usatoday24

sell us a non-car for 6,000 euros

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The cars have gone up. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’d bet you have. In 2023 we will tell you in Xataka that, once inflation had been discounted between 2014 and 2022 (around 18%), the prices of the best-selling cars had risen by 50%. A good part of that increase was concentrated in cars between 20,000 and 30,000 euros. There, the density of cars whose price had increased by more than 20% was greater. And there was another worrying focus. Cars between 15,000 and 20,000 euros they became more expensive on average very close to 20%. An increase that, in this case, affects the customer’s pocket even more because they were entry-level cars, which many people buy as their first car or because they cannot buy another type of vehicle. There, the Dacia Logan was key. According to the data collected, it was the cheapest car on the market. In 2014 it cost 9,150 euros. By 2023 it had become almost 30% more expensive (discounting inflation). Today the Logan is not even sold. Dacia’s cheapest car, discounting Springis the Sandero and costs 13,520 euros as long as we adjust to its financing to obtain the corresponding discounts. The low range of cars has seen how the European Union has hit it with a series of security obligations which has irremediably raised the price of cars. Today, every car sold on our continent has to have rear view cameras, emergency braking or speeding alerts, among other obligations. This increase in price has called into question Dacia’s commitment. The Romanian company has had to leave behind that “it does the same as any other car but for only 6,000 euros.” Denis Le Vot, who was CEO of Dacia, criticized these decisions of the European Union by pointing out that the majority of drivers deactivate them, in statements collected by Coach. The truth is that these They put the company on the ropes so we have seen some change in its image. Dacia is no longer the company that offers you the cheapest car on the market (it is difficult to compete with MG and a good string of Chinese brands), now he is the one who tries to give you more for less. Dacia has made greater efforts to take care of its image. The new ones Dacia Duster and Bigster They are good proof of this. But Dacia wants to keep one foot in the cheap car, in the most affordable option. And that is why they have thought of a “no-car”. The Citroën AMI will have a Dacia rival. For 6,000 euros, a “non-car” It has been rumored for a long time but our colleagues from L’Automobile They exclusively say that they have confirmation from people who work within Dacia that the company will launch a small electric car to rival the Citroen AMI. That is, Dacia will enter the game of light and/or heavy quadricycles. And he will do it by hitting the table: “our goal is 5,990 euros,” the sources consulted have told the French media. This would mean putting an electric vehicle on the market about 3,000 euros cheaper than the Citroën option. The vehicle would not yet have a name but it would be a heavy quadricycle limited to 45 km/h and 80 kilometers of autonomy. It is a solution that, as Citroën has explained to us, is used by parents who want their children over 14 years old to be motorized but also by many older people who are looking for a car to get around an urbanization or to run errands and short trips. The movement makes some sense. Renault and Dacia have been two of the brands that are putting the most pressure to put electric cars on the market in a new category that the European Union would be studying. The one known as eCar would be a small electric car, with limited power and speed and for which it is expected that it will not be necessary to inflate it with the driving aids already mentioned. a sort of kei car europeeither. The project, however, seems to have been in neutral. The idea is that the car would be manufactured in Europe and perhaps that is why Dacia can convert its proposal (they already presented a prototype of this eCar known as Hipster) to a small quadricycle that is very cheap to manufacture. Of course, two doubts arise. The first is how to put a car on the market cheaper than the Citroen AMI or the Fiat Topolino (much cheaper, about 3,000 euros) if these two Stellantis options are manufactured in Morocco and are little more than the sum of two parts. And the front and rear are the same piece (only the color of the headlights changes) and it only uses a door that is mounted traditionally on the right and suicide style on the left to save costs. The second is whether there is a really juicy market for this type of vehicle. In fact, doubts arise as to whether there is a market niche for the eCar project since there is talk that it would be limited to 90 or 100 km/h. If you apply pure logic, you would think that European cities are perfect for this. But the truth is that we are not Japan and, here, the logic is not as overwhelming as in Japan. Photo | Dacia In Xataka | The best-selling car in Spain is the Dacia Sandero. And that says nothing about our supposed poverty

While Europe panics about the price of electricity, in Spain the opposite is happening

