Switch Dataset:
We are collecting the most relevant tech news and provide you with a handy archive. Use the search to find mentions of your city, accelerator or favorite startup in the last 1,000 news items. If you’d like to do a more thorough search, please contact us for help.
Search for any keyword to filter the database with >10,000 news articles
id | date | title | slug | Date | link | content | created_at | feed_id |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
43,970 | 26/07/2024 09:56 PM | Open Source AI Has Founders—and the FTC—Buzzing | open-source-ai-has-foundersand-the-ftcbuzzing | 26/07/2024 | DC went to YC to talk OS. | 26/07/2024 10:34 PM | 4 | |
43,968 | 26/07/2024 03:37 PM | Grok chatbot trains on X user data in ‘very likely’ breach of EU law | grok-chatbot-trains-on-x-user-data-in-very-likely-breach-of-eu-law | 26/07/2024 | Elon Musk could have yet another problem with the European Union. Musk’s X has enabled the Grok chatbot to be trained on data from any user. This feature is now on by default, which may breach EU rules. Deep within the settings of X, users unearthed evidence of the data harvesting. Besides a check box that was already ticked, they spotted the following text: “Allow your posts as well as your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok to be used for training and fine-tuning.” This approach could violate the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The law restricts companies from… This story continues at The Next Web |
26/07/2024 04:04 PM | 3 | |
43,967 | 26/07/2024 03:24 PM | Grindr disables location features in Olympic village to protect LGBTQ+ athletes | grindr-disables-location-features-in-olympic-village-to-protect-lgbtq-athletes | 26/07/2024 | Popular LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr has disabled location-based features for users within the Olympic village of the Paris Games, which kicked off today. The measures are not designed to stop athletes hooking up between sprints, swims, or shot puts — they’re a safety precaution. “If an athlete is not out or comes from a country where being LGBTQ+ is dangerous or illegal, using Grindr can put them at risk of being outed by curious individuals who may try to identify and expose them on the app,” said Grindr. Grindr has disabled features like “Roam” or “Explore,” which allow users to… This story continues at The Next Web |
26/07/2024 03:34 PM | 3 | |
43,966 | 26/07/2024 02:48 PM | €70M for circular fashion, €100M fund for CEE startups, and bringing Berners-Lee's web vision to life | euro70m-for-circular-fashion-euro100m-fund-for-cee-startups-and-bringing-berners-lees-web-vision-to-life | 26/07/2024 | This week we tracked more than 65 tech funding deals worth over €685 million, and over 5 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe. In addition to this week's top financials, we've also indexed the most important/industry-related news items you need to know about. If email is more your thing, you can always subscribe to our newsletter and receive a more robust version of this round-up delivered to your inbox. Either way, let's get you up to speed. ? Notable and big funding rounds?? RE&UP Recycling Technologies secures €70M from Proparco to push fashion & textile industry to circularity ?? H55 closes €67.7M Series C funding ??Traveltech Exotica secures €60M Series D ?? Gcore secures $60M for advanced Edge AI and cloud solutions ???? Noteworthy acquisitions and mergers?? Salesforce is taking over the Berlin AI startup Spoke.ai ?️ MiddleGround Capital launches voluntary public takeover of computer vision company ?? Assa Abloy to acquire Skidata ?? UniCredit acquires Vodeno ? Interesting moves from investors? Lead Ventures launches €100M fund for CEE startups ? Tech VC Molten Ventures reveals new £180m debt facility ? Biovance Capital Partners announces the launch of a biotechnology fund with a first closing of €51M ? FoolFarm Increases Capital by €2.55M ?️ In other (important) news?️ Inrupt's Data Wallet realises Sir Berners-Lee's data ownership dream ? Cash App to exit UK as "deprioritises global expansion" ? Revolut finally gets UK banking licence ⭐ “Maybe some things got a little wobbly,” says Techstars CEO addressing criticism about its corporate culture ? Recommended reads and listens?? Greece: From ancient roots to modern heights ?️? Beyond the Swipe: How Cosmic Latte has created safe and dynamic dating apps for the LGBTQ+ community ? How first responders get instant aerial intel with Fotokite's tethered drones ? The Berlin-based startup school whose teaching methods date back to Socrates ? Repurpose, regenerate, reimagine: startups leading the future of material innovation ? European tech startups to watch?? Skippio secures €540,000 for queue management ?? Amporin Pharmaceuticals secures €157,000 for degenerative disease treatment ?? Syntropic Medical secures €1.1M for drug-resistant depression treatment ?? Estonian Enty raises €700,000 Seed for financial SaaS ?? Irish analytics firm INQDATA secures £750,000 ?? Pension fintech Jarvis secures £1.8M to tell you when to retire |
26/07/2024 03:04 PM | 1 | |
43,969 | 26/07/2024 02:27 PM | Weekly funding round-up! All of the European startup funding rounds we tracked this week (July 22 – 26) | weekly-funding-round-up-all-of-the-european-startup-funding-rounds-we-tracked-this-week-july-22-26 | 26/07/2024 | This article is visible for CLUB members only. If you are already a member but don’t see the content of this article, please login here. If you’re not a CLUB member yet, but you’d like to read members-only content like this one, have unrestricted access to the site and benefit from many additional perks, you can sign up here. The post Weekly funding round-up! All of the European startup funding rounds we tracked this week (July 22 – 26) appeared first on EU-Startups. |
26/07/2024 04:04 PM | 6 | |
43,964 | 26/07/2024 01:20 PM | Paris Olympics app ‘prime target for cybercriminals’ | paris-olympics-app-prime-target-for-cybercriminals | 26/07/2024 | The Paris Olympics 2024 kicked off today. But as the City of Light opens its gates to millions of spectators, officials are bracing themselves for a cyber war. Analysts predict that there could be as many as four billion cyber attacks at this year’s Games. The official Paris Olympics 2024 app is particularly vulnerable. “This app handles vast amounts of personal and transactional data, making it a prime target for cybercriminals,” said Sakthi Mohan, cloud security lead at California-based Synopsys Software Integrity Group. The Paris Olympics app has already been downloaded over 10 million times on Google Play. It allows… This story continues at The Next Web |
26/07/2024 01:34 PM | 3 | |
