earth observation digital assistant

    The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced it will build a ChatGPT-style digital assistant to help humans better decode complex Earth observation data. Led by Φ-lab (Phi-Lab) — the agency’s Earth observation innovation and investment arm — the chatbot will be trained to understand human queries about the Earth and respond with human-like answers. The lab is due to kick off the project next month. Earth observation tools like satellites and weather stations gather vast volumes of data on...