Top 3 tech, startup and sustainability stories of the week, 22nd – 26th July, 2024

Bringing you two stories from Europe and one story from US

1-The global IT outage revealed Europe’s dependence on US tech

I read this article at The Next Web , claiming that Europe is dangerously depend on US tech following the latest global IT outage. 8 of 10 most valuable tech companies headquartered in US, explained the article, “…Inevitably, that builds dependencies on digital services from across the Atlantic. Our businesses, our public services, and our critical infrastructure all depend on big tech companies. We are all at the mercy of their whims, their weaknesses, and their rulers. When just one of them stumbles, the fall can shake a continent,” added the piece.

The outage evidently caused reaction among EU politicians, according to the story. Alex Agius Saliba, an MEP from the Maltese Labour Party, explained the outage exposed an “urgent” need for stronger digital infrastructure. Alexandra Geese, an MEP from the German Greens, called for Europe to build a new IT environment, as put by the article.

“The global Microsoft outage shows how vulnerable a world depending on a handful of tech players is,” she added.

Here’s the suggestion of the article: To escape that world, Europe needs to build its own tech giants. Big changes in policy, culture, and funding will be required. But the talent is already there. The market is big enough. (I have a story here that Hakan Bulgurlu, Arçelik Global’s CEO, to lead Home Appliance Europe (APPLIA)

The global IT outage revealed Europe’s dependence on US tech (Image: The Next Web)

2- Switzerland wants all government software to be open source

My second story is related to the above-mentioned one and Switzerland took a major step ahead with its Federal Law on the Use of Electronic Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks” (EMBAG),  a legislation mandates using open-source software  in the public industry.

I saw this story at Zdnet and the new law wants all public institutions to disclose the source code of software developed by or for them unless third-party rights or security concerns prevent it. This “public money, public code” approach aims to enhance government operations’ transparency, security, and efficiency, told the story. “Professor Dr. Matthias Stürmer, head of the Institute for Public Sector Transformation at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, led the fight for this law. He hailed it as “a great opportunity for government, the IT industry, and society.” Stürmer believes everyone will benefit from this regulation, as it reduces vendor lock-in for the public sector, allows companies to expand their digital business solutions, and potentially leads to reduced IT costs and improved services for taxpayers,” underlined the story. Launching the EMBAG is expected to serve as a model for other countries considering similar measures, aiming to promote digital sovereignty and encourage innovation and collaboration within the public industry.

Switzerland wants all government software to be open source (Image: Bojanikus – Getty Images)

3-Google to invest $5bio in Waymo, San Francisco’s driverless car

Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat announced that the Google parent company will invest an additional $5 billion into its driverless car unit Waymo.

Alphabet’s “Other Bets” unit, which includes Waymo, generated $365 million in quarterly revenue, up from $285 million a year ago. But the unit’s losses went up to to $1.13 billion from $813 million in the year-earlier period.

CEO Sundar Pichai said on the earnings call that Waymo provides 50,000 weekly paid trips, mostly in San Francisco and Phoenix. It has completed 2 million trips to date, according to Pichai. As a side note, Waymo removed the waitlist and opened Waymo rides to all San Francisco users in June.

Waymo raised $2.25 billion in its first external funding round in 2020. The company bagged another $2.5 billion in 2021 from the investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Fidelity Management & Research Company and other.

Google to invest $5bio in Waymo, San Francisco’s driverless car (Photo: Paresh Dave / Reuters)

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