43,965 | 26/07/2024 01:00 PM | Steve Jobs Knew the Moment the Future Had Arrived. It's Calling Again | steve-jobs-knew-the-moment-the-future-had-arrived-its-calling-again | 26/07/2024 | In a recently uncovered 1983 speech, Steve Jobs predicted the ubiquity of personal computers. In 2024, AI has brought us to another inflection point. | 26/07/2024 01:34 PM | 4 | |
43,963 | 26/07/2024 12:41 PM | After 15 years, the maintainer of Homebrew plans to make a living | after-15-years-the-maintainer-of-homebrew-plans-to-make-a-living | 26/07/2024 | Installing and updating applications and other dependencies on a computer really should be a solved problem by now. Yet almost every major desktop operating system provides multiple options, with no real clear answer to “which is best.” Linux, despite long-established package managers such as apt, deb, and rpm, just to name a few, still suffers from confusion and inconsistency between open source vs proprietary instals, as well as between developer tools and more user-focussed tools. Additionally, many package developers don’t even distribute to any package managers, or the versions you find in them are outdated. Windows isn’t much better, with… This story continues at The Next Web |
26/07/2024 01:04 PM | 3 | |
43,962 | 26/07/2024 10:45 AM | Ecop receives €8.5M EIC Accelerator funding for heat pump tech | ecop-receives-euro85m-eic-accelerator-funding-for-heat-pump-tech | 26/07/2024 | Austrian heat pump company ecop has been awarded €8.5 million in funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator. ecop was selected to receive the full €2.5 million in grant funding, as well as up to €6 million in equity investment, to scale the production of its novel rotation heat pump. ecop’s heat pump solution allows factories and local and district heating systems to efficiently recover and reuse their waste heat, with direct output temperatures up to 200 °C that are suitable for many industrial processes. The design is based on a unique rotating system that uses a 100 per cent climate friendly, non-toxic and non-flammable working medium and can change speed to accommodate different heat source temperatures, enabling a high degree of flexibility in the operation. In turn, industrial producers and municipalities can dramatically reduce their use of natural gas and other fossil fuels to produce heat, saving up to 2500 tons of CO2 per year with each heat pump system. Fabian Sacharowitz, CEO of ecop, said:
Christian Müller, Member of the Executive Board and CEO for the DACH region at ecop investor EIT InnoEnergy, adds:
The EIC Accelerator awards grants of up to €2.5 million, alongside equity investments, to deep-tech start-ups and small companies in a highly competitive process. Lead image: ecop. Photo: uncredited. |
26/07/2024 11:04 AM | 1 | |
43,959 | 26/07/2024 09:49 AM | 4D Medicine raises £3.4m for biomaterial platform | 4d-medicine-raises-pound34m-for-biomaterial-platform | 26/07/2024 | UK-based Biotech 4D Medicine, who develop biomaterial for a range of 3D printed implants and surgical devices, has raised a £3.4m Series A round The funding round was led by Oshen Holdings and backed by DSW Ventures, SFC Capital, Boundary Capital and private investors including several leading scientists and surgeons. It will enable the company to complete pre-clinical testing of its first product range and seek FDA clearance for entry into the US market. A spin-out from the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick, 4D has developed a resorbable biomaterial, 4Degra, that is being used to develop implants such as orthopaedic devices or soft tissue scaffolds to help patients recovering from surgery or injuries. Preliminary testing has shown that as healing progresses, the biomaterial gradually erodes and is resorbed by normal metabolic processes as natural tissue grows back in its place. 4Degra promises some key advantages over existing resorbable biomaterials used for implants. With some materials, the entire product breaks down rapidly, creating acidic by-products that can cause pain, inflammation and cysts. By contrast 4Degra degrades gradually, starting from the surface, and does not release harmful acidic by-products. 4Degra can be 3D printed to create complex geometries. As it can be produced in both soft and hard formulations, it also has the potential to be used both for flexible products such as films and membranes, or where a more rigid product is required such as plates, pins and bone scaffolds. 4D Medicine was founded in 2020 and is now based in Nottingham. The latest funding brings the total raised to date to £5m. The company is now preparing to raise a Series B investment early next year. Philip Smith, the company’s CEO, commented: “I would like to thank all our investors for their trust and support. Our success in continuing to raise investment despite the difficult market conditions over the last few years is testament to their belief in the company’s commercial potential and our world-class team. The funds will be used to complete the pre-clinical testing of our first medical device product range and our preparations for entry into the orthopaedic market.” Didier Cowling, Partner at Oshen Holdings added: “We were delighted to lead this deal and we look forward to working with the 4D team. The company is now poised to make a substantial impact in the bioresorbable medical device space. We believe that 4Degra is a real game-changer that is enabling 4D to develop novel bioresorbable medical devices with unique properties.” Doug Quinn, Partner at DSW Ventures, commented: “4D’s novel biomaterial platform opens up new possibilities for implants and devices. The company has already attracted attention from large industry players including a potential acquirer. This funding will enable it to apply for regulatory clearance in the US and target opportunities in the £5bn market for resorbable medical devices.” Jason Druker, Portfolio Manager at SFC Capital said: “We are delighted to refresh our commitment to Phil and the 4D team. Since we first invested four years ago, they have made great progress and we’re excited to see the impact of their first medical device products.” |
26/07/2024 10:04 AM | 1 | |
