Tech.eu

Acquired by Germany-based Ratiodata in November 2020, Romania-born tech solutions giant Accesa is a perfect example of how 'IT outsourcing' has evolved in the last 20 years. Accesa CEO Andrea Marliere explains.Accesa is a leading technology services company headquartered in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), with offices in Zurich, Oradea and Munich. Over the past 16 years, the company has managed to establish itself as an employer of choice for IT professionals.Today, the company offers a wide array of technology competences and partnerships, providing services like software development, cloud solutions, automation, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and intelligence workplace solutions, and much more.In November 2020, Accesa joined forces with Ratiodata, one of the largest system houses and service providers for banking technology and document digitalisation in Germany. This has allowed the company to grow to around 1,200 IT professionals on the team, servicing more than 70 clients globally.In the past, companies would simply outsource their IT needs to third-party vendors who would provide temporary staff to work on specific projects.Today, however, nearshoring has become a more sophisticated and strategic approach than pure outsourcing. Rather than simply providing staff on a temporary basis, nearshoring involves integrating the outsourcing partner into the company's value chain. This means that the outsourcing partner becomes a strategic partner to the company, working closely with them to achieve specific business objectives.I caught up with Accesa CEO Andrea Marliere to learn from about this shift to nearshoring, and the new trend which is 'friendshoring'.She explained more about how and why she joined the company, how the company ended up joining Ratiodata, and how Accesa aims to deliver value to its partners now and in the future (with case studies to boot!).

The fintech industry- and the business world- is grappling with generative AI, which experts say has the potential to revolutionise financial services. Spearheaded by the rival of ChatGPT, fintechs are being wooed by generative AI’s potential to transform their way of working, from back to front office.In this podcast, we chat with Alexandra Mousavizadeh, an economist who benchmarks banks’ adoption of AI and Christian Trummer, the co-founder and CTO of crypto company Bitpanda, about the potential of AI.Mousavizadeh says generative AI will be as transformative as email and “change the way we work”.“The release of ChatGPT has put AI at the top of mind of every CEO in every sector,” she says.But she caveats this by saying generative AI is not a “plug and play” and highlights the challenge of running Large Language Models (LLMs), the algorithmic basis for AI-powered Chatbots like ChatGPT, on financial data.Trummer, meanwhile, predicts that in the future amid the rise of generative AI, “everyone will need to be a prompt engineer”.Bitpanda has recently made a whopping $10m investment in AI and Trummer discusses how the money will be spent and what impact the technology will have on his business and fintech more broadly.

We caught up with Mathias Wikström, CEO of Sweden's Doconomy, to learn more about its platform to measure climate and social impact in the financial services industry.The Stockholm-based scale-up, which recently acquired fellow Swedish financial wellbeing fintech Dreams Technology for an undisclosed sum, last raised funding back in September 2021.We asked Wikström what's been up with the business since, if fresh financing will (need) to be raised, and learned more about how the company helps banks, brands, and consumers better understand and reduce their environmental impact.You can watch the video on YouTube here.

On this Drive at Five editione speziale the omnipresent community builder/angel investor/and now Solo GP, Sarah Drinkwater sits in to discuss her newly announced fund, Common Magic.Tune in, turn it up, and start taking notes, because this week we're talking:- What is a Solo GP fund?- Angel speed, less structure, more access.- Nightclub term sheets.- Traditions to keep, traditions to change.- Sarah has raised one-third of a targeted £10 million.- Investing in 30 to 35 startups in Europe and the US at the pre-seed and seed stage.- "Hey kid, here's a hundred bucks, don't spend it all in one place."- "Products with community at their core." What does that mean?- Sarah's first job? You do not want to miss the answer.- Flexing the Google- 2014 - 2018 London. Good times.- SuperVenture: 40 people at a meeting, 38 in ironed white or blue shirts.- Temperature check: what is the funding landscape like at the minute?- What are LPs looking for right now?- Who do you see as people, "who are underestimated and underrepresented in their field"?- Grit!- An eye infection, pitching for 50 hours a week, and nobody says yes.- Pitfalls founders should be aware of when setting out on community building.- Nick breathes community. But only if they smell good.- A thesis, an ah-ha moment, and a "but isn't this obvious?"- Great club nights.- "I'm always nervous about trends because trends imply impermanence."- Building community is hard. Community builders are busy.

