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The big names in AI are fighting over neuroscientists like they were soccer stars

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AI companies have found their new hiring obsession. After the engineers prompts and multimodal model designers, now they are looking for neuroscientists at the stroke of a checkbook. Why is it important. Language models have become common territory for all technology companies. The competitive advantage is no longer in having a LLMbut in making it more efficient and predictable. And to do that, they need to better understand how the human brain works. The Battista case. Aldo Battista At New York University, he was researching brain decision processes when faced with subjective options. In September he made the leap to Meta, according to what he says Semafor, to apply that knowledge to content recommendation systems on social networks. The most notable change: the speed of impact. Instead of publishing papers that perhaps no one will read, the changes in algorithms show immediate results in the behavior of millions of users. His academic research on how we choose what to have for dinner, for example, now helps predict which video will hook us on Instagram. There are more examples: OpenAI indeed approached Merge Labs a few months agoa brain implant firm competing with Neuralink. Akshay Jagadeesh joined OpenAI as research resident after almost ten years studying the brain and visual perception, focused on using his experience in computational neuroscience to improve AI models. At the ‘EBRAINS Summit 2025 – Neuroscience, AI & Technology’, a European event that brings together neuroscientists, technologists and industry, several biographies highlighted the jump from academic profiles to advice on AI startups. Ruslan Salakhutdinov is part of Apple AI Research. Although he is best known for Machine Learninghas worked for years on models inspired by biological systems and as a university professor, but Apple hired him as Director of AI Research. The logic of the signing. The basics of artificial neural networks are decades old, but taking them further requires looking to biology. Two specific areas are of particular interest to companies: Energy consumption. Interpretability. A human brain performs almost unlimited operations with just 20 wattsbut AI systems require much more energy for equivalent tasks. That gap is the Holy Grail: whoever reduces it will immediately gain an advantage. The money trail. In the offers You can see the logic of the level they are reaching economically: A researcher position at OpenAI, in the area of ​​mathematical sciences and applied to AI, announces base salaries ranging from approximately $178,000 to $342,000 annually, not counting bonuses or stock packages. In other private AI labs, the ranges for researchers with a mix of AI and neuroscience move in a similar range, from about $150,000 to $350,000 a year. OpenAI has come to offer total packages that reach the range of millions of dollarsincluding salary, bonus and stocks. It’s not the norm for everyone, but it helps explain why some leading neuroscience researchers are negotiating contracts that look more like those of sports stars than those of a university professor. Between the lines. Understanding why a model decides something matters more and more. For decades, neuroscience has developed methods to interpret complex decision processes. Those same tools can be applied to algorithmic black boxes. Yes, but. The phenomenon is not new, it has only intensified. Apple, Google or Neuralink have been hiring these profiles for years. The difference is in the scale and current urgency. Matthew Law works at OpenAI after studying at Stanford. Your diagnosis: AI companies have expanded their recruiting focus beyond traditional computer science graduates. They search the entire available scientific base. And the pool of pure developers is beginning to dry up. The background. This race says something without having to say it: there is a certain desperation in the AI ​​industry to find differential advantages. If the next breakthrough innovation is in university neuroscience labs, Silicon Valley will not hesitate to empty them. Exorbitant salaries and practically unlimited funding are weapons that universities will hardly be able to counter. In Xataka | Technology companies no longer even pretend to seek general artificial intelligence. And the “godfather” of AI has gotten tired Featured image | Josh Riemer