43,960 | 26/07/2024 09:35 AM | Zurich-based Cowbell secures over €55 million to advance global SME cyber adoption | zurich-based-cowbell-secures-over-euro55-million-to-advance-global-sme-cyber-adoption | 26/07/2024 | Cowbell, a leading provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises, based both in Switzerland and California, has announced the successful closure of over €55 million Series C equity investment from Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich), a prominent global multi-line insurer. This significant investment will enable Cowbell to scale its operations to meet growing demand, expand its presence in key international markets, enhance cyber resilience services, introduce new innovative products, and strengthen strategic partnerships. By leveraging existing advancements in AI and GenerativeAI, Cowbell aims to expand its technological infrastructure, driving efficiencies and supporting expedited decision-making for policyholders and brokers across traditional, digital, and API-driven channels. Zurich’s investment underscores its commitment to providing state-of-the-art cyber protection and resilience solutions, especially within the SME and middle market segments, which are increasingly exposed to cyber risks. This move aligns with Zurich’s strategy to leverage cutting-edge technology and expertise to address the evolving complexities of cyber risk management. The global cost of cybercrime is projected to reach $24 trillion by 2027, with ransomware attacks alone costing small businesses an average of $1.7 million per incident. Sierra Signorelli, CEO of Commercial Insurance at Zurich, commented: “Cyber threats remain a major concern for business leaders due to their constantly evolving nature. To address this, we continue to invest in enhancing our cyber capabilities and building a strong support system for our customers. Cowbell is an excellent partner for managing cyber risks. They use a data-centric approach to risk management, provide continuous risk assessments, actively monitor threats, and have strong underwriting expertise. And all of this is centred around a highly advanced digital platform designed to boost cyber resilience for their customers.” Jack Kudale, founder and CEO of Cowbell, stated: “This investment from Zurich is the strongest endorsement of Cowbell’s vision and capabilities yet and deepens our footprint in the global cyber insurance market. With a refined focus on product expansion, we will accelerate our efforts to deliver advanced and efficient cyber insurance solutions to SMEs and mid-market businesses globally, ensuring they have the protection and tools they need to navigate the rising threats in the evolving cyber landscape.” Cowbell’s broker-first approach and reputation for its easy-to-use platform and effective education experience for the broker community are gaining worldwide traction and trust, with licensed producer growth nearly tripling over the last two years. With better outcomes for customers at its core, reinvestment back into the business will see Cowbell double down on advancements in AI and GenAI to bring greater transparency to cyber risk. In doing so, Cowbell will facilitate smarter decision-making and raise cyber resiliency standards for brokers and businesses worldwide. This latest investment marks a major milestone in Cowbell’s fast-scaling journey, following a year of rapid geographic and product expansion, technological growth, and the onboarding of industry-heavyweight experts, further solidifying its position in the global cyber insurance market. With over €186 million raised to date, Cowbell has remained capital-efficient throughout its journey. The company has steadfastly pursued its clear vision to protect, educate, and empower SMEs and mid-market businesses, along with the broker community serving them, against today’s and tomorrow’s threats. The post Zurich-based Cowbell secures over €55 million to advance global SME cyber adoption appeared first on EU-Startups. |
26/07/2024 10:34 AM | 6 | |
43,957 | 26/07/2024 09:08 AM | The Berlin-based startup school whose teaching methods date back to Socrates | the-berlin-based-startup-school-whose-teaching-methods-date-back-to-socrates | 26/07/2024 | "I was a small town kid from the south of Germany from a working class family,” says Fabian Kamberi, the co-founder of social gaming startup SLAY. “CODE opened my eyes and enabled me to pursue my dreams and encouraged me to reach for the stars and build a generational company.” While these comments might feel Hollywood-tinged, Berlin-based SLAY is no slouch and has just bagged $5m in funding to build its social gaming platform, which attracts more than 2.5 million monthly active users. SLAY is one of scores of startups which has grown out of CODE University of Applied Sciences, a Berlin-based state-recognised private university. CODE is supported by Germany’s leading startup entrepreneurs and is using teaching methods which can be traced back to Aristotle, Confucius, and Socrates. CODE is one of several educational facilities preaching a new type of learning, looking to revolutionise higher education and unearth the superstar startups of tomorrow. Other startup educational facilities of a similar ilk include Silicon Valley VC-backed Minerva, France’s 42 coding bootcamp and Kaospilot in Denmark. Ted TalkIn his 2018 Ted Talk Manuel Dolderer, CODE co-founder, described the ethos behind CODE, which launched in 2017, as “curiosity-driven learning”. Dolderer said: “The idea was to create a different kind of learning environment, that very much focuses on application and entrepreneurial spirit, rather than just memorising factual knowledge.” He adds: “The learning experience is significantly different from traditional higher education institutions.” In essence, "curiosity-driven learning” puts students in the driver’s seat. At CODE, as opposed to lessons being teacher-led, students form project teams around problems they want to solve across computer sciences. The project is linked to academic learning goals. Seven years in, CODE has had hundreds of students from scores of countries through its doors, spawning more than 70 companies “many of which are successful startups”. One in ten become foundersAround one in ten students at CODE, which runs courses in software engineering, product management and interactive design, become founders of startups (either during their time at CODE or after). These startups- some of which have made it into Y Combinator- have raised more than €250m in capital. CODE executives are currently in talks with some VCs about paying a fee to get early access to founders before they go to the open market. Sheryl Sandberg is a fan. She said: “CODE University is doing important work educating the next generation of students in advanced technological skills." Kickstarts careersAsked about the importance of CODE to SLAY, Kamberi said: “It enabled me to have a foundation, specifically with my previous company — I was able to get a kickstart due to the flexibility in my studies, and the emphasis on entrepreneurship. "Through CODE, I was able to meet founder peers that helped me in backchanneling with investors and knowledge exchange. Through CODE, I met my co-founder Stefan, who is one of my best friends and an essential part of our success.” On the best thing about CODE, he said: “The community, by far. The fellow entrepreneurs and engineers.” He added that a lot of his peer group at CODE had gone on to launch startups. Another former student is Alexander Kübel, co-founder and CEO of Kombo, an API-integration fintech that has raised €8M, which also went through Y Combinator. CODE "prerequisite"He said: “I think CODE was a prerequisite for where Kombo is now. I met all my co-founders there, we are all software engineers. “CODE was a necessary job for our journey. CODE had a couple of courses around ‘How to build a startup?’ that was inspired by YC. We applied to YC and the CODE network recommended us. We got accepted there, I would say only because of the CODE network.” On what is the best thing about CODE, Kübel says the people are a combination of entrepreneurial people who can “also build stuff”. IMAGE: Pexels |
