EU Tech News

Lovable has raised $400 million in Series C funding, achieving a $13.3 billion valuation. The round was led by Menlo Ventures and the Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT.

The London Underground has begun scanning passengers' faces, prompting widespread concern over the continuous erosion of personal anonymity and civil liberties in the UK. Readers view this move as part of a broader, inescapable trend of pervasive state and corporate surveillance that could be easily misused by future authorities. However, some acknowledge that similar facial recognition technologies, such as those used at supermarket self-checkouts, are primarily driven by corporate efforts to combat retail theft.

Non-governmental organizations that successfully championed strict digital ID and anti-anonymity laws in the UK are now actively lobbying American statehouses to adopt similar legislation. This coordinated push aims to replicate Britain's restrictive digital policies in the United States. Consequently, these efforts threaten to significantly compromise online privacy and anonymity for everyday American internet users.

A Dutch consumer rights foundation is launching a class-action lawsuit against Sony for allegedly overcharging players with an unjustified tax on digital PlayStation games. The collective legal action, aligned with the Stop Killing Games campaign, aims to eliminate these inflated digital prices. PlayStation owners are encouraged to join the lawsuit to demand fairer pricing for their digital game purchases.

Drawing from visits to factories across Germany, this piece examines the enduring success of the Mittelstand, the network of small and medium-sized enterprises that form the backbone of the country's manufacturing economy. It explores how these specialized companies blend traditional engineering excellence with modern technological advancements to maintain global competitiveness. The article provides tech leaders with key takeaways on operational efficiency, long-term strategic planning, and the practical integration of smart manufacturing technologies.

Fastmail has introduced a new data region option allowing users to store their information within the European Union. Customers can now choose to have their data hosted on the company's own secure servers located in Amsterdam.

Danish high school students will now be required to orally defend their written assignments to ensure academic integrity amid the rise of AI tools. The policy takes effect immediately, though educators acknowledge that their strategies must continually evolve as artificial intelligence technology advances.

A recent feature explores the unusual architectural detail of beaver statues perched atop a retail shop on London's Oxford Street. The article investigates the history and reasoning behind these unexpected rodent sculptures, highlighting a quirky piece of hidden urban design.

Through its Open Source Sabbatical program, the City of Munich is providing up to six months of funding for the development of the open-source XML parsing library libexpat. The initiative allows professional developers, including the project's maintainer Sebastian, to dedicate time to improving critical software infrastructure. While supporters praise the move as a positive continuation of the city's historical commitment to open-source software, critics argue that municipal funds should be reserved for traditional public services.

YC-backed startup truemetrics, which uses smartphone technology to optimize last-mile delivery routing, is hiring a Go-To-Market Lead in Berlin to help scale its core enterprise business and discover new product opportunities. The profitable company is seeking an autonomous commercial leader to work directly with the founders as it aims to grow its annual recurring revenue from €1.5M to over €10M.

An individual originally sought a European internship to improve their post-graduation job prospects, but the experience ultimately transformed their life. This unexpected journey led to such deep cultural assimilation that the author now considers themselves more German than many native citizens.

Accelerated by Western technology export restrictions, China has begun manufacturing its own advanced deep-ultraviolet lithography machines to secure its domestic semiconductor supply chain. While the nation still trails behind in extreme ultraviolet technology, observers note that massive state funding and long-term strategic planning are rapidly closing the existing technological gaps. Ultimately, commentators suggest these sanctions have only hastened Beijing's inevitable push toward complete technological independence.

Hamburg's Stadtpark was established in 1914 with a functional design philosophy that prioritized public utility over passive visual admiration. Over a century later, the space continues to successfully fulfill this original purpose as an active, heavily utilized community hub.

A massive wildfire in southwest France has generated a highly dangerous pyrocumulonimbus, marking the first time this extreme weather phenomenon has been recorded in the country. Local firefighters are now battling the unprecedented blaze while facing the severe and unpredictable conditions created by the fire-induced storm.

Brolly is a new plain-text weather website that has launched to provide minimalist forecasts for York, England. The site features a seven-day outlook with hourly conditions, UV index, air quality, and pollen data. It also includes a convenient comparison of the current forecast against the previous day's conditions.

The European Central Bank is evaluating future design proposals for euro banknotes while continuing its core mission to maintain price stability across the euro area. This ongoing focus ensures the preservation of the single currency's purchasing power for all adopting member states.

Intel has begun shipping the first silicon wafers produced using its new High-NA EUV lithography technology. This advanced manufacturing process will be utilized to create the chips for the upcoming Panther Lake notebook processors.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has issued a landmark ruling declaring that virtual private networks are lawful technical tools. The decision establishes that neither publishers nor VPN providers can be held liable for copyright infringement committed by their users.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in a landmark case that virtual private networks are lawful technical tools. The decision explicitly states that neither publishers nor VPN providers can be held liable for copyright infringement. This ruling provides significant legal protection and clarity for privacy technology services operating within the region.

China is currently leading the artificial intelligence sector by embracing an open-weights strategy for its models. Meanwhile, the United States' closed-first approach is facing criticism as a failing strategy that could ultimately drag down the American economy.

A hacker has successfully wiped Romania's national land registry database. In other cybersecurity developments, Graykey is suing a former employee for leaking an exploit, and Hugging Face was compromised using AI. Furthermore, researchers have finally discovered an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in WordPress.

A leaked draft reveals the European Commission is conceding to excessive US demands for unfettered data access in exchange for visa-free travel. Consequently, the EU is reportedly preparing to hand over highly sensitive personal information to American authorities.

A new European Union ban on the destruction of unsold clothing and footwear has officially taken effect. Under these regulations, businesses are required to prioritize sustainability by selling excess inventory or preparing items for reuse. This policy aims to significantly reduce textile waste and promote circular practices across member states.

OnePlus is halting its business operations in the United States and Europe. At the same time, the company is introducing a completely revamped online community experience built entirely from the ground up.

Japanese scientists have developed a new extraction method capable of recovering up to 90% of lithium from used electric vehicle batteries. This eco-friendly breakthrough could significantly reduce the environmental impact of battery disposal and decrease reliance on raw lithium mining.

A controversial European age verification system is being implemented as a proprietary mobile application, effectively restricting users to the closed ecosystems of Android and iOS. Consequently, developers are being advised against integrating Google Play Integrity to avoid further platform lock-in and preserve open alternatives.

After finding a previous month-long trip too intense, the author and his wife completed a more relaxed seven-week Interrail journey across Europe. Utilizing a 15-day travel pass, the couple covered 6,379 kilometers and visited 13 countries at a comfortable pace. The comprehensive trip also included two ferry crossings, allowing them to fully enjoy the continent without the rush of their last adventure.

The Faroe Islands have unveiled a massive new underwater roundabout featuring a unique jellyfish-inspired design. This impressive subsea infrastructure project allows drivers to navigate beneath the water while observing marine life. It has quickly become the archipelago's latest major tourist attraction.

The European Commission has ruled that Instagram and Facebook are in breach of the Digital Services Act due to their use of addictive design features. This regulatory action targets parent company Meta for implementing platform mechanics that prioritize user engagement over well-being. Consequently, the social media platforms will be required to modify their applications to fully comply with these European digital regulations.

The European Parliament has greenlit the Chat Control 1.0 proposal following a controversial procedural maneuver by the European Commission to force a second-reading vote on previously defeated legislation. Critics argue this tactic undermines democratic norms by requiring an absolute majority to reject the measure, effectively bypassing prior parliamentary rejections to push through the surveillance initiative.