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The ghosts of the energy crisis have once again haunted Europe. As energy expert Alejandro Diego Rosell warnsin just a month of tensions the price of gas (TTF) has skyrocketed more than 90% in March. In most of the continent, this shock translates into an almost automatic increase in the cost of electricity, recalling the “shock” caused by the Ukrainian War four years ago. However, in Spain the unthinkable has happened: the bill has gone down. In short. The electricity bill for customers with the regulated rate (PVPC) has fallen by around 4.8% this month of March compared to the same period last year. The difference with our neighbors is abysmal. While in Italy wholesale electricity is paid at €143/MWh and in Germany it is close to €100/MWh, the Spanish market (pool) closed March with a contained average of €41.5/MWh. How has this been possible? This energy firewall against the geopolitical crisis is not the result of chance, but rather the combination of three fundamental factors: The Government’s fiscal shield: In response to the escalation in the Middle East, the Executive has activated a shock plan. The Official State Gazette (BOE) published Royal Decree-Law 7/2026which recovers the tax cuts from the previous crisis. The VAT on electricity drops to 10%, the electricity tax plummets to 0.5% and the generation tax (IVPEE) is suspended. The muscle of renewables: This is the great structural difference compared to 2022. Alejandro Diego Rosell emphasizes thatSince the start of the Ukrainian war, Spain has added 30 GW of solar energy and more than 3 GW of wind energy to its network. The result is that 65.1% of the electricity consumed this March has come from clean and cheap sources, pushing up electricity prices. pool down. The climatic factor: Nature has also done its part. this winter has been characterized because it was very rainy and windy. This abundance of water and wind has allowed so much energy to be generated that last Sunday the market reached the cheapest hourly price in history: -10 euros per MWh at three in the afternoon. How does it affect the pocket? The combination of low taxes and high renewable generation has meant direct relief for both families and the productive fabric. On the one hand, for an average consumer with a regulated rate, the March bill has stood at 68.10 euroswhich represents a saving of 3.42 euros compared to a year ago, according to comparative data from the CNMC. collected by The Voice of Galicia. For its part, eldiario.es collects estimates from electricity companies which estimate the savings derived solely from tax reductions between 7 euros for small households and up to 20 euros for large families or commercial premises. On the other hand, the most surprising data comes from the large factories. According to the latest Barometer of the AEGE associationthe Spanish electro-intensive industry today pays for electricity at €66.50/MWh, managing to be below the €67.73/MWh paid by the all-powerful German industry for the first time. In sectors where energy accounts for up to 50% of production costs, this surprise represents a vital injection of foreign competitiveness. The small print. To understand the full picture, it is necessary to look beyond the optimistic headlines. The experts consulted by the different media warn of several critical nuances: The hidden cost of “blackout insurance”: Such dependence on renewables has a price, since to guarantee the supply when there is a lack of sun or wind (or when there is excess and the grid cannot support it), Red Eléctrica must turn on gas plants to balance the system. These “technical restrictions” are very expensive and increase the final bill outside the wholesale market. France continues playing in another league: Despite winning the short-term battle against Germany, The Economist remember that we are very far from France. Thanks to its nuclear park, the French industry pays electricity at €32.05/MWh, less than half that of the Spanish industry. Furthermore, Germany compensates for its high market prices by injecting its factories with €38.78/MWh in CO2 aid, compared to the scarce €17.76/MWh allowed by the Spanish budget. The electrical mirage and the threat of summer: Electricity barely represents 20% of the country’s energy consumption. The other 80% (oil and gas for transport and industry) is 100% imported, so Spain remains very exposed to the ups and downs of the Middle East. In addition, Natalia Fabra, professor of Economics, warns that the electrical bargain It has an expiration date: starting at the end of June, the heat will reduce the efficiency of the solar panels, the use of air conditioning will trigger demand and gas prices will once again rise. Resilience facing the crisis. The Third Gulf War has tested Europe’s energy foundations. Spain, unlike what was experienced four years ago, has managed to avoid the first big blow thanks to a cocktail of fiscal intervention and green deployment. As Alejandro Diego Rosell concludesit is true that renewable energies do not magically isolate us from the complex international context, but the data from this month of March leave an undeniable lesson: without them, we would be much worse off. Spain has acquired valuable resilience, but the road to true energy independence is still long. Image | freepik 1 and 2 Xataka | The paradox of the Canary Islands: it is the only autonomous community where the VAT reduction on fuel will not be noticed

