The Dutch government plans to cut bureaucracy and increase investment in artificial intelligence to help the country’s tech startups thrive, Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced. His comments follow a report by TechLeap, which revealed a sharp decline in small firms securing significant funding. Despite a 47% increase in venture capital investment in 2024, the number of Dutch startups receiving more than €100,000 fell dramatically, with most funding coming from foreign investors.
Schoof, speaking at TechLeap’s annual event in The Hague, stressed the urgency of creating a business-friendly environment to attract venture capital. He warned that Europe risks being left behind by the US and China if immediate action is not taken. Eindhoven, home to chip giant ASML, has been a key driver of the Dutch economy, but the slowdown in startup growth raises concerns about long-term innovation.
Two Dutch firms, hotel software developer Mews and AI-powered auditing company DataSnipper, achieved unicorn status last year, but industry leaders remain cautious. With the government now vowing to intervene, the hope is that streamlined regulations and targeted investments will help revive the country’s startup ecosystem.
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Reddit is set to overhaul its search functionality in 2025 by integrating AI-powered features to help users find better answers to complex and subjective questions. CEO Steve Huffman announced that the company will incorporate Reddit Answers, a tool that summarises discussions and highlights key responses, into its existing search system.
The company is also forming a dedicated team of engineers to refine and expand these AI-driven search capabilities. This move follows Reddit’s broader AI strategy, which has already introduced translation tools and AI-powered insights for advertisers. The platform has also experimented with AI-curated search result pages to improve content discovery across different communities.
Despite these advancements, Reddit’s latest earnings report disappointed investors, with daily active users reaching 101.7 million falling short of expectations. Huffman suggested that making search an integral part of user onboarding could help boost engagement and monetisation, positioning AI-powered search as a key driver of Reddit’s future growth.
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Saudi Arabia’s NEOM has signed an agreement with DataVolt to develop a 1.5-gigawatt net-zero AI project in its Oxagon industrial zone. The first phase will see an investment of $5 billion, with operations expected to begin in 2028. The initiative aims to position the kingdom as a leading AI hub in the region, competing with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar amid soaring demand for generative AI technology.
The Saudi government has been actively pursuing AI development, with plans for a $40 billion fund in collaboration with foreign partners. The governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, has promoted the country as a potential global AI centre, citing its abundant energy resources and financial capacity. NEOM, a development nearly the size of Belgium, is a key part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy to diversify its economy beyond oil.
Oxagon is set to become an industrial city powered entirely by renewable energy, aligning with NEOM’s sustainability goals. However, the kingdom has scaled back some of its more ambitious projects to prioritise infrastructure essential for hosting major global events. Rising costs have influenced these adjustments, but AI remains a critical part of Saudi Arabia‘s long-term economic transformation.
China has expressed its willingness to share advancements in artificial intelligence with the world, emphasising the importance of international collaboration. Speaking at an AI summit in Paris, Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing stated that China aims to safeguard security in the field while building ‘a community with a shared future for mankind,’ a key principle of President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy.
The statement highlights China’s push for deeper global partnerships in emerging technologies amid growing competition and regulatory scrutiny. AI has become a focal point in international relations, with nations balancing innovation with security concerns. Zhang’s comments suggest China is positioning itself as a cooperative player in shaping AI’s future.
As AI continues to reshape industries and societies, China’s call for collaboration signals its intent to engage with global stakeholders. Whether these efforts will lead to concrete partnerships remains to be seen, but the message from Beijing is clear: China is open to working with the world on artificial intelligence.
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AI chip startup Positron has raised $23.5 million in a bid to compete with industry leader Nvidia. The Reno-based company, which manufactures its chips in Arizona, claims its processors consume less than a third of the power of Nvidia’s high-performance H100 chips while maintaining similar capabilities. Investors in the funding round included Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, and Flume Ventures.
Positron’s chips are designed for AI inference, the stage where trained AI models are used rather than developed. While demand is currently higher for training chips, analysts predict that inference chips could soon become the more sought-after option as AI applications expand. This shift has led major players such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, with spending expected to reach tens of billions of dollars this year.
Although Nvidia dominates roughly 80% of the AI chip market, rising costs and concerns over reliance on a single supplier have pushed major tech firms to seek alternatives. With its latest funding, Positron positions itself as a strong contender in the growing US and global AI chip industry, offering a more energy-efficient option for future AI applications.
