greatest

Someone has stolen $ 1.5 billion in a cryptocurrency market. It is the greatest crypto hacking in history

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The cryptocurrency market had been encouraged again months ago. Everything seemed relatively quiet, but two serious events in this segment have brought us again those sensations of distrust and insecurity. And it will not be easy to get rid of them. A historical theft. Last Friday someone managed to hack the market for the sale of BYBIT cryptodivisas. The firm He quickly warned how they had detected “unauthorized activity” in their systems. It was the greatest cryptocurrency hacking in history: it is estimated that the attackers (s) managed to steal $ 1.5 billion in the form of ETH. The previous most important robberies had been the 470 million dollars stolen in the Mt Gox hacking In 2014, the 530 million coincheck In 2018 or 650 million from Exploit Ronin Bridge In 2022. Lazarus group as suspicious. At the moment the firm does not know how the hacking was performed, but apparently the company’s laptops were not compromised and the problem affected Safe, the “cold” purse of the platform. Cybersecurity consultant Arkham Intelligence indicates that Lazarus Group had been responsible, a statement based on The investigation of the expert in this area Zachxbt. Bybit says to be covered. Ben Zhou, CEO of Bybit, highlighted How his criptomoned sale market had enough reserves to cover hacking and cryptocurrency withdrawal – especially, especially, Stablecoins– Although for a few hours They blocked some functions of their purses to guarantee their safety. A few hours ago Zhou indicated how they had managed to cover virtually all funds. Panic in Bybit. The theft has caused many users to withdraw funds in Bybit for fear that these funds will also end up being stolen. As indicated In Coindeskin the hours following the HACKEO Bybit he saw how their clients withdrew 4,000 million dollars in funds. Of the 16.9 billion dollars managed in crypto assets in Bybit, the firm went to manage 11.2 billion dollars According to defillama data. Can Ctrl-Z do to the block chain? Some users asked if it would be feasible to make a kind of “roll-back” of the Ethereum block chain. That would allow us to undo the changes made by hackers and return the status of that great book of accounts to how it was before hacking, but it is not clear that this is possible. Experts indicate according to Coindesk that something like this would be possible, but the interactions between the Smart Contracts and their internal architecture make it not easy. It would be necessary to reach a consensus, and could even cause a division of the Ethereum block chain in two. Just when in the US the thing was encouraged. The robbery occurred just the day Coinbase had managed to reach an agreement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission leave the demand without also being issued. Donald Trump’s re -election had promoted the value of cryptocurrencies, but since his appointment we have lived several worrying events. Memecoins, Trump and Milei. The scandals have been especially primed with the Memecoins created or supported by Trump and especially by Javier MileiPresident of Argentina. Both grew in a brilliant value and then collapsed in a mysterious and disturbing way, which points to possible fraud in which a few privileged were winning while hundreds of thousands of people lost their investments in these cryptodivisas. Distrust and insecurity, the eternal condemnation of crypts. The scandals with these memecoins and the spectacular bykit hacking return us the constant feeling of insecurity and distrust that the cryptodivisas have always generated. The institutional interest and a certain tranquility in recent times seemed to have softened that environment, but these new events will probably make more people think twice before investing in this type of assets. It is a bad idea to leave your cryptocurrencies in an “Exchange”. The truth is that these robberies have confirmed that their security measures can end up being insufficient to protect their customers’ funds. The most recommended form of experts to save these cryptocurrencies is do it in physical pursesdo not leave them in the purchase market for sale of cryptocurrencies (“Exchange”). Image | KANCHANARA In Xataka | A British did not let his album search with Bitcoins in the trash for years: now he considers buying the landfill

The iPhone 17 point to one of the greatest redesign in their history. One that shouts “android” to the four winds

