We have all been guilty of falling under the foundation model spell of the past year-and-a-half, initiated by OpenAI’s unveiling of ChatGPT to the public. But it is not only where large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 are concerned that incredible progress has been made in the field of artificial intelligence. And one company has been behind more impressive milestones than most — DeepMind, acquired by Google in 2014 for a reported £400mn to £650mn.  Speaking at the TED 40th anniversary conference in Vancouver, Canada, on Monday, DeepMind’s CEO and head of Google’s entire AI R&D efforts, Demis Hassabis, confirmed…This story continues at The Next Web

PhotonVentures, a Dutch deep tech fund aiming to boost Europe’s photonics industry, has closed its second fundraising round with over €15mn — bringing its total capital to €75mn. The fund targets startups and scaleups developing solutions with photonic chips for a wide range of applications: from data transmission and health diagnostics to smart sensors, AI, AR, and VR. PhotonVentures will initially invest in 20 early-stage companies with international growth potential. It will focus on Seed to Series A rounds, with investments varying between €1mn and €2.5mn. The VC firm is a spinoff and strategic partner of PhotonDelta, a manufacturer of…This story continues at The Next Web

In 2013, Dutch scientist Mark Post unveiled the world’s first cultivated meat burger on live television — taking lab-grown meat from the realm of science fiction to science fact.  Post ended up turning his invention into a startup called Mosa Meat. The new venture promised to bring the “world’s kindest burger” to supermarket shelves.  Today, Mosa Meat announced it has secured another €40mn — just two years after closing a $85mn Series B funding round. Lowercarbon Capital and M Ventures led the round, alongside existing investors including actor Leonardo DiCaprio.  The freshing funding comes as US politicians wage a culture…This story continues at The Next Web

French SaaS company Planisware launched its initial public offering (IPO) today, reaching a valuation of €1.11bn. This is the largest IPO on the Euronext Paris stock exchange in the past three years. Planisware was founded in 1996 by Yves Humblot, Pierre Demonsant, Matthieu Delille, and François Pelissolo. Planisware provides software for enterprise project portfolio management. It counts over 500 blue-chip clients across the globe, including PepsiCo and Pfizer, and employs circa 700 people. The company has seen its consolidated revenue grow at a compounded annual rate of approximately 20% during the last three years — with an EBITDA margin of over…This story continues at The Next Web

More than 50 European VCs and startups have joined forces to launch Climate Brick — a new community designed to fast-track investment in green technologies.  Climate Brick launched today along with what its founders claim to be one of the most comprehensive climate tech studies ever conducted. The report, featuring interviews with 100 climate experts and 3,000 companies, offers a roadmap for climate tech startups looking to scale.  “We really needed a common vocabulary and playbook for climate tech, and now with Climate Brick — we have it,” said Rokas Peciulaitis, partner at Contrarian Ventures and one of Climate Brick’s…This story continues at The Next Web

The boom of artificial intelligence has spurred a regulatory frenzy across the globe — and Europe is at the forefront of the developments. Both the EU and the UK are attempting to find the elusive balance between leveraging AI’s growth and mitigating potential risks — but their approaches differ significantly. The former has opted for a hands-on, risk-based approach, whereas the latter has promised a “pro-innovation” stance. However, with news emerging that the UK government is now drafting new rules to regulate the tech, this could be about to change.  The EU’s stricter, more cautious approach is clearly seen in…This story continues at The Next Web

Space nerds delight: you can now play as an astronaut in Fortnite. You can even team up with your buddies to build a lunar habitat based on real future missions of the European Space Agency. Designed by Epic Games, Lunar Horizons is set at the lunar south pole. This is the point on the Moon deemed most suitable for human habitation due to the possible existence of water ice. Epic Games worked with ESA’s human and robotic exploration experts to create a lifelike 3D environment for the game. This includes replicating the Moon’s micro-gravity. In Lunar Horizons, you’re free to…This story continues at The Next Web

While it’s commonly said we live in the information era, I like calling it something else: the screen age. Over the past seventy years, we’ve seen displays seep into almost every aspect of our lives. We had televisions arrive in our homes, reshaping news and entertainment. Hot on their heels came smartphones, which changed communication and how we interact with the world at large. This tech altered the globe in ways we continue to grapple with, but it still doesn’t tell the full story of digital displays. Alongside these epoch-defining examples, there are a myriad of smaller ways screens have…This story continues at The Next Web

Dutch ebike maker VanMoof has begun selling ebikes on its own website once more, following an almost year-long hiatus after it went bankrupt in July last year.   The models on offer are refreshed versions of the S5 and A5, which were first released in 2022. Although the upgraded ebikes look exactly the same, they’ve been re-engineered in almost every aspect, says the company’s co-CEO Eliott Wertheimer. While this is just the beginning of VanMoof’s lengthy relaunch, the ability to sell bikes directly once more “represents an enormous milestone for us as a company,” Wertheimer told TNW. Before declaring bankruptcy, VanMoof…This story continues at The Next Web

A weird technology has emerged as a leader in the quest for net zero. But this form of carbon capture, called Enhanced Rock Weathering (or ERW for short), still requires innovation — and government oversight. Society has a knack for embracing new technologies, often driven by a blend of vanity, curiosity, and a desire to be ahead of the curve. Whether it’s being the first to own the latest gadget or pioneering eco-friendly initiatives like EV charging ports, early adopters pave the way for progress—despite the initial hurdles of high costs and imperfect implementations. From the infancy of the internet…This story continues at The Next Web