It is surely the best model for programming, but it still has a big problem

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Anthropic has announced Claude Opus 4.5, its most advanced AI model to date. The company claims it is the best in the world for programming, intelligent agents and computing usage, beating OpenAI’s GPT-5.1 Codex-Max and Google’s Gemini 3 Pro. It has also arrived a few days after both as well as Grok 4.1. The general overview. The new model has achieved 80.9% accuracy in SWE-Bench Verified, the benchmark reference to evaluate software engineering capabilities. Anthropic has also put it through its own hiring test for engineers – notably difficult, with a two-hour limit – and the model has outperformed every human candidate who took it. Why is it important. This release solidifies Anthropic as a leader in AI tools for programming. Even Meta uses Claude for its internal Devmate code assistantdespite competing directly with the company in other areas. The improvements are not limited to the code. Opus 4.5 stands out in: Creation of documents, spreadsheets and professional presentations. Deep research tasks with multiple sources. Advanced visual and mathematical reasoning. Management of subagent teams for complex multi-agent systems. In figures. Additionally, Anthropic has drastically reduced the price of its API: from $15/75 per million tokens entrance/exit at 5/25 dollars. And the model is more efficient than its predecessors: In medium effort mode, it equals the performance of Sonnet 4.5 but consumes 76% less tokens. In high mode, it beats Sonnet 4.5 by 4.3 percentage points using 48% less tokens. The context. The company has introduced that “effort” parameter (low, medium, high) that allows developers to control how long and tokens invests the model in solving a problem. It is a trend that OpenAI has also adopted in its latest modelsseeking efficiency without sacrificing quality. In detail. Along with the model, Anthropic has updated its development platform and consumer applications: Claude Code Improves your planning mode: Asks clarifying questions before creating an editable execution plan file. As seen with the Deep Research on duty. Claude for Chrome is now available to all Max users (around $100-$200 per month depending on limits), allowing AI to manage tasks across multiple browser tabs. Claude for Excel opens to Max, Team, and Enterprise users, with support for charts, pivot tables, and file uploads. Endless conversations– Long conversations no longer run into context window limits thanks to automatic summaries. Yes, but. The big problem with Opus 4.5 and Claude in general is its usage limit. Even for Pro and Max subscribers of the first levelthe tokens They sell out quickly. They take five hours to restart from the first message sent. The Opus model, being the most powerful, is also the one that consumes the quotas the fastest. This is the main source of frustration for users who pay $20 or even $100 a month. Anthropic has slightly increased the limits for Max and Team Premium, but the experience is still far from what is expected in a service of this category. Between the lines. The release of Opus 4.5 restores balance to the Anthropic model family. For the past two months, Sonnet 4.5 was outperforming the older Opus 4.1, leaving little reason to use the more expensive model. Now, with three clearly differentiated models (Haiku, Sonnet and Opus), each one has a specific purpose in terms of cost, speed and capacity. And now what. Anthropic follows a clear strategy: position itself as the premium provider for knowledge professionals and developers, competing directly with OpenAI and Google in the field where accuracy and reliability matter most. But if you don’t solve the problem of usage limits, you risk frustrating the very users who could get the most value from the model. In Xataka | AI is transforming the relationship we have with our own ideas: we no longer create, we just “edit” ourselves Featured image | Anthropic

Europe had been asking for a big hit on the table for some time. Revolut just gave it a huge valuation

