European VCs just made a record bet on this fusion energy underdog

Jun11
by on June 11, 2025 at 4:36 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Two years ago, German startup Proxima Fusion emerged from stealth with big ambitions to make a little-known stellarator fusion machine a serious contender in the race for commercial fusion energy. Today, the Munich-based company secured Europe’s largest-ever private investment in fusion power — a €130mn Series A funding round from big-name investors including Balderton Capital, Cherry Ventures, and Plural.  Daniel Waterhouse, partner at Balderton Capital, said he now thinks Proxima has taken its place as the leading “European contender” in the global race to commercial fusion. Proxima was the first company to spin out from the Max Planck Institute of…

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Clearest views yet of Sun’s south pole may unlock its mysteries

Jun11
by on June 11, 2025 at 2:00 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


A spacecraft developed by European scientists and companies has captured unprecedented new views of the Sun’s south pole. Built by Airbus in the UK, Solar Orbiter was developed as part of a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. The probe launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida in 2020. A number of European tech firms also contributed to the mission. One of them is Dublin-based Enbio, which developed a protective coating for the probe using crushed animal bones. It’s one of the more unusual materials ever flown into space…

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TNW Backstage dives into the debate over sustainable motorsport

Jun11
by on June 11, 2025 at 1:55 pm
Posted In: Insider


This week on TNW Backstage, we’re heading into the fast lane — and straight into the climate debate. In the final episode of the podcast, we revisit a divisive bet on sustainable motorsport: Extreme E, the all-electric racing series. The events sent SUVs hurtling through some of the planet’s most fragile ecosystems. Supporters said they raised awareness about environmental issues, while detractors called it a classic case of greenwashing. At last year’s TNW Conference, we were guided through the twists and turns by Ali Russell, then the managing director of Extreme E. In his talk, Russell laid out his vision for…

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Live selling: the next big hustle sweeping Europe

Jun10
by on June 10, 2025 at 6:30 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


Tinny music plays in a dimly lit basement as we watch a teenager pull football shirts off a nearby clothing rack and hold them up to the camera. He describes each item monotonously — the team, season, colour, and condition — before sticking on a numbered label and transferring them to another rack. Each item gets less than a minute in the limelight. Bid rates and prices are listed at the bottom of the screen with eager buyers swiping a yellow bar to bid, while exchanging questions, comments, and emojis in the live chat box. When a buyer wins a…

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Starmer tells UK to ‘push past’ AI job fears as tech leaders raise alarm

Jun09
by on June 9, 2025 at 1:23 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said it is time to “push past” concerns that AI poses a threat to human jobs — contradicting the concerns of some of tech’s biggest players. Speaking at London Tech Week today, Starmer called for industry to embed AI throughout the UK economy, from healthcare to education.  By taking on administrative tasks, Starmer argues that artificial intelligence tools can free up people to focus on the “human work.” For this reason, he said, “AI will make us more human.”   Starmer’s assertion that AI is not here to replace humans, but to relieve them, is…

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