Good news from around Europe
Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, new data shows Threads’ daily mobile usage has quietly surpassed X as Meta leans on cross-promotion, creator tools and fast feature rollouts — even as X faces fresh controversies Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/18/threads-edges-out-x-in-daily-mobile-users-new-data-shows/
How YC-backed Bucket Robotics survived its first CES Now, the startup is turning its attention to building the business, fundraising and striking commercial deals. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/18/how-yc-backed-bucket-robotics-survived-its-first-ces/
Moxie Marlinspike has a privacy-conscious alternative to ChatGPT Confer is designed to look and feel like ChatGPT or Claude, but your conversations can’t be used for training or advertising. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/18/moxie-marlinspike-has-a-privacy-conscious-alternative-to-chatgpt/
Why Silicon Valley is really talking about fleeing California (it’s not the 5%) If you’ve been following the billionaire exodus from California with some confusion, here’s what’s actually driving the nervousness: it’s not the 5% rate. As highlighted Friday in the New York Post, the proposed wealth tax would hit
Who gets to inherit the stars? A space ethicist on what we’re not talking about While it’s easy to romanticize space as an escape to a pristine frontier where people will float weightlessly among the stars, it’s worth remembering there are no oceans or mountains or chirpy birds in space.
Trump administration’s legal setbacks are good news for offshore wind — and the grid Three offshore wind projects under construction on the U.S. East Coast are back to building after judges rebuked the Department of the Interior’s actions. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/17/trump-administrations-legal-setbacks-are-good-news-for-offshore-wind-and-the-grid/
Oshen built the first ocean robot to collect data in a Category 5 hurricane Oshen has signed contracts with multiple government agencies for its C-Star robots to collect ocean data autonomously. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/17/oshen-built-the-first-ocean-robot-to-collect-data-in-a-category-5-hurricane/
Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit, despite $700B fortune Musk’s legal team argues he should be compensated as an early startup investor who sees returns “many orders of magnitude greater” than his initial investment. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/17/musk-wants-up-to-134b-in-openai-lawsuit-despite-700b-fortune/
DTCP expands into defence with €20M-per-deal Fund for security and dual-use startups Global investment management platform DTCP today announced the launch of “Project Liberty”, its eighth fund and its first dedicated exclusively to defence, security, and resilience technologies. The fund is independently managed by DTCP and targets institutional investors, family
HOLYWATER secures $22M to expand mobile microdrama content Ukraine-based HOLYWATER has closed a $22 million financing round led by Horizon Capital, with participation from US-based investors including Endeavor Catalyst and Wheelhouse. The financing follows an earlier investment from Fox Entertainment in October 2025. (check out our earlier interview with Anatolii