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Revolut was born in London as a fintech focused on digital payments and today it has become one of the most watched companies on the European financial landscape. It has already exceeded 65 million customers worldwide and its ambition is to reach 100 million, with its sights set on becoming the first global bank born from technology. Not only does it add users, it also builds physical structures: Spain was the country chosen to install its first ATMs with own brand. Now, he has added one more element to his story: a valuation of $75 billion. The operation validated by some of the largest funds in the world. The sale of Revolut shares was not carried out by traditional banks, but by some of the most influential investment funds in the technology sector, such as Coatue, Greenoaks, Dragoneer and Fidelity Management & Research Company. They were joined by names linked to large companies such as NVentures, NVIDIA’s investment fund, as well as Andreessen Horowitz, Franklin Templeton and T. Rowe Price. According to Bloombergthis operation has placed Revolut as the most valuable startup in Europe. It also allowed employees to sell shares, something Revolut has already offered on five occasions. A valuation that does not leave the stock market. Revolut remains a private company, so its shares are not available on public markets and its valuation is not set on the stock market. It is estimated from the price that investors accept when they buy a package of shares in operations like this: that price is taken as a reference to calculate how much 100% of the company would be worth. On this occasion, Revolut has made it easier for employees and existing shareholders to sell part of their stakes, while incorporating new investors into the capital. The result is a valuation that, as we say, sets the bar at 75 billion dollars. Revolut remains a private company, so its shares are not available on public markets and its valuation is not set on the stock market. Although it is still private, Revolut does publish figures that explain part of the investment enthusiasm. In 2024 it recorded $4 billion in revenue, with a growth of 72%, and $1.4 billion in profit before taxes, an increase of 149%. In 2025, the pace continues thanks to the performance of its business division, which already moves 1 billion annually. In addition, the company has made relevant regulatory progress: it has the final banking authorization for its next launch in Mexico, it has a banking incorporation license in Colombia and is preparing its arrival in India. Spain as a pilot bank. The Spanish market has become one of Revolut’s strategic laboratories. Here it inaugurated its first ATM network in Europe, with 50 machines installed and plans to expand to 200 next year. At the same time, it is exploring its entry into private banking by hiring specialized profiles. According to Expansionthe project is in the initial phase, but marks a symbolic step: it no longer competes only in mobile, but also in segments reserved for traditional banking. Europe gains visibility, but the United States sets the pace. That Revolut is the most valuable startup in Europe, as Bloomberg points out, demonstrates the moment that the technology sector is experiencing on the continent. Even so, the comparison with the United States remains significant: Reuters puts OpenAI at $500 billionabout 6.67 times above Revolut. There, the most notable startups come not only from fintech, but also from aerospace, autonomous vehicles, blockchain, design or productivity. Europe, on the other hand, has concentrated its progress mainly on fintech, quantum computing and corporate software. The $75 billion valuation does not automatically make Revolut a global bank, but it does send a clear message: large international funds are willing to back a model that mixes technology, financial services and international ambition. The next step will be to sustain that growth while obtaining key licenses, such as the one it is seeking in the United Kingdom. What is happening with Revolut shows that Europe can generate relevant players, although it remains to be seen how far they can go in a field historically dominated by American banking and technology. Images | Revolut In Xataka | A few weeks ago Amancio Ortega collected 1,552 million from Inditex: he just invested them in the second largest purchase in its history

the last one caused a big change in their way of living

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For ten years, in Kibali National Park (Uganda), a silent and brutal war was fought. Its protagonists were not humans, but the community of Ngogo chimpanzees largest known, which maintained a constant conflict with its neighbors until they ended up exterminating them to keep their territory. Now science has wanted to find biological meaning in this, and it has succeeded. Something natural. From the outside, this conflict can be seen as something very bloody, like the one we see between humans themselves to dominate a specific territory. But science believed that there was something more behind it, and in the end it has been seen that these wars They are more natural than we think within nature itself. And it gives us a concrete idea of ​​how the minds of these animals work. The PNAS scientific journal just found the biological logic behind this massacre, and has not hesitated to confirm that we are facing an evolutionary strategy very profitable. After the victory, the females in the winning group not only doubled their fertility, but infant mortality plummeted. A spoil of war. The investigation, led by Brian Wood and veteran anthropologist John Mitani, puts numbers to this brutality. And in this lapse of time the Ngogo expanded their domains by 22% at the cost of eliminating the neighbors who were occupying it in that case. But just like humans, we often create wars. to get more resourcesanimals seem to do something similar. This territorial expansion brought with it a great abundance of food resources that completely transformed the demographics of the group. To get an idea, the researchers in this case compared data from the three years before the conquest with those from the three years after. In this case it was seen that before the victory there were only 15 births in the group, while after the victory there were 37 new offspring. And it is not something random, since it is the first time that cooperative killing between groups has been linked to “territorial gain and greater reproductive success.” The biological sense. But beyond the fact that more chimpanzees are born in this environment, it has also been seen that much more survive. And in the chimpanzee population, infant mortality is really high because they suffer from serious malnutrition at the beginning of their lives, as well as diseases or infanticide. The data is quite clear. Before winning the war, 41% of the offspring died before they were three years old. After annexing neighboring territory and eliminating border threats, that figure radically dropped to 8%. Because? The equation is quite simple: more food in the environment, less competition and greater security as there are not so many enemy incursions that kill their young. Josep Call, a primatologist at the University of St Andrews, defines it as “biological rationality”. It is not a moral decision, it is pure natural selection: the genes of those who successfully apply this violence are much more likely to perpetuate themselves. Death patrols. A question that we can ask ourselves in this case is how an animal with these characteristics can be organized to go to war. And although we may think that they do it without thinking about it first, the reality is that they organize very well calculated border patrols in their territory. Upon reaching the border, these animals completely change their behavior, as they become much quieter to maintain stealth, with a strategy that is quite similar to what we can see in a human military exercise. The moment they encounter a rival group, if they are outnumbered they know that they will not be able to win and the smartest thing to do is to retreat. But if the situation is contrary, it will be attacked without mercy. Attacks include hitting, biting and dismembering. It is a coordinated violence that, in the case of the Ngogo, was favored by an unusual demographic factor: they had a disproportionate number of males, which allowed them to form patrol “squads” that were more lethal than those of their neighbors who did not have this advantage. War? Although the parallel with human conflicts is inevitable, scientists prefer the term “intergroup violence.” The reasons that exist to defend this difference are that among chimpanzees there is no ideology, but rather they do it exclusively out of biological necessity, such as having food or providing for the smallest members of the community. And the truth is that annihilating the neighbors is one of the smartest ways to achieve this. Images | Satya deep In Xataka | These researchers are not only convinced that chimpanzees can talk, but that we have proof since 1962

