The UKâs Ministry of Defence (MoD) has released declassified footage of its DragonFire laser weapon. DragonFire shoots a high-power beam at the speed of light. Itâs so precise, it can fry a target the size of a coin from a kilometre away. This ânever seen beforeâ footage and imagery shows the laser cannon in action at a site in the Hebrides, a remote archipelago off the coast of Scotland. The... Read more âș
43
A British startup has set a new pressure record using the worldâs strongest pulsed power machine, as it looks to forge a cheaper, faster path to fusion energy. First Light Fusion launched a projectile at over 20 kilometres per second (72,000 kph) into a piece of quartz crystal producing pressure upwards of 1.85 terapascals â almost four times the pressure found at Earthâs core.  The startup achieved the feat using... Read more âș
12
In October last year, researchers at the Alan Turing Institute sounded the alarm that there was an âurgent issueâ of gender imbalance in artificial intelligence investment. No one, unfortunately, was surprised. However, it is always good to have the data. The report found that female-founded companies accounted for only 3% of AI startup VC funding over the past decade. While the study focused solely on the UK, similar findings have... Read more âș
0
Itâs hard to imagine more intimate data than that collected by female technologies or âfemtech.â These apps and devices not only monitor womenâs menstrual cycles but also record their sexual encounters, orgasms, and pregnancies. A new study shows that many femtech companies do not adequately safeguard such sensitive information. Some may even intentionally leak personal data to third parties. The research, led by Dr Maryam Mehrnezhad at the Royal Holloway... Read more âș
15
It happened, after years of chin-wagging and back-and-forth and bad blood, it finally happened: the compliance date for the Digital Markets Act arrived on March 7th. From here on out, big tech needs to follow the regulations laid out by the EU â and this has the potential to usher in a sea change for the sector. While the rules laid down by the governing body are complex and multifaceted,... Read more âș
0
The EUâs strictest-ever crackdown on big tech has only just begun, but critics fear itâs already missing the targets. Called the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the landmark law aims to curb the power of tech giants. Under the rules, the EU can designate companies that dominate a marketplace as âgatekeepers.â This forces them to make their services open to competitors. Whatsapp, for instance, has to become interoperable with third-party messaging... Read more âș
0
Several subsea communications cables in the Red Sea were cut on Saturday, temporarily affecting a quarter of all data traffic flowing between Asia and Europe. Some have blamed the Houthi rebels for intentionally sabotaging the cables. The group, which has conducted a number of attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea in recent weeks, has denied any responsibility.  The real picture, however, looks a little more complex. According to... Read more âș
2
Spanish regulators have ordered Worldcoin to pause operations over fears that the companyâs eyeball-scanning technology may intrude on usersâ privacy.  Worldcoin â co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2019 â uses orbs to scan peopleâs eyes in exchange for a digital ID and some cryptocurrency.  According to the order issued by Spainâs privacy watchdog yesterday, Worldcoin must stop collecting and processing personal data in the country. It must also... Read more âș
23
French startup Zama has raised $73mn to commercialise the âholy grailâ of cryptography: fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). Conceptually simple but practically complex, FHE enables computations on encrypted data without having to first decrypt it. As a result, companies can provide services without seeing their customersâ information. The users, meanwhile, wonât notice any difference in the function. To visualise the process, imagine the encrypted data as a locked box and the... Read more âș
31
The Dutch government has reportedly launched a secret task force to keep chip giant ASML in the Netherlands. Dubbed âOperation Beethoven,â the task force was formed to allay ASMLâs fears about the local business climate, according to De Telegraaf. Citing anonymous sources, the Dutch newspaper said the company was considering an expansion outside the Netherlands. France was mooted as a potential destination. Such a move would leave a deep impact.... Read more âș