Google already knows how to break Bitcoin, but it doesn’t want to say it yet

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“Quantum computers will represent a significant threat for current cryptographic standards.” These are the words of Google in a recent publication in which they seek to draw attention to some quantum frontiers They are closer than they seem. Because, if a few days ago They put a date on the post-quantum eranow they say they know how to break cryptography Bitcoin with the quantum computing. And it’s so crazy that they can intercept transactions before the blockchain I verified them. The PQC era. Google is very active with the topic of the quantum era. They have a team -Quantum AI- focused on researching this technology and how to protect themselves from it, and a few days ago they shared with the world an ambitious objective: all their systems will be prepared for the age of post-quantum cryptography by 2029. 10 GOOGLE APPS THAT COULD HAVE SUCCESSFUL This does not mean that in three years there will be quantum computers galore: it is a self-imposed deadline to migrate all its security systems to post-quantum cryptography systems or PQC, for its acronym in English. It is a superior security layer designed to resist quantum computer attacks and ensure that data such as keys and digital signatures remain encrypted for the long term. Because a current computer would take centuries to break those encryptions, but a quantum one would do it in a heartbeat. less than 10 minutes. But Google has not left it just a declaration of intent. In a study Prepared together with Stanford University, the Department of Computer Science at the University of Berkeley and the Ethereum Foundation, Google details that a quantum computer could derive the private key of a Bitcoin wallet in just nine minutes. They point out that breaking the security of these wallets would require 500,000 physical qubits, which is 20 times less than previous estimates of ten million. And it’s no longer that they breach security, but rather that the speed is so high that, in an estimated 41% of cases, they can intercept and redirect a transaction before the rest of the chain confirms it. Responsibility. In the statement, Google points out that it is its responsibility to lead this field to convey the urgency of accelerating this transition of large digital companies to the PQC era. The sooner this migration of security systems is achieved, the sooner the security of digital signatures will be guaranteed. But of course, if someone enters the studio hoping to find clues, Google has tied the dots together. They have not published the actual circuits and movements, but rather a simulation that allows the crypto community to verify the estimate without providing a manual for potential attackers. Additionally, they detail a long-term vulnerability whereby 6.9 million bitcoins stored in wallets whose keys have been leaked in security flaws are the most vulnerable to quantum attacks even outside the transaction window. Preparation with head. It’s clear that Google is spreading this to raise awareness, but the industry is also carrying years moving. Microsoft wants start with their migration by 2029, the European Commission is rushing to achieve it by 2030 and the US federal agencies they want do it in the 2030-2035 window. And the Bitcoin industry also has something to say. Justin Drake is a Bitcoin security researcher who qualified Google’s progress was “interesting” and commented that, although “there is at least a 10% chance that by 2032 a quantum computer will recover a secp256k1 ECDSA private key from an exposed public key, now is the time to start preparing.” We also seek to put our minds to the matter and not create baseless fear. Shiv Shankar is the CEO of Boundless and has commented that “there is no reason for panic” because “the smartest and brightest minds in the world are focusing on this problem” In Xataka | Superconducting quantum computers are being sabotaged. Fortunately, several Chinese scientists have found those responsible.

Until now Cantabria was only a transit area for flamingos. They have been refusing to fly south for three years

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When we talk about climate changewe automatically think of melting glaciers or crops altering, but we must also take into account that biodiversity maps are being redesigned in real time. This is what we are seeing in the north of Spain, where southern flamencos have begun to consider Cantabria as your new residence of winter. What the census says. In order to see how the habits of flamingos are changing, we have to turn to the census of wintering waterfowl in Cantabria, which indicates that right now there is a stable population of about 25 southern flamingos who have been settled in the region for three consecutive winters without emigrating. These specimens arriving from the Mediterranean Sea have decided that the climate and conditions of the Cantabrian Sea are sufficient to avoid having to continue their journey to the warmer southern latitudes. And the culprit of this is climate change. The problem of winter. The theory tells us that this type of animal species usually always go to places with optimal temperatures, causing them to be in the north in summer and in the south in winter. But this has changed radically, and these migratory birds are slowly becoming one of the best thermometers of global warming. The explanation here lies in the fact that winters on the Cantabrian coast are increasingly milder, causing this thermal increase to eliminate the barrier of extreme cold that traditionally forced these species, such as the flamingo, to flee to the south of the peninsula or North Africa. Adaptation of the species. By not facing severe frosts that freeze water and limit access to their food, flamingos find the energy expenditure of a long migratory journey unnecessary. They simply “stick” here to an area that is now hospitable. A perfect refuge. For a species to decide to stay, it is not enough for it to be less cold, but food and shelter are also needed. Here Cantabria has one of the richest and most important estuarine complexes in northern Spain. The flamingos in this case have concentrated their colony in two key points of the Cantabrian geography: the bay of Santander and the estuarine complex of the Marinas of Santoña, Victoria and Joyel. Here the high wetland quality It guarantees an ecosystem rich in the small crustaceans and microorganisms that these birds feed on. Images | Jannes Jacobs In Xataka | These birds travel more than 3,000 kilometers every year to reach Spain. The curious thing is that some arrive without fingers

