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The UK government reportedly plans to invest €163mn in French satellite firm Eutelsat as Europe pushes to back a local alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink. The investment, first reported by Reuters, follows the lead of the French state, which is set to inject €717mn into Eutelsat as part of a €1.35bn funding package to prop up the indebted satellite communications provider. The UK contribution...
Five rocket companies will compete for contracts to provide Europe’s next launch services — and boost the continent’s troubled access to space. The European Space Agency (ESA) selected the quintet, who will now contend for two types of contracts: Providing launch services for ESA between 2026 and 2030. Demonstrating upgraded launch capabilities, including at least one flight test. The initiative...
Funding focus is a new series analysing cash flow into the European tech ecosystem. After debuting with a look at the biggest rounds so far this year, we now turn to the largest deals in the Netherlands for H1. Startups in the Netherlands raised just $503mn (€429mn) in the first quarter of this year — the lowest quarterly total since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Dealroom...
A group of major European media organisations has launched a chatbot aimed at combating online disinformation. The tool, called ChatEurope, responds to queries with information verified by journalists. It was set up by a consortium of media brands led by Agence France-Presse. Fourteen other news organisations, including France Médias Monde, Deutsche Welle, El País, and Romania’s RFI, have...
Ubotica, an Irish startup specialising in edge AI for satellites, has partnered with two Dutch firms to develop an intelligence platform aimed at bolstering maritime security across European waters. The company will work with Fugro, a provider of offshore surveying and geodata services, and DTACT, a defence-focused cybersecurity firm, to offer governments a new tool for monitoring critical...
Finnish startup Donut Lab has secured €25mn in seed funding to scale up its in-wheel hub motors for electric land, sea, and air vehicles. Alongside the investment, Donut Lab is opening an R...
Wimbledon’s new automated line-calling system glitched during a tennis match Sunday, just days after it replaced the tournament’s human line judges for the first time. The system, called Hawk-Eye, uses a network of cameras equipped with computer vision to track tennis balls in real-time. If the ball lands out, a pre-recorded voice loudly says, “Out.” If the ball is in, there’s no call and play...
Tech startup Kuva Space is working with the Finnish Environmental Institute (Skye) to analyse the health of the Nordic country’s waters with a specialised satellite. The pilot test will harness Kuva’s hyperspectral sensors, which can analyse a wider light spectrum than traditional sensors. From space, the company’s probe can read the spectral signatures of almost any material on Earth —...
French software firm LumApps is set to merge with Swiss counterpart Beekeeper in a deal that will create a new business valued at over $1bn. LumApps, which calls itself an “intranet super app,” offers a platform that helps staff at large firms manage internal communications and workforce apps. Meanwhile, Beekeeper provides a mobile platform that helps companies engage with their frontline...
Swedish startup Lovable is in talks to raise $150mn at a valuation just shy of $2bn, the Financial Times reports. The Stockholm-based business has built a generative AI platform that allows non-technical users to build apps or websites based on simple text prompts. “I decided what we needed to do is build for the 99% who do not create software,” Anton Osika, Lovable’s co-founder, told TNW in...