Technology News Era

Starting early next year, commuters in London will be able to hail the capital’s iconic black cabs via Uber, the American ride-hailing giant has announced.   London’s black taxi drivers — famous for their uncanny knowledge of the city’s thousands of streets — have long been at odds with Uber, who they say threatens their livelihoods. Frustrated drivers even blocked London streets in 2014 in protest against the tech company’s famously aggressive expansion tactics, and relations still remain tense. Black cabs are currently the only taxis in London licensed to pick up passengers from the streets in the city and are… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Uber from The Next Web https://ift.tt/VjuZ4Qq

This article was originally published on .cult by Luis Minvielle. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. Developers who finally land a job doing what they love — coding — frequently face a brain-teaser: Coding for a living is fantastic, indeed, but is it as endearing when you’re stuck doing the same task over and over again? Because, we get it: writing CSS is allegedly fun, but try doing it on repeat. Fortunately, web developers constantly drop tools… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/En0WcUO

Google DeepMind researchers have trained a deep learning model to predict the structure of over 2.2 million crystalline materials — 45 times more than the number discovered in the entire history of science. Of the two million-plus new materials, some 381,000 are thought to be stable, meaning they wouldn’t decompose — an essential characteristic for engineering purposes. These new materials have the potential to supercharge the development of key future technologies such as semiconductors, supercomputers, and batteries, said the British-American company. Modern technologies, from electronics to EVs, can make use of just 20,000 inorganic materials. These were largely discovered through… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/1Sv0lBO

My ancient Samsung Galaxy is ready for retirement. Cracks expand across the screen, photos are hazy blurs, and the battery barely survives a day. It’s time to buy a replacement. The initial contenders for my cash were the usual mix: Androids and iPhones with old names, incremental upgrades, and eye-watering price tags. While mulling over the options, a serendipitous email arrived in my inbox. A budding phonemaker called Murena was building a new handset with a bullish promise: “the ultimate pro-privacy smartphone.”  To substantiate the slogan, the company flaunted two compelling features: a physical “kill switch” to disconnect the device… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/6mitTxe

A European spacecraft has revealed the secrets of a star system that has puzzled researchers for years. The rare six sextuplet of planets was found thanks to data collected by Cheops — the CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite. Cheops is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to study known exoplanets, which are any planets beyond our solar system. Its latest discovery emerged from confusion surrounding a star called HD110067. The star lies around 100 light-years away, in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices. Dips in its brightness suggested that planets were passing in front of the star, but scientists couldn’t identify them.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/7SxknRH

In today’s job market, where highly skilled workers are scarce and specialized skills are in high demand, employers are facing the challenge of filling job positions. This situation has sparked intense competition — often referred to as the “war for talent” — among companies to attract and keep the best employees. To stand out in this battle for new talent, organizations have to appeal to job seekers. One way of doing this is for employers to effectively communicate their ethical values to outsiders. This is key because the younger generation of workers values social responsibility, transparency and ethical behaviour from… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/68peG30

The world’s first transatlantic flight with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been attacked as “greenwashing” by critics. The Tuesday trip from London to New York on a Vrigin Atlantic 787 has been celebrated by airlines and politicians as a “milestone” in the journey to net zero. Scientists and climate campaigners, however, have poured scorn on these claims. Opinions are divided over the potential of SAFs, which derive from various alternatives to fossil fuels. For Tuesday’s flight, the SAF was made primarily from waste fats and plant sugars, according to a Virgin Atlantic factsheet [PDF] shared with TNW. The airline… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/RW2FnM8

Hailing from South Africa, I like to think of myself as a bit of a barbecue virtuoso. Come rain or shine, most weekends I’ll be out in my backyard, tongs in hand, manning the grill like a meat-addicted maniac (guilty as charged).  So when someone suggested I try the world’s first plant-based ribs, adorned with edible vegan bones, you can imagine I was more than a little sceptical.   The ‘ribs’ in question were made by Slovenian food tech startup Juicy Marbles. The company says it wants to recreate the “shared sense of nostalgia” and “primal joys” of eating ribs —… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/9sSPCYc

European tech is starting to bounce back — and AI is turbocharging the recovery. The continent is now home to more highly skilled professionals in the field than the US, according to new research by Atomico, a VC firm headquartered in the UK. This overtaking follows a decade of rapid progress. Over the past 10 years, the number of people working in artificial intelligence across Europe has increased by a whopping 1,000%. This talent pipeline is now flowing into some impressive startups. In 2023, AI companies raised 11 of Europe’s 36 mega-rounds of $100mn or more. They include France’s Mistral… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/8mlwRfN

