Before you sink your teeth into Wednesday, get all caught up on the top tech news.
1. EU roaming charges finally ripped up, holidaymakers rejoice (in 2017)
The European Parliament has decided on a “complete ban” on roaming charges for mobile devices within the EU, to be in effect by June 2017. Clear rules on the right to internet access were finally agreed in the European Parliament, with the phasing out of roaming charges penned for completion.
2. Zynga’s Irish operation hit hardest by jobs cuts
Zynga’s woes hit Ireland hard, with a far higher ratio of job losses here (60pc) than the global average (18pc) experienced in its European base. Zynga’s latest accounts reveal that 22 people in the Dublin operation have been let go, representing around three-fifths of the workforce here.
3. Israel creates a visa for entrepreneurs who want to start-up in Tel Aviv
Israel is planning to introduce a new start-up visa aimed at entrepreneurs from around the world who plan to work in the city for 24 months on innovative projects. The move should be a wake-up call for policymakers in Ireland’s government, already under pressure to remove the friction in providing visas for entrepreneurs to start businesses in Ireland and talented tech workers to work at tech multinationals.
4. Against the tide: Ireland’s homegrown tech industry fights on
Despite having revenues of around €2bn, Ireland’s indigenous software industry of more than 1,000 companies rarely makes the headlines. But, in spite of backward tax rules, having to be export-oriented from the get-go and battling multinationals in the war for talent, it endures, unbeaten, writes John Kennedy.
5. Tractor beam created using ultrasonic waves
Scientists in Spain claim to have created a sonic tractor beam that can grab tiny objects and move them around in the air. As opposed to trapping spaceships like in Star Wars, the team from the Public University of Navarre believe that they can use the tractor beam technology for capturing micro-surgical instruments that get trapped in bodies during surgeries or precision drug delivery.
6. AI player Nuritas raises $3.2m in record first-round financing
Dublin start-up Nuritas, which specialises in artificial intelligence (AI) to reinvent therapeutics, has raised $3.2m, from Singapore-based New Protein Capital. Combining AI and DNA sequencing, Nuritas has already developed and patented health-improving ingredients that can address global challenges as broad as inflammation, diabetes, ageing and MRSA, among others.
7. European VC investments hit €9.5bn in Q3 as deal numbers plummet
As the number of venture capital investments plummet, strong valuations have helped the total amount investments made by the third quarter of 2015 soar to €9.5bn.
8. NDRC launches new early-stage investment programme Catalyser
The NDRC has announced a new early-stage investor programme called Catalyser, with €100,000 on offer for successful start-ups with “deep industry or research based knowledge and technology”.
9. Bank of Ireland to host 50 CoderDojo dojos around Ireland
Bank of Ireland has partnered with CoderDojo to line up more than 50 different dojos around the country by next summer, with many underway already.
10. Smart companies take employer branding seriously – Hays seminar panel
The issue of employer branding has become of particular importance due to the changing nature of recruitment to a candidate-led market. Following the publication of Hays’ report on the state of resourcing in Ireland, a panel discussion dissects this issue and how to tackle it.
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Number 10 image by Roman Tsubin via Shutterstock
