The UK has devised a novel solution for a funding gap: more funding. In a bid to strengthen the country’s financial sector, up to £1bn (€1.2bn) has been allocated to a new investment vehicle for fintech firms. Named the FinTech Growth Fund, the scheme will invest predominantly in companies between Series B and pre-IPO, with the aim […]
New £1B fintech fund aims to plug UK’s £2B funding gap Leer más »
In the divided world of semiconductors, Arm is frequently compared to Switzerland. The UK-based business is built on a foundation of neutrality. Rather than build chips, Arm merely designs their blueprints. The company then licences the IP to almost every major semiconductor maker without directly competing against them. That approach — as well as the
How RISC-V can usurp Arm as the Switzerland of computer chips Leer más »
Quantum computing holds a lot of promise. The question is when the hyped and indeed potentially revolutionising technology will begin to deliver on it. According to UK quantum startup Phasecraft, it’s not that far off. The secret? Algorithms that can work on today’s “imperfect” quantum computers, without having to wait for the very tricky hardware
UK algorithm startup closes in on quantum advantage Leer más »
The UK’s first bank account dedicated to accelerating science and technology is set to launch next month. Science Card is the brainchild of Daniel Baeriswyl — during his PhD in biomedical engineering at UCL, he cultivated an appreciation of the importance of life-saving scientific research, but also the runway it requires. “I found it interesting
This debit card lets you fund scientific research while you spend Leer más »
Many of us have become accustomed to getting the newest, flashiest versions of our favourite gadgets, leaving yesterday’s tech destined for the dustbin. In 2022, the global economy produced 50 million tonnes of e-waste — equivalent to the weight of 5,000 Eiffel towers. This take-make-waste habit is unsustainable, and research shows, increasingly unpopular. The second-hand
Ireland’s Alchemy battles e-waste by giving Apple products a new life Leer más »
Angel and seed funding in Europe are remarkably resilient to the startup market downturn, according to new research by Pitchbook. In the first half of 2021, both median deal values and valuations in these stages exhibited positive trends. The biggest increase was in median angel deal values, which were up 28.8% compared with 2022. The
Angel and seed funding remain insulated from startup market volatility: Report Leer más »
A groundbreaking study, based on observations from the European Space Agency’s billion-pixel Gaia space telescope, has revealed a “gravitational anomaly” that challenges our fundamental understanding of the universe. The anomaly occurs when loosely orbiting stars, known as wide binaries, seem to move in ways that defy standard models of gravity established by Albert Einstein and
Einstein, Newton could have been wrong about gravity, Gaia telescope data reveals Leer más »
The British government’s promise to protect encryption has been pilloried by security experts and libertarians. The dispute stems from a section of the Online Safety Bill. Under the legislation, messaging apps would be forced to provide access to private communications when requested by the regulator Ofcom. Proponents say the measures will combat child abuse, but
UK’s promise to protect encrypted messaging is ‘delusional,’ say critics Leer más »
While the US and China have dominated the space sector for decades, Europe is carving out a niche for itself: small satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO). One of the most promising startups in this space is Germany’s Rocket Factory Augsburg, which has just raised €30m from KKR, an American investment firm. The cash injection will
German rocket startup bags €30M as it eyes takeoff this year Leer más »
A team of UK researchers has trained a deep learning model to interpret keystrokes remotely based solely on audio. By recording keystrokes to train the model, they were able to predict what was typed on the keyboard with up to 95% accuracy. This accuracy dropped to 93% when using Zoom to train the system. According
Deep learning model can steal data by listening to keystrokes with 95% accuracy Leer más »
In recent weeks devastating wildfires have swept across Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, causing several fatalities, the displacement of thousands of people, and widespread damage to infrastructure. More than 260,000 hectares of land across the EU has already burnt since January — an area the size of Luxembourg. Many fires are still raging across swathes
ESA satellites capture the extent of Europe’s wildfires Leer más »
Scientists are edging closer to a fusion energy system that doesn’t rely on magnetic field-based tokamak reactors or twisty stellarators. German startup Marvel Fusion has teamed up with Colorado State University to build the world’s first facility dedicated to commercialising inertial confinement — a type of fusion reaction produced by slamming atoms together many times
Germany’s Marvel Fusion to build $150M laser facility in US Leer más »
