Geeky international news on technology, business and culture.
4 key traits this Silicon Valley VC looks for in founders
20 December 2024 @ 1:07 pm
Every year, millions of businesses are created around the world. In order for these big ideas to turn into successful startups, most of them will inevitably come up against the challenges of fundraising. While there is no magic formula, there are variables that founders can hone in on when engaging with potential investors. TNW sat down with San Francisco-based VC Plug and Play early-stage investor Letizia Royo-Villanova during the Red Bull Basement global final in Tokyo to get her insights. The one thing that really needs to stand out, according to Royo-Villanova, is the drive and authenticity of the founder.…One smart ring to rule them all? Finnish startup Oura raises $200M
20 December 2024 @ 10:51 am
Finnish startup Oura has closed its Series D funding round at $200mn, bringing the smart ring maker’s valuation to a cosy $5.2bn. Oura’s smart ring uses 20 biometric markers to track sleep, physical activity, and stress resilience. The device displays this data on an app that gives you a personalised “readiness” score. We tested the wearable earlier this year and were genuinely impressed. Founded in 2013, Oura secured its first funding on Kickstarter, the crowdfunding site, in 2016. Counting this new tranche of capital, the tech startup has raised $550mn since inception. “We’ve made significant progress in advancing our mission to make…German startup behind electric ‘microliner’ lands €14M runway
19 December 2024 @ 2:00 am
Munich-based startup Vaeridion has secured €14mn to develop an electric aircraft that it hopes will whisk passengers on short-haul routes around Europe by 2030. “The microliner looks like a regular plane and it takes off from a runway — the only difference is that it will be powered by batteries,” Vaeridion’s co-founder and CEO, Ivor van Dartel, told TNW in an interview last month. “For operators and passengers, the experience will be essentially the same.” Berlin-based climate tech VC World Fund led the Series A investment, with participation from Project A Ventures, Vsquared Ventures, Schwarz Holding, InnovationQuarter, and angel investor…Hostaway secures $365M to cash in on short-term rental boom
18 December 2024 @ 11:29 am
Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb have transformed travel. They’ve made it easier for tourists to access personalised, private accommodations and for property owners to monetise their spaces. With global tourism now on track for a full recovery post-COVID, Hostaway has secured a cool $365mn at a $925mn valuation as it looks to cash-in on the boom in short-term rentals. Hostaway is a property management system (PMS) and software marketplace for the short-term rental industry. It will use the cash to enhance its dynamic pricing tools, further integrate AI, and expand its presence in new markets, focusing on France, Italy, and…Dutch startups raised $3.5B in 2024. Here are the 10 largest funding rounds
17 December 2024 @ 1:30 pm
It’s been a great year for the Dutch startup ecosystem. Venture capitalists have, so far, invested $3.5bn into Netherlands-based early-stage companies, according to Dealroom data. That makes 2024 Dutch tech’s second-best funding year ever, surpassed only by 2021. Dutch startups have raised almost 50% more ($1.1bn) cash this year than in 2023 — and there are still two weeks to go. It’s a striking uptick, especially considering the rather muted funding environment in broader Europe, which is on course for its worst year since 2020. The Netherlands stands to be Europe’s fourth best-funded ecosystem for 2024. It ranks two places…Dutch tech in 2024: year in review
17 December 2024 @ 11:18 am
According to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome, the Netherlands ecosystem is now ranked number 13 in the world — placing it ahead of both Paris and Berlin. In 2023, Dutch startups raised $2.2bn. While there have been fewer startup deals this year, overall investment is up, according to figures from the Dutch Startup Association. And for some startups and scaleups, 2024 was truly a monumental year. Picnic raises one of Europe’s largest rounds Having grown its business 40% in 2023 following international expansion across France and Germany, Dutch online supermarket Picnic kicked off the year in…Star-studded startup Baller League raises $25M to spark ‘new era’ for football
13 December 2024 @ 7:56 pm
Baller League — a new six-a-side football league that has attracted support from legends like Ronaldinho, Gary Lineker, and Luis Figo — has raised $25mn from EQT Ventures as it looks to initiate a “new era” for the beautiful game. German entrepreneur Felix Starck co-founded the Baller League last year alongside former players Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski. The founders wanted to change the way younger audiences engage, view, and interact with the world’s most popular sport. The league, which is now expanding from Germany to the UK and the US, comprises shorter 30-minute matches that are available to stream…Watch out Spot, this robot dog from Switzerland can do parkour
13 December 2024 @ 3:10 pm
Boston Dynamics’ robot dog “Spot” has become somewhat of an internet sensation, no doubt thanks to its (perhaps disturbingly) killer dance moves or displays of super-strength. But Spot is far from the only robodog on the block. One of its competitors is ANYmal, an autonomous quadruped that’s impressively good at everything from parkour to climbing ladders. Apart from doing tricks, ANYmal also has a real job. It does routine inspections in some of the toughest places on Earth. Think old nuclear power plants, abandoned mines, and offshore oil rigs. Cameras, sensors and gas detectors act as the robodog’s eyes…Head of Microsoft for Startups: Europe just needs time to spawn more winners
13 December 2024 @ 9:17 am