26/07/2024 09:34 AM | 1 | |
43,961 | 26/07/2024 09:02 AM | London-based Fractile exits stealth with €13.8 million seed to develop radical new AI chip | london-based-fractile-exits-stealth-with-euro138-million-seed-to-develop-radical-new-ai-chip | 26/07/2024 | Fractile, a UK company building a groundbreaking new AI chip to deliver exponential performance improvements for AI models, has exited stealth and announced €13.8 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Kindred Capital, NATO Innovation Fund, and Oxford Science Enterprises, with participation from Cocoa and Inovia Capital, together with angel investors including Hermann Hauser (co-founder, Acorn, Amadeus Capital), Stan Boland (ex-Icera, NVIDIA, Element 14 and Five AI), and Amar Shah (co-founder, Wayve). Founded in 2022 by 28-year-old artificial intelligence PhD, Walter Goodwin, Fractile has developed a radically different approach to the design of chips for AI inference that can deliver transformational improvements in performance for frontier AI models in deployment. A Fractile system will achieve astonishing performance on AI model inference – initial targets are 100x faster and 10x cheaper – by using novel circuits to execute 99.99% of the operations needed to run model inference. A key aspect is a shift to in-memory compute, which removes the need to shuttle model parameters to and from processor chips, instead baking computational operations into memory directly. Fractile is also unique in its approach to building these computational units, while still ensuring its technology is fully compatible with the leading-edge unmodified silicon foundry processes that all leading AI chips are built on. Dr. Walter Goodwin, CEO and Founder of Fractile, said: “In today’s AI race, the limitations of existing hardware – nearly all of which is provided by a single company – represent the biggest barrier to better performance, reduced cost, and wider adoption. Fractile’s approach supercharges inference, delivering astonishing improvements in terms of speed and cost. This is more than just a speed-up – changing the performance point for inference allows us to explore completely new ways to use today’s leading AI models to solve the world’s most complex problems.” Not only will Fractile provide vast speed and cost advantages, but it does so at a substantial power reduction. Power – sometimes measured in Tera Operations Per Second per Watt (TOPS/W) – is the biggest fundamental limitation when it comes to scaling up AI compute performance (see notes below for more detail). Fractile’s system is targeting 20x the TOPS/W of any other system visible to the company today. This allows for more users to be served in parallel per inference system, with – in the case of LLMs for example – more words per second returned to those users, thereby making it possible to serve many more users for the same cost. John Cassidy, Partner at Kindred Capital, commented: “AI is evolving so rapidly that building hardware for it is akin to shooting at a moving target in the dark. It’s a major technical challenge but, with the AI inference chip market projected to be worth $91B by 2030, there’s also huge growth potential. Because Fractile’s team has a deep background in AI, the company has the depth of knowledge to understand how AI models are likely to evolve, and how to build hardware for the requirements of not just the next two years, but 5-10 years into the future. We’re excited to partner with Walter and the team on this journey.” Andrea Traversone, Managing Partner at NATO Innovation Fund, added: “AI is one of the most transformational technologies of our time. Staying at the forefront of AI innovation is key to building a secure future and advancing defence, security and resilience across the Alliance. We are thrilled to be supporting Fractile, a company whose computing technology can enhance our collective AI capabilities by enabling computing power to run faster, more efficiently and sustainably.” Fractile has already built a world-class team with senior hires from NVIDIA, ARM and Imagination, and has filed patents protecting key circuits and its unique approach to in-memory compute. The company is already in discussions with potential partners and expects to sign partnerships ahead of production of the company’s first commercial AI accelerator hardware. Fractile will use the funding to continue to grow its team and accelerate progress towards the company’s first product. To date, Fractile has raised $17.5m (£14m) in total funding. The post London-based Fractile exits stealth with €13.8 million seed to develop radical new AI chip appeared first on EU-Startups. |
26/07/2024 10:34 AM | 6 | |
43,958 | 26/07/2024 09:02 AM | Primary Portal secures £7.5M first stage Series A funding for digital equity solutions | primary-portal-secures-pound75m-first-stage-series-a-funding-for-digital-equity-solutions | 26/07/2024 | Primary Portal, a digital platform that aggregates and digitises equity capital market processes for banks and asset managers, has completed the first stage of its £7.5 million Series A funding round. Primary Portal is a fintech company focused on developing and operating digital infrastructure solutions for equity capital markets and automating manual and time-consuming issuance processes. Drawing on over 20 years of experience in equity capital markets, founders John Bentinck and Ilan Leshem are transforming archaic and inefficient workflows that are still largely analogue, labour-intensive, and error-prone. With over 90 banks and 400 institutional investors using the platform, Primary Portal is rapidly digitising the equity issuance space by creating the infrastructure that makes capital markets systems interoperable. “We are delighted to welcome Deutsche Börse as a shareholder and are very excited to work together with them in further enhancing connectivity and digitisation for capital markets,” says founder John Bentinck.