The emir of Qatar travels in a private jet so big it helped Sardinia airport upgrade

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In 2021, the airport Olbia Costa Smeralda In Sardinia, it undertook work to expand its runway to be able to receive long-distance flights, thus opening the door for international airlines to bring a greater volume of tourists to the island. However, the inauguration of this work was somewhat special. As and how did he count Luxury Launchesthe ceremony inauguration of the new track It starred the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, but he did not do so by unveiling any commemorative plaque or cutting any ribbon. He did it bravely: landing his huge private jeteither. Who said fear? A private jet so big that it changes the category of the airport In the summer of 2021, the works on the Sardinian airport had just been completed. In an attempt to escape the scorching heat of Doha, the emir wanted to spend a few days of relax in the Mediterranean. Neither quick nor lazy, the president gave the order to embark to his crowded entourage who usually accompanies him on his private plane, and they headed to Sardinia. The Boeing 747-8, in addition to being one of the largest airplanes in the worldis the plane that Qatar Amiri Flight, the airline owned by the Qatari emirate, has assigned as a private plane for the top leader of the country. The emir’s plane, valued at around 370 million euros, has impressive dimensions, being 76 meters long, more than 68 meters wide and weighing close to 450 tons at takeoff. Qatar Boeing 747-8 Amiri Flight. The “private jet” of the emir of Qatar Olbia airport was already a key point due to its capacity to move almost 1.8 million passengers in 2008, operating mainly with domestic flights and some destinations in Europe. The infrastructure had just been expanded, lengthening the main runway by about 300 meters to a length of 2,740 meters, the safety zones were expanded and the taxiway was improved, which speeds up the approach to and departure from the runway. In principle, there would be no problem for the huge private jet to land. There was only one small detail: the track had not been tested previously and, in fact, It wasn’t even approved so that planes the size of the emir’s 747-8 could land there. Unimportant details. Olbia Costa Smeralda airport in Sardinia after its expansion As the airlines had not yet scheduled any long-haul international routes from that airport, the airport authorities took advantage of the visit of your important tourist to officially certify the ability to operate this type of flights that use aircraft such as the Boeing 747, Boeing 777, the Airbus A330, the Airbus A340. If the emir could land with your private jet loaded with his entourage, international tourists could too. The operation was carried out without incident, confirming that both the length and the paving of the runway were adequate to support the operations of these air giants. According what was published through the local environment The New Sardegnathanks to the inaugural maneuver of the private jet of the Emir of Qatar, in November of that same year the first flights connecting Sardinia with Los Angeles, China and Singapore with direct flights were inaugurated. The emir of Qatar: main interested party Even if all precautions had been taken during the landing operation, being the first aircraft of its kind to use the runway always entails some risks. However, the emir of Qatar was especially interested in international planes being able to land on that runway. full of tourists. The reason is easy to guess. The most prestigious hotels, marinas and resorts on the Emerald Coast belong to Emerald Holdingwholly controlled by the Qatar Investment Authority. Hotel Cala Di Volpe in Sardinia. One of the five-star hotels of the Emir of Qatar We are talking about a series of five-star hotels that offer luxury stays on the shores of the Mediterranean for clients as select as the Emir of Qatar. Therefore, it is not strange that the highest representative of this hospitality empire opens the way for millionaires from all over the world to use the new runway to land with their private jets or arrive accommodated in the seats business of international airlines. In Xataka | A single millionaire spent the equivalent of 10,000 tourists on his luxury vacation in Mallorca: the Emir of Qatar Image | Wikimedia Commons (Khamenei.ir, Mehmet Mustafa Celik, John Murphy), Marriott

