Stephen Armstrong

The Hottest Startups in Helsinki in 2024

Helsinki’s startup scene evolved around behemoths such as Nokia, games giant Supercell, and food delivery platform Wolt. It’s reaping the rewards with experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and engineers powering a lively scene based around the Aalto University campus and the startup festival Slush, one of the world’s largest gatherings of investors …

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The Hottest Startups in Dublin in 2024

Thanks to low corporation tax and government incentives, Dublin has hosted the European headquarters of many large US technology companies—Google, Meta, LinkedIn and Microsoft all have offices in the city’s Silicon Docks. “The big US companies operated independently of the startup world for many years,” explains Will Prendergast, partner at …

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The Hottest Startups in Madrid in 2024

Having spent many years as second fiddle to Barcelona, Madrid surpassed its Catalan cousin in 2023 with startups securing €605 million ($672 million) investment above Barcelona’s €457 million ($507 million). “Lots of Latin American talent is arriving thanks to the recent entrepreneur visa and talent programs run by Telefonica to …

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Humanity Is Dangerously Pushing Its Ability to Tolerate Heat

Humanity’s superpower is sweating—but rising heat could be our kryptonite, and an average temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels could bring regular, fatal heat waves to large parts of the planet, says Tom Matthews, a senior lecturer in environmental geography at King’s College London. “We have evolved …

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Forget Carbon Offsets. The Planet Needs Carbon Removal Credits

We can reverse climate change if we redefine what carbon neutral looks like, said Gabrielle Walker, cofounder of carbon removal startup CUR8, at WIRED Impact in London in November 2023. Scientists define net zero not just as the reduction of carbon emissions, but the removal of carbon from the atmosphere …

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The Transport Companies Leaving Fossil Fuels Behind

Cleaner, greener transport is on its way—from delivery to air travel—but government action on incentives and infrastructure is needed to make it work fast and at scale. “It’s a bit frustrating sometimes in the UK, with the government delaying targets and support,” says Murvah Iqbal, co-CEO and founder of all-electric …

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Tech Still Isn’t Doing Enough to Care for the Environment

We are in a climate crisis, and technology can be either a part of the problem or a force for good, says Greenpeace CTO Priscilla Chomba-Kinywa. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, she explains, we have “less than seven years before Earth becomes really difficult to live on.” …

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