With the team finally recovered from anything and everything that was the Tech.eu Summit, we're back guns a-blazin'.This week we're talkin':- Sex tech - it's not what people think it is.- Quinky is a company that's developing an app providing sex education through gamification for Gen-Z’s- "We are after all the IP branch of the oldest industry in the world – Sex’ and ‘Social permission and the confidence to ask for what they want in the bedroom because that transcends to the boardroom" - Dominique Karetsos, CEO of the Healthy Pleasure Group.- Elaine Burke in the Business Post Connected goes into detail about different areas of sex tech.- British digital bank Monzo has hit profitability for the first time.- Klarna, the Swedish buy now, pay later company, also recently unveiled that it has halved its net loss in the first quarter.- Revolut is definitely not profitable yet, but it has announced reaching over 30 million retail customers making 400 million transactions a month.- Taxfix has laid off 20% of its staff — 120 employees — as part of wider restructuring of the business aimed at cutting costs.- Vitamin has folded.- John Reynolds knows fintech.- Creative equity is the new investment.- Today global travel experiences platform and marketplace GetYourGuide, announced the closing of $194 million in equity and credit financing.- NVIDIA was and then they weren't, but either way, the keynote was hot shiz.- AI made the cover of TIME Magazine.- More letters about AI. Probably lost in the post.- OpenAI is handing out cold hard cash.- Italy bans, unbans, and now establishes a state-backed fund to support AI startups.- Japan says copyright, schmopyright when it comes to training AI.- Your honour, ChatGPT has no further questions.- Spanish startup Jeff never closed a €90 million round, hasn’t paid employees for nine months, and is now filing for bankruptcy. All this and a whole lot more in this week's Drive at Five! If you've enjoyed this show, be sure to like, subscribe, tell your friends, tell your enemies, hell, tell your dog too.

Niknam set up bunq in 2012, inspired to reinvent banking in the wake of the financial crisis. Today, bunq is one of the most well-known challenger banks across Europe, with millions of users across the Netherlands, Germany, France, and other European contrives.Next up, it is launching in the US market, a tough nut to crack where other European fintechs have struggled.In this podcast, Niknam, a serial entrepreneur who set up his first company when he was just 16, offers his insight into some of the latest fintech news stories.This includes revealing his dealings with fintech regulators in light of strained relations between rival neobank Revolut and UK regulators.“Maybe Revolut’s relationship with the regulators is good and this is just a way for Nik [Storonsky] to get free publicity,” Niknam says.He also offers a damning view of the current commercial potential of crypto and blockchain applications.Talking about bunq, Niknam reveals the challenger bank is on course to make a full-year profit for the first time, as challenger banks across Europe face increased pressure to swing into the black.He also shines a light on bunq’s plans to launch in the US, and how it might be bolstered by a new funding round.On the European challenger bank market, he tells us why he thinks bunq’s subscription model will win out against free-of-charge rivals.“Any business that wants to survive needs to be profitable,” he says, in a dig at rivals who have amassed millions of customers but remain unprofitable.Finally, Niknam addresses criticism about his management style, saying those employees who criticise him didn’t meet the grade.On disgruntled ex-bunq employees “venting” online, he says, “We always find it a bit sad that people don’t discuss it internally” but “it’s a free country”.

Alright meow, listen up, because we've got a whole lotta content to recap and a whole lotta people to thank. If you missed us in Brussels earlier this week, you missed a day full of networking, great talks, and a party that saw music selections by our very own resident DJ, Mr. Robin Wauters. Meow, to those of you who've already asked - we haven't set the date for next year, but if I know my bosses, they'll be kicking off some superwickedcrazy early bird ticket sales sometime soon. Stay tuned.Up this week:- Cate goes nuclear. With Heike Freund, Chief Operating Officer, Marvel Fusion and Mathieu de Lophem Partner, Nuketech.- Manna Drones' Bobby Healy reveals the company's most delivered item, and we ponder how another type of product delivery might work.- Meatable has developed the ability to create high-quality cultivated meat in only eight days.- Google co-founder Sergey Brin orders up a $330,000 burger.- Wall-e isn't what you think it is. Or is it?- Spacetech and sustainability DO go together. Quite well in fact.- Quantum computing: The magic number is 300.- Flink has reportedly raised at least €150 million as takeover talks with Getir remain fruitless.- Fake news about the Pentagon.- NVIDIA is set to join the trillion-dollar club.- Microsoft marches on with AI offerings. Are we looking at Clippy 6.0?- OpenAI and governance. 'Nuff said.- Adobe introduces generative AI in photoshop, Dan puts it to the test.- Fiona sat down with Caroline Farberger, Nora Beavy, and Merike Gehrts at our Summit to discuss diversity.- and Robin's anxious to watch videos!All this, and a whole lot more on this week's Drive at Five!

It's all happening man! The Tech.eu Summit is coming up next week, and on a personal note, I can't wait to see and meet and have a beer with each and every one of you. No seriously, buy me a drink, I'll show you.It's been a crazy week and the editorial team is in fine spirits, give a listen to this one folks!Up this week:- Cate throws us a bone and fills us in on what's waggin' in the world of pet tech- BASF business incubator Chemovator has opened its door to startups outside of the company- We stand in solidarity with CNET journalists- The Titanic: Full-sized scans reveal the wreck as never seen before- Regulators say no no no to Revolut's bid for a full on banking license- Seedcamp hauls home $180 million- Fake Tan meets Fake Article. Irish Times got played and Fiona fell for it too- Evie Ring by Movano announced its launch date for September - Elkstone has closed its €100 million early-stage venture fund- The EU Artificial Intelligence Act- Sam Altman at Congress- Zoom + Anthropic- Buzzfeed- The Creator- The Death of a TranslatorAll this and waaaaaay more on this week's Drive at Five.