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When the river sounds, water carries, and in the world of phone leaks it is a standard that is usually met. A few weeks ago, Jon Prosser revealed The alleged design of the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro. Two telephone that would arrive, according to the filter, with a redesigned chamber module and that, everything is said, reminds some family models little of Xiaomi. A week later, new information based on Factory CAD supposedin which it is confirmed that the design, at least in this initial stage of product development. The iPhone carry without a remarkable design change from the family iPhone 11at least in relation to the camera modules. There have been dances in the respective to the position of the cameras and their size, but the rear remained unchanged since the year. iPhone 11 Pro | iPhone 16 Pro This design, which seemed immovable, would be about to change in the next generation iPhone 17. In this, regardless of the number of cameras, the module will be the main differential feature for the design of the new product line. iPhone 16 Pro according to Prosser and Majin Bu iPhone 17 Pro. Image: SonnyDickson All leaks are aligning in one direction: that of the iPhone 17 with a redesigned camera module and with a larger volume. According to leaks of alleged covers for this phone, with them the design will barely mean a change. Without it, the cameras will cease to be the only element that protrudes, to become part of a gigantic island … in the Android style. Xiaomi little x6 pro. One of the points we have criticized for 2024 has been the unnecessary of oversizing the camera modules to give them prominence. If the leaks are fulfilled, Apple will do exactly the same. Samsung was one of the few companies that had not joined the fashion with Apple, with a clean rear in which only the cameras stood out (as is inevitable). Another curious movement that is rumored is the return to aluminum throughout the iPhone 17 family, reserving the titanium frame for the iPhone 17 Air. This rumor is not yet solid and would be quite difficult to justify, given the good results (especially in weight reduction). This Apple’s decision would make a certain meaning: unifying the design of the family, regardless of the model we buy. Similarly, it will allow the iPhone 17 Air, who will allegedly land with just a camera, shine with some packaging despite having such a scarce photographic section. Image | Prosser, Majin Bu, Sonny Dickson

Kazakhstan is one of the world’s greatest uranium producers. Now has taken another step: its first nuclear power plant

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In the geopolitical board of energy, the domain is not only measured in oil barrels or cubic meters of gas. There is a resource, silent but powerful, which is redefining the current panorama: uranium. While some countries look desperately reduce your energy dependenceothers have understood that true power lies in controlling not only the raw material, but the entire nuclear cycle. Russia has already taken the lead with A dozen centrals Under construction, but now Its largest supplier He also wants to become a strategic actor. New actor. Kazakhstan has decided to accelerate its nuclear development to address its growing shortage of energy. The government has approved the construction of Your first nuclear power plant and a plan to expand its nuclear industry. A referendum in October 2024 showed that 70% Voters support the construction of nuclear plants. This first nuclear power plant will be located in the village of ülken, in the Almath region. The government intends to build at least three more floors to make the most of its resources. Currently, feasibility studies and negotiations with international suppliers are being carried out to determine the technical and financial details of the project. The main financing will come from a Russian government loan with subsidies, and Samruk Energo It will lead the negotiations to guarantee cost efficiency. Energy shortage. The Kazakh country wants to reduce its energy dependence and face a growing internal demand. Despite being one of the countries with greater uranium reservesIt does not have an operational nuclear power plant since 1999. However, it manufactures pumping equipment for nuclear plants and seeks to expand the national production of reactor components and energy equipment. This strategy is aligned with the objectives of carbon neutrality and industrial modernization. An energy cluster. The government seeks to develop a “Nuclear cluster” that not only includes the energy plant, but also the local production of nuclear fuel. To do this, he has formed alliances with China and France. In addition, for nuclear reactors, it will have technology suppliers such as the Galo and South Korean country. The central will probably have a capacity of at least 3 GW, and more plants will be built in the future. Kazakhstan will also strengthen its electrical networks and better connect the western region with the national system. So what happens to Russia? The Kremlin remains an important actor in the global nuclear sector and has supplied Kazakhstan nuclear technology in the past. However, within the country, the concern that an agreement with Rosatom (the Russian nuclear agency) generates excessive dependence, both in technological and financial terms. The opposition has expressed fears that Russia use nuclear energy as an instrument of geopolitical influence. Problems in the past. Nuclear energy in the country has constituted a delicate issue due to the effects of Soviet nuclear tests in the region of Semipalatinsk. For that reason, as indicated Professor Kashi Nath Pandita, concerns about security and lack of transparency in regulatory processes are brought on the path of progress. Forecasts The project can be finished in the next decade, but advance it. However, the country still faces different challenges such as public distrust, environmental concerns and the need to choose a technological partner without compromising its independence. In the long term, this expansion could position Kazakhstan as an energy leader in Central Asia, reducing its vulnerability to regional energy instability and strengthening its presence in global competition for the control of energy resources. Image | Unspash Xataka | Plutonium underground: the British bet to handle nuclear waste safely

