gain ground among American companies

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Not so long ago, the idea of ​​an American company directly paying a Chinese company like DeepSeek to use artificial intelligence would have sounded, at the very least, unlikely. Not because there was a lack of alternative models, but because the enterprise AI board seemed dominated by the big names of Silicon Valley and by a growing concern around data, security and technological dependency. But the expense is starting to weigh. And when a technology becomes expensive to maintain at scale, some companies begin to look beyond the usual vendors. The data. The specific sign appears in Ramp’s monthly lista New York-based company that processes business expenses and sorts the software providers its customers purchase for the first time. In June 2026, DeepSeek ranked first in that ranking. The data was also collected by SCMPwhich introduced it as part of a move by some US companies toward more affordable AI options over alternatives like OpenAI and Anthropic. What Ramp measures. The nuance is important, because this ranking does not say that DeepSeek has surpassed OpenAI or Anthropic in total enterprise use. As we say, Ramp classifies the suppliers that its clients buy for the first time, which serves to detect early signs of interest, but not to automatically convert them into consolidated market share. In other words, DeepSeek appears as a trending provider within that spending universe, not as the new leader of enterprise AI in the United States. It’s not just open source. Ramp’s precision is relevant because it separates two very different scenarios: using an open source model within the infrastructure itself or contracting DeepSeek directly as a provider. In this case, Kharazian assures that the spending data points to the latter and summarizes it like this: “Companies are sending and receiving data directly through DeepSeek.” That nuance explains why the movement attracts so much attention. We are not just talking about companies testing Chinese technology in isolation, but about direct payments and use of the service. The underlying explanation is in the cost. Kharazian notes that companies are adopting more disciplined management of AI spending and that he expected more interest in open models or cheaper options from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. What he did not expect, he explains, was that American companies would end up using DeepSeek. Therefore, the Chinese service remains part of a business conversation marked by invoices that are increasingly difficult to ignore. Proportion matters. DeepSeek now appears high on the monthly list of trending providers, but its previous figures within the Ramp AI Index show that we are still talking about a small phenomenon. According to Kharazian, the Chinese company went from 0.3% enterprise adoption in January 2025 to 0.1% shortly after, and in April 2026 it was still around that level. In that same index, Anthropic and OpenAI concentrated 34.4% and 32.3%, respectively. The reasonable reading, therefore, is not that DeepSeek has caught up with the leaders, but that it has re-entered the radar of some American companies. The complete photograph. According to the firm, companies are not only looking towards Chinese models, but also towards open models and model inference and deployment platforms such as Fireworks AI, fal AI and DeepInfra. In any case, the message for Silicon Valley is clear: some American companies are willing to look at alternatives that recently seemed much more difficult to imagine. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana In Xataka | France has been determined to rob Spain of its position as a data center power in Europe

This is the world’s first triple-resolution QD-OLED monitor from MSI. And he has not arrived alone