You can still get your ticket for the big gala on November 20

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There is nothing, nothing, nothing left for the great gala of the Xataka NordVPN Awards 2025 the next November 20. If you also want to experience this special event first-hand and join us in person at the Capitol Cinemas in Madrid, you still have time. There are still tickets leftso pay attention, because we explain very quickly how to get them. And be careful, we will close registrations as soon as capacity is reached! Agenda When: November 20, 2025. Where: Capitol Cinemas (Madrid) Schedule: The gala will begin at 8:00 p.m., Spanish peninsular time. We will send you more details about the opening of doors and access in your ticket confirmation email. How to get your ticket for the Xataka NordVPN Awards 2025 The Xataka NordVPN 2025 Awards gala is a very special night full of technology, humor and surprises. If you want to join us and attend in person, you just have to fill out this form. You can come alone or with a companion and, in both cases, tickets are totally free. Tickets will be delivered in strict order of arrival and until capacity is reached, so hurry up and don’t miss out on yours! In a few days you will receive a confirmation email with all the details about the event and the subsequent party, so pay attention to your inbox. Note: If the form does not work for you, you can sign up here. NordVPN offers you a fast and stable connection thanks to your more than 6,300 servers in more than 110 countries. Enjoy advanced cybersecurity tools with Threat Protection Pro™, securely access your streaming platforms favorites wherever you are and enjoy the best offers on flights and hotels. Advice offered by the brand The categories competing this year During the last few weeks you, our xatakeros, have chosen the finalists in each category with your votes. Here you can see which devices were nominated in each of them: If you cannot join us at the gala, we remind you that you can also follow it live on YouTube and participate with your comments on social networks. Thank you very much and we look forward to seeing you on November 20!

Spaniards eat much less fish than 30 years ago and a big reason is on the horizon: laziness in cooking it.