Touristification has made Mercadona find itself with a rival in Barcelona: 24-hour supermarkets

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Mercadona maybe is taking over of the retail at a national level, but in Barcelona there is another phenomenon that seems to advance even faster than it grows the business fee of the Valencian chain: 24-hour supermarkets. They grow. A lot. Lot. So much so that according to the latest data of the County Council during the second half of 2025, almost a hundred were put into operation, which translates more or less into one opening every two days. There are so many that even they have sneaked in in public debate. Super 24 hour drip. The data has disclosed them The Vanguard and they are to say the least surprising. During the first half of 2025, 92 24-hour supermarkets opened in Barcelona. If we go back further, to the period between October 2020 and the end of last year, the number of activated businesses is even more significant: the total amounts to 643. The Catalan newspaper speaks of “openings” or “start-ups”, not of net growth in supply (it is likely that there are also stores that close), but even so the data is striking. It shows that on average they are activated 3.5 business every week. Is it that striking? Yes. And not only because of the figure itself. Data from the City Council confirm that, far from showing signs of saturation, the sector continues to expand with the sixth production. In autumn 2025 it was already spoken that between 2020 and 2024, 686 licenses had been granted for these premises, which translated into three openings a week. Now the rhythm has increased. The records The City Council also reflects that this expansion has not been uniform nor is it affecting the entire city equally: although openings have been noted in Sant Andreu or Nou Barris, the majority are concentrated in El Eixample and Sant Martí. Between them they have close to 140 openings in just a few years. Two suspects: tourists and expats. At this point, the question is obvious… What is the reason for this super 24-hour boom? Why does the phenomenon seem to be affecting the Catalan capital above all? To answer these questions, you just have to visit one of these places. In most of them there are two characteristics that attract attention, as mentioned recently Luis Benvenuty, reporter for The Vanguard. The first is the prices. The second, the assortment they offer. Customers find drinks, sausages, sweets, pasta… but also items that are more difficult to buy in traditional supermarkets, such as souvenirs clearly focused on tourists. As for rates, the prices are also significantly higher than those found in conventional stores. For example, a can of Coca Cola can cost €1.5, the same as a bottle of water. It is not strange that the prices in this type of business are above those applied by the rest of the sector, but also there are those who see in these rates an offer aimed primarily at tourists and expats with high purchasing power. And the controversy broke out. The problem is not the proliferation of this type of establishments itself, but how it is developing. In September The Catalan Newspaper revealed that in just two years the inspection of 209 premises had revealed 2,700 violations. The majority (more than 1,400) were by activity, although many were motivated by the impact on the landscape (600), public health issues (243), waste (157) or non-compliance with the Treasury (113) or in the workplace (118). In total they resulted in more than 500 files. Commercial fabric earrings. Although there are dozens of stores in which inspectors found no anomalies, the violations pose a problem for the group. The SER specifies that on average each of these supermarkets commits around 13which explains why there are professional groups in Barcelona that already warn of the risk of degradation of the commercial fabric. “Betting on public-private collaboration and promotion to attract certain demand would bring us much closer to a solution. In this way we would transform our commercial hubs,” advocate Barcelona Open. From the streets to local politics. Proof of the extent to which 24-hour supers are expanding in Barcelona is that they have already entered the political debate, covering the entire ideological spectrum. The PP for example has claimed greater control and the application of “exemplary” sanctions to those who break the law. Meanwhile, ERC warns of “the substitution” of native businesses. The Consistory already has been proposed improve the regulation and control of this type of business. In fact they claim that since mid-2024 its inspectors have opened almost 300 sanctioning files and more than 450 restitution files, but the doubt remains as to what extent it will affect the expansion of a business model that (as suggested by the municipal records) generates more and more interest. Images | Sandor SAmkuti (Flickr) and Google Earth In Xataka | After decades committed to being a tourist power, Barcelona already surpasses Paris or New York in something: overcrowding

