Ecosystems

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Bankrupt ebike startup VanMoof finds buyer in F1’s McLaren Applied

ebikes, Ecosystems, Electric vehicle, Startups and technology / /

VanMoofers, rejoice — the ebike gods have not abandoned you. Yesterday, McLaren Applied and its escooter department Lavoie announced they had agreed to purchase the bankrupt ebike startup. 

The details of the deal have not been made public. However, the F1 engineering and technology company stated that it would invest in stabilising and expanding VanMoof’s existing business. This will be in the realm of “tens of millions” of pounds in the short term, according to McLaren Applied Chairman Nick Fry, quoted by Reuters. 

“This is a huge opportunity for us as this [VanMoof] is a company with a brilliant product,” Fry said, adding that it would be “no walk in the park” due to the financial difficulties the startup had gotten itself into. 

Perhaps the biggest shift to VanMoof’s operating model will be the abandonment of its in-house-only store and repair model. Instead, the bikes will be available to purchase and, importantly, serviced, at third party retailers. The brand, Fry assured, will remain the same, capitalising on the loyal following the record-funded startup amassed during its first years of operations. 

In a statement issued on Thursday, the buyers said they would “combine and integrate” the companies’ premium capabilities to create a “next-generation e-mobility business and establish a world-leading premium e-mobility offering.”

Building an e-mobility legacy on F1 experience

McLaren Applied used to be the tech division of the McLaren Group, best known for its luxury supercars and elite motorsport vehicles. Itself acquired in 2021 by British private capital firm Greybull, the company continues to supply advanced engineering and technology solutions to high-level motorsport such as Formula One, and a range of other transport modalities. 

Lavoie was founded by McLaren Applied and announced its first electric scooter last year. It comes in two models — the Series 1 and the Series 1 Max, with price tags of €1,990 and €2,290, respectively. Its customised motor can deliver a peak output of 900W, reaching top speeds of over 40kph, and its Samsung 21700 battery over 40km of range for the standard model, or 60km for the Max version. 

Lavoie escooter in white on an incline
The Lavoie Series 1 escooter in Silence White. Credit: Lavoie

Furthermore, it has a patent-pending folding system inspired by motorsport car suspensions. It also comes in four different colours: sunset orange, silence white, electric blue, and racing green. Deliveries are set to begin in earnest in Q4 this year. 

More details for VanMoof riders next week

The news surely lets VanMoof customers — some even yet to pick up the €2,000+ bikes they had bought and paid for — to breathe a sigh of relief.

Roughly 200,000 people feared their bikes would be rendered useless after the company was declared bankrupt on July 18 — especially the earlier models plagued by quality defects. 

“Clearly I will not be able to get it serviced and I doubt the one year of remaining warranty on my battery is worth anything,” said one VanMoofer (that’s a word now, right?) at the time. 

The VanMoof trustees said in a statement that more details regarding the continuation of services provided to riders would be made public on Monday, September 4. 

TNW has previously covered the rise and fall of VanMoof and what it means for the e-mobility startup sector as a whole. You can read more about the whole saga and industry reactions to the consequences here. 

Bankrupt ebike startup VanMoof finds buyer in F1’s McLaren Applied Read More »

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Microsoft succumbs to EU pressure, will unbundle Teams from Office in Europe

Corporates and innovation, Ecosystems, Government and policy / /
Microsoft succumbs to EU pressure, will unbundle Teams from Office in Europe

In a bid to allay EU antitrust concerns, Microsoft will start unbundling Teams from the Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites in European markets.

Microsoft announced the move on Thursday. The company said the software will be split in the European Economic Area, which unites the EU member states with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, as well as in Switzerland.

The changes will commence on October 1. From that point, enterprise customers can buy Office 365 and Microsoft 365 without Teams at a lower price of €2 per month or €24 per year. To access Teams, they will need to buy a standalone subscription for €5 per month or €60 per year.

The move comes a month after the European Commission opened a formal investigation into the bundling of Teams.

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“Remote communication and collaboration tools like Teams have become indispensable for many businesses in Europe,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust commissioner, said when the investigation was launched.

“We must therefore ensure that the markets for these products remain competitive, and companies are free to choose the products that best meet their needs.”

The investigation had been prompted by an antitrust complaint filed by Slack. In 2020, the workplace collaboration app accused the Windows-maker of “abusing its market dominance” to stifle rivals.

Microsoft said it hopes that the unbundling eases the Commission’s concerns.