It has been nearly a year since OpenAI unleashed ChatGPT on the world, and it seems as if no one (at least in tech) has stopped talking about generative AI since. Meanwhile, the applications of GenAI go way beyond chatbots and copyright-grey-area image ‘artistry’.  For instance, Cradle, a biotech software startup out of Delft, Netherlands, is using it to help biologists engineer improved proteins, making it easier and quicker to bring synthetic bio-solutions for human and planetary health to market. In synthetic biology, people use engineering principles to design and build new biological systems. Scientists can use parts of DNA… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/cs6g7tM

Finnish startup Varjo has unveiled a new XR headset range that promises mixed reality that’s “indistinguishable from natural sight.” Named the XR-4 series, the devices merge several features that mimic the function of the human eye. They include high-resolution displays, advanced LiDAR depth sensors, foveated capture streams, and camera sensors.  Varjo (pronounced “var-yo”) is squarely targeting the tech at enterprise customers. The company says its products are already used by over 25% of Fortune 100 businesses, as well as various government agencies. Their applications range from pilot training and warfare simulations to architectural design and behavioural research. The automotive sector has… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/JisCQDp

Say the application that has not been attributed to generative AI by now. Anything from your virtual boyfriend/girlfriend to vaccines and the energy transition will apparently be solved by the tech currently sweeping the globe. PhysicsX, a UK-based startup “on a mission to reimagine simulation for science and engineering using AI,” wants to add advanced tech superpowers to the list. The company, with a team of more than 50 simulation engineers, machine learning and software engineers, and data scientists is building AI it says will dramatically accelerate accurate physics simulation. This will enable generative engineering solutions for sectors including aerospace,… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/cZR7quA

The EU’s upcoming AI Act has an ambitious goal: to set the first landmark framework for regulating artificial intelligence. But its strict approach towards General Purpose AI (GPAI) and foundation models has sparked controversy both among the bloc’s policymakers and the wider tech industry. Now, following the act’s latest Trilogue negotiations between the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament, representatives of Europe’s IT sector are worried that the bill “misses the mark on tech neutrality and risk-based control.” In a joint statement, the signatories, who include DOT Europe, argue that the suggested proposals on GPAI and foundation models are neither… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/ZdXSqjC

Scientists from Cranfield University in the UK are developing a kind of underwater wing for ships that could help decarbonise a sector responsible for more emissions than air travel. Known as wave devouring propulsion technology, it is essentially a flapping foil system installed at the bottom of a ship’s hull that helps propel it along. Inspired by the tail fin of a whale, the system harnesses the kinetic energy of the waves to achieve propulsion without fuel.   As the wing flows through the water, it automatically flaps up and down generating thrust — much like when a bird glides through… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/iYSqUxh

The European Space Agency’s next-generation heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6 successfully completed a full dress rehearsal on Thursday, in preparation for its maiden flight next year. The so-called hot-fire test at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana “simulated a complete launch sequence and thus validated the entire flight phase of Ariane 6’s core stage,” said the agency.   During the rehearsal, the rocket engine was ignited while securely mounted to a test stand or test platform. The term ‘hot-fire’ refers to the fact that the engine is fired with its propellants, producing actual combustion and exhaust. The only difference from an actual launch… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/SWdhR1g

Sandwiched between Germany, France, and Belgium, the tiny country of Luxembourg is one of Europe’s smallest, but also its wealthiest — its residents enjoy the second-highest per capita income in the world. Key to this success is its thriving financial services sector which has helped draw several big names to the Grand Duchy, including the European Investment Bank and Amazon. It’s no surprise then that fintech has been identified as the tech sector with the greatest growth potential in the region.  Luxembourg was also one of the world’s biggest investors in AI per capita in 2021, surpassed only by Israel,… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/HqFn2Pa

Ed Newton-Rex had reached a breaking point. As the vice president of audio at Stability AI, the 36-year-old was at the vanguard of a revolution in computational creativity. But there was growing unease about the movement’s strategy. Stability was becoming an emerging powerhouse in generative AI. The London-based startup owns Stability Diffusion, one of the world’s most popular image generators. It also recently expanded into music generators with the September launch of Stable Audio — a tool developed by Newton-Rex himself. But these two systems were taking conflicting paths. Stable Audio was trained on licensed music. The model was fed… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/Y78pDaN