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Amid tough market conditions, digital bank Monzo has raised ÂŁ340mn (âŹ409mn) in new funding, reaching a post-money valuation of ÂŁ4bn (âŹ4.7bn). The round was led by new investor CapitalG, the growth fund of Googleâs parent company Alphabet. GV (Google Ventures, Alphabetâs venture capital investment arm) and HongShan Capital (a ChineseVC firm that split from Sequoia Capital last year) also participated, alongside existing investors including Passion Capital and Tencent. Monzo says... Read more âș
0
Amid tough market conditions, digital bank Monzo has raised ÂŁ340bn (âŹ409mn) in new funding, reaching a post-money valuation of ÂŁ4bn (âŹ4.7bn). The round was led by new investor CapitalG, the growth fund of Googleâs parent company Alphabet. GV (Google Ventures, Alphabetâs venture capital investment arm) and HongShan Capital (a ChineseVC firm that split from Sequoia Capital last year) also participated, alongside existing investors including Passion Capital and Tencent. Monzo says... Read more âș
5
A Nobel Laureate who co-created graphene has made another discovery that could turbocharge numerous futuristic applications, from smart contact lenses to rapid disease detection. Konstantin Novoselov, who won the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics, is among a group of scientists behind the breakthrough. The team announced today that theyâve unearthed unique properties in two unusual compounds: rhenium diselenide and rhenium disulfide â aka ReSe2 and ReS2. The duo comes from... Read more âș
19
In the last decade, the US established itself as a leader in funding climate tech ventures, with Europe trailing. Known for their willingness to embrace risk and invest heavily, US investors stand out in their approach to supporting these ventures. The world of climate tech is marked by uncertainty: new markets are emerging, technology winners are yet to be determined, and fluctuating policies impact commercial viability. Notably, many of these... Read more âș
2
ï»ż Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast â 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 todayâs episode, Andrii and Ioanna talk about the benefits of walking, progressive web apps, unhealthy food, and physical controls in cars in the EU. Here are the stories and things mentioned in... Read more âș
40
UK-based space tech startup Open Cosmos has successfully launched a new AI-powered satellite that can provide near real-time views of Earth. The satellite, HAMMER â short for Hyperspectral AI for Marine Monitoring and Emergency Response â was successfully blasted into orbit Monday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Its mission is to provide high-resolution imaging from across the Atlantic ocean to help authorities monitor the marine environment or respond to... Read more âș
0
Ammonia is perhaps best known as a household cleaner or the chemical that makes your pee smell. Few might realise, however, that half of the worldâs food production relies on ammonia-based fertilisers produced in just a handful of countries. This clear, foul-smelling chemical is largely made by superheating water, air, and natural gas under pressure â a process that emits vast quantities of carbon dioxide. Ammonia synthesis is by far... Read more âș
3
Amsterdam-based Mews, a cloud-based property management system (PMS) for the hospitality industry, has become the latest Dutch unicorn. In a fresh funding round, the startup â which is also a TNW community member â achieved unicorn status after raising $110mn (âŹ101mn) at a valuation of $1.2bn (âŹ1.1bn). Mews was founded in 2012 by Richard Valtr, an ex-hotelier on a mission to accelerate the digital transformation of the hospitality space. âDigital... Read more âș
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The excitement of auto racing comes from split-second decisions and daring passes by fearless drivers. Imagine that scene, but without the driver â the car alone, guided by the invisible hand of artificial intelligence. Can the rush of racing unfold without a driver steering the course? It turns out that it can. Enter autonomous racing, a field thatâs not just about high-speed competition but also pushing the boundaries of what... Read more âș
1
Historically, womenâs health has taken a back seat to menâs â leaving a persistent gender gap in data, research, and clinical trials. A wave of femtech innovators may finally bring balance. Among them is Elina Berglund Scherwitzl, co-founder and CEO of Natural Cycles, the worldâs leading birth-control app. âWe need more companies focusing solely on womenâs health and womenâs issues because thatâs what is going to make up for the... Read more âș
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02.05.2026 16:11
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