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Ali Niknam has built Dutch fintech Bunq into one of Europe’s biggest neobanks. But he fears the Netherlands is now driving entrepreneurs away. The Bunq founder and CEO is alarmed by the country’s business mindset. He believes risk-aversion, growing insularity, and hostility to ambition are pushing talent overseas. “Many of the best entrepreneurs I know have either left or are considering leaving,” Niknam tells TNW. Surveys back him up. A poll last year found that almost one in five Dutch entrepreneurs were considering relocating — up from nearly one in eight in 2023. The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! Another study found that 24% of large companies were contemplating moves abroad — nearly double the share from the year before.  Tech scaleups are also mulling exits. One of the country’s biggest — software unicorn Bird — recently announced plans to shift operations out of the country. The company’s CEO blamed “over-regulation” and a bad climate for tech businesses. Niknam — who’s set to speak at TNW Conference on June 20 in Amsterdam — has his own critiques of the Dutch business landscape. He calls its support for entrepreneurship “among the worst” he’s seen. Yet he still has deep faith in the country’s talent pool.  “There are very few countries I know that have such amazing, creative, smart people as the Dutch,” he says.  Those people have been integral to Bunq’s rapid growth. Building bridges at Bunq Niknam’s idea for Bunq emerged in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. One of the causes, he believes, was groupthink at incumbent banks. He founded Bunq in 2012 to create an alternative.  To create a new approach to banking, Niknam sought to embrace diverse ideas. He points to the company’s approach to proposals, which can be pitched anonymously — even to Niknam himself. “On the one hand, that’s better for the company — the best ideas win. And on the other hand, it makes it more fair, because all that counts is the quality of your idea, not who you know, where you’re brought up, or what school you attended.” The strategy delivered rapid results. In 2015, Bunq became the first Dutch company in 35 years to obtain a greenfield banking license. It then grew into Europe’s second-largest neobank after Revolut — and one of the few to achieve profitability. The company now boasts over 17 million users with more than €8bn in deposits. Outside Bunq, however, Niknam sees a country that’s becoming more closed. He believes the Netherlands is abandoning its internationalist roots, which is damaging its tech ecosystem and chasing talent away.  “Historically, the Netherlands has been very entrepreneurial, very international… when this country retreats and closes the doors is when things start to get worse.” Even the country’s vast pension funds, he notes, avoid backing Dutch startups. “They know the returns are going to be less,” he says. “Why are the returns less? Because it’s a small country, and it is retreating and starting to focus within its own borders.” He contrasts the mood with developments in the Baltics. The region’s tech ecosystem has attracted admiring glances for its optimism, openness, and rapid growth. Niknam feels that many people in the Netherlands take their rights for granted. “It’s maybe a little bit of an entitlement disease — that we have forgotten that all these wonderful things that we enjoy today, somebody worked for them really, really hard,” he says. Born in Canada to Iranian parents and with homes in the Netherlands and the US, Niknam has diverse cultural experiences. Image: OLSjopera Niknam feels the Netherlands has become too risk-averse and inward-looking. Despite the liberal stereotype, Dutch society can be surprisingly conservative.  That caution, Niknam says, is embedded in the culture — even in local proverbs. One goes: “Steek je kop niet boven het maaiveld uit.” Loosely translated: “Don’t stick your head above the mowing line.” If you do, it might get chopped off. In Niknam’s eyes, that mentality thwarts ambitious entrepreneurs. “Success is not only not celebrated, but you’re almost faulted for being successful,” he says.  The international return The Netherlands is also losing its appeal to international talent. Over nine in ten expats and migrant workers no longer even consider coming to work in the country, according to research from last year. Tech firms have raised major concerns over losing access to global talent. The chip equipment maker ASML — the largest company in the Netherlands — has threatened to move abroad because of the country’s hardening stance on migrants. Peter Wennink, ASML’s former CEO — who will also speak at TNW Conference — recently warned against losing access to skilled workers. “If we cannot get those people here, we will get those people in Eastern Europe or in Asia or in the United States,” he said. Still, Niknam believes the tide can turn. For change to come, he believes the “silent majority” — those who value openness and diversity — must speak up.  Despite its problems, Niknam remains upbeat about the future for tech businesses in the Netherlands. “The people are great. The schooling is great. The infrastructure is great,” he says. “It is simply changing the attitude and mindset — which can happen in a relatively short amount of time — that will make all the difference.” If you want to catch the talks by Niknam and Wennink — or anything else on the agenda for TNW Conference — we have a special offer for you. Use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the checkout to get 30% off your ticket. source