“We believe these changes balance the interests of our competitors with those of European business customers, providing them with access to the best possible solutions at competitive prices,” Nanna-Louise Linde, Microsoft’s vice president for European government affairs, said in a blog post.

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Paris bids au revoir to rental e-scooters as ban comes into effect

Corporates and innovation, Ecosystems, Government and policy, Next Featured / /

Today, Paris became one of the first European cities to implement an outright ban on rented e-scooters, after residents previously voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion.

During a referendum in April, voters were given two choices: “for” or “against” a city-wide ban on shared e-scooters. Almost 90% voted in favour of the ban, but the overall turnout was low — only 7.5% of eligible voters casted ballots. Nevertheless, the result was celebrated as a win for democracy by Mayor Anne Hidalgo who vowed to follow through on the verdict.

The ban applies to rental e-scooters (known as trottinettes in French) from the three companies with licences to operate in Paris — Tier, Dott, and Lime. These micro-mobility companies, with a combined fleet of roughly 15,000 e-scooters in the city, have until tomorrow (September 1) to remove their trottinettes from the streets. 

The ban will not affect shared ebike services in the city. The ban also won’t prohibit people from whizzing through Paris on privately-owned trottinettes.  

A Dott spokesperson told TNW that by August 21 its fleet of 5,000 e-scooters had already been cleared from the sidewalks and alleyways of Paris. The machines will be heading to other places where Dott sees high demand, such as Belgium or as far afield as Tel Aviv. Tier will return most of its scooters to Germany or Warsaw, while Lime will ship them to Lille, London, Copenhagen, and cities in Germany.  

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A love-hate relationship

Paris was an early adopter of shared e-scooters back in 2018. Hiring dockless scooters via an app was touted as a promising climate-friendly alternative to cars for a city that needed to reduce its pollution levels and free up space.  

However, the influx of these scooters soon led to chaos, with many users, including tourists, abandoning them on sidewalks, riding them recklessly in crowded areas, and even dumping them into the River Seine. This misuse also resulted in injuries and a handful of fatalities, mainly among pedestrians. 

In response, Mayor Hidalgo pledged stricter regulations, including speed limits and cracking down on reckless riding and improper disposal of scooters. In 2019, the French government integrated e-scooters into the national highway code, imposing countrywide rules. 

The city then limited the number of e-scooter operators to three companies— Tier, Dott, and Lime — and set a cap of 15,000 scooters in total. Despite regulations, problems persisted, eventually leading to the referendum in April 2023 and the prohibition of shared e-scooters in the City of Light. 

Paris isn’t the first city to have introduced restrictions on the scooters, such as speed limits and parking zones enforced via fines for users. 

Madrid this year reversed a prior ban to allow rental firms back with new conditions, as Copenhagen also did in 2021. Most e-scooters are banned on public roads in the Netherlands. However, outright bans by cities that have previously welcomed them are rare. 

Dott’s spokesperson said “the situation in Paris is isolated”, with several European centres doubling down on their commitments to the mode of transport. 

“Lyon recently committed to a four-year contract for e-scooters, London has extended their trial by a further three years, and Madrid has committed to a three-year contract following a tender,” the spokesperson said. 

In Paris, Dott, Tier, and Lime will now focus their efforts on ebikes, to fill the gap in the market left by the departing trottinettes.

Even before e-scooters were banned in Paris, operators reported healthy growth in their ebike businesses. Dott reported a 166% boost in ebike rides in the first half of this year, while Lime said journeys on its bikes increased by 73% in the capital last year.  

“We now operate twice the number of e-bikes than we ever did e-scooters, and are encouraged by the city’s continued support for cycling ahead of the 2024 Olympics,” Lime told CNBC. 

While ebikes can also clutter pavements and pose a hazard to pedestrians, they are generally perceived as safer, even though that may not be the case.

Either way, it remains to be seen how the ban impacts commuters in the long term. Perhaps Paris will overturn it in the future, as Madrid and Copenhagen did, but for now it’s time to bid au revoir to the French capital’s fleets of brightly coloured trottinettes.  

Paris bids au revoir to rental e-scooters as ban comes into effect Read More »

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PhotonVentures raises €60M fund to boost photonics startups in Europe

Deep tech, Ecosystems, Investors and funding, Next Featured, Startups and technology / /
PhotonVentures raises €60M fund to boost photonics startups in Europe

Dutch VC firm PhotonVentures has raised €60mn for its new fund aimed at stimulating Europe’s photonics industry. The capital targets startups and scaleups active in photonic chips — a crucial technology for applications in robotics, quantum computing, and autonomous vehicles.

