VCs assemble! NATO picks investment team for €1B deep tech fund

Jul11
by on July 11, 2023 at 9:43 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


NATO has picked the investment team that will oversee the management of its €1 billion deep tech venture fund, set for launch this week in Vilnius at the alliance’s annual summit. The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) is slated to be the world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund and will back startups developing deep tech for defence and security applications.   The fund will invest €1 billion euros over a 15-year period into early-stage companies and other VC funds developing emerging and disruptive technologies — to be used in military and defence applications. These include artificial intelligence; big-data processing; quantum technologies; autonomy;…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: , , , , , , , ,
 Comment 

Water tech could be the next gold rush for European VCs

Jul08
by on July 8, 2023 at 4:00 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


While many of us in Europe take it for granted, access to freshwater today, and in the future, is far from guaranteed. Demand is skyrocketing but supply is diminishing. Many of the ways in which water is used are inefficient and antiquated, and climate change is making the entire problem a lot worse.  Europe just had its most severe drought in 500 years. Industries are being forced to shut down or divert water from other sources to maintain operations, while protests have broken out over shortages, most recently in France and Spain. Experts predict that global freshwater demand will outstrip…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
 Comment 

Final mission photos: ESA’s Ariane 5 rocket lifts off for the last time

Jul07
by on July 7, 2023 at 12:54 pm
Posted In: Space


This week, after nearly three decades of providing Europe access to space, the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket completed its final mission. On Wednesday, July 5, at 22:00 GMT, the rocket took off from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Its final flight launched two payloads into geostationary orbit. The first was the 3,400kg Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit that will test advanced communication technologies on behalf of the German government. The second was the 3,750kg Syracuse 4B satellite belonging to the French military.  Bowing out in style, Europe’s #Ariane 5 rocket has completed its final flight, placing @DLR_de’s Heinrich Hertz…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: , , , , , , ,
 Comment 

Lithuania launches Europe’s first driverless delivery robots on public roads

Jul07
by on July 7, 2023 at 10:54 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


Last week, Vilnius became the first European city to introduce a small fleet of autonomous delivery robots on public roads. Developed by Estonia-based startup Clevon and in collaboration with Lithuanian delivery platform LastMile, three driverless robots are now bringing groceries to shoppers’ doors in the capital’s city centre. Credit: Clevon The robots pick up the goods from the IKI supermarket store on Mindaugas Street. After making their order, customers receive a text message with the arrival time and the code to unlock the vehicle’s door. And the best part? Delivery is free of charge. Credit: Clevon “We believe that these robots…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: , , , , , , ,
 Comment 

Europe must act against AI-written reviews before it’s too late

Jul07
by on July 7, 2023 at 7:40 am
Posted In: artificial intelligence


Parts of modern life are inescapable. We all use mapping software for directions, check the news on our phones, and read online reviews of products before buying them. Technology didn’t create these things, but what it has done is democratise them, make them easier to access or add to. Take online reviews. Nowadays, people can share their honest opinions about products and services in a way that, back in the times gone by, would’ve been impossible. Yet, what the internet giveth, it can, uh, taketh away too? It didn’t take long for nefarious actors to realise they could exploit this…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
 Comment