Our latest and most advanced technologies — from AI to Industrial IoT, advanced robotics, and self-driving cars — share serious problems: massive energy consumption, limited on-edge capabilities, system hallucinations, and serious accuracy gaps.  One possible solution is emerging in the Netherlands. The country is developing a promising ecosystem for neuromorphic computing, which draws on neuroscience to boost IT efficiencies and performance. Billions of euros are being invested in this new form of computing worldwide. The Netherlands aims to become a leader in the market by bringing together startups, established companies, government organisations, and academics in a neuromorphic computing ecosystem. A Dutch mission to the UK In March, a Dutch delegation landed in the UK to host an “Innovation Mission” with local tech and government representatives. Top Sector ICT, a Dutch government–supported organisation, led the mission, which sought to strengthen and discuss the future of neuromorphic computing in Europe and the Netherlands.  We contacted Top Sector ICT, who connected us with one of their collaborators: Dr Johan H. Mentink, an expert in computational physics at Radboud University in the Netherlands. Dr Mentink spoke about how neuromorphic computing can solve the energy, accuracy, and efficiency challenges of our current computing architectures.  Open AI, Cherry Ventures, Datasnipper, Monzo, bunq & many more confirmed for TNW Conference 2025 Join 1000s of founders, investors and innovation champions in Amsterdam on June 19 & 20. “Current digital computers use power-hungry processes to handle data,” Dr Mentink said.  “The result is that some modern data centres use so much energy that they even need their own power plant.”  Computing today stores data in one place (memory) and processes it in another place (processors). This means that a lot of energy is spent on transporting data, Dr Mentink explained.  In contrast, neuromorphic computing architectures are different at the hardware and software levels. For example, instead of using processors and memories, neuromorphic systems leverage new hardware components such as memristors. These act as both memory and processors.  By processing and saving data on the same hardware component, neuromorphic computing removes the energy-intensive and error-prone task of transporting data. Additionally, because data is stored on these components, it can be processed more immediately, resulting in faster decision-making, reduced hallucinations, improved accuracy, and better performance. This concept is being applied to edge computing, Industrial IoT, and robotics to drive faster real-time decision-making.  “Just like our brains process and store information in the same place, we can make computers that would combine data storage and processing in one place,” Dr Mentink explained.   Early use cases for neuromorphic computing Neuromorphic computing is far from just experimental. A great number of new and established technology companies are heavily invested in developing new hardware, edge devices, software, and neuromorphic computing applications. Big tech brands such as IBM, NVIDIA, and Intel, with its Loihi chips, are all involved in neuromorphic computing, while companies in the Netherlands, aligned with a 2024 national white paper, are taking a leading regional role.  For example, the Dutch company Innatera — a leader in ultra-low power neuromorphic processors — recently secured €15 million in Series-A funding from Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, the EIC Fund, MIG Capital, Matterwave Ventures, and Delft Enterprises.  Innatera is just the tip of the iceberg, as the Netherlands continues to support the new industry through funds, grants, and other incentives. Immediate use cases for neuromorphic computing include event-based sensing technologies integrated into smart sensors such as cameras or audio. These neuromorphic devices only process change, which can dramatically reduce power and data load, said Sylvester Kaczmarek, the CEO of OrbiSky Systems, a company providing AI integration for space technology.   Neuromorphic hardware and software have the potential to transfer AI running on the edge, especially for low-power devices such as mobile, wearables, or IoT.  Pattern recognition, keyword spotting, and simple diagnostics — such as real-time signal processing of complex sensor data streams for biomedical uses, robotics, or industrial monitoring — are some of the leading use cases, Dr Kaczmarek explained.  