Construction is a tough job, and in Europe there is a chronic shortage of workers to build the homes, schools, and roads we use every single day. So why not get a robot to do the hard work so we don’t have to? That’s exactly what researchers at ETH Zurich’s Robotic Systems Lab in Switzerland are working on. They’ve trained an autonomous excavator to construct stone walls using boulders weighing several tonnes — without any human interference. In the machine’s first assignment, it built a six metre-​high and 65 metre-long loading bearing wall. If scaled, the solution could to pave… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/Amg2r3o

As the minutes ticked by, the paper-dunking sound of files hitting the digital bin became oddly satisfying. As I hunted through the dusty corners of my laptop looking for unneeded documents, duplicate photos, and, the ultimate treasure, an old video file, I got a rush seeing the storage space bar on my laptop dwindle down by megabytes and gigabytes. But perhaps the most satisfying moment of all was the crinkling sound of the bin being emptied at the end of the hour. This was not a type A personality’s fantasy, this was Miele X’s Digital Clean-Up Challenge. Unlike the first… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/KjQsAUo

The UK’s new quantum computing missions have been praised as “visionary” and “exciting” plans that can reap financial and geopolitical benefits. The five long-term moonshots were launched today by the British government. The first aims to build quantum computers that can run 1 trillion operations by 2035. Another with a deadline for that year is deploying the world’s most advanced quantum network at scale. This initiative aims to pioneer the future quantum internet. Three other projects have an earlier target date of 2030. One plans to provide quantum sensing-enabled solutions to every local National Health Service organisation, for use in… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/mUDcYXW

The UK university spinout ecosystem is flourishing, with 1,116 active companies as of January 2023. But to further facilitate this growth, British universities should cut down on their equity stakes, a spinout review commissioned by the government advises. According to data from Beauhurst, between 2013 and 2022, academic institutions took an average stake of 23.9%. For instance, Oxford, the UK’s top spinout generator, owns an average stake of 21.6%, while the University of Manchester and the University of Leeds own higher percentages of equity, at 30.9% and 42.3%, respectively. The review recommended a 10% or lower stake for software spinouts,… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/YD7y6HZ

Amid a global race for green tech sovereignty, the European Parliament on Tuesday passed the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) — a bill intended to boost the EU’s manufacturing output in the technologies needed for decarbonisation. Initially proposed by the Commission in March, the NZIA sets a couple ambitious goals. Firstly, it seeks to ensure that at least 40% of the block’s net-zero technology demand is produced domestically by 2030. Secondly, it aims to capture 25% of the global market share for these technologies. To achieve this, the act proposes several key actions to drive investment in domestic production of strategic… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/ngI3Vsr

Tech has waded into another feud with artists. After a week of wrangles about AI mimicry of pop stars and training models on copyrighted content, Spotify has sparked fresh controversy over a new royalty scheme. The streaming giant announced on Tuesday that its new payment policy will exclude songs with fewer than 1,000 annual streams. According to Spotify, more than 60% of the platform’s catalogue doesn’t reach this threshold. However, they account for under 1% of the streams. Spotify said it would not make any extra money under the model. Instead, the company has pledged to redistribute the payments to… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Spotify from The Next Web https://ift.tt/j29cFVQ

Aiming to join Portugal and Spain as a member of the Atlantic Constellation project, the UK will help fund and build a new satellite designed to monitor and combat climate change. The Atlantic Constellation initiative will involve the development of a constellation of small satellites for Earth, ocean, and climate monitoring. Its mission is to provide data that can support early detection of climate change indicators and disaster relief action, while increasing agricultural productivity and improving energy use. Space tech startup Open Cosmos will build the UK satellite, a pathfinder craft, using the same design as three of Portugal’s satellites.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/MGH4JCr

The Spanish city of Valencia was founded by veteran Roman soldiers, given land in return for their service in various campaigns. The land of the brave, its very name means valiance. Lucky soldiers. With 300 days of sunshine a year and average temperatures of 19 degrees, it’s already a terrific place to live. But if a recent four-day week pilot programme is pursued, it may soon be even better. Earlier this year Valencia became the first city in the world to trial a four-day working week. For a number of weeks in April and May, employees across the city undertook… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/m0rHFIP