Specifically, the fund will initially invest in 15 early-stage companies that show international growth potential and have an integrated photonics-based MVP connected to the European ecosystem.

It will prioritise Series A rounds, while investments will vary between €1mn and €2.5mn. The deep tech VC expects to raise an additional €40-90mn by the start of 2024.

Joachim de Sterke, General Partner at PhotonVentures, noted the need for investment and support to enable promising companies in the field to progress on their journey.

“[This] is the only fund geared directly towards photonic chip startups and scaleups. Our aim is to play an instrumental role in making Europe a global leader in integrated photonics,” he said.

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PhotonVentures is a spinoff and strategic partner of PhotonDelta, a photonic chip manufacturer and an ecosystem builder for the integrated photonics industry in Europe.

In 2022, PhotonDelta landed €1.1bn in public and private investments to boost the semiconductor chip industry in the Netherlands. The funding will be used to build 200 startups, create new applications for photonic chips, scale up production, and develop talent and infrastructure. The company is also the lead investor behind PhotonVentures’ new fund.

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Here’s how the EU’s Digital Services Act changes the content rules for big tech

Data and security, Ecosystems, Government and policy, Next Featured / /

The EU’s latest crackdown on big tech begins before the end of the week. Starting on Friday, a total of 19 major companies must adhere to the sweeping rules of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Essentially, the DSA is a landmark content moderation rulebook, designed to empower and protect users online against harmful or illegal content, disinformation, and the violation of privacy and free speech.

The tech firms listed are not only the first required to comply, but also the ones facing the act’s strictest and most far-reaching measures. That’s because they reach at least 45 million European active users per month, which according to the EU, translates to their “significant societal and economic impact.”

The legislation will eventually apply to all businesses providing digital services within the bloc, expected to come fully into force in February 2024. Violations could result in fines of up to 6% of their global revenue, or even a temporary ban from the union.

“The whole logic of our rules is to ensure that technology serves people and the societies that we live in — not the other way around,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive VP of the Commission.

“The Digital Services Act will bring about meaningful transparency and accountability of platforms and search engines and give consumers more control over their online life.”

Who’s on the naughty list?

Ranging from social media platforms to online marketplaces and search engines, the list so far includes: Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Amazon, Booking, AliExpress, Zalando, Google Shopping, Wikipedia, Google Maps, Google and Apple’s mobile app stores, Google’s Search, and Microsoft’s Bing.

5 key DSA obligations big tech have to follow

1. Remove illegal content

The designated companies are required to identify and remove any illegal content as defined by laws either at EU or national level from their platforms.

In the case of online marketplaces, this also means tracing sellers and conducting random checks on existing product databases to ensure protection against counterfeit and dangerous goods or services.

2. Ban some types of targeted ads

The big tech giants can no longer use targeted advertising that’s based on profiling of minors or sensitive personal data, such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, or political views.

3. Increase user empowerment

Users will have a set of new rights, such as flagging illegal content, contesting the decisions made by online platforms if their own content is removed, and even seek compensation for any rule breaches. They’ll also be able to receive information about the advertising practices, including if and why an ad targets them specifically with the option to opt out.

4. Constrain harmful content and disinformation

The selected companies will further have to perform an annual risk assessment and take corresponding measures to mitigate disinformation, election manipulation, hoaxes, cyber violence, and harm to vulnerable groups — while balancing freedom of expression. These measures are also subject to independent audits.

5. Be transparent

In an unprecedented move, the platforms will need to disclose long-guarded information on their data, systems, and algorithms to authorities and vetted researchers. They’ll also have to provide public access to their risk assessment and auditing reports alongside a repository with information about the ads they run.

“Complying with the DSA is not a punishment – it is an opportunity for these online platforms to reinforce their brand value and reputation as a trustworthy site,” Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement.

Who has complied so far?

In the group of social media, TikTok is introducing an “additional reporting option” for European consumers that allows them to flag illegal content, including advertising. It will further provide them information about its content moderation decisions and allow them to turn off personalisation. Targeted advertising for minors aged 13-17 will stop.

Snapchat has made similar changes. For instance, personal advertising for minors is no longer allowed and adult users have a higher level of transparency and control on the ads they see. Meanwhile, Meta has launched non-personalised content feeds on Facebook and Instagram.