When applied to pattern recognition and classification or anomaly detection, neuromorphic computing can make decisions very quickly and efficiently,  Professor Dr Hans Hilgenkamp, Scientific Director of the MESA+ Institute at the University of Twente, agreed that pattern recognition is one of the fields where neuromorphic computing excels.  “One may also think about [for example] failure prediction in industrial or automotive applications,” he said.    The gaps creating neuromorphic opportunities Despite the recent progress, the road to establishing robust neuromorphic computing ecosystems in the Netherlands is challenging. Globalised tech supply chains and the standardisation of new technologies leave little room for hardware-level innovation.  For example, optical networks and optical chips have proven to outperform traditional systems in use today, but the tech has not been deployed globally. Deploying new hardware involves strategic coordination between the public and private sectors. The global rollout of 5G technology provides a good example of the challenges. It required telcos and governments around the world to deploy not only new antennas, but also smartphones, laptops, and a lot of hardware that could support the new standard.  On the software side, meanwhile, 5G systems had a pressing need for global standards to ensure integration, interoperability, and smooth deployment. Additionally, established telcos had to move from pure competition to strategic collaboration— an unfamiliar shift for an industry long built on siloed operations. Neuromorphic computing ecosystems face similar obstacles. The Netherlands recognises that the entire industry’s success depends on innovation in materials, devices, circuit designs, hardware architecture, algorithms, and applications.  These challenges and gaps are driving new opportunities for tech companies, startups, vendors, and partners.  Dr Kaczmarek told us that neuromorphic computing requires full-stack integration. This involves expertise that can connect novel materials and devices through circuit design and architectures to algorithms and applications. “Bringing these layers together is crucial but challenging,” he said.  On the algorithms and software side of things, developing new paradigms of programming, learning rules (beyond standard deep learning backpropagation), and software tools native to neuromorphic hardware are also priorities.  “It is crucial to

The Dutch startup ecosystem has slipped to 10th place globally and sixth in Europe, according to the newly released Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025.  The annual report, compiled by research platform StartupBlink, benchmarks the startup strength of over 1,400 cities and 110 countries worldwide.  The US took the top spot globally, with the UK coming in second. Among the European nations, Britain was followed by Sweden (sixth), Germany (seventh), and France (eighth). Switzerland claimed ninth place,  pushing the Netherlands down one spot.   However, it’s not all bad news for the Dutch startup ecosystem, which saw an above-average growth rate of over 26% this year.  The country’s top-performing sector was ecommerce and retail, where it ranks fifth globally and first in the EU. Prominent startups in this space include grocery delivery unicorn Picnic, designer brand marketplace Otrium, and fresh food platform Crisp. Open AI, Cherry Ventures, Datasnipper, Monzo, bunq & many more confirmed for TNW Conference 2025 Join 1000s of founders, investors and innovation champions in Amsterdam on June 19 & 20. However, the Netherlands’ overall growth was outpaced in Europe by France, Sweden, and Switzerland — all of which grew by over 30% this year.  Amsterdam holds steady On the city scale, Amsterdam remains the undisputed engine of the Dutch tech scene. The capital rose two global spots to 26th and held firm at fifth in Europe — trailing only London, Paris, Berlin, and Stockholm. It performed best in fintech, where it now ranks 15th worldwide and third in the EU, with scaleups like neobank Bunq and payments platform Mollie playing a central role.  “A key trend we observe in the Netherlands is Amsterdam’s rapid growth, with its startup ecosystem expanding by over 30% in 2025,” Eli David Rokah, CEO at StartupBlink, told TNW. “While the city remains fifth in Europe and fourth in the EU, this strong momentum is helping it close the gap with top-tier European ecosystems like Stockholm and Berlin.”  Outside the capital, the national picture is more mixed.  While Amsterdam remains the standout Dutch ecosystem globally, four more cities in the Netherlands entered the top 1000 this year (up from 20 the previous year ). That’s the highest-ever city count in this index. Rotterdam is the big riser, overtaking Utrecht to claim the number four spot among Dutch cities. It also scored the highest growth rate in the country (over 50%) and climbed 30 positions globally in just two years.  Eindhoven, meanwhile, slipped two spots to 106th globally but posted a standout result in sustainability, ranking 10th worldwide. source