Most of us would love a break from the 9-to-5 grind, evidenced by the recent hype over the four-day workweek. But a new startup from the UK promises to help you toil even less than that — while remaining just as productive.   The company is called Tomoro and it’s on a mission to cut the working week to just three days within the next five years. It aims to achieve this using AI “agents” — essentially, large language models (LLMs) which can freely make decisions within defined guardrails, as opposed to rule-based machines. These agents will act like robotic personal… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/LsiE35R

Large Language Models (LLMs) — such as those used in chatbots — have an alarming tendency to hallucinate. That is, to generate false content that they present as accurate. These AI hallucinations pose, among other risks, a direct threat to science and scientific truth, researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute warn. According to their paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour, “LLMs are designed to produce helpful and convincing responses without any overriding guarantees regarding their accuracy or alignment with fact.” LLMs are currently treated as knowledge sources and generate information in response to questions or prompts. But the data they’re… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/RpcjVXB

Security compliance (and particularly ISO 27001) is like the project in school you had the whole year to complete — and ended up starting in a panic the night before. Given the time, resources, and complexity of completing the certification, it’s one of the things startup founders are most likely to put off for a later date in favour of growth-focused tasks like sales and product development. What many don’t realise is that security compliance not only has a big impact on your company’s resilience to security breaches and data leaks but also your bottom line. If you’re experiencing these… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Security from The Next Web https://ift.tt/EcZL8QW

The UK doesn’t plan on introducing AI regulation anytime soon — in contrast to the EU’s and China’s strict legislation efforts. During a Financial Times conference on Thursday, the country’s first minister for AI and intellectual property, Viscount Jonathan Camrose, confirmed government concerns over regulation curbing growth and said that a UK law on artificial intelligence won’t be coming “in the short term.” While he refrained from critising other nations’ approaches, he noted that “there is always a risk of premature regulation,” which could do more harm than good by “stifling innovation.” The statements come as no surprise and are… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/ANkvYP4

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve CRISPR gene-editing therapy. The landmark biotech decision involves the treatment of two specific blood dieseases, but also opens the door for the use of the technology in treating many other genetic disorders.  Regulators approved the use of CRISPR for the treatment of inherited diseases sickle-cell anaemia and β-thalassaemia on Thursday. The former affects the shape of red blood cells of 20 million people worldwide and can cause debilitating pain. People with the latter need to receive regular blood transfusions to counteract a reduced production of haemoglobin, which in… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/L217sGM

AI has made another assault on the English language. After taking the title of the Collins Dictionary word of the year, artificial intelligence this week assailed the Cambridge version. This time, the impact is more subtle — but deeper. The first example emerged from Cambridge’s word of the year for 2023: “hallucinate.” It’s an old word, but the award is due to a new meaning. In the latest versions of the Cambridge Dictionary, “hallucinate” has an extra definition: “When an artificial intelligence (= a computer system that has some of the qualities that the human brain has, such as the… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/Jx5Q1Mh

For UK battery startup NyoBolt, six seems to be the magic number. First, in June it showcased an EV that could be fully charged in just six minutes (a claimed record). And today it unveiled a new kind of supercharger that can also be recharged in — you guessed it — six minutes.  Dubbed Bolt-ee, it essentially looks like a four-wheeled metal box with an interactive touchscreen for a face. Unlike fixed charging stations, this fast-charging, direct current, 300kW device is fully mobile.  “Bolt-ee can reach a parked vehicle in any bay, delivering up to 100 miles of range in… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/hI50peP

An executive at one of generative AI’s leading companies has quit over the startup’s controversial use of copyrighted content. Ed Newton-Rex had been VP of audio at Stability AI, which produces the popular image-generator Stability Diffusion, but resigned due to the firm’s treatment of creators. “I’ve resigned from my role leading the Audio team at Stability AI, because I don’t agree with the company’s opinion that training generative AI models on copyrighted works is ‘fair use’,” Newton-Rex announced Wednesday on X. The “fair use” argument has become a focal point in a pivotal legal battle for generative AI. Several companies… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/1QMI58S