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Computex 2026 is being the stage for many brands to present a battery of products. One of them is MSI, which has put on stage a fairly large selection of monitors where it stands out especially the world’s first triple resolution QD-OLED monitoralthough there is much more. We are going to talk a little about all of them in this article. MSI MPG OLED 322URDX36 As we have already anticipated a little above, the MSI MPG OLED 322URDX36 is the first QD-OLED monitor with triple resolution in the world: 4K/360Hz, 2K/520Hz and FHD/680Hz. This is very useful because it allows the user to choose if they prefer higher resolution and sharpness, or, on the contrary, prefer to prioritize the refresh rate for games that require fast movements (this is very common in competitive games). In addition to this, it uses technology Penta Tandemso your panel has a multi-layer structure. This, in practice, translates into more shine, better color and greater durability against burning. In addition, it has a maximum HDR brightness of 1,500 nits, HDMI 2.1a ports and a USB-C port that delivers 98 W, ideal for charging a laptop, for example. MSI MEG The MEG It is the first QD-OLED gaming monitor with Agentic AI. This internal artificial intelligence will analyze what is on the screen to automatically improve the image. This is interesting because it does not depend on the console or PC we are using, but rather it is something done internally by the monitor itself. It also learns from user habits. In addition to this, it also uses a QD-OLED panel, has 34 inches and UWQHD resolution (3,440 x 1440 pixels). It also comes with the Penta Tandem technology that comes with the monitor above and has a 360 Hz refresh rate. It will arrive in stores on August 5. MSI MPG 271KRAW18 MiniLED is also having a lot of presence in monitors and this MPG 271KRAW18 is a very good example of this. In fact, It is the first gaming monitor of its type with 5K resolutionalso offering 180 Hz. In addition, it has Dual Mode, so we can switch whenever we want to 2K/330 Hz. At the moment, it does not have a release date. MSI MAG 271KPD7 Let’s now go with a more economical and very versatile option. The MSI MAG 271KPD7 is a monitor with an IPS panel that has double resolution, although with a different approach. With 5K resolution it offers 75 Hzsomething that can be great for working with text in a very clear way (also for playing, of course). But it also gives the option to switch to 2K and 300 Hz, thus offering very high fluidity. It will arrive in stores this June. MSI MAG OLED 321UPX18 Another of the monitors presented, the MAG OLED 321UPX18, seeks to be a more affordable option for those users who want to immerse themselves in the world of OLED monitors. It has 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 180 Hzbut in this case it does not have the possibility of changing the resolution like the options above. But, despite this, it also uses the same Penta Tandem technology. Something to keep in mind is that it has a diagonal of 31.5 inchesso it is not a compact option. This one, at the moment, does not have a release date. MSI MAG OLED 271QPX32 We continue with OLED monitors with this MSI MAG OLED 271QPX32, which is 27 inches. It also uses Penta Tandem technology, although in this case it opts for a WQHD resolution. It offers a refresh rate of 320 Hz. This monitor will arrive next September and it will do so below 600 euros, which is further proof that we increasingly have more accessible options for this type of monitors. MSI PRO MAX 341QPXW14G To finish, we go with a monitor more oriented to the professional world such as the MSI PRO MAX 341QPXQ14G. This manufacturer also brings Penta Tadem technology to this type of monitors with a 34-inch screen with UWQHD resolution and a refresh rate of 144 Hz. It should be noted that it has a double USB-C port as 98 W and 15 W, respectively. MSI now has a 10% discount on its entire store All of these monitors are coming soon, but they are not available. Despite this, it is worth taking a look right now at the MSI store since right now there is a 10% discount on any device from this brand. Since we have focused on their new monitors in this article, we are going to see a couple of those that we can buy now (and cheaper). MSI MPG 264URDFW E16M: This is a 27-inch monitor that uses MiniLED technology. It has 4K resolution and a 320 Hz refresh rate, making it perfect if you usually play competitive titles. Its RRP is 549 euros, although we now have it available for 449.10 euros with the 10% coupon. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links MSI MAG 321UP: An option to consider if you prefer QD-OLED technology. In this case, we are looking at a 31.5-inch screen that also has 4K resolution. It has a refresh rate of 165 Hz and a response time of only 0.03 ms. It costs 799 euros, although now it remains at 626.10 euros with the 10% coupon. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | MSI In Xataka | Ultrawide monitor vs two monitors: productivity science says it’s not just inches that matter In Xataka | 144 Hz is not just for gaming: the subtle change on your screen that your eyes will appreciate after eight hours of Excel

