Spain halts Sam Altman’s eyeball-scanning startup Worldcoin over privacy concerns


Spanish regulators have ordered Worldcoin to pause operations over fears that the company’s eyeball-scanning technology may intrude on users’ privacy.   Worldcoin — co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2019 —  uses orbs to scan people’s eyes in exchange for a digit

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Startup searching for ‘holy grail’ of encryption raises $73M


French startup Zama has raised $73mn to commercialise the “holy grail” 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,

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Dutch government launched secret task force to keep ASML in Netherlands, report says


The Dutch government has reportedly launched a secret task force to keep chip giant ASML in the Netherlands. Dubbed “Operation Beethoven,” the task force was formed to allay ASML’s fears about the local business climate, according to De Telegraaf. Citing anonymous sources,

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Digital bank Monzo raises £340M amid UK push to remain fintech leader


Amid tough market conditions, digital bank Monzo has raised £340mn (€409mn) in new funding, reaching a post-money valuation of £4bn (€4.7bn). The round was led by new investor CapitalG, the growth fund of Google’s parent company Alphabet. GV (Google Ventures,

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TNW Podcast: The tech that makes us walk


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, Andrii and Ioanna talk

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Why US-based VCs are investing big in European climate tech


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

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Nobel winner behind graphene hails new ‘wonder materials’ for smart contact lenses


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 g

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UK startup launches AI satellite to provide near real-time images of Earth


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 — short for Hyperspectral AI for Marine Monitoring and Emergency Response —

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Ammonia production is filthy. This ‘nitrolyzer’ could clean it up


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 world’s food production relies on ammonia-based fertilisers produced in just a handful of countri

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Amsterdam-based Mews becomes the Netherlands’ newest unicorn


Amsterdam-based Mews, a cloud-based property management system (PMS) for the hospitality industry, has become the Netherlands’ latest unicorn. In a fresh funding round, the startup — which is also a TNW community member — achieved unicorn status after raising

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