Among the online marketplaces, Zalando has introduced content flagging systems on its website, while Amazon has opened a channel for flagging illegal products and is now providing more information about third-party merchants.

Nevertheless, both companies have taken legal action against the EU, claiming they have been “unfairly” added to the list.

The DSA’s potential impact

Historically, the rules for data sharing and online content moderation have been determined by big tech.The DSA aims to change that by setting an unprecedented touchstone, much like the EU’s regulatory efforts with the GDPR and the upcoming AI Act.

“The European Digital Services Act is trying to respond to online corporate practices that are considered inappropriate by the European Union,” David Frautschy Heredia, Senior Director of European Government and Regulatory Affairs at Internet Society (ISOC) told TNW.

“The impact of the act is being closely watched. By nature, corporate organisations operate across jurisdictions, and so their potentially damaging behaviour is not limited to a single region. Moreover, the EU has come to be widely regarded as the benchmark authority for digital regulation and as the example to follow.”

But as parts of the act and its implementation are still to be defined, experts are also pointing to potential risks.

“It is of crucial importance to ensure that these new obligations do not have unintended consequences, or they may be inadvertently mirrored across the globe, ” Frautschy Heredia noted, adding that misaligned policy could lead to the “fragmentation” of the internet.

Meanwhile, Mozilla alongside 66 civil organisations across the globe are urging the Commission to ensure that the DSA will not lead to censorship and the violation of fundamental rights.

Here’s how the EU’s Digital Services Act changes the content rules for big tech Read More »

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Getir shuts down Amsterdam dark stores, withdraws from 6 Dutch cities

Ecosystems, Fintech and ecommerce, Startups and technology / /

There seems to be no end in sight for Getir’s woes in Europe. Following exits from multiple markets, the rapid grocery delivery platform is now reducing operations in the Netherlands as well.

The Turkish startup is set to close four dark stores in Amsterdam, the company told local paper Het Parool. This is a result of the city council’s new zoning plan which no longer allows the establishment of such stores in exclusively residential areas, following complaints about noise, waste, and traffic nuisance.

The five locations are on Karperstraat, Baarsjesweg, Overtoom, Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat, and on Jan Rebelstraat.

While Getir expressed optimism about its future in Amsterdam (where about 15 dark stores will remain), it’s disappearing completely from six other Dutch cities. These are Leiden, Breda, Delft, Eindhoven, Tilburg, and Groningen.

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The closures are part of a global restructuring aimed to increase the startup’s operational efficiency. To this end, the firm announced Wednesday that it’s laying off nearly 11% of its staff, which amounts to about 2,500 employees.

A series of tough months

Amid inflation, investor wariness, and a declining appetite for rapid grocery delivery after the pandemic, Getir has been struggling to keep its business afloat.

Since June, the startup has announced its exit from France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. This reduces Getir’s presence in Europe to the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK.

But staying alive in these markets has been no bed of roses either. Besides pulling out of six Dutch cities, the startup is reportedly ceasing its service in 17 of the 23 cities in which it operates across Germany. Most notably, July saw Getir’s UK branch auctioning off equipment and aiming for a fresh round of funding.

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Impending French law threatens the free internet, Mozilla warns

Corporates and innovation, Ecosystems, Government and policy, Startups and technology / /

The French government is close to passing a new law that threatens the free internet, Mozilla has warned.

Named SREN, the bill ostensibly aims to fight online fraud, but its approach has sparked alarm. The concerns centre on a requirement for web browsers to block sites listed on a government-provided list. Critics fear that the plan will turn browsers into censorship tools.

Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser, is among the most vociferous opponents of the bill. According to the non-profit, the rules would be disastrous for the open internet and create a dangerous yardstick for autocrats.

“Such a move will overturn decades of established content moderation norms and provide a playbook for authoritarian governments that will easily negate the existence of censorship circumvention tools,” Udbhav Tiwari, head of global product policy at Mozilla, said in a blogpost.

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Tiwari advocates an alternative approach to tackling online fraud. Instead of integrating government block lists within browsers, he suggests using existing malware and phishing protection solutions.

“Forcing browsers to create capabilities that enable website blocking at the browser level is a slippery slope,” Tiwari added.

“While it might be leveraged only for malware and phishing in France today, it will set a precedent and create the technical capability within browsers for whatever a government might want to restrict or criminalize in a given jurisdiction forever.”

