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EU AI Act: Draft guidance for general purpose AIs shows first steps for Big AI to comply

A first draft of a Code of Practice that will apply to providers of general-purpose AI models under the European Union’s AI Act has been published, alongside an invitation for feedback — open until November 28 — as the drafting process continues into next year, ahead of formal compliance deadlines kicking in over the coming […]

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Atlas.co wants its web-based mapping tool to be the Figma of geospatial data

Startup inspiration can strike anywhere. But for Atlas.co*, a freemium browser-based, real-time mapping tool that’s being built by an Oslo, Norway-based team of (initially student) engineers, the realization that there might be a business opportunity in competing with expensive legacy mapping software hit the founders during class. “When we took introduction class to GIS [geographic […]

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Apple faces UK ‘iCloud monopoly’ compensation claim worth $3.8 billion

U.K. consumer rights group ‘Which?’ is filing a legal claim against Apple under competition law on behalf of some 40 million users of iCloud, its cloud storage service. The collective proceeding lawsuit, which is seeking £3 billion in compensation damages (around $3.8 billion at current exchange rates), alleges that Apple has broken competition rules by […]

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Europe asks for input on banned uses of AI

The European Union is developing compliance guidance for its new law on AI. As part of that process it’s launched a consultation (here) seeking input in two areas. The first is how the law defines AI systems (as opposed to “simpler traditional” software). It’s asking people in the AI industry, business, academics, and civil society […]

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Bounce bags $19M to expand its traveler convenience network

Luggage storage as a vector for piling into convenience-based revenue opportunities in the business of global travel continues to put a spring in San Francisco-based Bounce‘s step. The startup has just tucked $19 million in Series B funding into its suitcase, with a plan to keep rolling revenue that’s grown 20x since its $12M Series […]

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Europe’s DMA forces Meta towards ‘less personalized ads’

Meta, under legal pressure in the European Union over a binary ‘pay us or consent to ad tracking’ choice it currently offers regional users of its social networks Facebook and Instagram, is changing how its regional ad business works again. Little wonder when compliance failure in this context risks fines of up to 10% of […]

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Apple’s geoblocks on media services in EU draw consumer protection ire

Apple’s pile of regulatory woes in the European Union has ticked up again: the iPhone maker is being accused of unlawfully discriminating against consumers by applying restrictions on how several of its media services can be accessed around the bloc. Consumer protection authorities in three EU Member States have been investigating the geoblocking measures (access […]

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Ecosia and Qwant, two European search engines, join forces on an index to shrink reliance on Big Tech

Qwant, France’s privacy-focused search engine, and Ecosia, a Berlin-based not-for-profit search engine that uses ad revenue to fund tree planting and other climate-focused initiatives, are joining forces on a joint venture to develop their own European search index. The pair hopes this move will help drive innovation in their respective search engines — including and […]

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As demand for lithium explodes, battery recycling startup Tozero sprints to scale with $11.7M seed

Tozero, a Munich-based startup that recovers valuable raw materials from recycled lithium-ion batteries, is gearing up to scale. The startup just closed an oversubscribed €11 million seed round (around $11.7M) to step up production by building its first industrial deployment (A.K.A first-of-a-kind or FOAK) plant. Currently, Tozero’s pilot plant processes nine tonnes of lithium-ion battery […]

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Glint Solar grabs $8M to help accelerate solar energy adoption across Europe

Solar energy is booming, which is good news for Glint Solar. The Norwegian software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup has built a platform that’s helping energy giants and large solar developers such as E.ON, Recurrent Energy, and Statkraft cut the time it takes to plan and pre-design solar installations to accelerate the transition to renewables. Glint’s software pulls in […]

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