France has secured €15bn in foreign investment from the likes of Microsoft and Amazon as part of this year’s Choose France summit, an annual event that aims to promote the country’s economic and business attractiveness. The €15bn mark represents a record amount since the summit’s first edition in 2018, with commitments coming from 56 different initiatives....

For over 40 years, Ted Van der Vlies and his wife Marga grew fruits and vegetables in their backyard on the outskirts of Dordrecht, the Netherlands. Onions, potatoes, lettuce, carrots, rhubarb, cherries, you name it.  Little did they know that their homegrown produce was likely poisoning them.  Just a kilometre away from their garden sits the tangled...

The Royal Navy has installed VR simulators at three military training sites in the UK.  The simulators, built by Portsmouth-based Metaverse VR, recreate the bridge of a warship. A bridge, or wheelhouse, is like an aeroplane cockpit for ships. The Navy hopes that the new simulators will make training sailors faster and more lifelike. “You feel like...

Russian voters who do not believe the 2024 presidential election was a just affair can now raise their voices via a blockchain-secured and encrypted referendum through the app Russia2024.  This year’s presidential elections in March saw tens of thousands of Russian nationals queue up to cast their ballot at embassies around the world. Outside of the...

Friday is here, the sun is shining and it’s time for your weekly round-up of news from the Dutch tech ecosystem.  This week saw advances in hydrogen fuel cells, a big sale for chip-equipment maker ASML, and concerns over how right-wing politics will disrupt Dutch companies’ access to tech talent.  Our highlights have you covered, but we’d also love...

AI ethicists have called for urgent safeguards against an emerging “digital afterlife” industry. The concerns centre on chatbots that mimic the appearances, speech, and personalities of dead people. Known as “deadbots” or “griefbots,” these AI clones are trained on data about the deceased. They then provide simulated interactions with virtual recreations...