The founder of Deepseek has been placed in just two weeks among the greatest fortunes of Asia. But it depends on who you ask

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The presentation of Deepseek R1China’s artificial intelligence model has shaken the foundations on which AI in the West was being built. A priori, this model would have achieved similar results to those of OpenAi, but with only a fraction of its cost of development, something that has then had its nuances. All this Financial tsunami In AI has left a clear winner: Liang Wenfeng, CEO of Deepseek and one of the seven founders of the company. Thanks to the success of its AI model, Wenfeng has become a Milmillonario, although no one knows for sure if their fortune has an assessment of 1,000 million or 150,000 million. It depends on Who is asked. The key is Deepseek. In relative terms, the Fortuna Liang Wenfeng At least 84% of the value assigned to Deepseek amounts to 84%. Therefore, the key is to determine how much Deepseek is valued to establish the fortune of its main owner. The problem is that, just like companies like x Openai, Spacex, Neuralink and many others, the company’s value is not public by not being quoted in the stock market as It is NvidiaApple or Microsoft. In this case, the market price Determine the value of the company. However, in the case of private companies, that value is given by third parties. For example, OpenAi’s different financing rounds have served as a framework to establish an assessment of the company, placing it around 157,000 million, according to Forbes. The same goes for Spacex that, after its last financing round, its investors estimated that the company was worth 350,000 million dollars, As reported Bloomberg. With China it is not so easy. Depseek was created as a secondary research project promoted by Wenfeng within its High-Flyer Investment Company. As published by Forbes, Depseek does not seem to have received third -party investments, so there is no external agent that can offer a founded assessment. Given the opacity of the investments of Chinese companies, the tracking of new assessments becomes complicated. The only alternative that remains to know the estimated value is comparing it with its equivalent rivals. Approximate estimates. As published by Bloomberg, seven AI experts and startup founders have estimated that Deepseek’s value would remain between 2,000 million and 30,000 million dollars, although there are more extreme assessments that give figures between 1,000 and 150,000 million dollars. “It is basically impossible to give a convincing response in this case because it is a private and secret company that is financed internally with the commercial gains of the founder,” declaredBloomberg Jeffrey Emanuel, founder and executive director of the Blockchain Pastel Network Startup. One from Those rival companies which can serve as a reference is Anthropic, which thanks to Amazon financial support He has achieved one 60,000 million assessment. The French Mistral AI also would enter that comparisonand its valuation has been 6,000 million dollarsso the most moderate average range seems to be the closest to the reality of the Chinese company. Estimation of the fortune of Liang Wenfeng. Based on those most conservative estimates, Wenfeng’s fortune would move between 1,680 million and 25.2 billion, only in regards to his participation in Deepseek. However, we must not forget that Depseek is only Wenfeng’s “Side Project”, and that his main job is in high-flyer. Based on financial records, Forbes estimated That the Wenfeng Investment Fund has about 8,000 million in assets, so the company values ​​in about 240 million dollars. Therefore, participation in High-Flyer would contribute about 180 million dollars more to the fortune of Liang Wenfeng, placing it in the select Milmillonarios Club that They have made fortune thanks to the AI. In Xataka | The next border of the super farms is no longer to be Milmillonarios, is to be Billionaires: Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos are candidates Image | Deepseek