Thus far, the plea appears to have fallen on deaf ears. The French government is currently fast-tracking the bill, and aims to vote on the proposals this autumn. In an effort to stop the blocking rule from becoming law, Mozilla has launched a petition against the plan. You can sign it for yourself here.

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Chip designer Arm files for public listing that could revive flat IPO market

Corporates and innovation, Ecosystems, Investors and funding / /

Chip designer Arm has filed for an initial public offering, which is expected to be the biggest IPO of the year.

The UK-based company announced on Monday that it’s applied to sell shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the US — a move that is a big blow to its home country. Arm is reportedly eyeing a valuation of between $60bn (€55bn) to $70bn (€64bn).

The lofty target stems from the ubiquity and efficiency of Arm’s semiconductor architectures — particularly in mobile devices. Arm estimates that more than 99% of the world’s smartphones use Arm-based chips.

In recent years, however, this market has shrunk, leading Arm to further expand into different markets, such as AI, automotive, and cloud computing.

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In the IPO filing, Arm was bullish about the prospects for growth:

“We estimate that approximately 70% of the world’s population uses Arm-based products, and the scale of Arm’s reach continues to expand, with more than 30 billion Arm-based chips reported as shipped in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023 alone, representing an approximately 70% increase since the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016.”

The listing comes a year after the collapse of a $40bn (€36.7bn) takeover of Arm by Nvidia.

In 2020, Nvidia agreed to buy Arm from SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate that has owned the British company since 2016. The acquisition would have been the most expensive ever deal between chip companies, but it was terminated amid scrutiny from regulators. Softbank chose to pursue the IPO instead.

The filing arrives in a largely dormant IPO market. Tech valuations have plummeted during the economic downturn, with higher inflation and interest rates spooking potential investors. If successful, the Arm listing could give the market a valuable bounce. It would also provide a big boost for Softbank, which last year posted a $32bn loss at its Vision Fund investment arm.

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Lamborghini’s new electric car concept was inspired by spaceships

Corporates and innovation, Ecosystems / /

Lamborghini unveiled its first concept for an all-electric grand tourer last week, as it becomes the latest carmaker to hop on the battery-powered bandwagon.     

The Lanzador looks strikingly different to the iconic low-slung two-seaters supercars for which Lamborghini is famous. The muscular, angled look coupled with high-ground clearance makes it more of a hulky crossover than a supercar. 

The bulk is to accommodate for the large “new generation high-performance” floor-mounted battery packs which will power the car’s two electric motors. A peak output of over one megawatt (equivalent to 1,341 horsepower) will make the Lanzador the most powerful Lambo ever. 

Exactly how fast it will be is unclear at this point. The Italian carmaker is being hush-hush about details like range, battery, charging capacity, or even zero to 60mph acceleration.

What we do know is that the EV won’t just be road-legal but “a grand tourer designed for daily duties and longer journeys.” Equipped with four seats that can be moved or folded away for extra storage, you might even be able to do the school run or go grocery shopping…in a Lamborghini.  

The Lanzador will constitut a link between Lamborghini’s supercars and its more practical SUV, the Urus. It also draws inspiration from spaceships, with the driver meant to feel like an astronaut or jet pilot when behind the wheel.

“With Lanzador we are looking into our future without forgetting our DNA,” said Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini’s CEO.  

“Significantly” more sensors and actuators will be integrated into the EV’s dynamic driving control to ensure the smoothest ride possible. The Lanzador’s algorithmic computer uses data to deliver a nuanced driving experience that improves over time. 

“This allows the driving character to be more precisely differentiated to the individual driver than ever before: information delivered back to the driver by intelligent sensors positioned behind the new ‘pilot’s’ glass panels mounted at the front of the car, giving a taste of future radar technology,” said Lamborghini in a statement. 

Inside the car, the driver and passenger sit in a frame-like bucket seat insulated with 3D-printed foam. The rear seats can be folded down to accommodate luggage. And there’s even a front truck that can fit a specially-made bag.

Lamborghini is also committing to more sustainable materials, with recycled nylon and plastics as well as regenerated carbon fibre adorning some of the interior. The automaker claims its leather and wool procurement is sustainable and produced using renewable energy.  

Unlike previous Lamborghini concepts, Winkelmann insists that the Lanzador is a concrete view of what’s to come. The Lanzador will be Lamborghini’s first all-electric vehicle, and will join the Revuelto, Hurcan, and Urus as the fourth model in its lineup. It is slated to enter production in 2028.