aims to automate almost everything

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For years, when we talked about robots serving people, Japan almost always appeared in the foreground. Now the focus has shifted. The race to bring robotics and artificial intelligence to everyday life has accelerated, and China has just put a striking proposal on the table: a hotel where reception, delivery, cleaning or surveillance are left in the hands of machines. They assure that it will be the first of its kind in the world. The signature. Shenzhen Culture and Tourism and Pudu Robotics, a Chinese company specializing in commercial service robots, announced on May 31 an agreement to build this hotel on the western artificial island of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan link. The two parties present it as an establishment where the machines will not only be there for a specific demonstration, but to cover real day-to-day tasks. The place is not coincidental. The hotel is projected on the western artificial island of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan link, a piece built in the waters of Lingdingyang within an infrastructure of about 24 kilometers. The context helps understand the choice. This city, today converted into a huge technology center, had been just a few decades before a small fishing town north of Hong Kong. The island officially opened to the public on December 29, 2025 after a test phase with almost 10,000 visitors. The promise. The project wants to cover the most visible tasks and also some of the ones that we normally don’t see as much. According to official information, the robots would be in charge of receiving guests, guiding them with luggage, bringing food, serving rooms, cleaning, security patrols and accompanying or interacting with visitors. Pudu completes the picture with more catalog examples: machines capable of transporting heavy loads or coordinating services from automated points. The calendar. The company places the first visible step at the end of this year, with a test that would open some rooms and robotic services to the first guests. Then would come the rollout in phases, with the goal that the hotel can receive visitors at the beginning of 2027. It is an ambitious roadmap, but we are still at that delicate point in which the announced deadlines must become real operations. The difference they want to make. The most relevant technical point is not in the number of robots, but in how they are organized. Pudu maintains that its system allows different types of machines to operate on the same intelligent basis, with PuduFM 1.0 and PuduAgent as proper names for that architecture. The promise is that there are no individual pieces solving isolated problems, but rather a common layer capable of coordinating the service. The Japanese mirror. The idea of ​​a hotel staffed by robots is not born from scratch. Guinness World Records recognizes to the Henn-na Hotel Nagasakiopened on July 17, 2015 inside the Huis Ten Bosch park, as the first hotel staffed by robots, albeit with some human helpers. There were humanoids at the reception, an industrial robot to sort luggage, machines for domestic tasks and even a robotic dinosaur to serve guests in English. The problem came later: Business Insider picked up in 2019 that the hotel reduced more than half of its robotic workforce after not reducing costs or workload. Images | Pudu Robotics In Xataka | Anthropic’s AI already writes 80% of its own code because it was inevitable that AIs would improve themselves

This business security system is almost half the price and includes VPN

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For years, we have been seeing how companies of all types are being hacked or attempted. No one is completely safe, both ourselves in our daily lives and if we have a business. In fact, in this last area, things become more delicate: The safety of employees and customers comes into play in addition to our own. If you’re looking for a security tool for your business that you can install and manage yourself, then you might be interested Kaspersky Small Office Security Premium: its price starts from the offer of the 96 euros (it used to cost 138 euros), but if we use the code ‘KSOSP’, we will receive an additional 15% discount. Kaspersky Small Office Security Premium – 1 year The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Security for your company, now with remote assistance Let’s start with the basics. This is not the first time we have talked to you about Kaspersky’s security tool for businesses, Small Office Security. However, what we are referring to right now is its Premium version, just released a couple of weeks ago. This includes everything from the first version, so it is a tool that stands out in two different ways: First, it is very easy to use and manage; Second, it is also safe and complete. What can you do? Small Office Security Premium, available for Android, iOS, Windows and macOS, has a system that will protect your company’s computers from malicious files and suspicious websites and even threats through email. Added to this is protection against ransomware and vulnerability analysis. Another interesting point is that this cocktail a VPN is addedwhich will allow you or your employees to work from anywhere safely if you use an unknown WiFi (for example, from a coffee shop or from the airport). The price we mentioned above includes protection for three mobile phones, computers, three password managers and three VPNs. If you have more employees or want more licenses, simply upgrade your subscription. All this is already in the basic version of this tool, but, How does the Premium version improve? To all of the above, we add: installation support, remote support and virus checking and removal by experts. Additionally, your employees will receive safety training. If you are interested, you can choose to subscribe annually, bi-annually or for three years. Any of these three plans has a 30 day trial period so you can try if it convinces you and, if not, you can request a refund without problems. With this Premium version, which is now on sale and is almost the same price, we have all the virtues of this tool (security and ease when installing it), but with remote support from experts in case we need it. Something like a safety net, never better said. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Image | Kaspersky In Xataka | Best antivirus for computer: the best paid alternatives to protect your PC In Xataka | Password managers: which ones are the best to protect and remember all the ones you have