Lace Lithography is Europe’s opportunity to surpass the US and Asia in chip manufacturing. From Barcelona

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Lace Lithography is not just another startup. And it is not because it is developing a new photolithography technique that seeks to break down all the barriers that limit the performance of ultraviolet light technology used by the machines manufactured by the Dutch company ASML. And they are used by TSMC, Intel, Samsung, SK Hynix or SMIC, among other semiconductor manufacturers. A priori, the most prudent thing to do when faced with news like this is to adopt a skeptical stance, but Lace’s work deserves to be taken very seriously. Otherwise it would not have the support of Microsoft nor would it have raised $40 million in financing. The founders of this company are the Norwegian physicist Bodil Holst and the Spanish physicist and engineer Adrià Salvador Palau. These two scientists created Lace Lithography in 2023, and although their headquarters reside in Bergen (Norway), an important part of their research and development team operates from Barcelona. Be that as it may, the most important thing is that the strategy that this company has devised to solve the lithography of the next generation of integrated circuits does not resemble nor to ASML technology nor to any other innovation we have heard of so far. The first prototypes are already ready and the test plant will be ready in 2029 The itinerary that Lace Lithography seeks to follow is very ambitious. Its first prototypes, according to Reutersare already prepared, and intends to develop a test tool and a cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing pilot plant in 2029. In any case, in addition to their plans, we know some details about their technology that are worth investigating. In the integrated circuit manufacturing equipment that ASML designs and produces, ultraviolet light is responsible for transporting the geometric pattern described by the mask so that it can be transferred with great precision to the surface of the silicon wafer. Lace Lithography uses a beam of helium atoms to transfer the pattern described by the chip to the silicon wafer The light used by high-aperture extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, which is the most advanced machine that ASML has Currently, it belongs to the most energetic portion of the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In fact, its wavelength extends in the range that goes from 10 to 100 nanometers (nm). The problem is that it is not easy to generate and deal with this form of electromagnetic radiation. And it is not, among other reasons, because it is so energetic that it alters the structure of the physical elements with which it interacts inside the lithography machine. Lace’s technology solves this and other problems that are closely linked to the use of ultraviolet radiation to manufacture chips. And instead of using light, the engineers at this company use a beam of helium atoms to transfer the pattern described by the chip to the silicon wafer. However, the most striking thing is that this beam has the width of a single hydrogen atom (around 0.1 nm), so on paper this solution will make it possible to produce semiconductors ten times smaller than the smallest ones that TSMC, Samsung or Intel are currently manufacturing. “Our technology opens a path that potentially has the ability to expand (chip makers’) agenda, as well as make things possible that otherwise would not have been viable,” Bodil Holst declared. John Petersen, scientific director of lithography at IMEC (Interuniversity Microelectronics Center), the most experienced laboratory in developing new integration and nanotechnology technologies that we have in Europe, maintains that the main advantage of using the helium atom beam is that it allows creating much smaller transistors than the current ones. “They are almost unimaginable,” Petersen pointed out. It sounds really good. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | Reuters | Lace Lithography In Xataka | China needs to develop a new type of chips immune to US sanctions. And your scientists have just achieved it

Europe fled from Russia’s gas to fall into the arms of the United States. The Third Gulf War proves that it was a trap

