London-headquartered biotech startup Verdiva has emerged from stealth with a whopping $410mn for a new range of drugs aimed at tackling the obesity epidemic. It’s one of Europe’s largest-ever biotech VC deals, signalling investor appetite for the booming weight loss market.  Verdiva looks to challenge the dominance of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, the makers of the two most popular weight loss drugs,  Ozempic and Wegovy. The company promises to offer less invasive pills, instead of injectables. Its most advanced product is an oral-based GLP-1, a drug that curbs hunger.  Verdiva was founded in July 2024 by executives of Aiolos…

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The Dutch government has reached a deal with Nvidia to supply hardware and expertise for the construction of an AI facility in the Netherlands.  The facility will centre around an AI supercomputer aimed at accelerating research and development, as the country pushes to further digitalise its economy, according to a statement made Thursday.   The Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs Dirk Beljaarts is currently in Silicon Valley, where he is meeting with executives at Nvidia. The world’s second most valuable company, Nvidia is a world leader in graphics processing units (GPUs) for artificial intelligence applications.  “Before a shovel can go into…

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Fifty of the fastest-growing tech firms in the Netherlands are in Las Vegas this week. The crew crossed the Atlantic to attend CES — the world’s biggest tech show. By their side is economic affairs minister Dirk Beljaarts, who’s on a mission to promote Dutch innovation. So is TNW. We’ve partnered with the Consumer Trade Association — which organises CES — on its annual Match program at the event. The in-person meetings connect startups with investors and corporate venture arms. TNW has also checked out the Dutch delegation at CES. Here are seven members of the tech team that caught our…

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XOcean has secured $115mn to expand its fleet of uncrewed surface vessels. Founded in 2017 by former CEO of Open Hydro James Ives, XOcean builds autonomous boats that zip around the ocean, using sensors to gather large amounts of data on everything from subsurface structures to the temperature and clarity of the seawater.  The bots — which are about the size of a small car — then relay this information in real time to a ground team via satellite link, who use it to compile surveys, maps, or reports. This data is especially helpful for ocean  research. It’s also of…

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German startup Vay plans to expand its “teledriving” fleet in Las Vegas to 100 electric vehicles — and you could get a job steering the cars.    Vay first launched the service last year, with just two Kia eNiros. It’s fleet has since grown to 30 EVs, which have completed 6000 rides so far.  When you open the Vay app and request a ride, a remote operator drives an electric vehicle to collect you. You then get behind the empty driver’s seat and set off toward your destination.  Once you’re done using the EV, you apply the handbrake, get out,…

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