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The data is clear. Fish consumption has been going on for decades losing ground in the refrigerators and kitchens of Spanish homes. We eat less and less, which is already noticeable in the sector, with the loss of thousands of fishmongers. There are, however, certain businesses that seem to be weathering the storm and even your sales increaseand they achieve it basically thanks to a different bet, focused on the sale of ready-to-eat fish, online orders and home delivery. It is interesting because this reveals to us that the great fish crisis may not be so much a question of taste as much as it is a question of habits and cultural change. What has happened? That fish is not immune to the social and consumer changes that have been affecting the food industry for years. Only in his case the trend is especially interesting. Sector data has long shown that Spanish households buy less and less fresh fish, which among other things has precipitated the closure of thousands of fishmongersbusinesses that deal with other challenges, such as the lack of generational change. There are clues, however, that in reality not the entire sector is suffering. We Spaniards today may have less fish in our refrigerators or cook it less than our parents or grandparents, but the consumption associated with leisure, the away from homeis not having a bad time. Not only that. There are certain specialized businesses (such as those dedicated to the sale of ready-to-eat fish or home delivery) that they assure be selling more. Do we eat less fish? If we base ourselves on the data Regarding domestic consumption from the Ministry of Food (MAPA), the answer is clear: yes, with fluctuations. His latest reportwith data for the year from August 2024 to July 2025, shows that the consumption of fishing products has decreased by 2.1%. If we talk specifically about the purchase of fish (not counting shellfish or preserves) the puncture has been 4.4%, 5.4% in the case of fresh merchandise. They may not seem like big declines, but the crisis facing fish is better understood when the temporal focus is expanded and per capita consumption data is analyzed. In that case, a collapse is confirmed that has hit the sector squarely. own Fedepesca warns that in recent years “local businesses in general and fishmongers in particular have lost a third of their stores.” Does all consumption fall? Not quite. Recently we told you how there are certain species that have seen their consumption rebound (in the case of smoked salmon and trout) and above all how fish consumption seems to be resisting and even increasing outside the home. This is suggested by the “extradomestic consumption” report of Mercasawhich in 2023 saw a rebound of 2.6%. The last ones quarterly data They also show an increase in the demand for fish. The truth is that for years it has been easier to find establishments and even chains that serve poké dishes with salmon, sushi, sashimi or ceviche, in addition to the traditional fish offering. Year Per capita consumption of fish products (kg) Per capita consumption of fish (kg) fresh fish frozen fish 1990 30.4 19 13.6 5.4 1995 29.4 18.2 14.6 3.6 2000 24.32 14.45 11.72 2.73 2005 28.36 16.40 13.39 3.01 2010 27.3 15.38 12.05 3.33 2015 25.9 14.46 11.64 2.82 2020 24.83 13.25 10.58 2.68 2024 17.99 9.31 7.31 2 And on other channels? A few days ago the SER published an analysis which gives clues to other business avenues that seem to be weathering or even saving themselves from the decline in fresh fish consumption: businesses dedicated to the marketing of ready-to-eat foods and those focused on home delivery. That is, those that facilitate and personalize consumption. There is not much data, but SER provides two specific examples that help understand the phenomenon. The first is the Catalan supermarket chain Plusfreshwhich offers customers the option of taking home ready-to-eat fish. The company claims that they have installed ovens in all their establishments, which has allowed them to considerably increase sales of seafood products. “Five years ago, 8% of the fish we invoiced went through the oven, today it is around 16%. In these five years we have doubled the sale of these products,” precise. He is not the only one walking in that direction. In your line “ready to eat”Mercadona has included salmon and sushi poké. Are there more examples? Yes. The SER cites another case: Peix a Casaan online fishmonger that allows you to schedule deliveries and that has gone from selling a few boxes of fish a week to managing between 100 and 150 orders each day. Its owner explains that a decade and a half ago began to bet on the fish delivery service, a formula that it hasn’t gone bad: From working with fifteen well-known clients, we have gone on to dispatch thousands and thousands of annual orders with an enviable year-on-year growth rate of around 20%. Why’s that? Because the sector suspects that the problem is not that fish is no longer liked or that it has become too expensive. In fact, in the last year, domestic demand for smoked salmon and canned clams and mussels has increased. considerably. The key would be something else: a cultural change that prevents younger people from buying and preparing fish at home. “We have a special focus on the young public, those people up to forty years old, who we have seen are not having access to seafood. For us it is a key audience,” recognize from Pesca de España. It won’t be easy because in the background there is a larger trend: a growing interest in cooked and ready-to-eat food, which has even led some (among them Juan Roig) to predict the end of traditional kitchens at home. Images | Jorge Franganillo (Flickr) In Xataka | A Japanese restaurant has taken its obsession with fresh fish to the extreme: it lets you catch it yourself

171 million euros later, Metro de Madrid wants to reopen line 7B. The big question is whether the tenth time will be the charm.

