Hallo, Netherlands! Welcome to TNW’s first weekly round-up of tech news from our glorious home country. As we count down to TNW conference in Amsterdam on June 20 and 21, we’re ramping up our coverage of the Dutch IT sector. We’d also love to hear your thoughts on the local ecosystem. Drop us a line if …
British cybersecurity flag bearer Darktrace is set to leave London’s stock market after agreeing a £4.3bn sale to US private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Shareholders will have to approve the takeover before it’s rubber-stamped. The chair of Darktrace, Gordon Hurst, said the deal represents “an attractive premium and an opportunity for shareholders.” “The proposed acquisition …
Darktrace agrees £4.3B sale to US investor in blow to UK stock marketLire plus »
A British startup today unveiled new AI humans that blur the line between the virtual and the real. Synthesia calls the digital beings “Expressive Avatars.” They promise the most realistic emotional expressions on the market. Generated by an AI model that’s trained on footage of real actors, the avatars are built for video creation. Users …
AI unicorn Synthesia launches most ’emotionally expressive’ avatars on the marketLire plus »
A startup promising “universal AI compute” has joined France’s thriving artificial intelligence sector. Paris-based FlexAI emerged from stealth today with a €28.5mn war chest and an ambitious plan to “unlock the future of machine intelligence.” To pick that lock, FlexAI is rearchitecting compute infrastructure. The startup’s centrepiece is an on-demand cloud service. Set to launch …
Paris startup adds ‘universal compute’ weapon to France’s growing AI arsenalLire plus »
A British startup aims to launch science satellites into space in 2025 after raising a fresh £2mn. Blue Skies Space has devised a unique business plan for the stargazers. They will be the first-ever science satellites that provide data directly to researchers via a membership model, the company said. The approach offers a new route to the secrets of …
World-first satellites for commercial science set for launch in 2025Lire plus »
Just a decade ago, the world’s biggest tech beast was a relative minnow. Microsoft had become notorious for disappointing product launches, stagnant innovation, and losing top talent. The first true software giant was becoming a big tech dinosaur. Fast forward to 2024 and Microsoft is the planet’s most valuable business. Under the leadership of CEO Satya …
How OpenAI and Microsoft reawakened a sleeping software giantLire plus »
Britain is exploring new curbs on China’s access to “sensitive technologies” following allegations of cyber espionage. Oliver Dowden, the UK’s deputy prime minister, launched a review of the restrictions on Thursday. He warned that “hostile states” could use British funds and tech for “military and intelligence” projects that threaten national security. “Our open economy is …
UK mulls fresh controls on ‘sensitive tech’ after China cyber attack claimLire plus »
Dutch startup Meatable has hosted the first legally approved tasting of cultivated meat in Europe. On the menu was a lab-grown pork sausage. Meatable says the produce is “indistinguishable” from traditional meat, but causes no harm to animals or the environment. To replicate the flavours and textures of livestock, Meatable first extracts a single cell sample …
‘Just like meaty sausages!’ Europe hosts first cultivated meat tastingLire plus »
AI threatens to decimate the translation profession, according to a new survey by a British union. Almost four in ten translators (36%) said they’ve already lost work due to generative AI. Nearly half of them (43%) said the tech has decreased their income. They fear far worse is to come. Over three-quarters of translators (77%) …
4 in 10 translators are losing work to AI. They want remuneration from devsLire plus »
Under orders from the EU, tech giants have launched 11 advertising transparency tools. None of them are fit for purpose, according to a new study from Mozilla. The tools provide libraries of data about online adverts. By exploring the repositories, researchers can identify the funders and techniques behind the ads. At least, that’s the idea. …
In biggest-ever election year, tech platforms are wide open for voter manipulationLire plus »
