Author: Zech

Last month, news broke that the European Space Agency (ESA) had signed a contract with SpaceX to put Europe’s four Galileo satellites into orbit in 2024. The decision to turn to Elon Musk’s US-based company came following delays to Europe’s own Ariane 6 rocket, meaning the continent has no its own means of carrying large payloads into space. This is a disappointing development for the European space technology community, as it was designed solely to fill a gap in current capabilities, but one that, unfortunately, many of us expected. Why Europe is lagging behind in space Europe currently lags behind…

Since the first satellite was launched into orbit in 1957, space technologies have continually developed, many of which exceed the capabilities envisioned at the beginning of the space age. Similarly, the number of space actors, both government and private, has increased in recent years. The rise of new technologies and actors has sparked debates about existing norms in space, particularly regarding weaponization, and how nations view national security and foreign policy objectives in space. “Soft-kill” disablement technology could be deployed on missiles and ground or space assets. China is an interesting player in this regard. Beijing’s space program has grown…

A public-private initiative aimed at testing emerging energy technologies on former coal mining land in Southwest Virginia has signed a contract to develop a project on 65,000 acres of land mostly in Wise County owned by a major natural gas pipeline company. The deal, announced Wednesday by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office, gives Energy Delta Labs access to a large swath of formerly mined land owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Corp. and managed by its subsidiary, Penn Virginia Operating Company Inc. DELTA Labs, which stands for Discovery, Education, Learning & Technology Accelerator, has been a priority in recent years for…

October 27, 2023 Last September, we published an overview of how the evolution of mobility is likely to affect automotive insurance over the next decade. Since then, several key developments have shown that the broader mobility ecosystem, including autonomous vehicles (AVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), continues to evolve: In August, the California Public Utilities Commission authorized General Motors–backed Cruise and Alphabet-owned Waymo to operate paid robo-taxis in San Francisco at all hours of the day, removing previous restrictions. Still, opposition remains. San Francisco authorities have asked the commission to reconsider the move, saying robo-taxis pose safety risks and interfere with…

Palo Alto, with its rows of sleek, low-rise office buildings known as Sand Hill Road, has long been the epicenter of Silicon Valley’s (and the world’s) venture capital sector. An investor friend recently told me that Sand Hill Road is now a ghost town, with many of the key partners in Silicon Valley venture funds now working from their homes or vacation homes. If that’s true, it’s a shame, but not surprising. Commuting is tough, the business is much more remote and global than it used to be, and the venture capital business has always been wild and fun, with…

October 18th marks World Menopause Day, the period when a woman’s physiological changes are driven by hormonal changes. 50% of the world’s population are or will be going through this critical period, but the subject has historically been surrounded by taboo, stereotypes, misinformation and doubt, which is why 85% of women with menopausal symptoms do not receive effective treatment. However, a cultural shift in recent years has led to more open and productive conversations around women’s health. The startup ecosystem has also joined the conversation, trying to fill the gaps created by this cultural shift, offering solutions ranging from wearables…

This month in San Francisco, one of hundreds of self-driving cars on the city’s roads struck a driver, throwing her into the path and severely injuring her. San Francisco Fire Chief Janine Nicholson recently testified that as of August, self-driving cars had impeded firefighting efforts 55 times this year. Tesla’s driver-assistance system, Autopilot software, has been involved in 736 crashes and 17 fatalities nationwide since 2019.For all the fuss about how artificial intelligence might one day threaten humanity, there’s been surprisingly little discussion about how it currently threatens us. When it comes to self-driving cars, we’re basically driving around blindfolded.The…

The following image shows the Google logo on a laptop screen and the Microsoft logo on a mobile phone screen. [+] This illustrated photo was taken in Krakow, Poland on February 8, 2023. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)NurPhoto via Getty Images Microsoft and Google have announced new capabilities for their healthcare cloud products aimed at unifying data from various sources, including EHRs, labs and revenue cycle, to help organizations gain insights from disparate data sets and establish standardized processes. Health systems maintain hundreds of applications within their portfolios, placing a significant burden on staff, especially clinical teams attempting…

Kuopio-based energy technology startup Capalo AI has raised €500,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by Innovestor Tech Fund with participation from Inventure. Capalo AI plans to use the funds to further develop its virtual power plant (VPP) and multi-market optimization AI, as well as expand its team with talented mathematicians and cloud services experts. As renewable energy sources are growing in popularity and adoption worldwide, the role of energy storage and flexible demand is key in the green transition. For the power grid to function, electricity consumption and production must be in balance at all times. Renewable energy production…

Tom Rounibos, managing director at Accenture Ventures, the consulting firm’s corporate venture capital arm, has made a number of investments in space technology startups. The Space Shuttle orbits above Earth’s atmosphere. Photo by Nasa on Unsplash Accenture Ventures, the venture capital arm of the world’s largest consulting firm by number of employees, is focusing much of its investment capital on low-orbit space technology, which it sees as a multi-trillion-dollar industry. Tom Rounibos, a managing director at Accenture Ventures, said low-Earth-orbit space technology will accelerate advances in fields such as bioscience, materials science, cybersecurity, energy and data storage. Low Earth orbit…