Latest Science and Technology

British unicorn Improbable has sharpened its metaverse focus with the launch of a new think tank. Dubbed the Metaverse Society, the think tank will explore the social and economic impacts of the nascent tech. Improbable told TNW that it wants to develop use cases, clarify misconceptions, and reduce risks associated with the metaverse. “We want to contribute to ensuring the metaverse holds its promise of being a network of meaning that unlocks creativity, social interaction, and economic opportunities, free from gatekeepers,” said Herman Narula, Improbable’s founder and CEO. “The convergence of AI, metaverse, and blockchain technologies offers a unique moment to… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/8uN5CMF

Although escooters are a common sight in many European cities, you won’t see them in the Netherlands. That’s because escooter use is restricted to private driveways or gardens, but riding one on public roads and bike lanes is illegal, and will land you with a €280 fine. However, this might change soon. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is currently working on a bill that will make escooters road-legal, local newspaper Het Parool reports. If the bill is approved by the House of Representatives, escooters that meet the criteria of the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW) will be allowed… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/T5XdLtm

This article features an interview with Krijn de Nood, the CEO and co-founder of cultivated meat startup Meatable. De Nood will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! As a vegetarian for the past 13 years, I have tried the whole gamut of plant-based meat substitutes. And let me tell you, the texture and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/yacBerh

The EU is going head to head with Apple and Ireland once again in a high-stakes courtroom battle which could have a lasting impact on how multinational firms are regulated in the bloc.  EU competition regulators appealed to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg today to override a lower tribunal decision and make Apple pay back Ireland €14.3bn in taxes plus interest.  The case is the most high-profile of EU watchdog chief Margrethe Vestager’s campaign against so-called ‘sweetheart’ deals that offer multinationals favourable tax terms in EU states. According to the Commission lawyer Paul-John Lowenthal, the outcome of the… This story continues at The Next Web Or just read more coverage about: Apple from The Next Web https://ift.tt/lHVZDWG

Since its launch in 2021, the all-electric Rimac Nevera has hit the hypercar world like the storm it’s named after — and for good reason. With an impressive 1,914 horsepower and a 0-100km/h acceleration in just 1.85 seconds, this beautiful machine not only holds the top EV speed record, but also outperforms its petrol-powered counterparts. Now, the Nevera has hit another milestone: it has broken 23 performance records in a single day, claiming the title of the “ultimate record-breaking hypercar.” The tests were run at Germany’s Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) facility, and were independently verified by third-party companies Dewesoft and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/bNlu4Ik

Dutch aerospace pioneer Fokker is looking to make a comeback. This time however, it won’t be polluting Jet A fuel propelling the company’s aircraft. Instead, in the revived guise of Fokker Next Gen, it is playing the long game and joining in on the clean-burning hydrogen hype.  With €25 million in funding from the Dutch government, and an additional EU Clean Aviation grant of undisclosed amount, Fokker is aiming at a 2035 entry into service of a clean-sheet aircraft design operating on liquid hydrogen. The plane’s intended range is 2,500 km, meaning it could fly across Europe from London to… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/fOJMBml

The EU Parliament agreed last week on the world’s first comprehensive set of rules to regulate the transfer of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, as it looks to crack down on money laundering and illegal transfers in the bloc. From 2024, all crypto transfers, regardless of amount, will be covered by the so-called ‘travel rule’ — information on the source of the asset and its beneficiary will have to travel with the transaction and be stored on both sides of the transfer.  The regulation requires firms that want to issue, trade, and safeguard crypto-assets, tokenised assets, and stablecoins in the 27-country bloc… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/jeB7NM9

In a seminal moment for international data flows, the EU has fined Meta a record-breaking €1.2bn for privacy violations. The penalty is the largest ever for a violation of GDPR, which was introduced to protect personal information. According to EU regulators, Meta broke the rules by transferring user data from the bloc to the US for processing. The Facebook owner made these transfers on the basis of standard contractual clauses (SCCs), which govern the flow of personal data. But an EU investigation determined that SCCs don’t provide enough protection from US surveillance. Andrea Jelinek, chair of the European Data Protection… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/0OSQhx1

Krijn de Nood, Julie Hawkins, and Stephanie Klein Nagelvoort-Schuit will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! Renowned university spinouts such as chip designer Arm in the UK and immunotherapy pioneer BionNTech in Germany have proven the importance of bringing scientific innovation to real-world industries. But the road from… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/QwToery

People don’t just fly kites for fun. At a test site near Munich, engineers recently launched an electricity-generating, box-style kite fitted with small, wind-catching rotors. The contraption, tethered to the ground by a hefty cable, flew repeatedly in a predetermined figure of eight — its rotors spinning in the wind. “The wind speed is a couple of times higher than that a conventional wind turbine would see,” says Maximilian Isensee, chief executive of Kitekraft, explaining how the very movement of the kite itself boosts power generation. “That’s why we can get away with much smaller rotors.” The figure of eight… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/iUkHqbg

