Europe’s first ‘lightning hunter’ releases striking footage of severe storms

Europe’s first “lightning hunter” has generated striking animations of severe storms hitting the Earth.  Built by Italian firm Leonardo, the system is the first satellite instrument that can continuously detect lightning across Europe and Africa. The imager is comprised of four powerful cameras. Each of them can capture 1,000 images per second, day and night, and detect a single lightning bolt faster than the blink of an eye. Algorithms then send the data back to Earth, for use in weather forecasts, climate research, and air transport safety. According to Eumetsat, the European weather agency, severe storms have caused an estimated €500bn…

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French riots and 5 other social ills blamed on video games

Emmanuel Macron has a new scapegoat for the riots engulfing France. As violent protests sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager spread across his nation, the president first blamed social networks and parents, before pointing the finger at a beloved boogeyman: video games. “It sometimes feels like some of them re-live in the streets the video games that have intoxicated them,” Macron said at a crisis meeting on Friday. The 45-year-old was echoing a common claim, but it’s one with scant empirical evidence. Studies have consistently rebuffed connections between violent video games and violent behaviour. Christopher Ferguson, a professor at…

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European companies hate the EU’s new AI rules — here’s why

Artificial intelligence sure is keeping the post office busy. After a recent flurry of open letters about runaway AI, unregulated AI, and apocalyptic AI, another missive arrived on the EU’s doorstep today. In this case, however, the signatories have raised a contrary concern. Rather than call for more rules, they fear there will soon be too many. Their target is the impending AI Act. Billed as the world’s first comprehensive legislation for the tech, the new rules are trying to walk the fine line between ensuring safety and supporting innovation. The new letter, signed by executives at some of Europe’s biggest companies,…

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Swedish startup unveils first ‘origami’ e-motorcycle — and €15K price tag

What do you get when you mix motorcycles with origami? The answer, dear reader, is the Stilride 1. The unique vehicle is the brainchild of Swedish startup Stilride. The company today unveiled the final design and price for the new electric ride, which is due to launch in 2024. For €15,000, each customer will get a made-to-order motorcycle that combines looks, performance, and sustainability. To manufacture each vehicle, Stilride uses a pioneering method dubbed “industrial origami,” which applies the Japanese art of paper-folding to sheet metal. The startup’s software first defines the geometries, which industrial robots and laser-cutting then bring…

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Meet the finalists of the TNW València startup pitch battle

Some of Europe’s hottest startups arrived at TNW València last week to develop ideas, expand networks, create new leads, and — and most importantly of all — fight. Not in the physical sense, of course, but in a fiercely-contested TNW València pitch battle. After surviving a series of fiery knockout clashes, eight of Europe’s most electrifying startups were selected for the contest final on Friday. València provided the perfect stage for the showdown. The region is Spain’s fastest-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, with the most startups per capita in the country.  It was also bathed in glorious sunshine — but this was no vacation…

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7 unmissable highlights of TNW València

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment has almost arrived: TNW València is next week!  In case you’ve been living under a rock (or frequenting another tech site, you traitor), we’re taking our cherished festival on the road. After 16 glorious years in Amsterdam, we’re bringing the show to Spain’s Mediterranean coast — and you’re all invited. We’re not only there for the sun, sea, and sand — far from it, in fact. València has the fastest-growing innovation ecosystem in Spain, and the most startups per capita in the country. On March 30th and 31st, we’ll showcase the best tech in the region…

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How to pitch your startup: 9 tips from an expert

Ah, the joys of pitching. Your entire masterplan squeezed into a few sentences, a room of powerful strangers with your future in their hands, and mere seconds to impress them. Who doesn’t love a quick dip in a shark tank? Quite a lot of people, unfortunately. Luckily for them, pitching coach David Beckett is here to help. Beckett has spent decades mastering the art of public speaking. He first honed his skills through over 1,000 corporate presentations across 16 years at Canon, before switching to the crisper craft of startup pitches. In 2013, Beckett founded Best3Minutes, which provides in-person and online training…

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Europe’s ports are using tech to navigate ‘the perfect storm’

Cargo ports are vital transport hubs in the world economy. Around 90% of all globally traded goods by tonnage is transported by sea and in 2021, a whopping 3.5 billion tonnes of freight passed through EU ports alone. Antwerp was the second-largest port in Europe — spreading across 120km² — before a merger with Bruges in 2022 created a combined port area of 160km² and the biggest chemical cluster on the continent.  València’s expanding port is the largest on the European Mediterranean in terms of container traffic — and dates back to 1491. Its port authority, Valènciaport, is responsible for…

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Here’s how media outlets are using generative AI in journalism

Generative AI is entering the media — and hacks are getting worried. Except for your loyal correspondents at TNW, of course, as automated output can’t compare with our flair and reporting. (At least, that’s what I’m telling my overlords.) Other journalists, however, aren’t as blessed. Last week, the owner of Britain’s Daily Mirror and the Express became the latest media magnate to add bots to the newsroom. The publisher, Reach, has posted several AI-written articles on the local news site In Your Area. According to Reach CEO Jim Mullen, they include a listicle on “7 things to do with visitors to…

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Sunak branded ‘unspeakably idiotic’ for impeding plans to rejoin Horizon

Rishi Sunak has enraged British scientists after dimming hopes of rejoining the EU’s Horizon programme. Prospects of reentering the €96 billion research scheme had grown after a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland was struck on Monday. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described the agreement as “good news” for scientists and researchers. She said work to associate the UK with Horizon could start “immediately” after implementing the terms. Scientists had overwhelmingly welcomed the breakthrough. Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, the UK’s foremost collective of scientific voices, called for access to Horizon to be swiftly secured. “These schemes…

