Payments startup SumUp bags €285M amid fintech funding plunge
2023 has been a tough funding year for European fintech startups, with raised capital dropping 70% drop in H1 compared to the same period in 2022. But against this backdrop,…
Inside the EU’s tentative deal on world-first AI regulation
Following marathon discussions last week, the European Union has secured a tentative agreement on the terms of the AI Act, bringing the landmark regulation closer to enactment. While missing the…
Why don’t we leave the internet platforms we dislike?
The internet is filled with sites and services we loathe yet it seems, to paraphrase Brokeback Mountain, we just don’t know how to quit them. Consider the evidence: Facebook was…
EU declares aim to become ‘quantum valley’ of the world
Q-day (the day when quantum computers will successfully actually break the internet) may be some time away yet. However, that does not mean that companies — and states — shouldn’t…
Google’s Gemini AI won’t be available in Europe — for now
Yesterday, Google launched its much anticipated response to OpenAI’s ChatGPT (the first release of Bard didn’t really count, did it?). However, the new set of generative AI models that Google…
EU settles on rules for generative AI, moves to surveillance
The tech world is waiting with bated breath for the results from the final negotiations in Brussels regarding the EU’s landmark AI Act. The discussions that commenced at 14:00 CET…
For European startups, the US is still the land of opportunity
With under 2 million people, a landmass that’s half the size of Greece, and a recent history of communist rule, Latvia doesn’t have textbook foundations for building world-leading businesses. But…
AI can copy human social learning skills in real time, DeepMind finds
Human intelligence heavily depends on acquiring knowledge from other humans — accumulated through time as part of our cultural evolution. This type of social learning, known in literature as cultural…
7 most in-demand programming languages for 2024
As a new year approaches, you might be curious to see whether your programming skills are still in demand or whether you should consider up-skilling for the best opportunities. Hundreds…
Europe’s battle against the rising media power of Silicon Valley
It’s a question as old as the tech industry itself: can Europe compete with Silicon Valley? This reared up again in my mind for two main reasons. The first is…
‘Quantum-first’ microscope could solve chip inspection roadblock
Oh, the wonderful and mind-twisting world of quantum mechanics. However, in order to harness the magic-like potential of bending qubits to one’s will, there is a whole lot of nitty…
New AI tool aims to democratise high-res image generation
In the world of AI image generation, tools like DALL-E and Midjourney are holding the crown — and not simply because of their high-resolution performance. The training of these models…