The venture capital arm of Deutsche Börse Group, DB1 Ventures led the round which also saw further investment from existing shareholders Dutch Founders Fund (DFF) and Flow Traders. According to Stefan Maassen, Head of Capital Markets & Corporates at Deutsche Börse:
With the new investment, the company will expand its offering, particularly by connecting asset managers' order management systems with banks, enabling straight-through processing in capital markets transactions for the first time. Additionally, Primary Portal will advance its analytical data solutions, providing powerful data and analytical tools to banks and asset managers. Lead image: Primary Portal founders. Photo: uncredited. |
26/07/2024 09:34 AM | 1 | |
43,955 | 26/07/2024 08:34 AM | Fractile secures $15M funding for better hardware for AI inference | fractile-secures-dollar15m-funding-for-better-hardware-for-ai-inference | 26/07/2024 | UK AI chip company Fractile has today exited stealth and announced $15 million in Seed funding. Founded in 2022 by 28-year-old artificial intelligence PhD, Walter Goodwin, Fractile s building its first new AI chip, capable of running state-of-the-art AI models up to 100x faster and 10x cheaper than existing hardware. Today’s AI chips are the biggest constraint to better AI performance. - Every large AI company currently relies on fundamentally similar chips, which are well-suited to training LLMs but not to inference (the process of running live data through a trained model). This means AI models are very expensive to run, their performance is inhibited, and their potential future capabilities are restricted. It also makes it hard for AI model builders to deliver meaningful differentiation. There are two paths available to a company attempting to build better hardware for AI inference. The first is specialisation: honing in on very specific workloads and building chips that are uniquely suited to those specific requirements. Because model architectures evolve rapidly in the world of AI, whilst designing, verifying, fabricating and testing chips takes considerable time, companies pursuing this approach face the problem of shooting for a moving target whose exact direction is uncertain. Transformation of computational operationsThe second path is to fundamentally change the way that computational operations themselves are performed, create entirely different chips from these new building blocks, and build massively scalable systems on top of these. This is Fractile’s approach, which will unlock breakthrough performance across a range of AI models both present and future. A Fractile system will achieve astonishing performance on AI model inference – initial targets are 100x faster and 10x cheaper – by using novel circuits to execute 99.99 per cent of the operations needed to run model inference. A key aspect is a shift to in-memory compute, which removes the need to shuttle model parameters to and from processor chips, instead baking computational operations into memory directly. Fractile technology is fully compatible with the unmodified silicon foundry processes that all leading AI chips are built on. Lower power expenditureNot only will Fractile provide vast speed and cost advantages, but it does so at a substantial power reduction. Power – sometimes measured in Tera Operations Per Second per Watt (TOPS/W) – is the biggest fundamental limitation when it comes to scaling up AI compute performance (see notes below for more detail). Fractile’s system is targeting 20x the TOPS/W of any other system visible to the company today. This allows for more users to be served in parallel per inference system, with – in the case of LLMs for example – more words per second returned to those users, thereby making it possible to serve many more users for the same cost. Fractile’s performance leap on inference will accelerate AI’s ability to solve the biggest scientific and computationally heavy problems, from drug discovery to climate modelling to video generation. Kindred Capital, NATO Innovation Fund, and Oxford Science Enterprises led the round, with participation from Cocoa and Inovia Capital, together with angel investors including Hermann Hauser (co-founder, Acorn, Amadeus Capital), Stan Boland (ex-Icera, NVIDIA, Element 14 and Five AI), and Amar Shah (co-founder, Wayve). To date, Fractile has raised $17.5 million in total funding. According to Dr Walter Goodwin, CEO and Founder of Fractile:
John Cassidy, Partner at Kindred Capital:, said
According to Stan Boland, angel investor:
Fractile has already built a world-class team with senior hires from NVIDIA, ARM and Imagination, and has filed patents protecting key circuits and its unique approach to in-memory compute. The company is already in discussions with potential partners and expects to sign partnerships ahead of production of the company’s first commercial AI accelerator hardware. Fractile will use the funding to continue to grow its team and accelerate progress towards the company’s first product. Lead image: |
26/07/2024 09:04 AM | 1 | |
43,956 | 26/07/2024 08:03 AM | Rome-based Rent2Cash closes €3 million to launch rental advance platform for property owners | rome-based-rent2cash-closes-euro3-million-to-launch-rental-advance-platform-for-property-owners | 26/07/2024 | Rent2Cash, an Italian startup bringing rental advance services to landlords, offering upfront payouts of up to 3 years’ rent, raised a €3 million pre-seed round and launched operations in Italy. The investment is financed by major Italian banking groups, as well as institutional investors and business angels. The company purchased its first rental credits via Banca Finint, which will be financed through the securitisation of those contracts. The funds will be used towards the acquisition of the first rental contracts, product and feature launches, in particular in the commercial property sector, and the consolidation of its technology platform. Rent2Cash will also recruit 30 new talents, across Product, Sales and Marketing in the coming months. Rent2Cash offers upfront payouts of up to 3 years’ future rents to owners of rented properties. In exchange, it manages rent collection, provides dedicated