Today on Netflix, 6 seasons of a brutal and fast-paced action series with an impeccable score

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Before the History Channel jumped into fiction, the network was known for its potential for crazy memes on shows centered around conspiracy theories about aliens in the pyramids. In 2013 he made a strong commitment to his first fiction series: ‘Vikings‘, a production set in 9th century Scandinavia that surpassed 6 million viewers at its premiere. Now you have its 89 episodes in Netflixand continues to triumph in audiences. The source material for the series is somewhat slippery: the main source on the life of Ragnar Lothbrok is the ‘Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok’, a 13th century Icelandic text (among other works that mention him, such as the ‘Heimskringla’, or the ‘Sögubrot’). They are texts that were written three or four centuries after the events they describe, based on oral tradition, and their historical reliability is very debatable (although experts at the time They have praised his rigor when capturing the past). And yet, as the network’s first bet on serialized fiction, it worked: the showrunner Michael Hirst had just written the film ‘Elizabeth’ and created the series ‘The Tudors’. Hirst wrote each of the 89 episodes alone.something unusual in a television production of that scale. The narrative coherence that this generates is considerable, and that is why it has obtained Consistently positive grades on rating aggregators as Rotten Tomatoes (where seasons 3 and 6 achieved a 100% rating from critics), with an average of 93. And all thanks to its balance between the most visceral action and the historical analysis of paganism, customs and geopolitics. And although it was not received in such a unanimously positive way, if you binge the six seasons you also have on Netflix the three seasons of the sequel, ‘Vikings: Valhalla’, set more than a century after the events of the original series, and analyzing the conflicts between the descendants of the Vikings and the English nobility. The Nordic saga does not end here: Amazon Prime has contracted the rights to ‘Bloodaxe’, in which Michael Hirst once again gets behind the scripts, reviewing the life of another famous Nordic creature. In Xataka | Today on Prime Video: the international blockbuster that has restored luster to the erotic thriller genre