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Behind troop movements and sea blockades for the Third Gulf Warthere is a much quieter script twist that is shaking the foundations of the continental economy: false European security. A problem that comes from the other side of the pond. After the energy crisis due to the Ukrainian War (still valid), Europe thought it had solved its great energy vulnerability by changing the gas that arrived through Russian gas pipelines for liquefied natural gas (LNG) that crossed the Atlantic in ships from the United States. The idea of ​​the European Union was to bet its imports on Washington to diversify sources and avoid future geopolitical blackmail. However, the American lifeline has turned out to be punctured. With the global market in maximum tension due to the war in Iran, the US is not guaranteeing European supply and makes gas subject to trade wars and political whims. The real Achilles heel. Europe now depends on the United States for two-thirds of its LNG imports, according to the center for economic studies Bruegel. As global supply falls due to the conflict, Asian buyers — who traditionally sourced from the Gulf — are competing aggressively for flexible gas ships. The result is a bidding war to the highest bidder: according to Bruegelseveral shipments of American LNG have already been diverted from Europe to Asia in the midst of the conflict. At the diplomatic and commercial level, the situation with our “savior partner” is enormously unstable. In the midst of this crisis, Donald Trump has come to criticize European allies, urging them on social networks to “get their own oil,” according to Bloomberg. As if that were not enough, political friction over the conditions of the trade agreement between the EU and the US has caused senior US officials to threaten retaliation, casting serious doubts on Washington’s previous commitment to sell $750 billion in energy products (including its precious LNG) to the European bloc. The price of the “green illusion”. The impact of this imbalance is being brutal for European pockets. According to the Financial Times Based on data provided by the European Commission itself, the bill for EU fossil fuel imports has increased by 14 billion euros in just 30 days of conflict. Gas prices have experienced a rise of 70%, while oil prices have become more expensive by 60%. This puts in front of the mirror what in Euractiv have baptized as “the green illusion” of Europe: a glaring structural failure in the energy transition. Despite having invested nearly one trillion euros in renewable energy, the European Union’s energy dependence on imports remains at 60%, practically the same figure as in 2004. An ineffective design. The reason for this price contagion lies in the very design of the European electricity market. By operating with a marginalist system, the most expensive technology (usually gas) is the one that sets the price of electricity for everyone, as explained in Strategic Energy. In countries heavily dependent on gas to generate electricity, such as Italy, gas sets the price 89% of the time, exposing citizens directly to international volatility. However, there is hope if you do your homework. In Spain, the enormous growth of wind and solar energy has caused the gas only mark the price of electricity 15% of the hours, much better shielding the country against these external shocks. In fact, it’s not all bad news: solar electricity generation has saved the EU from spending 2 billion euros in fossil fuel imports only in the first 20 days of March. And now what? It doesn’t look like we’ll get a break anytime soon. The crisis will not be brief, as the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, has strongly warned. who has made it clear thateven if peace were declared tomorrow, prices would not return to normal in the foreseeable future. The European Commission is already finalizing a “toolbox” with emergency measures that will suddenly return us to the scenarios of 2022. On the table in Brussels is the possibility of recovering taxes on extraordinary profits that fell from the sky (windfall tax) for energy companies. Drastic measures in sight. Brussels also foresees drastic measures to contain demand based in the well-known 10-point plan of the International Energy Agency. This would translate into recommendations to Member States to encourage teleworking, reduce speed limits on motorways and promote both public transport and car sharing. At the strategic level, to stop the bleeding in LNG prices and prevent the US from playing against Europe with Asia over shipments, the think tank Bruegel proposes a radical solution: that the EU act as a bloc and coordinate its gas purchases directly with large importers such as Japan and South Korea to avoid a bidding war. The invisible problem. To understand the complete picture, we must talk about the great bottleneck that almost no one talks about: concrete and copper. European renewable deployment is colliding with a lack of capacity in electricity networks. According to a report from the climate think tank Emberat least 120 GW of planned renewable energy projects in Europe are at risk simply because the grid cannot support them. The logjam is monumental, with almost 700 GW of renewable projects stuck in connection queues awaiting permits across European countries reporting this data. And this is not just a problem of the macro plants of large corporations; It directly affects the average citizen. According to calculations in the same report, 1.5 million European homes could face delays in being able to connect the solar panels on their roofs due to obsolete distribution networks that do not have the capacity to take on the energy. A chronic gap. The underlying problem is a chronic gap in the system itself. As pointed out EuractivEurope has changed how it generates its electricity, but it has not electrified its real economy. Cars continue to burn oil, heavy industry continues to use fossil gas and the general electrification of the economy has been stagnant for ten years. Europe has spent … Read more

Japan is advancing like a steamroller in the chip industry. It is already looking towards 1.4 nm and threatens Taiwan’s dominance