assistance to clients and secures a formal liquidity proposal within 10 days of the client’s request. Banca Finint, who services the securitization process and also operates as an advisor and investor, has played a key role in rolling out today the very first securitizations in this sector. “This funding round is a stamp of credibility for our business model and validates our vision and execution to date,” explained the founders of Rent2Cash Gianluca Fioranelli, Yilang Chen and Marco Grassi. “The funds will fuel our product development efforts, accelerate the go-to-market timeline for our commercial real estate products in the coming weeks, and sustain our growth and hiring ambitions. The idea behind our project is to redefine the perceived value of a building by transforming a rental contract into immediate liquidity for the owners in a market that is estimated at over €30 billion a year in Italy alone and $2.5 trillion worldwide.” Among other things, the Italian startup plans to expand VAULT, its proprietary algorithm. VAULT can already analyse over 50 variables to examine the state of the property, the rental agreement, the owner and the tenant’s scoring, offering clients dynamic and personalised pricing. The algorithm will soon include new asset classes, and expand into the commercial property sector. “We are thrilled to back Rent2Cash, and to become advisors, investors and servicer of the securitisation. The investment is in line with our commitment to support new solutions in the financial market, and offer our expertise to promising and innovative businesses,” added Paolo Gabriele, Head Of Investment Banking Financial Institution of Banca Finint. “Rent2Cash platform represents a unicum in this segment, operating in an untapped sector with huge potential for growth. The securitisation market is an area in which Banca Finint has considerable expertise and a leading position in the Italian market. We believe that it’s a financial instrument of choice for investors looking to support disruptive players in the fintech space.” The post Rome-based Rent2Cash closes €3 million to launch rental advance platform for property owners appeared first on EU-Startups. |
26/07/2024 09:04 AM | 6 | |
43,953 | 26/07/2024 07:47 AM | Leading innovation: 10 promising European startups focusing on biopharmaceuticals | leading-innovation-10-promising-european-startups-focusing-on-biopharmaceuticals | 26/07/2024 | Biopharmaceuticals, often known as bio-pharma, represent a dynamic sector within the pharmaceutical industry that uses biological processes to develop drugs and therapies. Unlike traditional pharmaceuticals, which are typically synthesized chemically, bio-pharma products are derived from living organisms such as cells, tissues, or proteins. This field offers targeted and precise treatments that can address complex diseases at a molecular level, often with fewer side effects compared to conventional drugs. The development of biopharmaceuticals involves advanced biotechnology techniques, such as recombinant DNA technology, genetic engineering, and cell culture processes. This requires significant expertise and sophisticated research facilities, often leading to longer development timelines and higher production costs. However, in Europe, the bio-pharma sector is growing rapidly due to the substantial potential benefits of bio-pharma products. They provide innovative solutions for conditions that have been difficult to treat with traditional medicines, such as certain types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and genetic disorders. On that note, we have curated a list of 10 promising bio-pharma startups in Europe that are at the forefront of this innovation. These companies, all founded between 2019 and 2024, are advancing scientific knowledge and developing groundbreaking treatments that have the potential to transform healthcare globally. Accession Therapeutics: Based in Oxford, Accession Therapeutics is developing novel immuno-oncology therapeutics, combining high specificity and potency to counter tumour diversity. It is the first company to engineer a viral point of entry to cancer cells while bypassing healthy cells. Founded in 2024, and Led by Dr Bent Jakobsen, the company has raised €60.8 million to revolutionize cancer therapy by eradicating tumour cells while sparing healthy ones. Adendra: Headquartered in London, Adendra Therapeutics is developing next-generation immunotherapies for cancer and other illnesses by leveraging new insights into dendritic cell biology. Their technology targets dendritic cells’ ability to recognize signs of atypical cell death, which is common in tumours and viral infections. This approach aims to create novel small molecules and biological medicines that finely tune immune responses to various diseases. Founded in 2021, Adendra has raised €48.9 million. Cellcolabs: Headquartered in Stockholm, Cellcolabs specialises in the industrial GMP production of high-quality Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) to make them available at scale, aiming to accelerate stem cell research and facilitate future market approval of MSC products. MSCs, known for their anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and regenerative properties, hold great promise for treating severe and incurable diseases. Founded in 2021, Cellcolabs has raised €8 million. MultiOmic Health: London-based MultiOmic Health is an AI-enabled drug discovery startup focused on metabolic syndrome-related diseases such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, etc. This precision medicine strategy aims to shorten and improve the success rates of clinical trials. MultiOmic’s MOHSAIC® platform integrates multi-omics analysis and computational systems biology to originate novel precision therapeutic concepts. Founded in 2021, MultiOmic Health has raised €8.1 million. Muna Therapeutics: Headquartered in Copenhagen, Muna Therapeutics is a private biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops therapies to slow or stop neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and dementia. Their research focuses on preserving brain functions and halting disease progression