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To compete with Silicon Valley, European startups need their own Nasdaq

Why can’t European tech companies compete with Silicon Valley giants? It’s a perennial conundrum for the continent’s IT leaders — and one that Phill Robinson is trying to solve. After a globetrotting career as a tech executive, Robinson returned home to the UK and founded Boardwave, a networking platform that wants to make Europe a software superpower. The concept emerged from Robinson’s diverse background in the sector. The entrepreneur spent decades traversing Europe and Silicon Valley, in roles ranging from CMO of Salesforce.com during its IPO to CEO of Dutch software giant Exact.  These experiences exposed several advantages for tech firms…

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Insect farming startup targets pet food as gateway to human consumption

Evolving views on food are challenging traditional diets — and not just for humans. Innovative dining options are also being added to the menus of our pets. Startups have proposed numerous new ways to satiate their appetites. The UK’s Bella and Duke, for instance, caters to animals on raw diets, while Sweden’s Buddy Pet Foods serves natural dry food, and Portugal’s Barkyn personalises their grub. If none of those excites their palates, our furry friends could try a more avant-garde delicacy: insects. That’s what’s cooking in the kitchen of FlyFeed, an Estonia-based startup.  The company has developed an automated farming…

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New sensor promises to bring ‘true colour’ to smartphone photos

In the fiercely contested smartphone market, photography can be a key battleground. Alongside the insatiable desires for better batteries, durability, storage, and processing, camera quality consistently ranks as a key factor when choosing a phone. At CES 2023, Spectricity, a startup based in Belgium, unveiled a new entrant to the competition: the S1 chip.  Spectricity claims the S1 is the first truly miniaturised and mass-manufacturable spectral image sensor for mobile devices — and the company is targetting sector dominance. Within two years, Spectricity boldly predicts the sensor will be inside every smartphone. The bullishness derives from a singular focus: measuring…

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Ukraine’s year of war exposes changing roles for cyber weapons

On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine is commemorating horrific losses — and remarkable defiance. The country’s fierce resistance on the battlefield has been echoed on the digital front — where Kyiv has unique experience. The conflict with Russia has become the world’s first full-scale cyberwar, but Ukraine was a test bed for digital weapons long before the invasion of 24 February, 2022. Since Putin’s troops began flooding across the border, the cyber tactics have shifted dramatically. These developments have made Ukraine a bellwether for digital warfare. And to the surprise of analysts, cyber attacks have had a limited impact…

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Predictive policing project shows even EU lawmakers can be targets

Predictive policing has exposed a new group of future criminals: MEPs. A new testing systems has spotlighted five EU politicians as “at risk” of committing future crimes. Luckily for them, it’s not a tool that’s used by law enforcement, but one designed to highlight the dangers of such systems. The project is the brainchild of Fair Trials, a criminal justice watchdog. The NGO is campaigning for a ban on predicting policing, which uses data analytics to forecast when and where crimes are likely to happen — and who may commit them. Proponents argue that the approach can be more accurate,…

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Low-Earth orbit: A launchpad for Europe’s spacetech startups

Big business opportunities are brewing in the cosmos. Morgan Stanley predicts the space economy will grow from €355 billion in 2020 to over €1 trillion by 2030 — and competition for the rewards is fierce. The USA remains a celestial superpower, while China is emerging as a powerful challenger. Europe has historically lagged behind the world leaders — but is now carving out a promising niche. Across the continent, countries are converging around a single segment of the market: small satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The maximum altitude in LEO is about one-third of Earth’s radius. Credit: ESA As the…

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Values of European unicorns plunge amid sharp fall in public markets

A rough year in public markets has taken a heavy toll on startups. According to new research, every unicorn in Europe that went public in 2021 has since shrunk in valuation. The losses follow record-highs for VC exit valuations in 2021. PitchBook, a financial data firm, attributed the downturn to a shrinking public market. The company found that 13 unicorns went public during 2021’s bull market and IPO frenzy. Yet none have gone on to have positive share price returns. Their numbers paint a gloomy picture. By the end of 2022, more than half of them had lost over 75% of their…

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Car with no human inside drives on European road for first time

For the first time, a car with no human inside has driven on a public road in Europe. The feat was accomplished by Vay, a German startup. The company uses an approach called “teledriving” to remote-control cars from sites located miles away. Operators pilot the vehicles with steering wheels, petals, and monitors. They also recieve road traffic sounds via microphones and headphones. The system resembles racing simulators for video games — only the action on the screens is happening for real. Redundant mobile networks provide the data transmission. In the event of a network failures or emergency, the vehicle automatically…

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Can the UK’s approach to AI regulation give it an edge over the EU?

The EU’s landmark AI Act is moving closer to reality, as a rival rulebook forms across the English Channel. The union aims to agree on draft rules for the world-first AI statute next month, Reuters reported on Monday. “We are still in good time to fulfil the overall target and calendar that we assumed in the very beginning, which is to wrap it up during this mandate,” Dragos Tudorache, an MEP and co-rapporteur of the EU AI Act, told the news agency. As the EU legislation nears enactment, lawmakers in the UK are shaping a very different approach. Their priorities are…

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This is the ‘world’s first’ 100% cultivated steak fillet. Fancy a bite?

A UK startup has produced another milestone in the strange science of lab-grown meat: the first-ever cultivated steak fillet. The landmark was laid by 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), a bio-tech firm based in Newcastle. Founded in 2019, the company cultivated human corneas for vision-impaired people before applying its techniques to meat. 3DBT has good reasons for the move. CE Delft, an independent research firm, estimates that cultivated meat could cause 92% less global warming and 93% less air pollution, while using 95% less land and 78% less water. There is also a strong business case for the produce. Consulting firm McKinsey predicts the market…

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