TNW Backstage is going Double Dutch this week — in more ways than one. In the second episode of our new podcast, which goes behind the scenes of TNW Conference and the tech shaping our world, we’re joined by two special guests. Both of them are based in — you guessed it — the Netherlands. Together, they brew a distinctively orange blend of tech and humour, which has become a TNW trademark. One of them is content creator Derek Mitchell, the mind behind comedy brand Let’s Double Dutch. Mitchell’s viral videos exploring culture and identity in the Netherlands have earned global acclaim. His wildly popular sketches have now racked up over 250 million views. The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! In TNW Backstage, we revisit his appearance at last year’s conference. During the talk, Mitchell reveals how he found his voice online — and how you can too. Now, you may be wondering why a comedian was appearing at a tech conference. Well, there’s no one better to explain than this week’s second guest: Boris, the co-founder of TNW. Boris drops by TNW Towers to explain how humour fuels startup ideas — and lightens the load of tech work. He also looks back at memorable moments from TNW Conference. Among his favourites are a risky rib at Amazon’s CTO, wakeboarding through Amsterdam canals, and, um, cow poop bingo. (It’s another Dutch thing, apparently.) Our terrifically talented head of content, Oliviana Bailey, then gives a sneak peek at the fun and games at this year’s events. It’s a distinct break from the debut episode of the podcast, which explored the evolving data security landscape — and Meta’s controversial “pay or consent” model — with Ron de Jesus, the world’s first Field Chief Privacy Officer. But the contrast encapsulates the two sides of TNW Conference: serious business and festival vibes. You can check out both episodes of the podcast here. To celebrate its launch, we’re also offering an exclusive discount on tickets for TNW Conference, which takes place on June 19 and 20. You’ll find the offer hidden in each episode of TNW Backstage. Thanks for reading — and now, for listening too. source

A Russian-born gaming mogul has been named the UK’s richest person under 40 — in a ranking dominated by tech entrepreneurs. Dmitry Bukhman, 39, built his fortune after founding mobile gaming giant Playrix. His estimated wealth of £12.54bn tops The Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List — and makes up over a third of its £36.2bn combined total. His net worth has nearly doubled since last year. As a child in post-Soviet Russia, Bukman taught himself to code. Alongside his older brother Igor, he built his first game with an old Pentium PC given to them by their grandfather. After founding Playrix in 2004, the duo turned their focus to free-to-play mobile games. Their biggest hits — including Homescapes, Fishdom, and Township — have come in the casual puzzle and simulation genres. The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! Most of their revenue derive from in-app purchases (IAP). In 2024, Playrix was the world’s fourth-largest mobile game publisher by IAP revenue, generating around $1.66 billion. The company has also faced accusations of pay-to-win mechanics and misleading advertising. The Bukhman brothers left Russia in 2016. They moved to Israel in 2016 and then relocated to the the UK four years later. In 2022, they shut down Playrix’s operations in their home country after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Bukhman is far from the only tech leader on the rich list — nearly half its members come from the sector. Five of them join Bukhman in the top 10: Herman Narula, the CEO of virtual worlds business Improbable, Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham, the co-founders of insurtech firm Marshmallow, and Piotr Dabkowski and Mati Staniszewski, the co-founders of AI firm ElevenLabs. The rankings are a subset of The Sunday Times Rich List, which profiles the UK’s 350 wealthiest people and families. Their combined wealth is estimated at £772.8bn — more than the annual GDP of Switzerland. source

Five standout scaleups from the UK have made it into TECH5 — the “Champions League of Technology.”  The selections complete the UK and Ireland regional round of the tournament, which will now crown Europe’s hottest scaleup. Both Ireland and the UK had no shortage of contenders. Each nation boasts impressive digital track records. The UK is often regarded as Europe’s leading tech hub. The country has a thriving ecosystem of startups, a strong investment landscape, and a world-class talent pool.  Last year, the country retained its position as the number one destination in Europe for tech investments, raising €17.5bn. London dominates the sector, forming a “golden triangle” with Cambridge and Oxford that powers a formidable innovation engine.  The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! Ireland has also enjoyed a stellar run of tech success. The progress has been partly driven by low corporate tax rates, which have lured many Silicon Valley giants to its shores.  A skilled workforce, strategic location within the EU, and strong government support have also laid fertile grounds for homegrown tech firms. They range from Dublin unicorns LetsGetChecked, Workhuman, and Wayflyer, to payments giant Stripe — one of the world’s most valuable private tech firms.  