Hans Hazy

[Seb Johnson @SebJohnsonUK]

A European startup that built a foundational model with only $9m has just been acquired for $1bn+.

The company - @prior_labs, has built a state-of-the-art foundation model for tabular data.

It was founded by @FrankRHutter, @noahholl and Sauraj Gambhir, and only announced a $9m pre-seed led by @balderton (@Jameswise) last year.

Tabular data, i.e. structured data in tables, spreadsheets, and databases, plays an essential role is many critical industries, but was neglected in the early advances in AI that focused on text and images.

Today SAP has announced that it is acquiring the company for $1bn+.

To date Prior Labs has only raised $9m which means it will likely be a great result for its founders, employee and early investors who include Balderton, @guypod, @Thom_Wolf, @petersarlin.

It's great to see a good exit for the German tech ecosystem and even better to see it staying in Europe!

It also shows how much there is to play for in AI. The team have built an insanely high quality, hyper-focused model and have got a unicorn outcome on just under a year.

Amazing news!

[Hans Hazy @Hazyhans]

@martin1smith2 Genius!

[martin smith @martin1smith2]

Banksy’s new statue in Central London. A statement about the futility of nationalism.
#StreetArt #Banksy #London

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Iceland switched on the biggest air-cleaning machine on Earth.

In May 2024, a facility called Mammoth began operations in Iceland. Built by Swiss company Climeworks, it’s designed to remove up to 36,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year – 10 times more than its predecessor, Orca.

The process is called direct air capture (DAC). Giant fans pull in ambient air, and specialized filters trap CO₂ molecules. That CO₂ is then mixed with water and pumped deep underground into basalt rock formations, where it slowly turns into solid stone through a natural mineralization process.

And it’s all powered by Iceland’s geothermal energy, meaning the entire system runs on clean, renewable power.

The captured CO₂ is stored by Climeworks’ partner, Carbfix, which developed the underground injection method. Over time, the gas reacts with the rock and becomes part of the Earth – locked away for good.

[European Parliament @Europarl_EN]

A safer digital future starts with a united response.

Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and more serious. From threats to hospitals to online disinformation, Europe is at risk.

Learn how Parliament is taking action: https://t.co/IblvBiOwLU

[Hans Hazy @Hazyhans]

@tim_cook So the awe will drop? Doesn’t sound great.

[ian bremmer @ianbremmer]

trump assassination attempt: the worst event that can happen in today’s polarized america,
and presages more political violence & social instability to come

@gzeromedia

[stéphane koch @stephanekoch]

"The most significant password leak in history occurred on the Fourth of July. This leak, dubbed RockYou2024 by its original poster, “ObamaCare,” on a leading hacking forum, compiles 9,948,575,739 unique passwords into plain text." https://t.co/Lb6CNXwEw3

[EDA - DFAE @EDA_DFAE]

#UAPeaceSummit | Tag 1 Livestream-Programm:

12:00 Ankunft der Delegationsleiter
13:30 Pressestatements BP @Violapamherd 🇨🇭 & Präsident @ZelenskyyUa 🇺🇦
16:00 Opening pressline
16:30 Offizielle Willkommenszeremonie
17:30 Opening addresses
19:00 Familienfoto

▶️ https://t.co/E0f2r8zDh8

[Luiza Jarovsky, PhD @LuizaJarovsky]

🚨BREAKING: First of its kind in the US, Colorado approves a bill to protect biological data, including neural data. Extremely important given the advancement of AI-based neurotechnology. Quote:

"2. The general assembly further finds that: (...)

e. Every human brain is unique, meaning that neural data is specific to the individual from whom it was collected. Because neural data contains distinctive information about the structure and functioning of individual brains and nervous systems, it always contains sensitive information that may link the data to an identified or identifiable individual;

f. The collection of neural data always involves involuntary disclosure of information. Even if individuals consent to the collection and processing of their data for a narrow use, they are unlikely to be fully aware of the content or quantity of information they are sharing."

-

"Neural data means information that is generated by the measurement of the activity of an individual's central or peripheral nervous systems and that can be processed by or with the assistance of a device."

➡️Link to the bill below.

➡️For more information on tech policy & regulation, subscribe to my weekly newsletter.

[Domenico @AvatarDomy]

After traveling over a thousand miles and a week of editing, here is my picture of the sun's corona. To make this picture, I combined photos at different exposures, all shot during the eclipse totality

Credit Imran Sultan

[Yawen Duan @yawen_duan]

🇨🇳Amidst the news that "China has signed The Bletchley Park Declaration",

I'm excited to mention our latest effort led by researchers from @PKU1898 and others looking into the concepts, methods and practices of frontier AI Alignment and Safety.

https://t.co/EIHH1pRdrA [1/n]

[Alex Ker 🔭 @thealexker]

Many startups just died today.

Because OpenAI added PDF chat. You can also chat with data files and other document types.

We had a wave of products better suited as features rather than stand-alone companies.

Wrappers are being squeezed by OpenAI on one side and incumbents on the other.

It's a rough world out there.

[Rob May | AI & Cybersecurity @robmay70]

⭕️ Microsoft have added a new security feature to Windows 11 that lets admins block NTLM over SMB to prevent pass-the-hash, NTLM relay, or password-cracking attacks.
#cybersecurity #infosec
https://t.co/y9VTkDUrNL

[Lorena Boix Alonso @LorenaBoix]

There are brilliant women in #cybersecurity. But we need more! Proud to present the women in my team. They are actually shaping the #EU #Cybersecurity policy ☺️#Internationalwomendsday #w4c

[John Schwartz @jswatz]

My sustainability class just finished a module about disinformation. I had them write me a letter assuming they were flunking and arguing that they deserve an A, using the techniques of disinformation we discussed, like cherry picking, false experts and ad hominem. HOO-boy. 1/n

[Hans Hazy @Hazyhans]

@pmarca Look forward to reading you!

[Juan Avellan V. @javellan]

It's time to call it: "Shadow AI" is here to stay. Are you ready to embrace the opportunities of Shadow AI? It's time to proactively manage the dynamic tensions it brings. Check out my article on it.
https://t.co/C8Joiu8w6Q

[CSIS @CSIS]

NEW: The CSIS AI Council, co-chaired by @JulieSweet and @BradSmi, aims to chart a path forward for corporate responsibility, international collaboration, and effective governance on AI.

Learn more: https://t.co/fX8HkaPY0G