Longevity breakthrough 🧬, AI Strategy in Action👓, Startup capital Munich, Quantum computing

Welcome to your weekly dose of uplifting stories and useful insights! Over in Germany, where the workweek is a bit shorter, the folks in Cologne recently experienced a couple of nerve-wracking days. Buried remnants from World War II were discovered, and the city held its breath until they were safely defused. Once the danger passed, everyone could breathe a sigh of relief and get back to their usual routines. On a brighter note, in the same city, Dr. Grönke shared some fascinating research that could potentially reveal the secrets to living a longer life. Share this with a friend! And if a friend passed this along to you, be sure to subscribe!

And before we dive in … tell us how you are doing 😃

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Germany have made an exciting discovery in the field of longevity. By combining two drugs that are already approved by the FDA rapamycin and trametinib, they managed to extend the lifespan of mice by up to 35%. Not only did the mice live longer, but they also showed improved health, with less inflammation and slower tumor growth. While these findings are encouraging, it's worth mentioning that rapamycin can have some side effects, such as a higher risk of infections and increased cholesterol levels. Biohacker Bryan Johnson decided to stop using it because of these potential issues.

Munich, known as "Isar Valley," has become Europe's top tech startup hub, thanks to the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and its entrepreneurship center, UnternehmerTUM. Entrepreneurs like Nikos Tsiamitros and Georgios Pipelidis, founders of the AI startup Ariadne, have turned academic projects into successful businesses, with their technology now used in airports and retail spaces worldwide. Munich's strong support, capital access, and mentorship attract global tech talent.

European pension funds are shifting investments from U.S. to European markets. Denmark's PensionDanmark moved $2 billion to European stocks, and Finland's Veritas reduced U.S. holdings while increasing European and Finnish equities. Swedish investors also redirected $1.31 billion from North American to European equities.

Europe's got its groove back, baby! With Germany throwing around cash like it's hosting the world's biggest bratwurst party and the European Commission planning to raise a cool €150 billion for defense (because who doesn't need a little extra pocket change for tanks?), investors are flocking to the continent like it's the last chocolate croissant on the breakfast buffet. Meanwhile, across the pond, the U.S. is like that one friend who can't decide if they want to start a band or open a cat café, leaving investors scratching their heads and thinking, "Maybe I'll just stick with the schnitzel."

The 3m charging cable is integrated behind the passenger door and can simply be extended to fit into any household 220V power outlet - Sounds like my vacuum cleaner 😀. With a turning circle of only 7.20 metres, drivers can steer the 2.41-meter-short and just 1.39-meter-wide (without exterior mirrors) Rocks through tight curves or access small parking spaces.

The light motor vehicle is available from €7,990 (RRP incl. VAT in Germany) and the order books are open.

BYD’s “megawatt charging” is here. And the company’s 1,000-kilowatt fast chargers could eliminate perhaps the biggest consumer gripe over EVs: That they take too long to charge.

“He is afraid. He is alone. He is three million light years from home”

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was released in theatres, and it is widely seen as a classic of American cinema. 1982 - Makes me feel old already

Perplexity AI's CEO, Aravind Srinivas, revealed the company handled 780 million queries in May and is growing over 20% month-over-month. At Bloomberg’s Tech Summit, he projected that at this pace, Perplexity could hit a billion queries per week within a year, a huge leap from just 3,000 queries in 2022 to 30 million per day now.

Srinivas introduced Comet, a new browser that transforms search into action by performing entire browsing sessions. Described as a "cognitive operating system," Comet is designed to assist users with both work and personal tasks in real time. While the exact launch date for Comet is still under wraps, it is expected within the next few weeks!

This collection of AI agents, tools, and assistants is impressive, with many companies launching AI-powered tools. I plan to explore promising ones like Agentverse or Beam AI. AI agents are intelligent software programs that autonomously perform tasks, make decisions, and interact with their environment, streamlining activities like customer support, coding, financial planning, and research. They act as tireless digital co-workers.

They staged an epic AI showdown for world domination with AI Diplomacy, a twist on the classic game where seven Great Powers of 1901 Europe are led by language models. The goal? To explore AI behavior in competition. Will they keep promises or resort to deceit? This experiment is a groundbreaking benchmark for observing LLM behavior. Don't miss the action on our Twitch stream as Gemini, o3, Claude, and others vie for victory!

Researchers from the University of Vienna, Milan, and Quantinuum in the UK have demonstrated that small photonic quantum processors can outperform traditional AI systems with fewer errors and lower power consumption.

Apple's new "Live Translation" feature in its Apple Intelligence suite offers real-time spoken language translation. However, it faces skepticism due to past issues with AI features like Siri upgrades and "Apple Intelligence" claims, which suffered from latency, inaccuracies, and rollbacks.

Steve Jobs was 29 when the interview was published and with remarkable clarity of thought Steve explains the upcoming technological revolution, why the personal computer is the greatest tool humans have ever invented, how the computer compares to past inventions, why software needs to be simplified.