This year’s TECH5 picks from the region, however, are all based in the UK. London dominates the list, providing a base for all but one of them. TNW’s judges selected the top five based on their growth, impact, and future potential. In no particular order, let’s meet them. Allica Bank Allica Bank has enjoyed a remarkable rise since launching in 2020. Last year, the fintech was Britain’s fastest-growing business, according to the Sunday Times. It also earned the top spot in Sifted’s rankings of European startups with the highest percentage revenue growth. Allica was recently highlighted by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a star of the British fintech scene. Ravneet Shah, the scaleup’s Chief Technology Officer, attributes the company’s success to its distinctive approach to business banking.  “Our ambition is to empower established businesses with technology that’s user-friendly, scalable, and specifically built to handle their day-to-day financial needs,” Shah told TNW.  “We believe that this segment has long been underserved by legacy systems and processes, which were never designed with these businesses in mind. “By tailoring our services to this often-overlooked segment, we believe we can help them become more confident in managing their finances, allowing them to focus on growth, innovation, and long-term success.” PolyAI PolyAI is on a mission to create the world’s most lifelike AI voice agents. Designed for call centres, the AI agents manage customer service inquiries for companies including Volkswagen, Marriott, and MetroBank.  PolyAI says clients receive customised voice assistants in six weeks or less. The finished products promise engaging experiences that feel like talking to a real person.  CEO Nikola Mrkšić, who previously worked on Apple’s Siri voice assistant, co-founded PolyAI in 2017 with fellow University of Cambridge machine learning researchers. Last year, their company closed a $50mn (€38mn) funding round at a valuation of close to $500mn (€380mn). “We want to make people fall in love with voice assistants because [calling] is still the main way people interact with businesses,” Mrkšić told the FT. “It’s been very sticky and has stayed past a digital transformation elsewhere.”  Mrkšić envisions huge growth, predicting that up to 75% of customer interactions could be automated with AI.   Artios Pharma Artios Pharma is a pioneer of a rapidly advancing approach to cancer treatment. The company develops drugs that target DNA damage response (DDR), which cancer cells rely on to repair genetic faults and resist treatment. By targeting tumours through DDR, Artios aims to kill cancerous cells while sparing healthy ones. The technique has proved immensely promising in tests. Last month, Artios reported that its lead drug had shrunk a subset of tumours in an early-stage trial.  Investors have taken note. Artios has raised over €261 million so far, according to Bounce Watch data.  Our sole contender in the region from outside London, Artios is based in Cambridge. Founded in 2016, the company boasts impeccable credentials.CEO Niall Martin, PhD, and CSO Graeme Smith, PhD, were involved in the invention of AstraZeneca’s Lynparza, a blockbuster DDR drug that has been hailed as a “revolutionary” cancer treatment.  Zilch Zilch has introduced a new approach to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) purchases. The payments are interest-free and subsidised by ads, with rewards for purchases and no late fees. The company also promises to only lend what users can afford. To encourage responsible spending, Zilch provides customers with tools to keep them on top of purchases.  Founded in 2018, the London-based business has quickly grown into one of Europe’s leading scaleups. In 2021, the fintech became one of the fastest companies in the continent to reach unicorn status. Last July, Zilch announced it had also turned profitable. Over 5 million customers are registered with the scaleup. The rapid rise has earned the company multiple accolades. In the last few months, Zilch was named the fastest-growing unicorn in Britain, won “Financial Institution of the Year” at the City AM Dragon Awards, and joined Allica Bank in earning praise from Chancellor Reeves. Veremark Veremark has created a background screening platform for hiring and appraisals. The system aims to find clients the best talent — and reduce recruitment risks. The platform offers an alternative to traditional screening approaches, which are often costly and prone to being skipped.  Founded in 2019, Veremark automates and digitises these processes. The result, the scaleup says, is faster and more insightful checks that comply with regulations. As well as prospective hires, the system can screen existing staff, business partners, limited partners, and founders. The company also recently launched a blockchain-based “career passport” for candidates to manage their verified credentials. “We’re building Veremark to become the world’s most trusted platform for verifying professional integrity,”