charges in four minutes and 6,000 hours of stability to forget about lithium

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I think we all dream of that moment: connecting our cell phone to the power and having it go from 0 to 100% in the time it takes to make a coffee, without the battery suffering any long-term damage or losing capacity over the months. This still sounds like science fiction, but it is what a team of researchers in China has just proposed and they have achieved it. In short. A consortium of scientists from Southeast University, HiNa Battery Technology and Yangzhou University has developed a new quasi-solid electrolyte (QSE) designed specifically for sodium metal batteries. The results of your research, published in the scientific journal Nano-Micro Lettersshow how they have achieved ultra-fast charging (equivalent to filling the battery in about four minutes, at a rate of 15C) while retaining 90% of its capacity after 2,000 high-speed charge and discharge cycles (3C). Sodium has just hit the table compared to lithium. More in depth. To understand the magnitude of this finding, you have to look at the current market. sodium batteries They have been capturing the attention of the industry for some time because sodium is a material infinitely cheaper and more abundant on Earth than lithium, which makes it possible to avoid global supply chain bottlenecks and price volatility. Until now, however, sodium’s big Achilles’ heel was the “equivalent trade-off”: if you wanted fast charging, you drastically sacrificed battery life and safety. This was due to the slow transport of sodium ions and the instability of the interfaces within the stack. This new advance makes a symmetrical sodium cell operate stably for 6,000 hours uninterrupted without failures related to short circuits. For the end user, this translates into a near future where electric vehicles and electronic devices will be much more affordable, safer and have charging times that will completely eliminate the famous “range anxiety.” The science behind the milestone. Researchers have dubbed this solution “dual intertwined mediator engineering.” In simple terms, they have completely redesigned the highway on which the ions travel inside the battery, eliminating traffic jams and reinforcing shoulders, without losing the physical-chemical rigor of the process. In conventional electrolytes, sodium moves clumsily, achieving a transfer number (the metric that defines how efficiently and freely ions move) of just between 0.4 and 0.7. The new electrolyte, called Sn-FB QSE, achieves an almost perfect index of 0.94. This indicates “single-ion conduction”: sodium travels individually and directly, without dragging heavy elements in its path. To achieve this, they have used two main chemical protagonists that act as a team: The releaser (DFOB⁻ Salt): At the molecular level, this salt weakens the strong coordination interaction between the sodium ions and the polymer network of the electrolyte. By removing this chemical “glue”, the sodium is freed. Molecular dynamics simulations show that ion diffusion reaches 16.8 Ų ns⁻¹, about six times faster than in traditional liquid electrolytes. The builder shield (Tin ions, Sn²⁺): During charging, the Sn²⁺ is first reduced at the anode. This creates a protective film (scientifically known as Solid-Electrolyte Interface or SEI) rich in a sodium-tin alloy. This layer acts as a mold that homogenizes the electric field, forcing the sodium to deposit flat and uniformly. Goodbye to the dreaded “dendrites”, those needle-shaped metal structures that pierce the battery and cause short circuits. Additionally, the dual effect is completed at the other end of the stack. While tin protects the anode, DFOB⁻ is sacrificially oxidized at the cathode to form another extremely robust, inorganic protective layer (CEI) just 14 nm thick. This thin film stops the degradation of the electrolyte in its tracks at high voltages, guaranteeing the longevity of the battery. From the laboratory to the real world. Often, these discoveries remain in tiny laboratory “button batteries” that never see the light of day. But the most promising thing about this research is its scalability and practical application. The researchers constructed flexible, pressure-free “pouch cells.” In a video demonstration, they managed to use one of these batteries to charge a smartphone continuously, even while repeatedly bending and manipulating it with their hands, demonstrating exceptional flexibility and resilience. Added to this is that the electrolyte remains stable up to 4.7 volts, opening the door to pairing it with even more powerful materials in the future. And most importantly for the industry: this approach is fully compatible with current manufacturing methods and could even be extended to lithium and potassium metal batteries. The future knocks at the door. Charging your phone in four minutes without destroying the battery in a few months has always been the Holy Grail of consumer electronics. With materials engineering innovations such as this quasi-solid electrolyte, sodium is no longer “the cheap brother” to position itself as a very high-performance technology. Although there is still a way to go to see these batteries on commercial shelves, this discovery makes it clear that the future of portable energy involves abandoning exclusive dependence on lithium. The era of accidentally plugging in your cell phone and having battery power for the entire day is a big step closer to being our daily routine. Image | Unsplash Xataka | Switzerland is digging a pit 27 meters deep and longer than two football fields: all for a giant battery

Soon you won’t need to remember anyone’s name. Meta’s glasses will do it for you

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We recently learned that Ray-Ban Meta continue recording when you take them off and that there are contractors in Kenya watching everything that happens. They are also being used for things as shady as record women without their consent. In an already delicate context with the issue of privacy, Meta has decided that it was a good idea to add an even more controversial function: facial recognition. The discovery. Wired has analyzed the Meta AI code, which is the companion-app that comes with the glasses, and they have discovered the code for a facial recognition system that has not yet been officially released. The company had previously said that they were “thinking” about how to implement this technology, but the discovery shows that the code began to be deployed last January. Meta has been quietly including all the pieces necessary to get it up and running, so they could launch it at any time. How it works. The function is called internally ‘NameTag’, although its commercial name is believed to be ‘Connections’. It combines three AI models: one detects the face through the camera, another scans it, and the third converts it into biometric data. They are then compared to a database on the user’s phone and, if it detects a person, it sends a notification. That is, if someone who is in that database approaches you, they will tell you who they are. Qwhat does this mean. The ideal scenario from a privacy point of view would be that you can only use it with those contacts who have agreed, but the code says they can take it further. The interesting thing is what happens to faces that are not recognized. The app does not discard them, but rather stores them in a folder called “pending.” And there is something even more striking: the database you have on your mobile is designed to be able to receive Meta updates, that is, they could modify it remotely. There is a possibility that it was used for an “assistive mode”, for example for blind users, in which Meta could include packets of faces of people who have agreed to be included. However, it also opens the door to the creation of a database of faces, with the risks that entails. Criticisms and risks. Cooper Quintin, a security researcher consulted by Wired, criticizes that Meta has “created the ability to turn its clients into a distributed surveillance machine.” Additionally, last April, more than 70 organizations and advocacy groups They demanded that Meta abandon the projectarguing that a system like this, integrated into such a discreet wearable, could normalize the silent identification of strangers and poses a risk to especially vulnerable groups such as immigrants or LGBTQ+ people. Meta has a past. It is not the first time that Meta has had problems with facial recognition functions. In 2010 they integrated photo tagging into Facebook, collecting data from more than 1 billion users. In 2019 the company had to pay a fine of more than 5 billion dollars for privacy violation and in 2021 they closed the system and deleted all facial data. However, Joseph Jerome, a former Meta Reality Labs employee, tells Wired that internally it wasn’t considered a final decision and that “There was always this tension of, well, when do we roll out facial recognition again?” Meta’s response. A spokesperson for the company has insisted that no facial recognition feature has been launched in its glasses and that it being in the code simply indicates that they are “exploring it”. Furthermore, he adds that if they finally launch it, they will do so “with complete transparency” and insists that “we are not building a central facial database.” We will have to wait for the launch. Image | Xataka with Gemini In Xataka | Anduril and Meta have a new and disturbing obsession: turning smart glasses into instruments of war