The iPhone is seen in its greatest filtration to date. It is a crazy night between iPhone 14 and iPhone 8

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The fourth generation of iPhone se It will launch this week, According to the most recent leaks. It is not unreasonable to think that it will be, since the design of this phone has just been known practically. The filtration shows that, supposedly, will be the iPhone stops this 2025, a phone that would inherit components of the iPhone 14betting on his classic strategy of just one camera. Hi, iPhone 14 … or iPhone 12. Notch, you again here. It seemed to have disappeared with the arrival of the iPhone 15 Basethat hugged the Dynamic island of the iPhone 14 Probut I was just Parranda. According to the leaks, the iPhone will be inherited a frontal front of previous models, with notch but a good screen use. This would be 6.1 inches, OLED and with Full HD+resolution, the same one we have seen on the iPhone of previous years and with less than the 2,000 nits implemented from the iphone 15L. What does not appear anywhere is the action button, Apple’s last idea for its generation iPhone 16. The rear … to the iPhone style. How strange it is seen a mobile phone with a single camera. This iPhone would arrive with a single sensor, predictably 48 megapixels, which would allow it to make “optical” (sensor cut) of up to two increases without loss of quality. The resignation of the ultra wide angle may seem more serious than it really is. This is the camera less uses (and of lower quality) in general terms, so sacrificing it to adjust the price of the phone to the maximum it is not a bad idea. The rest of the hardware. Apple would not want to give up Apple Intelligence with its se, which would force the company to implement the Apple A18 Bionic and a minimum of 8 GB of RAM. As a curious fact, it is rumored that this phone would arrive with its own modem for 5G, to save costs compared to Qualcomm. In short, a 2025 hardware device and airs a few years ago, at a price that is expected below 600 euros. An access alternative for those who want a new iPhone without spending too much. Image | Spigen In Xataka | iPhone SE (2022), Analysis: A processor to look in a format to forget

China has become the greatest added value of the planet thanks to feedback

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China wants to stop being the planet’s factory. In fact, you need to stop being. The struggle that holds with the US to get world supremacy It requires that Xi Jinping’s country consolidates as The largest provider of high value services and products. This position would allow him to compete with the country led by Donald Trump on equal terms, something unthinkable just a decade ago. But China is in it. And it’s on the right track. The first stone was placed by the Chinese president in 2015. That year Xi Jinping announced the implementation of a strategy known as Plan “Made in China 2025” whose purpose was to place China as a world leader in 13 strategic technologies. Ten years later he leads in five of them: unmanned aerial vehicles, solar panels, graphene, high -speed trains and electric vehicles/lithium batteries (these last two go hand in hand). And it is competitive in seven others, among which it is worth highlighting semiconductors, Robots either artificial intelligence (AI). This is China’s open secret: industrial and technological overlapping The sanctions that They have deployed USA and its allies During the last three years they have forced China to invest a huge amount of resources with the purpose of becoming their technological industry of foreign countries. Otherwise it would be condemned to stagnation. In this situation it is crucial that we do not overlook that the prohibitions of the US, Netherlands or Japan, among other countries, prevent research institutions and Chinese companies accessing the most advanced lithography equipment and the avant -garde chips. China will take at least five years to have an extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment comparable to those produced by ASML The latter continue to arrive in China Through intermediary companies mostly housed in Malaysia, Singapore or India. However, chips manufacturing machines are another sack. Presumably the country of Xi Jinping It will take at least five years in having a extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment comparable to those currently produced by the Dutch company ASML. However, as we have just seen, if we stick to the Chinese mature integrated circuits it is competitive, but in semiconductors in general it does not lead. The scheme we publish on top of these lines has been prepared by the sociologist and researcher at Princeton University, in New Jersey (USA), Kyle Chan for the highly recommended Newsletter High Capacity. It illustrates very clearly how China has achieved within a relatively brief period of time consolidating itself as a world leader in lithium batteries, electric cars or drones, and being a competitor surpassing in industrial robots, semiconductors or artificial intelligence. The key to the unappealable success of China is, beyond its great economic investment and its human capital, industrial and technological overlapping The key to this unappealable success is, beyond the great economic investment and human capital that this Asian country is investing in these sectors, Industrial and technological overlap. Kyle Chan’s scheme clearly reflects the interdependence that exists between some companies, such as, for example, Xpeng, Nio or Geely electric cars manufacturers, among others, and lithium batteries producers Catl and Byd. This last company also manufactures cars, buses and electric trucks, among other products. As we see in the scheme, China has developed several technological and industrial ecosystems that overlap both if we stick to the companies that are involved in them and the technologies involved. The greatest strength of this country is that it is not strong only in batteries; It is also in electric cars. And on smartphones. And in drones. And in industrial robots. And in many other sectors. Almost all of them are interconnected, well directly, either indirectly. And when one is reinforced by a rupturist innovation all those with whom holds some technological dependence They are also strengthened. Here lies, ultimately, China’s high competitiveness in so many industries of a strategic nature. Image | Alex More information | High Capacity In Xataka | China advances at a dizzying speed in nuclear fusion. It already has something ready that until now only had the Netherlands