As Europe pushes for tech sovereignty, one open-source advocate has a warning: don’t forget global cooperation. Amanda Brock, CEO of industry group OpenUK, told TNW that the EU must “get real” about the trade-offs of going it alone. Brock said tech policymakers must move beyond “tit-for-tat schoolyard politics” and instead “protect global collaboration whilst ensuring the needs of their citizens are met.”   Her comments follow a speech by Eva Maydell in Brussels yesterday, where the Bulgarian lawmaker urged Europe to “sober up” in its quest for tech independence.   Open AI, Cherry Ventures, Datasnipper, Monzo, bunq & many more confirmed for TNW Conference 2025 Join 1000s of founders, investors and innovation champions in Amsterdam on June 19 & 20. “We need to have a very clear outline plan which, first and foremost, assesses where our strengths are, where we have certain dependencies, and where we need to cooperate,” said Maydell. In a bid to reduce reliance on global tech giants, European institutions have been ramping up efforts to grow homegrown capabilities in areas such as AI, cloud computing, and semiconductors. These efforts have gained urgency amid rising tensions with the US and China.  However, Brock believes Europe must beware of the trade-offs of tech sovereignty. She points to open-source software, which is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and share — and inherently requires cross-border cooperation.  “Every time we hear talk of ‘sovereignty’ from the EU, in the next breath we hear ‘open-source’,” she said. “Yet these two concepts sit in direct conflict, as open-source has global collaboration at its heart.” Brock urged Europe to invest in tech infrastructure and talent to support the growth of technologies such as AI, while remaining open to the rest of the world. “No one said it would be easy,” she added. Andreas Riegler, general partner at APEX Ventures, agrees that Europe must continue to embrace global collaboration.  He warned against competing head-on with the US and China in technologies like cloud infrastructure or foundational AI models.  “Europe must resist isolationist instincts and instead integrate into global tech ecosystems where appropriate,” he said. “Not doing so risks duplication of effort, talent drain, and diminished geopolitical influence in setting global standards.” Europe’s tech sovereignty will be a hot topic at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 19-20 in Amsterdam. Tickets for the event are now on sale — use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the checkout to get 30% off. source

Europe has been turning uranium into energy for over half a century. In the process, the continent has amassed vast stockpiles of nuclear waste. This radioactive material can take millions of years to become safe, and no one really knows what to do with it. Thorizon, a Franco-Dutch startup, has an idea: reuse the nuclear waste to generate new energy. The company is developing a small modular molten salt reactor (MSR) that runs on a mix of spent nuclear fuel and thorium, a radioactive metal with untapped potential.  Thorizon aims to begin construction of its first reactor, Thorizon One, within five years. Once complete, the plant is expected to produce 100 megawatts of electricity — enough to power around 100,000 homes or a major data centre. “We’re not just building a new type of reactor — we’re rethinking how we use the fuel we already have,” Thorizon’s CEO Kiki Leuwers told TNW. “Europe is sitting on a stockpile of valuable nuclear material. With the right technology, that waste becomes a resource.”  A 3D render of Thorizon’s nuclear reactor: Credit: Thorizon When the radioactive uranium is used as fuel in a nuclear reactor, its atoms undergo fission, releasing heat. This heat is then used to produce steam, which spins a turbine to generate electricity. The radioactive waste produced in this process still retains around 90% of the uranium’s original energy. Lauwers estimates that Europe’s stockpiles of nuclear waste could power the entire region for 40 years. In the US, scientists believe it could power their country for around 100 years. Why aren’t we reusing nuclear waste? Countries including the US, France, and Japan have long understood the potential of reusing spent nuclear fuel. In the 1960s and ‘70s many so-called fast reactors were built — advanced designs capable of extracting more energy from nuclear fuel and even “breeding” new fuel from waste. But in the decades that followed, most were phased out. There were two key reasons: politics and economics. Fast reactors produce significant quantities of plutonium, the building block of atomic bombs. At the height of the Cold War, fears of nuclear proliferation prompted many countries, especially the US, to abandon efforts to recycle nuclear waste. At the same time, global uranium supplies turned out to be far more abundant than expected. Discoveries of deposits in Australia, Canada, and Africa drove prices down, making it cheaper to mine fresh uranium than to invest in recycling infrastructure. Combined, these factors put radioactive recycling on ice.   