Scientific Spinouts

  • Many successful tech companies were founded during recessions, suggesting potential for new innovation and growth during the current downturn
  • Government funding and policies around tech sovereignty are shaping opportunities in areas like climate infrastructure and agritech
  • There is increasing interest and investment in tech related to quantum computing, space, and other scientific fields in Europe

Challenges for Scientific Spinouts in Europe

  • Spinning out companies from university research happens slowly in Europe
  • University terms often take too much equity, deterring VC investment
  • More funding is needed to commercialize promising academic research

Calls for an independent AI regulatory body

  • DeepMind and Google founders say lawmakers lack understanding to effectively regulate AI
  • They propose an independent panel of AI experts to authoritatively assess AI risks
  • This would be similar to the IPCC for climate change

VC investment in Spain holds up better than other European countries

  • Spain has seen fewer exits and less of a VC funding decline compared to the UK and Germany
  • But lack of growth-stage funding may hinder startup scaling
  • Only 9% of Spanish startups are at growth stage, vs. 16% in France, 21% in Germany

FabricNano develops green chemical production

  • FabricNano uses enzyme engineering to produce chemicals without fossil fuels
  • Backed by VCs and actor Emma Watson, who named a lab machine after herself
  • Aims to provide the petrochemical industry with greener production methods
  • VP says their tech could start making an impact within 3 years as synthetic biology scales up

Methane tech lacks investment despite high warming potential

  • Methane is a potent greenhouse gas but gets little climate tech investment
  • Financing for methane tech is less than 2% of total climate finance
  • Methane is 80 times more warming than CO2 over 20 years
  • Small methane tech industry emerging in Europe tackling issue

Electric van makers face financial trouble

  • Volta Trucks plans to file for bankruptcy after struggling to raise funds
  • Arrival reportedly preparing for potential insolvency if more cash not secured
  • Skeleton Technologies and Aira secured large funding rounds for their tech
  • Overall a turbulent period for Europe's electric van industry

LottieFiles Integration with Canva

  • LottieFiles animations are now available within Canva with over 100,000 options.
  • Users can access customizable animation colors and effects in Canva through the integration.
  • This allows Canva users more animation and motion graphics options.

Tokyo Dome City Rebranding

  • The entertainment complex in Tokyo is being rebranded by &Form studio.
  • The new identity will be featured on social media, merchandising, and screens.
  • A key design element is a variable sans serif font.

Regulatory Approval Delay on Figma-Adobe Deal

  • The $20 billion Figma acquisition by Adobe was announced 13 months ago.
  • Approval is still pending by regulatory agencies in the U.S., U.K., and E.U.
  • An Adobe executive expressed frustration over the lengthy approval process.

Microsoft Develops Durable Glass Data Storage

  • Microsoft's "Project Silica" encodes data in glass using lasers for extremely long-term storage.
  • Small glass discs could store massive amounts of data passively for over 10,000 years.
  • Data retrieval involves scanning the glass voxels with robots and microscopes.

Revolutionary Prosthetic Hand Integrates with Body

  • A bionic hand allowed a woman precise finger control with 95% accuracy.
  • Electrodes embedded in the hand improved sensory signals.
  • Implants in arm bones anchored the hand, easing phantom pain.

8 New Tech Products

  • DeNote, Told, DesignStudio, Otter AI, SecureFrame, Monic AI, Munch, Speechify

Supercomputer access becoming strategic for VCs

  • VCs investing in supercomputer companies to get startups portfolio access
  • London startup NexGen Cloud building $1bn AI supercomputer in Europe
  • Gives portfolio startups access to scarce AI chips and infrastructure

North Korea Experiments with AI Cyber Attacks

  • North Korea is using AI to accelerate its cyber capabilities and launch attacks.
  • They are applying AI to expedite writing malware and finding vulnerable targets.
  • Past attacks like Sony hack caused billions in damages worldwide.
  • Revenue from cyber crimes may fund their missile program.

IBM Develops Brain-Inspired AI Chip - NorthPole

  • New chip NorthPole performs tasks like image recognition faster and more efficiently.
  • Its architecture is inspired by connections in the human brain.
  • In tests, it beat existing AI chips substantially on speed and energy use.
  • IBM estimates it could be 25x more efficient than current designs.

Google Launches Free AI Image Generator

  • Google Search has a fast, intuitive AI image creator.
  • To access it, enable "SGE generative AI" experiment.
  • Type text prompts to generate images.
  • Can refine images in editor by improving prompts.