A key form of financing that startups rely on is shrinking, hurting new companies that are already starved for capital. From a report: The volume of venture debt, a type of loan that younger companies line up to help pay the bills, plunged to $3.5 billion in the US in the first quarter, according to PitchBook, the lowest level since 2017. Climbing interest rates have made the funding more expensive for companies, and one of the biggest venture lenders, Silicon Valley Bank, faced a run on the bank that forced government regulators to seize it and sell it.
First Citizens BancShares, Silicon Valley Bank's buyer, says its appetite for venture financing hasn't changed. On a conference call on Wednesday, the company's president said First Citizens is better positioned to serve venture-backed companies now. But many of the biggest lenders across the economy are less willing to take risk as economic growth slows. Companies drove venture lending to record levels last year as revenue was under pressure and other forms of financing were drying up. VCs pulled back dramatically on equity investments in the second half of 2022, squeezed by rising interest rates and falling market values across the tech industry. By the first quarter of 2023, venture firms invested $79 billion in startups, less than half the $178 billion a year earlier, according to PitchBook. Raising equity in public markets is harder too: There were just $2.5 billion of initial public offerings in the US in the first quarter, the lowest for the first three months of the year since 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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The Bank of England governor says buyers should treat these sometimes riskier deals with caution.
EU lawmakers on Thursday urged the European Commission to continue talks to reinforce a proposed data transfer pact with the United States, saying there were still shortcomings in the agreement. From a report: The move could further delay an accord which is critical for thousands of companies. The EU executive in a draft decision in December said that U.S. safeguards against American intelligence activities were strong enough to address EU data privacy concerns. Such worries had prompted Europe's top court to strike down two previous data transfer pacts, affecting thousands of companies that move Europeans' personal data across the Atlantic for commercial use such as financial services, human resources and e-commerce. "This new proposal contains significant improvements, but unfortunately, we are not there yet," lawmaker Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar said after the assembly voted in a non-binding resolution against the proposed pact.
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European lawmakers came a step closer to passing new rules regulating artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, following a crunch vote on Thursday where they agreed tougher draft legislation. From a report: The European Union's highly anticipated AI Act looks set to be the world's first comprehensive legislation governing the technology, with new rules around the use of facial recognition, biometric surveillance, and other AI applications. After two years of negotiations, the bill is now expected to move to the next stage of the process, in which lawmakers finalise its details with the European Commission and individual member states.
Speaking ahead of the vote by two lawmakers' committees, Dragos Tudorache, one of the parliamentarians (MEPs) charged with drafting the laws, said: "It is a delicate deal. But it is a package that I think gives something to everyone that participated in these negotiations. Our societies expect us to do something determined about artificial intelligence, and the impact it has on their lives. It's enough to turn on the TV ... in the last two or three months, and every day you see how important this is becoming for citizens." Under the proposals, AI tools will be classified according to their perceived level of risk, from low to unacceptable. Governments and companies using these tools will have different obligations, depending on the risk level.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
European lawmakers came a step closer to passing new rules regulating artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, following a crunch vote on Thursday where they agreed tougher draft legislation. From a report: The European Union's highly anticipated AI Act looks set to be the world's first comprehensive legislation governing the technology, with new rules around the use of facial recognition, biometric surveillance, and other AI applications. After two years of negotiations, the bill is now expected to move to the next stage of the process, in which lawmakers finalise its details with the European Commission and individual member states.
Speaking ahead of the vote by two lawmakers' committees, Dragos Tudorache, one of the parliamentarians (MEPs) charged with drafting the laws, said: "It is a delicate deal. But it is a package that I think gives something to everyone that participated in these negotiations. Our societies expect us to do something determined about artificial intelligence, and the impact it has on their lives. It's enough to turn on the TV ... in the last two or three months, and every day you see how important this is becoming for citizens." Under the proposals, AI tools will be classified according to their perceived level of risk, from low to unacceptable. Governments and companies using these tools will have different obligations, depending on the risk level.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's office says it is disappointed by the claims and demands evidence.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's office says it is disappointed by the claims and demands evidence.
The service - the only NHS gender clinic for children in England and Wales - will close in March 2024.
The service - the only NHS gender clinic for children in England and Wales - will close in March 2024.
The train drivers' union leader insists Eurovision events in Liverpool were not targeted by strikes.