While France and Japan still reprocess some of their used fuel, most of the world’s nuclear waste today ends up in massive steel cylinders called dry casks — a temporary solution to a very, very long-term problem. Efforts to bury it deep underground for eternity — like Finland’s 500-metre-deep Onkalo repository — are making progress, but remain contentious and expensive. Meanwhile, expanding nuclear power in Europe continues to be a thorny issue, but the tide may be turning. Faced with the twin crises of climate change and energy insecurity, countries including the UK and France are pushing to expand nuclear power capacity, especially in small modular reactors (SMRs).  Whether nuclear energy gets its moment back in the sun or not, Europe still has a massive nuclear waste problem. One that Thorizon hopes to clean up.   How will Thorizon’s plant work? Thorizon’s MSR operates at high temperatures but low pressure, making it safer and more efficient. If something goes wrong, the salt solidifies and contains the radioactive material, limiting the risk of leaks or explosions.  MSRs were first developed in the 1960s at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US and showed great promise. But they never reached commercial viability, largely because housing the corrosive salts safely proved technically challenging and expensive.   To counter this, Thorizon’s design uses a system of cartridges. Each massive steel cylinder is filled with molten salt and a mix of spent fuel from traditional reactors and fresh thorium — a radioactive material much more abundant than uranium and safer to handle. The idea is that these cylinders can simply be replaced once the radioactive part of the fuel has largely been depleted. “The cartridge approach lets us isolate the most extreme conditions inside the reactor,” said Lauwers. “It’s modular, replaceable, and gives us a safe way to deal with radioactive materials.” Thorizon spun out from the Netherlands’ nuclear research institute NRG in 2018. It now employs around 50 engineers split between Amsterdam and Lyon. The company says it has completed its conceptual design and is engaged in regulatory talks with Dutch, French, and Belgian authorities.  Three pre-feasibility studies are underway for potential launch sites in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Industry partners, including Dutch manufacturing giant VDL, are helping prototype core components.   By blending spent uranium fuel with thorium in a molten salt reactor, Thorizon aims to create a cleaner, more sustainable source of nuclear energy. It could turn a huge nuclear waste problem into a solution for Europe’s clean energy future. But the benefits won’t come cheap.     Funding a nuclear waste renaissance  So far, Thorizon has raised €42.5mn, including funding from the French government and Dutch bodies such as Invest-NL and the Brabant Startup Fonds. However, that’s just a fraction of the €750mn it says it needs to begin building its prototype reactor.  The long timelines, strict regulations, and high upfront costs of nuclear startups typically make them a hard sell. “To bring the technology to life, public-private partnerships are crucial,” said Lauwers. “Some of the money being spent on burying nuclear waste could be instead diverted to reusing it.”  Government backing will be crucial, she said, as will venture capital. However, the CEO said that being based in Europe may put the company at a disadvantage from a funding perspective.  “In the US, relatively small teams have been able to scale much faster, obtain more private funding, and obtain their licenses,” she said. “Here in Europe, that can take longer.”  TerraPower and X-Power are two examples. Each SMR

Google DeepMind’s AI systems have taken big scientific strides in recent years — from predicting the 3D structures of almost every known protein in the universe to forecasting weather more accurately than ever before.  The UK-based lab today unveiled its latest advancement: AlphaEvolve, an AI coding agent that makes large language models (LLMs) like Gemini better at solving complex computing and mathematical problems.  AlphaEvolve is powered by the same models that it’s trying to improve. Using Gemini, the agent proposes programs — written in code — that try to solve a given problem. It runs each code snippet through automated tests that evaluate how accurate, efficient, or novel it is. AlphaEvolve keeps the top-performing code snippets and uses them as the basis for the next round of generation. Over many cycles, this process “evolves” better and better solutions. In essence, it is a self-evolving AI.   DeepMind has already used AlphaEvolve to tackle data centre energy use, design better chips, and speed up AI training. Here are five of its top feats so far.  1. It discovered new solutions to some of the world’s toughest maths problems AlphaEvolve was put to the test on over 50 open problems in maths, from combinatorics to number theory. In 20% of cases, it improved on the best-known solutions to them.  The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! One of those was the 300-year-old kissing number problem. In 11-dimensional space, AlphaEvolve discovered a new lower bound with a configuration of 593 spheres — progress that even expert mathematicians hadn’t reached.  