French startup Circular claims to have created the world’s thinnest and lightest smart ring — as well as the first-ever to use haptic navigation. The wearable, named the Circular Ring Slim, became available on pre-order today. Weighing just 2 grams and measuring a mere 2.2 mm in thickness, the device packs big features into a tiny frame. To analyse the user’s health, the ring assesses seven biometrics and 142 derived markers. These markers are captured by a suite of sensors. One is a simple surface temperature sensor. Another is a three-axis accelerometer count, which assesses activity and movement. Then there… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/a9ErJ7b

Deepfake fraud attempts have increased by a whopping 31 times in 2023 — a  3,000% increase year-on-year. That’s according to a new report by Onfido, an ID verification unicorn based in London. The company attributes the surge to the growing availability of cheap and simple online tools and generative AI. Face-swapping apps are the most common example. The most basic versions crudely paste one face on top of another to create a “cheapfake.” More sophisticated systems use AI to morph and blend a source face onto a target, but these require greater resources and skills.  The simple software, meanwhile, is… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/Mp7QYHn

Oura, the Finnish health wearable startup, is suing one of its biggest rivals, claiming it copied its ring device and accessed proprietary information. The Oulu-based company, which makes the Oura Ring health tracking device and has raised more than €140 million, has filed legal action against Indian company Ultrahuman. In a lawsuit filed in a court in Texas in early September, Oura accuses Ultrahuman of violating its patents and accessing proprietary information through ex-Oura employees and investors to develop its competing smart ring product. Oura, which is valued at over €2 billion, has one million users of its ring and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/aqJuON5

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was directly responsible for over 1 million fatalities in 2019, and the death toll keeps rising. It occurs when bacteria become resilient to antibiotics, making infections more difficult to treat — or in some cases impossible.  In Finland, scientist Windi Muziasari has made it her mission to tackle this “silent pandemic.”  In 2018, after completing her PhD studies at the University of Helsinki, Muziasari founded Resistomap — a tool to help doctors and researchers track the global distribution of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Since then, the startup has compiled a database of over 10,000 environmental samples… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/JxvKMnc

A new AI model from Google DeepMind is the world’s most accurate 10-day global weather forecasting system, according to the London-based lab. Named GraphCast, the model promises medium-range weather forecasts of “unprecedented accuracy.” In research published today, GraphCast was found to be more precise and faster than the industry gold standard for weather simulation, the High-Resolution Forecast (HRES). The system also predicted extreme weather further into the future than was previously possible. These insights were analysed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), an intergovernmental organisation that produces the HRES. A live version of Graphcast was deployed on… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/BQAVejG

Over the past year, AI image generators have taken the world by storm. Heck, even our distinguished writers at TNW use them from time to time.  Truth is, tools like Stable Diffusion, Latent Diffusion, or DALL·E can be incredibly useful for producing unique images from simple prompts — like this picture of Elon Musk riding a unicorn. But it’s not all fun and games. Users of these AI models can just as easily generate hateful, dehumanising, and pornographic images at the click of a button — with little to no repercussions.  “People use these AI tools to draw all kinds… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/AcDQKza

While the glittering lights of Europe’s cities hold the promise of new opportunities, ideas, and fun, they also hold smog and a growing air pollution problem. Not to mention the fact that it’s hard to live your dream city life as you’re trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic or spending your morning folding yourself into one metro after another. As the population of urban dwellers increases across cities from Stockholm to Milan, getting from point A to point B will only get that much more difficult. “We believe it doesn’t make sense for people to spend one year of their lives commuting… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/jxkTsyR

Norway-headquartered Otovo has secured €40mn to expand its rent-to-buy online marketplace for solar panels, as it seeks to cash in on booming demand from homeowners looking to slash their energy bills. Otovo rents out solar panels and inverters at a fixed monthly cost, which includes all repairs and maintenance. The platform, currently available 13 European countries, uses satellite data and mapping information to calculate how much sunlight a section of your roof receives and the corresponding energy produced, as well as the size, shape, and specification of suitable rooftop solar products. Then it finds the best price and solar installer… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/KD4o8F5

People have been harnessing tidal energy for milling grain for more than 1,000 years. As you’d imagine though, today’s contraptions for tapping this 24/7 power source are a little more sophisticated.  One of the most eye-catching designs to emerge in recent years is a giant metal ‘kite’ which swims underwater against the current, turning its rotor and generating electricity. Power is then sent to the grid via a subsea cable which also acts as the kite’s tether.  The biggest of these kites ever built, known as Dragon 12, is about to be installed off the Faroe Islands. With a wingspan… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/1OWeiak