Should anyone tell you that preparing for an event is a piece of cake, run. Run far and fast. In case you don't know what I'm alluding to, it's crunch time here at Tech.eu as we gear up for our annual Summit in just 12 days' time. We've got an incredible roster of speakers lined up, and I personally can't wait to geek out on the quantum computers and space tech panels I'll be hosting.But the news cycle is a never-ending beast and it's been a busy week. Let's get you up to speed:01:49 - Paris-based EV charging infrastructure builder Driveco has raised €250 million in a new funding round.02:10 - Jolt Energy announced a €150 million investment from InfraRed Capital Partners to bring its ultra-fast charging stations to urban areas across Europe and the US.02:24 - A few weeks ago, Helsinki-based electric vehicle charging platform Virta also raised €85 million in a new funding round.02:41 - Shell struck a deal to acquire the evpass EV charging network in Switzerland.02:55 - Tesla drops prices in Spain as it goes head-to-head with Wallbox.03:23 - The E-20 highway.04:32 - What is the ultimate charging tune?05:00 - "In Norway, the Electric Vehicle Future Has Already Arrived"06:07 - Where was the first electric vehicle made? Dan thought it was Dr. Porsche in Vienna, but Nick knows the real deal.07:11 - Fiona weighs in on the Baltics and promotes Robin's appearance on The Pursuit of Scrappiness podcast.08:12 - The Scaling of Ecosystems panel with ARC CEO Stuart Grant, Maria 01 CEO Ville Simola, and BeCentral Co-founder and MD Laurent Hublet.10:30 - In contrast to Robin admitting that he doesn't make predictions on Episode 8 of Selected - The Sesamers podcast, Cate is going out on a limb and predicting ...11:03 - Green software to be the next big thing.11:25 - The ICT sector is responsible for up to 3.9% of global emissions — almost as much as the airline and shipping industries.12:20 - Cate spoke with Dr. Huamin Chen, a Senior Principal Software Engineer and Sustainability Technical team lead at the Red Hat about project Kepler.15:31 - Doing more with less.16:44 - Aiiii Carumba!17:32 - IBM goes BIG on AI.18:02 - Hugging Face, the darling of open-sourcing everything AI launches transformers agent.19:39 - Google I/O. Ohhhhhh.22:08 - Humane is starting to creep out into the world.22:59 - Everseen is using AI to help companies keep tabs on inventory. And announced a €65 million raise this week.24:22 - 23-year-old Snapchat influencer Caryn Marjorie used OpenAI’s technology to create an A.I. version of herself that will be your girlfriend for $1 per minute. Caryn. CAAAAARRRRRYYYN!25:41 - RewindAI turns the tables on investors and comes out winning big.26:44 - The EU's new rules and regs on AI - we're going deep next week. Promise.27:30 - Wingcopter announced the raise of €40 million this week alongside a pilot project that will see the drone maker flying high above German skies and delivering groceries to remote locales. Now, if Getir gets Flink and essentially creates a monopoly in the groceries-to-your-door space, do they have aspirations much bigger than just snacks? I can think of a certain book distributor that certainly went down that path.31:25 - All good things must come to an end, and so it is with Pirate Summit.All this and a whole lot more on this week's Drive at Five!

Aaaaaand we're back! Due in part to the Tech.eu editorial staff being here there and everywhere last week, the Drive at Five took a breather, but to make up for the absence Nick Stevens sits in to provide a comprehensive rundown of what went down in the world of AI this week and what the implications are.But that's not all:02:21 - Sky News reports that European e-scooter giant Tier Mobility is working with bankers at Qatalyst Partners to explore their options for a potential merger with or an outright sale of the company to one of its rivals.05:25 - The Tech.eu Summit is happening on the 24th of May in Brussels. The agenda and full speaker lineup are now live!06:17 - Ahead of the Summit, Fiona interviewed Caroline Farberger where she revealed, "I genuinely thought that the playing field was even when I lived as a man, but I only had to live as a woman for a few months to realise how wrong I had been, how little I understood."07:39 - Fiona also spoke to Tech.eu Summit edtech panelists Svenia Busson, co-founder of the European Edtech Alliance, and Manna drone delivery CEO Bobby Healy about bridging the divide between the education system and real-world employment.11:28 - AI. What a week. Nick breaks down how the employment of AI is affecting the employment of humans, most notably at Chegg, Shopify, and IBM.14:37 - The Guardian reported that a UK competition watchdog launches review of AI market.14:45 - The White House announced new actions to promote responsible AI innovation that protects Americans’ rights and safety.15:07 - The godfather of AI, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton left Google to speak out about the dangers of AI. 16:03 - A leaked document indicates that open source AI will outcompete both Google and OpenAI.19:11 - Istanbul-based Getir, who most recently raised approximately $500 million, is in talks to acquire German competitor Flink. 22:12 - At risk of a Nasdaq delisting, Lilium says it needs to raise $250 million, Tencent puts up $100 million at first close and offers more, but with a caveat.All this and more on this week's Drive at Five!