“Workers should be paid as much as possible”

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Jensen Huang, in addition to being one of the Most charismatic CEOs of the AI ​​industry, always sheathed in his black leather jacketit is also a great strategist in terms of human resources, applying that phrase attributed to Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin: “Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business.” According to collected Bloombergduring his recent visit to the Computex fair in Taipei, Huang assured that “workers should be paid as much as possible. I pay my employees as much as I can.” The NVIDIA CEO’s statement comes in a context in which large semiconductor manufacturers, even those that make NVIDIA chips, are under enormous union pressure to distribute the benefits that the AI ​​boom is bringing them. Samsung and the threat of unemployment that changed everything. The spark that ignited the debate was ignited in Samsung’s memory division in South Korea. More than 40,000 workers gathered in front of its Pyeongtaek factory and threatened to stop Samsung’s memory production if the company did not improve their salaries and added a bonus linked to the division’s profits. Samsung manufactures part of the HBM memory that powers AI servers around the world, so a stoppage in production would put the already critical situation of the memory market in serious trouble. The agreement arrived at the last minute and the company will distribute a bonus worth an average of 513 million won (about $340,000) among the 78,000 employees of its chip division. The pressure came from the competition. Although union conflicts They are not something new for Samsungit is no coincidence that the manufacturer has just now given in to the workers’ demands. Its direct rival in the manufacturing of memory semiconductors, SK Hynix, has been setting the salary pace in the sector for some time. Last September, SK Hynix agreed with its employees to allocate 10% of annual operating profit to bonus for employees. With a record profit of 47.2 trillion won in 2025, the result was an average bonus of 2,964% of the monthly base salary. For an employee with a salary of 100 million won a year, that means collecting a bonus of more than 148 million extra won at a time. The reaction was immediate, more than 200 Samsung engineers left to SK Hynix within four months. Turning the making of memories into a fight to retain your best talent. TSMC is also moving. The battle for talent on memory chip production lines did not stop in Korea. The contagion reached Taiwan, where TSMC, which manufactures practically all the advanced chips on the planethas not stayed still either. As and how I collected Bloombergas soon as rumors began to circulate in internal forums about the possible reduction of bonuses, the CEO of TSMC called a meeting in which he announced that his profit bonuses were going to increase by more than 30% this year. The semiconductor industry is at a time of such high demand for AI chips that companies that depend on scarce skilled talent cannot afford to lose them. TSMC already assigned about 103 billion Taiwan dollars to its incentive program in 2025, 46.6% more than the previous year. This year he has no choice but to dig deep into his pocket again to pay his employees’ bonuses. if you want to keep them. NVIDIA employees are already millionaires. Of course, if there is anyone in the AI ​​industry who can make such statements about employee compensation, it is Huang. Nvidia has been doing what its CEO preaches for years. After the collapse of 80% of NVIDIA shares in 2008, Huang launched a stock purchase plan for employees with a 15% discount. Who participated when the stock was low and held it, now he is simply a millionaire. Nearly 50% of NVIDIA employees today have a higher net worth at 25 million dollars. “I review the compensation of all employees to this day. I review the 42,000 and 100% of the time I increase the expense,” Huang said. in a All-In Podcast. “If you take care of people, the rest takes care of itself.” In Xataka | NVIDIA was founded by three engineers, but only Jensen Huang remains CEO: “I wish I had kept some shares” Image | NVIDIA