Tuberculosis in the US: Kansas faces the greatest outbreak in history

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Kansas has been the epicenter of an unprecedented outbreak of tuberculosis in the United States, according to local health authorities. This outbreak, which began at the beginning of January 2024, has already registered 67 cases of active tuberculosis, with 60 of those cases in Wyandotte County, and the other seven in Johnson County. In addition, 79 cases of latent tuberculosis have been confirmed, an inactive form of the disease, which, if not, can evolve to active tuberculosis. Most of these latent cases are found in Wyandotte, which includes a part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, while Johnson, southwest of the city, has registered only two cases. According to the Department of Health and Environment of Kansas (KDHE), the appearance of these cases marks the largest outbreak of tuberculosis in the country since the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) began monitoring cases in cases in The 1950s. Health officials also reported that, unfortunately, the outbreak has already caused two deaths, both occurred in 2023. Although the outbreak is still ongoing, the authorities say that the risk for the community in general remains low, and claim to be implementing strict preventive measures following the guidelines of the CDC. Tuberculosis, a respiratory disease caused by bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosishas historically been one of the main causes of death in the world. It is transmitted through the air, through goticles expelled by an infected person when coughing, speaking or singing. Symptoms include persistent cough, fever, weight loss, night sweats and fatigue. It is important to note that some people may have latent tuberculosis, where germs remain in the body without causing symptoms and without being contagious. However, if not treated, these cases can progress to active tuberculosis, which represents a risk of transmission to other people. CDCs have indicated that the number of tuberculosis cases in the United States increased in recent years. In 2023, more than 8,700 cases were recorded, a figure that marks a rebound with respect to the levels prior to the pandemic. This increase may be linked to a variety of factors, including decrease in control efforts during Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges associated with the detection and treatment of tuberculosis in an overloaded medical care environment. Although the tuberculosis rate had been decreasing since the mid -1990s, in recent years they have shown a stabilization of cases, which matched the levels of incidence prior to the pandemic in 2023. The treatment of tuberculosis generally involves an antibiotic regime between four to nine months, depending on the severity of the disease and the presence of underlying conditions such as diabetes or HIV. Health professionals must adapt treatments to address any additional complication. Regarding prevention, CDC emphasizes that vaccination with the calmette-guérin (BCG) bacillus is common in countries with high prevalence of tuberculosis, although in the United States it is not recommended in a generalized way, since efficiency varies between adults and can interfere with tuberculosis diagnostic tests. This outbreak in Kansas highlights the importance of maintaining and reinforcing infectious disease control strategies throughout the country, especially in areas with high population and mobility density. Although the immediate risk outside the affected counties is low, the authorities continue to monitor the situation closely and working with the CDCs to minimize the impact on public health. Continue reading: (tagstotranslate) tuberculosis