It seems barely a day goes by without a new report of artificial intelligence replacing jobs. On Thursday, BT added the latest bad news, when the UK telecoms giant announced plans to replace 10,000 staff with AI. Across Europe, predictions on automation’s effect on jobs vary wildly,  but all agree that major changes are inevitable. With the impact already being felt, the need for government action is becoming urgent. Here are five interventions they can take. 1. Retraining the workforce The concept of a “job for life,” was disappearing even before AI’s relentless march into the workplace. Increasingly, we’re becoming accustomed to… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/4hwSJ3A

After a two-year wait, the UK has finally announced its semiconductor support plan, aiming to grow the domestic sector, increase its competitiveness, and reduce the risk of supply chain disruptions. But while industry players welcomed the strategy, they also criticised its level of support. Under the new scheme, the government will invest up to £1 (€1.15) billion in the next decade, with an initial £200 million to be deployed in the next couple of years. This amount, however, is dwarfed by similar initiatives in the West. The US has pledged $52bn in subsidies to boost its domestic semiconductor industry, while… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/byHMKmI

German mobility startup FlixBus is best known for its fleet of big green buses that whisk passengers around mainland Europe at affordable prices — akin to Greyhound in the US.  But there is also a rail-bound version of FlixBus dubbed, you guessed it, FlixTrain. The service began operations in 2018, following the opening of German rail lines to private competition five years earlier. By mid-2022, the company serviced over 70 stations along many of Germany’s main rail routes. Flix also recently expanded its train network to Sweden. Now, FlixTrain has its sights set on expanding into the Netherlands. This week,… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/PvzgGH4

Tom Furness will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! Since the world’s first (and rather crude) VR machine was invented in 1956, extended reality (XR) has evolved into some seriously advanced kit and is becoming increasingly common in workplaces and homes across the world.  Few have contributed to… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/GLM9l5b

Jinhua Zhao and Shashi Verma will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! Urban transport systems are straining under unprecedented pressure from population growth, fiscal challenges, and environmental harm. Living in London, I feel the impact every day. The roads are horribly polluted, the metro is the world’s most expensive, and… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/7lgmV8i

A UK startup has unveiled a unique system for bringing spacecraft back to Earth. The company, named Space Forge, developed the tech to provide a low-cost and sustainable way of reusing satellites. Ultimately, the startup wants the system to support in-space manufacturing, which can produce materials that can’t be made on Earth. These “supermaterials” have transformative potential for electronics, pharmaceuticals, and alloys. Unfortunately, returning them to Earth is currently painfully complex and costly. To solve this problem, Space Forge developed two separate components: a hover-net called Fielder and a heat shield dubbed Pridwen. Named after King Arthur’s legendary shield, Pridwen… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/fWaYlDP

While Europe’s climate tech companies raised a record $13.2bn in 2022, investment is nowhere near the levels required to combat climate change, according to a new report by World Fund. Specifically, analysts from the European climate tech VC, in collaboration with Cleantech Group and PwC, have found that investment needs are outpacing investment volumes at an exponentially increasing rate. The numbers are telling. For the EU to reach its goal of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030, an annual investment of €1 trillion would be needed. By the same year, 29% of emission reductions would need to come from new… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/lx2PsMH

A growing number of founders are leveraging the power of technology to help solve some of society’s biggest problems, from developing self-monitoring digital health platforms that give patients more autonomy to finding new solutions for storing renewable energy. Today, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, it’s particularly important to recognise the advancements a growing number of founders have made in making technology open, equal, and accessible to all, from creating devices that take into account deaf and blind communities to using AI to build groundbreaking advancements in prosthetics. But, due to the novel and often disruptive approaches they take to solve… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/Pcet39k

Award-winning innovators Caroline Lair and Lucia Gallardo will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam! Social inequality and climate risk have become central to understanding what will drive innovation – and investment – for the future. On day two of TNW Conference, Caroline Lair, founder of startup and scaleup communities The Good AI… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/Swb6JtU

It’s been a rough start to 2023 for European startups. In the first quarter of the year, dealmaking decelerated, valuations flattened, and exits remained subdued, according to new research. Analysts from PitchBook, a financial data firm, found that investor priorities have shifted from growth at all costs to profitability. After a boom in VC activity that trickled into early 2022, reports of lower growth rates, workforce reductions, and tougher funding conditions have emerged. As a result, due diligence processes have lengthened, with revenues, valuations, and runways under heightened scrutiny. Nalin Patel, the report’s author, noted that investors across the board… This story continues at The Next Web from The Next Web https://ift.tt/TD5woSZ