The Next Web

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 […]

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 […]

The Dutch government has approved the first electric scooter for public roads and bike lanes, marking a cautious yet significant shift in the country’s tough stance on micromobility. Dubbed Selana Alpha and developed by the startup Selana, the vehicle was recently approved for use on Dutch roads […]

Despite a cautious VC climate and ongoing geopolitical jitters, European startups are still attracting serious cash.  Covering everything from AI drug discovery and space launches to quantum software and fusion energy, the continent’s startups raised €19bn in the first half of 2025, according […]

The EU AI Act is expected to introduce its key rules for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models on August 2. However, amid growing concerns that over-regulation could erode Europe’s competitiveness in artificial intelligence, calls to postpone the roll-out have intensified from some key stakeholders, […]

The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) has made its first investment in a biotechnology startup. The alliance’s VC arm announced today that it’s co-leading a $35mn Series A round for UK-based Portal Biotech as it seeks to strengthen NATO’s defences against biological warfare. Portal develops […]

AI slop songs are flooding Spotify — and the latest hit is by an indie rock band called The Velvet Sundown. The track’s success has intensified the ongoing debate on whether or not music streaming sites should label AI-generated songs. The group has attracted 474,341 monthly listeners on […]

The European Union has 24 official languages and dozens more unofficial ones spoken across the continent. If you add in the European countries outside the union, then that brings at least a dozen more into the mix. Add dialects, endangered languages, and languages brought by migrants to Europe, and […]

Switzerland pours more of its venture capital into deep tech than any other country, according to new data. The Swiss Deep Tech Report 2025 found that 60% of all Swiss venture funding between 2019 and 2025 went to deep tech — far surpassing any other nation. The capital represents a big bet on […]

A British-built manufacturing satellite successfully launched into orbit on its first test mission. Cardiff-based startup Space Forge launched the probe — called ForgeStar-1 — aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday. The […]