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Line 7B of the Madrid Metro will fully reopen this same month of November after more than three years closed. It is the tenth attempt to normalize a service that was inaugurated in 2007 and that has accumulated more than 800 days without functioning since then. The total cost of repairs reaches 171 million eurosnot counting compensation to neighbors, which already exceeds 23 million and continues to increase. A disaster that began in 2007. When Esperanza Aguirre promoted this expansion to have it ready before the regional elections of 2007, no one could imagine the consequences. The construction of the tunnel seriously altered the subsoil by bringing salt and water into contact, which caused the progressive dissolution of the soil. The result: collapse of the tunnels, massive water leaks and structural damage to hundreds of homes in San Fernando de Henares and Coslada. According to internal documents obtained by El Paísalready in 2008 the technicians warned of the “risk of collapses in the metro tunnel and the surrounding buildings”, and in 2009 they warned that action was “extremely urgent.” The figures of the disaster. The repair bill includes 117 million invested by the Ministry of Transport in works and compensation, 49.7 million from the Canal de Isabel II in hydraulic infrastructure, 2.4 million from the Metro itself and 1.7 million from the Ministry of Education to demolish the El Pilar educational complex. In total, more than 171 million euros. But the number will continue to grow: Property compensation, which in 2022 was estimated at 12 million, has already reached 23.3 million and there are nearly 300 open files. Additionally, 73 homes had to be completely demolished, leaving families paying mortgages on homes that no longer existed. The technical solution. To stabilize the ground, the Community has injected more than 11,000 tons of mortar of concrete in the subsoil through 26,000 drillings that reach up to 45 meters deep. It has also deployed 179 mini topographic prisms inside the metro and laser sensors that send daily data on ground movements. The Polytechnic University of Madrid analyzes also satellite images to detect any anomaly. According to the Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, 511 surveillance elements and five robotic stations have been installed that will constantly monitor the road, the land and nearby buildings. The neighbors don’t forget. Although the Community assures that the infrastructure now presents “stability” and meets “the necessary security conditions”, those affected they maintain their mobilizations and demand greater compensation in court. Furthermore, a study by the Polytechnic University detected “considerable movements” in distant areas “without stabilizing”, although without specifying more details. For the 120,000 inhabitants of San Fernando de Henares and Coslada, the November reopening is just the first step to move forward in almost two decades of nightmare. And now what. The Community will allocate an additional 8.2 million to surveillance and maintenance contracts to act immediately in the event of any incident without the need for emergency contracts. Line 7B will be the most monitored infrastructure of the Madrid Metro, precisely because it is the one that has caused the most problems. It remains to be seen if this time the line is truly stable or if it will close again, as has happened on nine previous occasions. Cover image | Zarateman (Wikipedia) In Xataka | Madrid and Lisbon will be linked by the AVE. It will only arrive (if it arrives) 24 years late

Something big is coming in European money. The ECB has set a date for a key step towards the digital euro

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The European Central Bank has made a move in one of the most sensitive projects in its recent history. After two years of preparation, the organization has decided to move on to the next phase of the digital eurothe initiative with which it seeks to adapt public money to the era of electronic payments. It is not a launch, nor a final decision: if the European regulations are approved in 2026, there will be a pilot starting in 2027 and the Eurosystem wants to be ready for a possible first emission in 2029. The decision comes after a preparation stage started in November 2023in which the ECB and the national central banks defined the technical and operational pillars of the project. In these two years, progress was made in the draft of the operating regulations, in the selection of technological suppliers and in tests with market participants. Political momentum has also been key: euro leaders called at the October 2025 summit to accelerate work to ensure that Europe retains its own capacity in digital payments. A pilot to get out of paper. The announced step opens a phase aimed at validating that the system can work in practice, both from a technical point of view and from real use. The ECB talks about a pilot in which Banks, technology providers, businesses and consumers would participate, with tests on payments in everyday situations and security controls. The objective is to verify that the digital euro, if it exists, can operate reliably and offer a simple experience for the user. Despite the progress, this does not mean that the digital euro is ready for launch or that it will replace paper money. The institution emphasizes that the cash will continue to exist and that the project requires legislative support before any final decision. Furthermore, it is neither a decentralized token nor an experiment to displace the banking sector. The proposed architecture, they assure, maintains banks as the main access and operation channel for citizens and businesses. Three points before starting. The digital euro roadmap is supported by three conditions: legislative progress, technical validation and the formal decision of the ECB later. The European Regulation will establish the rights, limits and obligations of the system, including the way in which financial institutions participate. In parallel, the architecture will be deployed in modules to adjust development as results are obtained. Nothing in this phase implies committing unlimited resources or guarantees the final emission. A project that still needs to convince. Initial support for the digital euro is not homogeneous across Europe. In Germany, a survey prepared for the Bundesbank In April 2024 it showed that half of citizens “could imagine using it” and that 41% already knew about the project. In Spain, a study by Monitor Deloitte In 2024, it indicated that 61% would not adopt it for now, largely due to lack of knowledge and satisfaction with current methods. At European level, a survey published by BEUC In 2025, it indicated that privacy is a priority for 81% of those surveyed, along with security and the absence of commissions as essential elements. From now on, progress will be as technical as it is political. As we say, the ECB wants to have the pieces ready for a pilot in 2027 and to consider a possible initial emission in 2029, provided that the European regulation is approved and tests confirm its viability. The process will be gradual and reviewable, and therein lies its importance: Europe is preparing for an option that could expand its autonomy in payments Images | ECB | omid armin In Xataka | The world seemed unprepared for the end of cash. The digital euro makes it clear that yes