a very hard summer marked by the weather, bans and toxins

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As summer approaches, more and more people think of the estuaries of Galicia as a place to spend time. a few weeks of relaxationbetween beaches, good food and a tolerable heat. What is much more difficult (even demoralizing) these months is to think of the Galician estuaries as pantries of seafood. The brotherhoods that work in the area have encountered a perfect storm which has complicated their work and has forced the Xunta to come to his rescue. This reality is already being noticed in the markets. What has happened? These are not good times for the shellfish harvesters who dedicate themselves to combing the Galician estuaries in search of clams or cockles, nor are they good times for the fishermen who they catch fresh octopus or companies that operate mussel trays. The most curious thing is that it is not due to a single factor, but to a sum of conditions, a challenging scenario for the union that The Confidential recently summarized (with a good eye) like the particular “Via Crucis of Galician shellfish.” Toxins, bans and storms seem to have joined forces to complicate life for the sector. looking back. To understand the situation that the union is going through, you have to go back at least a few years, to 2023when the heavens rained down (literally) the shellfish harvesters’ business. In 2023, the sector first encountered an unusual heat wave that was followed, in autumn, by a succession of intense rainfall that they wreaked havoc among bivalve populations. In 2025 things seemed to improve, but the outlook became complicated again at the beginning of this year. “Last year there were signs of recovery with a significant pre-commercial stock that could not withstand the impact of the train of eight consecutive storms that hit our coast between January and February of this year,” they explain from the Consellería do Mar de Galicia. The logic is simple: it rains heavily, the flow of the rivers increases, the reservoirs open their floodgates and all that mass of fresh water ends up flowing suddenly into the estuaries, affecting, among other things, the salinity of the seabed and affecting its fauna. And that impacts catastrophically in the work of those dedicated to collecting cockles, clams or razor clams. Is it that serious? Yes. Both for its consequences on marine fauna and for its economic and social implications. In fact, in 2023, faced with a similar scenario, it was already warned that the high mortality rate of shellfish was leading thousands of families to a “very distressing situation” and an “uncertain future.” For reference, in March the biologist Liliana Solís shared with elDiario the results of the first sampling carried out on the banks of the Muros and Noia estuaries after the storms at the beginning of 2026: in the case of the cockle the mortality was 89%, in the case of the japonica clam 66%, in the slimy clam 96% and 31% in the fine clam. “Pesca de Galicia” graph showing the records of bivalves in the fish markets. The quantity is reflected in blue, in kilos. The golden line shows the price, in €/kg. “The worst crisis”. Shortly after, in April, The Voice of Galicia did a review through the different sandy areas of the community that he headed with an eloquent headline: “Galician estuaries: I check one by one in the face of the worst shellfish crisis.” Their analysis indicated that the most affected areas were those of Arousa, Vigo and Muros-Noia, although the outlook was not very encouraging in the estuaries of Pontevedra or A Coruña either. The ‘photo’ has chiaroscuros (in Vigo and Baiona, clam captures from boats alleviated the decline in shellfish harvesting on foot), but in general it shows a complicated panorama. So much so, that the Xunta has already made a move. This same week the Minister of the Sea, Marta Villaverde, explained in the Parliament of Galicia the measures deployed to “reverse the effects of the storms on the shellfish banks.” Its “central piece,” he defended, is a plan of almost 23 million euros to regenerate sandy beaches and support families in the union. Shellfish harvesters who participate in recovery tasks actually receive compensation of up to 700 euros per month. Do we have data? Yes. The Pesca de Galicia platform, which basically works with “first sale” data in the fish markets, shows a noticeable fall in bivalves during the first months of the year. For example, if in April 2025 it registered 238,544 kilos, in the same month of this year there were only 147,730. Something similar happens with crustaceans. This same week Vigo Lighthouse revealed that until May, 788 tons of mollusks valued at 9.7 million have been shipped in the markets, which translates into falls of 29 and 26%, respectively, and the worst start to the year so far this century. The ‘prick’ of the japonica clam, cockle and fine clam stands out above all, with declines that are around or even exceed 50%. The economic balance for the sector is compensated, in part, by the increase in the price of certain species, which in the face of a shortage have seen their price was shot in wholesale channels. Something more than storms. We said it at the beginning of the report: the big problem in the sector is that does not deal with a single challenge. The adverse weather of 2026 may not have made it easy for Galician shellfish harvesters, but that is not the only headache for the sector. In May the markets saw how it was activated a ban for the fresh octopus that will continue for another month, until july. All with the aim of recovering a species that has also gone through low hours in the estuaries of Galicia and meets increasing competition arrival from other regions. If that were not enough, add the “red tide”which has forced the closure of some 3,400 punts of mussels, the pressure exerted on prices by merchandise arriving … Read more