Microsoft probably needs no introduction. But in case you are not familiar with the Microsoft for Startups program, it is an initiative that provides free licences and Azure credits to selected software entrepreneurs over the course of three years. Needless to say, its general manager, Hans Yang, is somewhat of an expert when it comes to identifying the ideas that will make it to market and that particular drive he calls “founder energy.” “With some founders, it is immediate — you can see it right off the bat,” Yang tells TNW during an interview at the Red Bull Basement global…Finnish startup bags €29M to decarbonise this niche building material
12 December 2024 @ 9:57 pm
From bricklaying robots to zero-carbon cement, startups are shaking up construction in a high-tech bid to build better, greener structures. One of these early-stage ventures is Finland-based Aisti. Founded in 2019, the company has come up with a way to make acoustic tiles that are “carbon-negative.” Acoustic panels are a common construction material used to reduce noise and improve sound quality in buildings. Aisti has raised €29mn in a mix of VC and debt funding to build its first industrial-scale factory in Kitee, a small town about four hours northeast of Helsinki. The startup plans to bring the tiles to market…
Chinese "Space Transportation" company, Lingkong Tianxing Technology, has successfully tested its new JinDou400, also known as JinDouyun, ramjet detonation engine nearly twice the altitude of commercial passenger planes and more than doubling the Concorde's fastest speeds during its test.Continue ReadingCategory: Aircraft, TransportTags: 
Forget Westfalia or Winnebago. Some of this year's most striking, innovative camper vans came not from dedicated RV manufacturers or small conversion garages but from much bigger household names: the automakers themselves. Okay, some of those car companies did get loads of technical help from the Westfalias of the world, but they debuted and marketed the campers themselves.Continue ReadingCategory: Automotive, 
Jinan, a city of 9.4 million people and the capital of Shandong Province in East China, has made world headlines. Crews working there have completed the monumental task of building the world's largest-diameter underwater shield tunnel.Continue ReadingCategory: TransportTags: Tunnel
Real Motors' Project: Ares is an electric cafe racer with a sci-fi movie vibe, that blends modern technology with vintage aesthetics. It offers a 100-mile (161-km) range and a top speed of about 95 mph (153 km/h), and it takes less than four seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h).Continue ReadingCategory: Motorcycles, TransportTags: 
In the heart of Monaco’s coastline, a new vision of urban development has come to life. Dubbed the Mareterra project, this floating eco-district was officially completed this month, setting an unprecedented global benchmark. Built entirely on "land" reclaimed from the sea to create new territory for development, this urban expansion adds six hectares (about 15 acres or 3% of Monaco’s total land area), seamlessly blending environmental stewardship with architectural sophistication.Continue ReadingCategory: 
Chinese startup Pudu Robotics wants you to put its latest robot to work. The company's new humanoid D9 stands 5.57 ft (1.7 m) tall, can walk upright and carry loads up to 44 lb (20 kg) – and it's "born to serve."Continue ReadingCategory: AI & Humanoids, 
While Australia's Airspeeder is yet to race its sporty eVTOLs with pilots at the controls, Jetson's founder and CTO Tomasz Patan has taken its One flyer to the air for what's been billed as the birth of the world's first eVTOL air racing.Continue ReadingCategory: Aircraft, TransportTags: eVTOL, Personal eVTOLs, Electric Aircraft, 
Using principles from rocket science, researchers have created carbon with a record-breaking surface area. The material can soak up about twice the amount of CO2 as current activated carbon materials and has impressive energy-storage capabilities.Continue ReadingCategory: Materials, ScienceTags: Carbon, Carbon capture, 
When you think of a folding cargo ebike, you'll likely picture a short- or long-tail model with the cargo rack behind the rider. Germany startup Car.Los Mobility has instead combined the load capacity of a front-loader with the benefits of a folding ebike for the V1.Continue ReadingCategory: Bicycles, 
There's been a significant rise in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in recent years, with an estimated 61.8 million cases worldwide. Experts are now calling for better access to medical support as it moves into the top 10 of non-fatal health burdens.Continue ReadingCategory: ADHD & Autism, Brain Health, Body &am
teaching the aliens how to exit Vim(Arrival is a fantastic movie. Watch it, but don't stop there - read the 
With early computers, you didn't boot up to a fancy schmancy desktop, or a screen full of apps you could easily poke and prod with your finger. No, those computers booted up to the command
On an
Websites have gotten a lot
Robert Eggers' vampire tale opens December 25—and we got an early taste of its spooky atmosphere thanks to an immersive experience in Los Angeles.
Leto will cackle maniacally (hopefully) alongside new additions Sam C. Wilson, Hafthor Bjornsson, and Kojo Attah in Masters of the Universe.
Disney Entertainment co-chair Alan Bergman addresses the Star Wars that came and went—and looks ahead at what's coming next in the galaxy far, far away.
Musk has a history of supporting far-right causes in the U.S. Now he’s going international.
The otherworldly helicopter, with its 36 blades, is the size of an SUV—a major upgrade from Ingenuity's four blades.
After the latest Star Trek series wrapped up this week, Tawny Newsome reflected on the reality of what could be the last time we see Mariner and friends.
Reasoning models are supposed to fact-check themselves by producing a step-by-step plan to find a correct answer.
This year’s crop of standout characters went far beyond the genre’s typical final girls.
The latest leaks suggest Lenovo is serious about bundling as much screen as it can into its portable machines.
The unique armor is thought to have belonged to a man who ruled as emperor for just 27 days.
ProWritingAid VS Grammarly:
Are you searching for an