ChatGPT’s engine cooperates more than people but also overestimates human collaboration, according to new research. Scientists believe the study offers valuable clues about deploying AI in real-world applications. The findings emerged from a famous game-theory problem: the prisoner’s dilemma. There are numerous variations, but the thought experiment typically starts with the arrest of two gang members. Each accomplish is then placed in a separate room for questioning. During the interrogations, they receive an offer: snitch on your fellow prisoner and go free.  But there’s a catch: if both prisoners testify against the other, each will get a harsher sentence than if… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/VfMoasH

The European Space Agency has signed a deal with Airbus and Voyager Space to secure its next home in orbit.  The two companies are currently developing Starlab, one of several planned replacements for the International Space Station (ISS), which is set to retire in 2030.  Under the agreement, ESA will assess how the Starlab space station could be used to provide continued access to space for Europe after the retirement of the ISS. ESA would primarily use Starlab for astronaut missions and space-based research. The agency could also potentially provide cargo and crew transportation services for the new space station.… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/RfdLQar

Climate tech is receiving a proportionally larger share of what is, undeniably, a muted venture capital investment environment. VC and private equity investment in the sector has, thus far in 2023, fallen by 40% — just as the evidence of the need for more money for potentially planet-saving technology is becoming increasingly insurmountable.  However, the total amount for all venture and equity investment was down 50.2% year-over-year. So, while climate tech is far from escaping the current economic downturn unscathed, it is faring… not as horribly as other tech segments.  Still, the news earlier this autumn that leading Dutch climate… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/kEGS0aH

Apple has faced a major setback in its longstanding €14.3bn tax dispute with the EU after an adviser to the bloc’s highest court said an earlier ruling over the tech giant’s business in Ireland should be thrown out and the case re-run.  Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella of the EU Court of Justice said in an advisory opinion that Apple’s win in a lower EU court should be shelved because of a series of legal errors. “It is therefore necessary for the General Court to carry out a new assessment,” Pitruzzella said. While the opinion is non-binding, such statements often hold… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Apple from The Next Web https://ift.tt/JdHFDqS

A UK-based startup is looking to breathe new life into a century-old technology that could power tropical island nations with virtually limitless, consistent, renewable energy.  Known as ocean thermal energy conversion or ‘OTEC,’ the technology was first invented in 1881 by French physicist Jacques Arsene d’Arsonval. He discovered that the temperature difference between sun-warmed surface water and the cold depths of the ocean could be harnessed to generate electricity.   OTEC systems transfer heat from warm surface waters to evaporate a low-boiling point fluid like ammonia, creating steam that drives a turbine to produce electricity. As the vapour cools and condenses… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/yK0sACB

Good news, cats and dogs: you can now legally eat lab-grown meat. The milestone comes courtesy of a world-first permit for cultivated pet food. Czech startup Bene Meat Technologies received the inaugural license from the EU on Wednesday. The company can now produce and sell the futuristic cuisine, which is made from cells taken from living animals.  After extraction, the cells are placed in a bioreactor and grown into muscle tissue. The flesh is then formed into the desired shape. The process could reduce emissions and prevent animal suffering, while creating meat that’s indistinguishable from farmed produce. It could also be… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/u3WxbVP

Food waste has become a critical global issue. Almost 10% of the 8 billion people on Earth are undernourished, but nearly a third of the food on our planet is trashed before it’s eaten. A startup called Positive Carbon has proposed a solution. The Irish company has developed a sensor-based system that tracks, traces, and reduces food waste. According to the startup, the tech has triggered 50% reductions in waste — saving over 4,000 tonnes of food. Designed for commercial kitchens, the tech can cut costs as well as litter. Mark Kirwan, Positive Carbon’s CEO, told TNW that hotels, hospitals, workplaces, and university campuses… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/BU48VOk

It’s been a little over five years since the GDPR came into effect and fines keep amassing — especially for social media platforms. New research by Dutch VPN company Surfshark has found that, since 2018, five of the most popular social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Whatsapp, and X/Twitter) have been fined over €2.9bn for violating the EU’s data protection law. Facebook alone accounts for nearly 60% of the total amount, with €1.7bn in penalties. Adding to Zuckerberg’s woes, Meta’s platforms combined have reached €2.5bn. TikTok has received the third highest amount in fines, at €360mn, while X (formerly Twitter) has… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/dluwcpv