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…This story continues at The Next Web
A year ago this week, a viral hit offered a glimpse into the future of AI music: “BBL Drizzy.” The song emerged during the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. As the rappers traded disses, a New York-based comedian named Willonius Hatcher — aka King Willonious — brought his own track to the beef. Inspired by a dubious claim that Drake had a Brazilian butt lift, “BBL Drizzy” blended AI, comedy, pop culture, and music. The song swiftly went viral. It was later sampled in a beat by star producer Metro Boomin, which also went viral, and got rapped over…This story continues at The Next Web
The Danish Armed Forces are set to trial four autonomous sea drones that will patrol Northern Europe waters, looking for signs of criminal activity. Powered by wind and solar, the uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) will gather real-time data using sensors and cameras positioned both above and beneath the water. An onboard computer will stream this data to a machine learning algorithm that is trained to spot patterns and potential threats. The technology is designed to help the Danish defence forces identify threats such as enemy submarines, illegal fishing, drug smuggling, or tampering with undersea cables. The drones will also perform…This story continues at The Next Web
Britain requires a “colossal” overhaul of its cybersecurity systems to defend against future quantum computers, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned this week. Speaking at the CYBERUK conference in Manchester, the body’s CTO Ollie Whitehouse urged organisations to start preparing now for a sweeping transformation in how digital security is built and maintained — warning of grave consequences if they don’t. Quantum computers, once they reach a certain power threshold, could render current encryption methods obsolete. They could break security protocols that protect everything from financial transactions and medical records to military communications. A critical part of preparing…This story continues at The Next Web
A flying car that morphs into a plane in just 80 seconds is set to go on sale in early 2026. Slovakian flying car maker Klein Vision unveiled the Aircar 2, its first “production-ready” prototype, today. Klein Vision co-founder Anton Zajac told TNW that the vehicle will cost between $800,000 and $1mn. The original Aircar garnered a lot of attention back in 2021 when it successfully conducted a 35-minute inter-city test flight. The Aircar 2 will have some major upgrades over its predecessor. Klein Vision has scrapped the 1.6-litre BMW engine for a new 280-horsepower motor with twice the power.…This story continues at The Next Web
Have you heard of the privacy paradox? It’s the contradiction between our claims to care about privacy — and our refusal to protect it. The paradox came to mind while working on the debut episode of our brand-new podcast: TNW Backstage. The show takes you behind the scenes of TNW Conference — and the tech shaping our world. Our first episode features a standout guest: Ron de Jesus, the world’s first Field Chief Privacy Officer. The conversation explores the evolution of privacy threats. One hot topic is Meta’s controversial “pay or consent” model, which gives users a stark choice: allow ad-tracking…This story continues at The Next Web
The beat just dropped on a new era of music, and it’s coming not from a recording studio but from the weird and wonderful realm of quantum physics. UK-based tech startup Moth has released the track “Recurse” in collaboration with British electronic artist ILĀ. It’s billed as the world’s first commercially available song created using “quantum-powered generative AI.” “Recurse” certainly sounds otherworldly — like the kind of music aliens might stream while drifting through deep space. Yet again, that is kind of ILĀ’s style. Give it a listen: https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2025/05/ila_Recurse.mp3 You can listen to the track yourself on all major streaming…This story continues at The Next Web
Dutch startup Eyeo has emerged from stealth with €15mn in funding to advance a breakthrough photonics technology for cameras that could radically disrupt the way we take images. Eyeo spun out last year from Belgium’s Imec, one of the world’s leading nanoelectronics centres. The startup’s waveguide colour-splitting technology — an optical technique that uses tiny structures to guide and separate light by wavelength — triples the light sensitivity of today’s best image sensors. Eyeo’s sensors allow all sorts of cameras, from DSLRs to those in smartphones and virtual reality headsets, to capture brighter, clearer images, especially in low-light conditions. The…This story continues at The Next Web
German drone maker Quantum Systems has raised €160mn at a valuation north of €1bn, becoming Europe’s latest defence tech unicorn. Quantum Systems builds electric, AI-powered autonomous surveillance drones that are dual-use, meaning they can serve both military and civil purposes. Defence forces can use the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to spy on enemies and gather intel. The drones can also be used by farmers to inspect their crops, by energy companies to check power lines, and by search and rescue teams to look for survivors. Florian Seibel, co-CEO and co-founder of Quantum Systems, said the company was ready to become…This story continues at The Next Web
US food delivery giant DoorDash has acquired British rival Deliveroo in a £2.9bn ($3.9bn) deal, ending the UK business’ rocky tenure as a public company. The all-cash offer, priced at £1.80 ($2.40) per share, represents a 77% premium over Deliveroo’s recent trading price. However, the acquisition price is less than half its 2021 IPO valuation of £7.6bn. Deliveroo’s board unanimously backed the deal. CEO and co-founder Will Shu, who owns 6.4% of the company, is set to pocket £172mn. The merger will expand DoorDash’s footprint in Europe, where it has lagged behind competitors like Uber Eats and Just Eat. Deliveroo’s…This story continues at The Next Web