2. It made Google’s data centres more efficient The AI agent devised a way to better manage power scheduling at Google’s data centres. That has allowed the tech giant to improve its data centre energy efficiency by 0.7% over the last year — a significant cost and energy saver given the size of its data centre operation.  3. It helped train Gemini faster AlphaEvolve improved the way matrix multiplications are split into subproblems, a core operation in training AI models like Gemini. That optimisation sped up the process by 23%, reducing Gemini’s total training time by 1%. In the world of generative AI, every percentage point can translate into cost and energy savings.  4. It co-designed part of Google’s next AI chip The agent is also using its code-writing skills to rewire things in the physical world. It rewrote a portion of an arithmetic circuit in Verilog — a language used for chip design — making it more efficient. That same logic is now being used to develop Google’s future TPU (Tensor Processing Unit), an advanced chip for machine learning.   5. It beat a legendary algorithm from 1969 For decades, Strassen’s algorithm was the gold standard for multiplying 4×4 complex matrices. AlphaEvolve found a more efficient solution — using fewer scalar multiplications. This could lead to more advanced LLMs, which rely heavily on matrix multiplication to function. According to DeepMind, these feats are just the tip of the iceberg for AlphaEvolve. The lab envisions the agent solving countless problems, from discovering new materials and drugs to streamlining business operations. AI’s evolution will be a hot topic at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 19-20 in Amsterdam. Tickets for the event are now on sale — use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the checkout to get 30% off. source

Welsh startup Space Forge has raised $30mn to advance its first commercial in-orbit manufacturing satellite, ForgeStar-2. The NATO Innovation Fund led the funding round, the largest Series A financing in UK space tech history. Space Forge’s demonstrator — the ForgeStar-1 — is set to launch from the US on a SpaceX rocket this year. The oven-sized satellite will then harness the conditions of space to produce “supermaterials” that are impossible to make on Earth. Joshua Western, Space Forge’s CEO and co-founder, compared the technology to a sourdough starter — a small but potent base for growing something much bigger. “Our satellites utilise the zero-gravity, ultra-cold, vacuum environment of space to produce tiny crystals of a higher quality than could ever be made otherwise,” Western explained.  The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! Once returned to Earth, the crystal “seeds” can be used to grow larger crystals that form the basis of ultra-efficient computer chips, which could power everything from data centres to telecoms networks. Space Forge says these semiconductors could halve the time it takes to charge an EV. The technology could also be used to make new metal alloys or pharmaceutical drugs.   At least, that’s the long-term vision — but Space Forge hasn’t yet made its materials in space, and ForgeStar-1 won’t be coming back to Earth. Instead, the satellite will be intentionally burned up in the atmosphere.   Sensors on board, however, will enable the team to measure whether the crystal-forming process was a success. The first mission aims to validate the startup’s key technologies in preparation for the launch of ForgeStar-2.   Designed to be reusable, ForgeStar-2 will be equipped with a heat shield called Pridwen that will protect its precious payload from the intense heat and pressure of re-entry. That could enable it to make regular trips to space and deliver new seeds back to labs on Earth.    Space Forge predicts its crystal seeds could be worth up to £45mn ($60mn) per kg, which would easily cover the costs of launch. The company also claims that the power-saving gains of its semiconductors in technologies like EVs will offset the carbon emitted when launching the satellite.  Space Forge will use the fresh funding to accelerate the development of ForgeStar-2. As hinted by NATO’s participation in the round, the company’s technology could also have potential applications in security and defence. It may enhance European security by enabling the production of advanced materials for defence systems and reducing reliance on foreign suppliers for critical components. Chris O’Connor, partner at NATO Innovation Fund, said Space Forge would advance Europe’s access to space, supply chain independence, and long-term resiliency.  “We look forward to working with the Space Forge team to leverage their technological breakthroughs in order to secure the future of NATO nations,” he said. Update (11:10AM CET, May 14, 2025): This article previously stated that ForgeStar-1 was Space Forge’s first demonstrator. However, the first was actually ForgeStar-0, which was destroyed following the failed launch of Virgin Orbit from Spaceport Cornwall in 2023. source