When asked if AI is a bubble about to burst, big technology companies have just responded: hold my cap

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The AI ​​race is about computing power and data centers the size of entire cities. And that doesn’t exactly come cheap. Big Tech is spending indecent amounts of money so as not to be left behind in AI and the fear that everything is a bubble flies over the environment. That doesn’t seem to stop them. Microsoft, Google and Meta have announced that they are increasing their planned spending on AI. what’s happening. Microsoft, Google and Meta have just presented their results for the last quarter and there are two pieces of news. The good thing is that all three have managed to increase their income. The not-so-good news is that they have sent a message to their worried investors: they are going to spend even more money than they planned on data centers and AI infrastructure. More wood. That AI is a bonfire of money we already knew it. Now we know it’s going to get even bigger. Meta had planned that Capex (capital expenditures) for 2025 would be $66 billion. Now they just said that The total will be between 70 and 72,000 million. And not only that, next year it will be even bigger. For its part, Alphabet (Google) had planned a Capex of 75,000 million, but they confirm that They will spend between 91 and 93 billion dollars. Finally, Microsoft has not given the annual data, but in this quarter They have spent 34.9 billion dollars5,000 million more than planned. In 2026 they expect spending to be even higher. Planned CAPEX REVISED CAPEX goal 66 billion 70-72 billion +24% GOOGLE 75 billion 91-93 billion +23% microsoft 30,000 million (quarterly) 34.9 billion (quarterly) +23% Also more income. Don’t panic, or at least not too much. All three have achieved record profits in this period. Meta earned 51.24 billion, Google 102.3 billion and Microsoft 70.1 billion, an increase of 26%, 16% and 13% more than the same period last year. All three assume that the numbers will continue to grow, and that is precisely what Those who warn of a bubble are not so clear. It’s not AI, it’s the cloud. In the case of Microsoft and Alphabet, the main vector of revenue growth is their cloud business, a trend that It started in the previous quarter and has continued to increase. Google Cloud generated 34% more revenue thanks to growth in “core products, AI infrastructure, and generative AI solutions.” In the case of Microsoft, its cloud services brought in 26.8 billion, 33% more than last year. And I published it. Meta is building data centers like there’s no tomorrow, but it doesn’t have a cloud business. Mete has something else: Facebook and Instagram. Its income comes largely from advertising and Zuckerberg assures that the good numbers come precisely because They are applying AI to improve their advertising systems. Not so fast, Zuck. Although Meta is the one that has increased its income the most compared to last year (26%), its shares have fallen 8% after announcing that it would continue to increase spending on AI. It seems that investors have quite a few doubts about their latest decisions, such as spend a million to create your superintelligence team or the plan to spend $600 billion in data centers. Image | Pixabay In Xataka | OpenAI is burning money like there is no tomorrow. The question is how long can he last like this?

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