Several European countries joined the Netherlands near the top of the rankings. All the metrics are adjusted for population size. The UK and US lagged behind at 13th and 15th, respectively, underscoring the shifting dynamics of globaltechcompetitiveness. Notably, G7 economies failed to secure a single position in the top 10. The study excluded India, China, and every African nation due to insufficient data. 40% off TNW Conference! Switzerland led this index, followed by Sweden, while the Netherlands secured eighth place....

Last week, Elon Musks Starlink internet service was installed at the White House. The Trump administrations endorsements of Musks companies are attracting growing scrutiny. Critics argue that theyrebreaking lawsandthreatening democracy. For the worlds richest man, the relationship is also causing business problems. One involves Italys plans for Starlink. The country has halted talks for a proposed1.5bn contractwith the service, defence ministerGuido Crosettosaid in aninterviewSaturday. Lawmakers are divided between choosing Starlink or a rival provider, such as French firmEutelsat....

SAPs shares rose 1.6% on Monday, bringing its market cap to 313bn. That was just enough to nudge Danish weight loss drugmaker Novo off the top spot. The cloud-based software centralises business data, allowing multiple departments to access and share information in one place. In contrast, Novo is having a tougher time on the stock market. Novos flagship product is Ozempic, aweight loss drugchampioned by celebrities and the ultra-wealthy, includingElon Musk....

Among their explanations are stiff competition,overspending, allegations ofmismanagement, and a lack of state support. Northvolt may be bankrupt, but the fight for a strong European battery ecosystem is far from over. Thats the consensus from several tech investors and startups weve spoken to in recent weeks. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Creating asustainableand competitive battery value chain inEurope, though, will be littered with challenges. One of them competition from the East may be insurmountable....

Indeed, innovation has always been crucial in conflict. Armour made knights safe until the crossbow came along. High walls protected cities until cannons emerged. Trenches were made obsolete by fast-moving mechanised forces. The lesson: a military that cannot innovate is one that falls behind. Against a backdrop of serious geopolitical unrest and diplomatic realignment, this must change. The gap between the US and Europe in defence innovation is striking. This is not an accident....

Now, it has teamed up with Patria to trial the tech on the defence firms armoured vehicles. The MR technology promises to eliminate the need for additional screens or clunky headsets. The display also remains covert, preventing light leakage that could reveal vehicle positions, Distance said. Urho Konttori, the startups CEO and co-founder, claims it will give drivers super sensing abilities. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Distance can add its light field optics on top of most LCDs....

In fact, they can even make websitesharderfor people with disabilities to navigate. What does the European Accessibility Act mean for developers? 40% off TNW Conference! Accessibility widgets appear to offer an easy way to check the boxes. Their appeal is easy to understand. For such websites, widgets can provide a layer of accessibility without requiring significant overhauls to existing design andcode. For some businesses, especially those with limited resources, the promise of a widget is hard to resist....

The European Space Agency has released the first major batch of data from its dark universe telescope Euclid. Whats inside could change our understanding of dark matter and the expansion of the universe. 40% off TNW Conference! This happens when light from two distant galaxies passes through the same galaxy, causing a double lensing effect. Thats a double gravitational lens. Were confident that Euclid will quickly capture enough of them to allow scientists to start measuring their effects....

Another star footballer has joined a startups lineup. Dalot has invested 1mn in the company, which has developed an innovative approach to nutrition. Founded in 2019, Bioniq analyses blood test biomarkers to create customised supplements for athletes. The recipes are created by an algorithm trained on over 6 million biochemicaldatapoints. Dalot has received his own personalised formula, which he credits for enhancing his performances on the pitch. 40% off TNW Conference!...

Aerospike rocket engines are the stuff of legend in the space industry. One of these ventures is Spains Pangea Aerospace. Founded in 2018, Pangea has been operating under the radar for most of its seven-year history. Roussel joined Pangeas board last year. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Roussel praised the companys plans onLinkedIn. Strong team, strong technology, building the future of space propulsion, he said. An aerospike rocket revolution?...

For architects and designers, a good render can mean the difference between winning or losing a client. However, rendering typically requires a lot of time, effort, expertise and money. Tools like Visoid look to disrupt the status quo. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. You take a screenshot of your 3D design and import it into Visoids web-based app. it’s possible for you to also set more detailed requirements like the desired lighting or background elements....

However, Welle stressed that his current priority is growth. 40% off TNW Conference! It also provides tools for reporting and analytics. To date, the company has acquired 12 competitors as it looks to increase its market share. The scaleup is ridingsustained growthin global travel to fuel its expansion. Last year, the scaleup also earned unicorn status after raising $110mn at a valuation of $1.2bn. Theres no plan for tech startups, Welle saidin a recentinterview....

Irish startup Equal1 has unveiled the worlds first quantum computer that runs on a hybrid quantum-classical silicon chip. Dubbed Bell-1 after quantum physicistJohn Stewart Bell the computer weighs around 200kg and plugs into a regular electrical socket. The rack-mountable machine is designed to simply slot into high-performance computing (HPC) data centres alongside standard servers. The potential applications are endless. Were leveraging established semiconductor technologies to scale up faster than the competition,said Lynch....