It is the greatest existential threat that Silicon Valley has faced

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They have barely spent five days since its launch, but Deepseek R1 has caused An earthquake in markets (-6.5% NVIDIA, -3.5% Microsoft, -8% ASML) that goes beyond its technical efficiency. The true threat to the American industry is in its open nature: Depseek is democratizing technology that Silicon Valley has kept jealously stored after its own walls. Why is it important. The western industry of AI has been built on two pillars that Depseek has just dynamit: The need for multi -million dollar investments in hardware. The extreme secretism about the architecture of its models. The money trail. Wall Street is reacting hard because Depseek directly threatens the dominant business model that has taken us here. Investors ask questions: how to justify projects such as Stargate (and its half billion dollars) If there is an open and efficient alternative? What value intellectual property when your competitors openly publish their advances? Between the lines. The Chinese strategy seems clear: to use the open source as a Trojan horse to destabilize Western domain in AI. It is no coincidence that Depseek has chosen this moment, when: American models show signs of stagnation (where is it GPT-5?). Inversiones in infrastructure are triggered. Business models remain without clarifying. The big question. Several experts have pointed out that we are facing Sputnik moment For AI: when the United States discovered that it did not have the monopoly of advance in the space race. R1 has that magnitude, or do you have to relax expectations about its implications? Perhaps “only” (add all the quotes they want) we are rather at a Linux time: their arrival democratized the operating system starting from open source as a disruptive tool, but the industry continued to thrive. Windows did not disappear, he simply adapted to a new scenario in which open and closed source coexist. The difference is in the rhythm. Linux took years to seriously impact the market. R1 has caused immediate shaking even in stock assets of giants. Perhaps the market understands that AI is too valuable and promising to afford as closed and expensive development as the current one. Whether it is a Sputnik as if it is a Linux, R1 marks a before and after: it shows that the toe can be created more openly and efficiently. Yes, but. There are certain persistent doubts about the real costs of Deepseek. THE CEO OF SCALE AI He has suggested They have more hardware access than they say, but hide it for violating commercial restrictions. Even so, even if their costs were greater, R1 would continue to have a strong impact on the industry to choose the open model for such a powerful model. The time of truth. The American’s industry now has a dilemma: or maintain its current model, based on very high investments and a strong secrecy, risking being displaced by Chinese efficiency … or pivoting towards a greater opening to compete on the board raised by Deepseek . Deepen. The analogy with Sputnik beyond technological surprise. As then, this moment can catalyze a transformation in how technology develops and markets. The difference is that this time disruption does not come from the state apparatus but from the Chinese private sector, and its weapon is not the space race but the open source for AI. China, frequently criticized for its control over information, is using the openness and transparency to stand up to Western technological domain. In Xataka | Two years and 60 million users later: how Luzia has become the greatest success produced by Spain Outstanding image | Deepseek, Xataka with Mockuuuups Studio