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If we stick to the field of technology, Japan has missed two very important trains that it should not have missed: the manufacturing of cutting-edge semiconductors and the development of models of artificial intelligence (AI) pointers. In its “Summary of the Strategy for the Revitalization of Semiconductors in Japan” of 2024, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recognized the decline of its chip industry. Furthermore, Fumio Kishida, former Prime Minister of Japan, has declared openly that his country depends excessively on the US in the critical scenario of AI. Be that as it may, Japan wants to make up for lost time. And Fujitsu is one of its best assets to regain its former glory. In fact, this company has announced, according to Nikkei Asiawhich is going to develop cutting-edge 1.4nm chips for AI that are entirely Japanese. This project will have a development cost of approximately 363 million dollars, although, and this is what is really important, the manufacturing of these integrated circuits Rapidus will take carea company that seeks to compete face to face in the medium term with TSMC and Samsung in the semiconductor production market for third parties. Rapidus advances with firm step Japan is currently investing more money in its integrated circuits sector than the US, Germany, France or the UK. Not in terms of net value, but their effort is greater if we weight the investment of these countries over their gross domestic product (GDP). The US dedicates 0.21% of its GDP to its semiconductor industry, and Germany 0.41%. France, according Nikkei Asia0.2%, and, finally, the United Kingdom 0.04%. The difference is very significant and highlights the effort that Japan is making with 0.71% of its GDP. As expected, Japanese companies have a leading role in the reconstruction plan for the Japanese chip industry. Tokyo Electron, Canon and Nikon are the leading designers and manufacturers of integrated circuit production equipment. AND JSR Corporation leads the production of photoresist materials. Curiously, it is necessary to pour these fluids over the silicon wafers in order to prepare them for the transfer of the geometric pattern that delimits the distribution of the transistors, the connections and the other elements that make up an integrated circuit. Rapidus Corporation has been created expressly to put Japan back at the forefront of chips The surprising thing is that, in reality, none of the companies I just mentioned are Japan’s best asset to catapult the competitiveness of its semiconductor industry. Not even JSR, which, as we have just seen, leads the manufacture of photoresist materials. The company that is destined to compete face to face with TSMC, Intel or Samsung in the chip production market is Rapidus Corporation. In fact, it has been created expressly to once again place Japan at the forefront of integrated circuits. Rapidus is a very young company. It was founded on August 10, 2022 by the Japanese Government with an initial capital of 7,346 million yen (just under 46 million euros) contributed by, and here comes the interesting part, Sony, Toyota, NEC, SoftBank, Kioxia, Denso, Nippon Telegraph and MUFG Bank. The initial capital invested in the constitution of this company is not very large, but there is no doubt that the companies that participate in it have unquestionable relevance in the technology, automotive and telecommunications sectors. The state-of-the-art semiconductor production plant that this company has set up in northern Japan, in the city of Chitose (Hokkaido), began wafer processing tests in a pilot line in April 2025. The plan of the management of this factory is to begin large-scale production of 2nm semiconductors in 2027. What is causing this Rapidus plant to attract the attention of the semiconductor sector is that, according to Atsuyoshi Koikewho is the president of the company, will be completely automated. Its purpose is to use robots and AI to set up an automated production line that will be specialized in the manufacture of 2nm chips for AI applications. Their plan is, ultimately, to produce integrated circuits faster, at a lower cost and with higher quality. And after 2 nm, as we have seen, 1.4 nm integrated circuits will arrive. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | Japan takes the lead with nuclear fusion and sets an extremely ambitious date: the 2030s In Xataka | Japan has taken out the checkbook to once again dominate the chip industry. Prepare a plan of 325,000 million dollars

