DeepMind made its AI name in games. Now it’s playing with the foundations of computing

Jun07
by on June 7, 2023 at 5:13 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


DeepMind has applied its mastery of games to a more serious business: the foundations of computer science. The Google subsidiary today unveiled AlphaDev, an AI system that discovers new fundamental algorithms. According to DeepMind, the algorithms it’s unearthed surpass those honed by human experts over decades.  The London-based lab has grand ambitions for the project. As demand for computation grows and silicon chips approach their limits, fundamental algorithms will have to become exponentially more efficient. By enhancing these processes, DeepMind aims to transform the infrastructure of the digital world.  The first target in this mission is sorting algorithms, which are used to order…

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European startup funding to drop 38% in 2023 — but there’s cause for hope

Jun06
by on June 6, 2023 at 1:56 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


European tech startups will see a 38% investment drop in 2023 compared to 2022 levels, the latest report by Atomico finds. Specifically, startups are expected to raise $51bn in funding — down from $83bn in 2022 and $106bn in 2021. But Europe isn’t alone in navigating a tough year for tech. The US and China are also looking at a 49% investment decrease in 2023 compared to 2021. According to the report, this global retraction in funding has a domino effect on the flow of capital between the regions. For Europe, this translates to a significant reduction of capital from…

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Finally, a useful blockchain application: Tracing halal meat

Jun05
by on June 5, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Blockchain is frequently derided as a solution in search of a problem. But buried beneath the crypto scams and Web3 utopianism hide some intriguing use cases. Some of the most powerful applications are in traceability. When embedded in supply chains, blockchain can track the entire product lifecycle, from origin to consumption. As the tech provides permanent, indelible, and unalterable records, extensive data about items and transactions can be securely stored and authenticated. In the food sector, the benefits are particularly attractive. In one pilot project by UK startup Provenance, blockchain and smart tagging were used to track illegal tuna fishing, seafood fraud,…

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Psychedelics startups counter stereotypes to bring hallucinogens into mental healthcare

Jun03
by on June 3, 2023 at 7:00 am
Posted In: Insider


LSD, magic mushrooms, MDMA, ketamine, DMT… it’s a suspicious product line for a legitimate business — and psychedelics startups know it. With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that the sector are wary of the stereotypes around hallucinogens. “What the industry really needs is the most boring person in the room to be presenting the topic,” says Clara Burtenshaw, co-founder of Neo Kuma Ventures, Europe’s largest VC fund for psychedelic healthcare. It would be harsh to call Burtenshaw the most boring person in the room, but she’s not the clichéd lover of trips. More polished entrepreneur than kaleidoscopic hippy, Burtenshaw was…

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Apple’s rumoured mixed reality headset may be the miracle the European XR industry needs

Jun02
by on June 2, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Posted In: virtual reality


Apple is a sector definer. While the company rarely creates entirely new products, its hardware ends up being the baseline other devices are measured by. You only need to look at how the iPod, iPhone, and iPad defined what people expect from MP3 players, phones, and tablets. Now, Apple is hoping it can repeat this trick with an entirely new product: its rumoured VR/AR headset, expected to be announced on June 5th. This is a huge moment for not only the company, but the European extended reality (XR) sector as a whole. While Apple has had some successes with products…

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