by integrating insights from genetics, bioinformatics, and cell biology. Muna uses a powerful drug discovery engine combining protein structural approaches, AI-driven computational chemistry, and cell-based screening. Founded in 2020, Muna Therapeutics has raised €71.9 million. Neurosterix: Based in Geneva, Neurosterix is developing allosteric modulators for neurological disorders. Their platform identifies molecules that modulate target receptors by binding outside the active site, differing from traditional drugs. This approach aims to create medicines with improved efficacy, safety, and tolerability. Neurosterix focuses on providing better treatment options for patients with underserved neurological conditions. Founded in 2024, Neurosterix has raised €58.1 million. Nuage Therapeutics: Located in Barcelona, Nuage Therapeutics utilises chemical biology and biomolecular condensation to develop selective drugs targeting proteins with disordered regions for challenging indications, thereby improving patients’ lives. Founded in 2021, Nuage Therapeutics has raised €12 million to advance its mission through cutting-edge scientific research and strategic partnerships. Ochre Bio: Based in Oxford, Ochre Bio develops therapies to tackle liver health challenges, from increasing donor liver supply to reducing cirrhosis complications. Their approach includes deep phenotyping of livers and designing precision RNA therapies to regenerate human livers outside the body. Founded in 2019, Ochre Bio has raised €36.7 million to address chronic liver disease, a rising global health issue, by leveraging advanced computational and multi-omic technologies. With decades of genomics and drug development expertise, their scientific teams aim to make healthy livers available for patients worldwide. Quercis Pharma: Based in Zug, Switzerland, Quercis Pharma is developing novel, orally available anti-thrombotic, anti-cancer, antiviral, and immuno-modulatory treatments for life-threatening conditions with significant unmet medical needs. Their lead drug candidate, Kinisoquin, targets venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in high-risk cancer patients and those with sickle cell disease. Quercis Pharma’s unique mechanism of action reduces thrombosis risk without increasing bleeding, and its drugs have shown promising safety and efficacy in clinical trials. Founded in 2019, Quercis Pharma has raised €138.4 million to make these treatments accessible to underserved and impoverished populations worldwide. Cimeio Therapeutics: Located in Basel, Switzerland, Cimeio Therapeutics develops curative therapies for hematologic disorders using cell-shielding technology paired with immunotherapies. Their technology protects healthy cells while targeting diseased ones, enhancing safety and effectiveness. They employ gene editing to shield cell surface receptors from depletion. This novel approach aims to treat difficult hematologic conditions. Founded in 2020 with the mission to significantly improve the eligibility and outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplants and adoptive cell therapy, they have raised over €46 million. By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service! The post Leading innovation: 10 promising European startups focusing on biopharmaceuticals appeared first on EU-Startups. |
26/07/2024 08:04 AM | 6 | |
43,954 | 26/07/2024 07:12 AM | Stockholm-based Greenely secures €8 million to reshape how households interact with the energy market | stockholm-based-greenely-secures-euro8-million-to-reshape-how-households-interact-with-the-energy-market | 26/07/2024 | Greenely, a fast-growing energy company, has successfully closed its Series A round, raising €8 million. The round was led by the Belgian investment company Korys, together with existing investor Luminar Ventures and other current shareholders. With this capital, Greenely will accelerate its expansion plans. The company aims to deploy its cutting-edge energy platform across Norway and Finland, in addition to its established presence in Sweden, targeting a combined market of nearly 10 million households. This move capitalizes on the harmonized market for frequency balancing services across these countries, enabling rapid scaling of Greenely’s VPP technology. Over the past few years, Greenely has made a name for itself in the Swedish energy market with its energy management platform. The company’s solution seamlessly integrates connected assets such as solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, battery storage systems, and heat pumps with its dynamic electricity tariff and recently introduced virtual power plant (VPP) technology. This comprehensive system not only empowers households to significantly reduce their energy bills through intelligent management of their electricity consumption, but also opens up new revenue streams by enabling consumers to participate in balancing the electricity network while contributing to grid stability. The new funds will accelerate the development of Greenely’s residential VPP and Home Energy Management platform, while fueling an expansion across the Nordic region. “We are extremely excited to welcome Korys as a new investor. Korys has extensive expertise in energy management, electricity supply and demand-side flexibility, and will help us take the company to the next level. We’re also very grateful for the continued support from our existing shareholders,” said Tanmoy Bari, co-founder and CEO of Greenely. Greenely has experienced continued strong growth over the past years, and has successfully launched its VPP program at the end of 2023. This program will enable residential households to play an active role in helping to balance the frequency in the national power grid. The VPP platform initially consisted of EV chargers installed in consumers’ homes, and Greenely is now expanding to residential battery storage systems. Following almost a year of intensive development, Greenely has launched the qualification process with Sweden’s Transmission System Operator (TSO) to provide grid balancing services through its unique technology and home batteries. The system’s unique dual functionality allows it to optimize household energy use while also supporting national grid stability, offering homeowners the dual benefit of reduced energy costs and an additional source of income. “Greenely is a remarkable company, willing to revolutionize the way households consume electricity and positively contribute to a net-zero future, exemplifying the type of impactful company we want to support. We are thrilled to partner with Tanmoy and the team in this next exciting chapter for Greenely and to support their geographic and product expansion,” added Brieuc de Hults, Investment Director, and Quentin Dupont, Investment Manager at Korys. The post Stockholm-based Greenely secures €8 million to reshape how households interact with the energy market appeared first on EU-Startups. |