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Authorities have arrested four Russian nationals suspected of deploying Phobos ransomware to extort payments from victims across Europe and beyond. Europol announced that law enforcement agencies from 14 countries worked together to dismantle the network, taking down 27 servers linked to the cybercriminals. The individuals arrested were reportedly leaders of the 8Base ransomware group, a key player in distributing Phobos malware.
The operation follows a series of recent arrests targeting Phobos-related cybercrime. In June 2024, a key administrator of the ransomware was apprehended in South Korea and later extradited to the United States, while another major affiliate was arrested in Italy last year. Authorities have since issued warnings to over 400 companies worldwide about imminent cyberattacks.
Phobos ransomware has been particularly damaging to small and medium-sized businesses, which often lack strong cybersecurity protections. Europol’s latest Russian crackdown is a significant step in weakening the ransomware network and preventing further cyber extortion efforts.
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Greece‘s Ministry of Education is developing an AI-powered digital assistant aimed at helping students bridge learning gaps. Set to launch in the 2025-2026 school year, the tool will analyse student responses to exercises, identifying areas where they struggle and recommending targeted study materials. Initially focused on middle and senior high school students, it may eventually expand to lower elementary grades as well.
The AI assistant uses machine-learning algorithms to assess students’ strengths and weaknesses, tailoring study plans accordingly. Integrated with Greece’s Digital Tutoring platform, it will leverage over 15,000 interactive exercises and 7,500 educational videos. Teachers will also have access to the data, allowing them to better support their students.
Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis highlighted that the project, part of the “Enhancing the Digital School” initiative, is designed to complement, not replace, traditional teaching methods. The initiative, which aims to modernise Greece’s education system, will be funded through the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. Approval is expected in March, after which competitive bidding will begin for the project’s implementation.
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Microsoft has proposed increasing the price difference between its Office product with the Teams app and the version without it, to avoid a potential EU antitrust fine. This comes after complaints from rivals like Salesforce-owned Slack and German competitor alfaview regarding Microsoft’s practice of bundling Teams with Office. Since Teams became a part of Office 365 in 2017, it gained widespread use during the pandemic, largely due to its video conferencing capabilities.
To address concerns, Microsoft unbundled Teams from Office in 2023, offering Office without Teams for €2 less and a standalone Teams subscription for €5 per month. The European Commission is currently gathering feedback from companies, with a decision on whether to conduct a formal market test expected soon. As part of its offer, Microsoft has also proposed better interoperability terms to make it easier for competitors to challenge its products.
The EU has previously fined Microsoft €2.2 billion for similar antitrust issues in the past. If the Commission accepts Microsoft’s proposal without issuing a fine or finding wrongdoing, it would likely allow the EU to focus resources on ongoing investigations into other tech giants like Apple and Google.
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The Italian government is under increasing pressure to explain its links to Israeli spyware firm Paragon, following reports that the company severed ties with Rome over allegations of misuse. The controversy erupted after WhatsApp revealed that Paragon spyware had been used to target multiple users, including a journalist and a human rights activist critical of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
While the government has confirmed that seven people in Italy were affected, it denies any involvement in the hacking and has called for an investigation. However, reports from The Guardian and Haaretz claim Paragon cut ties with Italy due to doubts over the government’s denial. Opposition politicians have demanded clarity, with former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi insisting that those responsible be held accountable.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini initially suggested that internal disputes within the intelligence services might be behind the scandal, though he later retracted his comment, claiming he was referring to unrelated cases. Meanwhile, critics argue that the government cannot ignore the growing concerns over the potential misuse of surveillance tools against political opponents.
With mounting calls for transparency, the affair has intensified debate over government accountability and digital surveillance, raising broader questions about the ethical use of spyware within democratic nations.
France is set to receive an unprecedented €83 billion in AI-related investments, with Canadian firm Brookfield committing €20 billion by 2030. The majority of this funding will be allocated to data centres, including a massive one in Cambrai with a capacity of up to one gigawatt. This surge in investment follows the announcement of a €50 billion AI campus project between France and the UAE.
A key factor behind France’s appeal is its energy infrastructure. With 65% of its electricity generated from nuclear power and another 25% from renewables, the country offers a sustainable solution for tech companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. This has positioned France as an attractive location for power-intensive AI data centres.
Alongside international funding, France’s public investment bank Bpifrance has pledged €10 billion to support AI startups, while telecom giant Iliad is investing €3 billion in AI-focused infrastructure. With the AI Action Summit set to take place in Paris, more investment announcements could be on the horizon.