premium range to watch the World Cup, movies and video games

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TCL has hit the table in the Spanish market with the arrival of its new flagships for 2026 in the television sector. The company, already consolidated as one of the world’s leading television manufacturers, has just announced the availability of its X11L and C8L series. This is a clear commitment to QD-MiniLED technology, with which they seek to offer an experience that not only rivals OLED in contrast, but far surpasses it in light power and screen diagonal. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL 55C8L Television 55 Inch SQD-Mini LED 4K Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL X11L: the crown jewel with extreme shine The new TCL X11L It is, on paper, one of the most ambitious bets of the year. This model (available up to 98 inches) uses a sixth generation QD-MiniLED panel capable of reaching a stratospheric brightness figure: up to 10,000 nits. To manage such power without sacrificing detail in the shadows, it has a light control system by extremely dense zones, allowing deep blacks and a drastic reduction in blooming. Some of its key points are the AiPQ Pro processor with Artificial Intelligenceintegrated Bang & Olufsen sound system and a native refresh rate of 144Hz (although it reaches up to 288 Hz in the largest versions) which makes it an ideal TV for users of PCs and latest generation consoles. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL 85X11L Television 85 Inch SQD-Mini LED 4K Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL 98X11L Television 98 Inch SQD-Mini LED 4K Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL C8L: balance between performance and large format For those looking for a premium experience but with a more versatile approach, the TCL C8L series is presented as a natural evolution of its best-selling models. Although it maintains the same technology MiniLEDthis model is optimized to offer vibrant and accurate color reproduction thanks to Quantum Dots. Its great attraction lies in the variety of sizesreaching up to 115 inches in its most ambitious version. This TV is designed to be the center of attention in the home, supporting all current HDR standards (Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+) and offering specific features for games such as Game Master Pro 3. TCL 55C8L Television 55 Inch SQD-Mini LED 4K Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL 65C8L Television 65 Inch SQD-Mini LED 4K Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL 75C8L Television 75 Inch SQD-Mini LED 4K Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL 85C8L Television 85 Inch SQD-Mini LED 4K Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TCL 98C8L Television 98 Inch SQD-Mini LED 4K Smart TV The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Why is this an important launch in the Spanish market? With this move, TCL not only competes in specifications, but redefines the scale of home theater in Spain. The brand continues to bet on democratizing the large diagonals (98 and 115 inches) that were previously exclusive projection territory, but with the advantages of a smart panel. Some of the key features of these new TCL releases include: Service life: greater durability against wear and tear of organic panels. Visibility: Perfect for living rooms with lots of natural light thanks to their high brightness. Connectivity: Full integration with Google TV and the most popular voice assistants. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Rubén Andrés (Xataka) and TCL In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 140 euros

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