from a Samsung bestseller to the new POCO X8 Pro Max

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Start a new month with a new AliExpress promo. This one, called Adventurous Soulcomes as usual with very good prices on technology of all kinds: There are TVs, consoles, tablets, headphones and many other devices. Of course: we have seen that there are, especially, sweet discounts on mobile phones. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Before we move on to these, let’s make a little pit stop with everyone. discount coupons that are available on the AliExpress anniversary. The only limitation of these is that they cannot be combined, although it is possible that the stock of these will run out as the hours go by. Discount minimum purchase coupon 2 euros 15 euros ESCD02 4 euros 29 euros ESCD04 7 euros 49 euros ESCD07 9 euros 69 euros ESCD09 13 euros 99 euros ESCD13 20 euros 159 euros ESCD20 25 euros 209 euros ESCD25 40 euros 329 euros ESCD40 55 euros 459 euros ESCD55 Among all the mobile phones on offer that we can find, we leave you a selection of five that we find interesting: POCO X8 Pro MAX by 391.57 euros with the ESCD20 coupon, a mobile phone with a beastly 8,500 mAh battery. Honor Magic V2 by 565.34 euros with the ESCD20 coupon, an economical option if you are looking for a folding one. Realme GT 7 Pro by 521.31 euros with the ESCD20 coupon, a good price for a mobile phone that reaches 3 days of autonomy. Galaxy A56 by 231.79 euros with the coupon ESCD20, a Samsung bestseller. Pixel 9a by 341.28 euros with the ESCD20 coupon, a mobile phone with many years of updates and a pure Android experience. POCO X8 Pro MAX The first of these mobiles is the POCO X8 Pro MAX from Xiaomia device that has its most striking point in its huge 8,500 mAh battery with 100W fast wired charging. In addition, it has 12 GB of RAM, a good processor such as the Dimensity 9500s and a 6.83-inch AMOLED screen with a peak brightness of 3,500 nits, ideal for outdoors. comes out for 391.57 euros with the ESCD20 coupon and if we pay with PayPal for our purchase (the latter will give us a discount of 15 euros). The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Honor Magic V2 Although it has been around for some time, the Honor Magic V2 It is a good option right now on AliExpress if you are looking for a foldable and you are looking for something around 500 euros: it costs 565.34 euros with the ESCD20 coupon and paying with PayPal. Its internal screen is 7.92 inchesleaving the external one at 6.43 inches. In addition, it has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, has 16 GB of RAM and its triple camera system performs well. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Realme GT 7 Pro Three days of autonomy: that’s what this one offers Realme GT 7 Proa very interesting device now that we can buy it for 521.31 euros with the ESCD20 coupon and using PayPal as a payment method. Beyond this, it also stands out for its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and its 12 GB of RAM, a tandem that will give us great performance now and for quite some time. It also has a 6.78-inch screen compatible with Dolby Vision that is ideal for watching movies. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy A56 He Galaxy A57 It is already official, but its price is high and it does not offer so many changes compared to this Galaxy A56. The latter remains a very interesting option to get into the Samsung ecosystemespecially for 231.79 euros if we use the ESCD20 coupon and pay with PayPal. It is a very balanced mid-range mobile, with a 5,000 mAh battery, an Exynos 15809 processor and a 6.7-inch screen that looks quite good. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Google Pixel 9a We close with the Pixel 9aa very interesting quality-price option if you are looking for an Android mobile that offers a pure experience and with many years of updates. It has the Tensor G4 as a processor, the same processor that the Pixel 10a has. Its battery is 5,100 mAh and at a photographic level it meets very good marks. Right now we can get it for 341.28 euros with the ESCD20 coupon using PayPal as a payment method. 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 | Xataka, Xiaomi, Honor, Realme, Samsung, Google In Xataka | Buying guide for ultra-resistant mobile phones: certifications and standards, special functions and 11 rugged phones In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes

In the midst of Claude Code’s meteoric rise, his code has been leaked. It is a sweet treat for its competitors

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One of the news of the day is the great code leak that it has suffered Claude Code. The entire architecture of the programming tool of Claude has been leaked, due to an internal error recognized by Anthropic. Your competitors are in luck. what has happened. The leak was not the result of an external attack or a hack, it was an internal failure: when publishing one of Claude Code’s updates, a 59.8 MB JavaScript source code map (.map) file was exposed, intended for internal debugging. According to sourceswas included by mistake in version 2.1.88 of the @anthropic-ai/claude-code package published this morning. Minutes later the party started. “Earlier today, a release of Claude Code included some internal source code. No sensitive customer data or credentials were involved or exposed. This was a release packaging issue caused by human error, not a security breach. We are implementing measures to prevent this from happening again.” The consequences. For the next few hours, the more than 500,000 lines of leaked code were accessible and downloadable from a public GitHub repository. Since its publication, there are already more than 50,000 forks of the code. The leak shows the system of internal tools that the AI ​​uses to operate and, in addition, signs of functions that have not yet been released have appeared. This has allowed us to have in-depth access to the current anatomy of Claude Code, the internal plans for subsequent iterations and the main limitations it currently has. Why is it important. Although not Claude’s own model has been leaked, but rather the source code of his Code tool, the leak is a double blow for Anthropic. First, it is a severe setback for the company’s intellectual property, handing over its roadmap not only to competitors, but to actors eager to break Claude Code’s security barriers. More importantly, it is a blow to a company that since its inception has focused on being even safer than its competitorspublicly admitting that a file has been slipped in that should not have seen the light of day. What Anthropic has done about it. Anthropic’s reaction has been quick, removing the affected package to prevent new downloads and correcting the subsequent version. Despite this, the damage was done and the situation is irreversible. Go deeper. Claude Code has become, in its own right, one of the most popular tools among developers. According to data from SemiAnalysis, 4% of all public commits uploaded to GitHub are created with this tool, and it is expected to reach 20% in 2026. The Claude Code leak is a reminder that even the most advanced AI companies are not free from rookie mistakes. In Xataka |

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