26/07/2024 08:04 AM | 6 | |
43,952 | 26/07/2024 07:00 AM | Energy tech Greenely secures €8M Series A | energy-tech-greenely-secures-euro8m-series-a | 26/07/2024 | Stockholm-based energy startup Greenely has closed its Series A round, raising €8M. Greenely previously deployed its energy management platform in the Swedish energy market. The company's solution integrates connected assets such as solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, battery storage systems, and heat pumps with a dynamic electricity tariff and recently introduced virtual power plant (VPP) technology. This system not only reduces households' energy bills through intelligent management of their electricity consumption, but also opens up new revenue streams by enabling consumers to participate in balancing the electricity network while contributing to grid stability. The new funds will accelerate the development of Greenely's residential VPP and Home Energy Management platform, while fueling an expansion across the Nordic region. “We are extremely excited to welcome Korys as a new investor. Korys has extensive expertise in energy management, electricity supply and demand-side flexibility, and will help us take the company to the next level. We're also very grateful for the continued support from our existing shareholders,” said Tanmoy Bari, co-founder and CEO of Greenely. “Greenely is a remarkable company, willing to revolutionize the way households consume electricity and positively contribute to a net-zero future, exemplifying the type of impactful company we want to support. We are thrilled to partner with Tanmoy and the team in this next exciting chapter for Greenely and to support their geographic and product expansion,” added Brieuc de Hults, Investment Director, and Quentin Dupont, Investment Manager at Korys. Greenely has grown over the past years, and has launched its VPP program at the end of 2023. This program will enable residential households to play an active role in helping to balance the frequency in the national power grid. The VPP platform initially consisted of EV chargers installed in consumers' homes, and Greenely is now expanding to residential battery storage systems. Following almost a year of intensive development, Greenely has launched the qualification process with Sweden's Transmission System Operator (TSO) to provide grid balancing services through its unique technology and The system's dual functionality allows it to optimize household energy use while also supporting national grid stability, offering homeowners the dual benefit of reduced energy costs and an additional source of income. With the funding, Greenely will deploy its platform across Norway and Finland, in addition to its established presence in Sweden, targeting a combined market of nearly 10 million households. |
26/07/2024 07:04 AM | 1 | |
43,951 | 25/07/2024 09:13 PM | Class Action Lawsuit Alleges T-Mobile Broke Its Lifetime Price Guarantee | class-action-lawsuit-alleges-t-mobile-broke-its-lifetime-price-guarantee | 25/07/2024 | Customers of the uncarrier want T-Mobile to pay up after switching their legacy phone plans for something more expensive. | 25/07/2024 10:34 PM | 4 | |
43,949 | 25/07/2024 08:03 PM | California Supreme Court Rules That Uber and Lyft Drivers Will Remain Independent Contractors | california-supreme-court-rules-that-uber-and-lyft-drivers-will-remain-independent-contractors | 25/07/2024 | In a major victory for app-based companies, their drivers will not be considered employees. | 25/07/2024 08:34 PM | 4 | |
43,950 | 25/07/2024 08:03 PM | SearchGPT Is OpenAI's Direct Assault on Google | searchgpt-is-openais-direct-assault-on-google | 25/07/2024 | The company behind ChatGPT is expanding into search, and leaning heavily on its relationships with publishers. | 25/07/2024 08:34 PM | 4 | |
43,948 | 25/07/2024 06:29 PM | New Jersey's $500 Million Bid to Become an AI Epicenter | new-jerseys-dollar500-million-bid-to-become-an-ai-epicenter | 25/07/2024 | The Garden State has enacted a hefty new tax credit specifically for AI businesses. But tax incentives—particularly around data centers—haven’t always created large numbers of jobs. | 25/07/2024 07:34 PM | 4 | |
43,946 | 25/07/2024 03:37 PM | Airbus backs space gym to jump-start astronaut health | airbus-backs-space-gym-to-jump-start-astronaut-health | 25/07/2024 | An exercise machine for astronauts has entered an Airbus accelerator. Built by UK startup Physical Mind London, the device mitigates the impacts of zero gravity, which can be brutal. After six months in space, astronauts can lose up to 20% of their bone mass. Their muscles can also shrink dramatically. On short flights, they can suffer muscle loss of 20%. If no countermeasures are applied, this can rise to 50%. Physical Mind London wants to provide those countermeasures. The company’s flagship product is the HIFIm (High Frequency Impulses for Microgravity machine). HIFIm provides a workout based on one special exercise: jumping.… This story continues at The Next Web |
25/07/2024 04:04 PM | 3 | |
43,947 | 25/07/2024 03:30 PM | Google DeepMind’s Game-Playing AI Tackles a Chatbot Blind Spot | google-deepminds-game-playing-ai-tackles-a-chatbot-blind-spot | 25/07/2024 | Google’s new advance combines a large language model with a self-learning AI. The technique could address some shortcomings with AI—although there’s a catch. | 25/07/2024 04:04 PM | 4 |