How Luzia has become the greatest success produced by Spain

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The appearance of chatgpt in November 2022 unleashed a revolution and among those who managed to take advantage of the opportunity were those responsible for Luzia. This chatbot, created in Spain, became very soon a viral phenomenon. He succeeded Thanks to your ability to transcribe WhatsApp voice audios. Suddenly we could “forward” our contact of light on WhatsApp any voice message, which led to the chatbot turning that audio message into a text. The function managed to make Luzia become a really remarkable service very fast. In fact, it was the fastest growing startup in Europe, to the reach a million users faster than Instagram, Spotify and Dropbox did. Today Luzia has 60 million users worldwide, and is present in 60 countries. The project has managed to capture more than 30 million euros of financing, and although the transcription function remains an important part of its options, Luzia – which is still free— Compete with other multimodal chatbots: It allows among other things to translate and summarize texts, solve complex calculations, generate images or talk about issues of all kinds – including personal – empathically. Luzia is available as a free App and Android mobile app, but is also available on WhatsApp with more limited functions. For example, in the WhatsApp version it is not possible to generate images and the number of avatars or “light” is limited. The voice transcription in WhatsApp of Lightia brought one thing: virality The truth is that since its launch many things have happened in the field of AI and the proposals that manufacturers are making us reach, and it was a good time to know what the current state and the future of light is. For this we have been able to talk to Álvaro Higes, CEO of Luzia. The best known and viral function of light was undoubtedly the transcription of audios in WhatsApp, but now this finishing messaging application offers precisely that option natively, being able to activate easily From WhatsApp settings. That, Higes told us, does not involve a problem for light. In their opinion, the transcription function allowed them to gain notoriety and virality, and in any case they will continue to offer it because according to him “WhatsApp will be better integrated, but Luzia is better, especially in multi -mounted.” In its beginnings this chatbot was based on the OpenAi APIS to talk and answer questions, and on the Whisper For audio transcription. Things have changed, and now the panorama is much more diverse for light. For Higes “the models are Commodities For users, They are almost indistinguishableso what we have done a lot is to improve efficiency but also improve product. “What they do, explained, is to use more suppliers and choose one or the other according to complexity. This use of diverse models also applies in the “personalities” of light, virtual avatars configured to be especially suitable in certain scenarios. This option joins the gamification that they apply in Luzia and that is inspired by what is used in Duolingo. As Higes explained to us, many users use the AI ​​for the first time and have that “wow effect”, but then they don’t know what they could do with these tools. Gamification helps in that and makes us use and above all discover new IA options is more useful and fun. A business model to be defined There was another inevitable issue that was part of the conversation: what is the light business model? The platform can still be used for free even though using these APIs from different IA suppliers is not cheap. In fact, costs can be quickly multiplied if we consider that Luzia already has the aforementioned 60 million users. There are many requests that impose an expense, so how do they assume everything? The answer is simple. Those 30 million euros that he captured in the investment rounds are those that are allowing to provide this service without that at the moment being cost for users. As Higes explained, “Today we spend money from the roundsbut we have a future strategy. “ A potential business model “maybe ads and sponsored links” For him “it is difficult to charge for something that you do not know how to use it”, and he told us how at the beginning “the temptation was to put a paywall and charge for access.” That, he points out, would have allowed them to have initial income, “but we would have killed soon”, something that did happen with other competitors, he says. “Thanks to the venture capital we can understand the user’s profile, how these functions are used, what value is generated.” The ways of obtaining income are not yet completely defined, but confessed that a solution “maybe the ads and the sponsored links in the future “, as with the search engines. He indicated that they had already done small experiments about it, and certainly seems inevitable that sooner rather than later the advertising reaches these services: Perplexity is a good example of this. According to Higes, with end users “it will be very difficult to monetize via payment wall,” as premium services (Chatgpt plus, COPILOT PROetc), and for him “we are as in the principles of the Internet”, when everything, including the business model, was still to be defined. Future challenges for light and for AI We take the opportunity to ask Higes for their vision of the great trends in the AI ​​segment and the situation of the current models. Thus, we asked him what he thought of That possible “deceleration” that we are living. For him there is still a margin of improvement and although the differences of performance are lower, “there are many other ways of climbing the performance of the models, which will continue to improve.” On the models that “reason” as O1 or O3 confessed that “I am using o1 less than I expected“. For Higes” current models (chatgpt, claude, gemini) are good for 90% of use cases. “Meanwhile, O1 and … Read more

In Japan, a perfect storm is sinking one of its greatest gastronomic symbols: izakayas

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If you like the animeJapanese cinema or you have simply had the enormous fortune to visit Tokyo or any other city in Japan, it is quite likely that you have seen one or another izakaya. The name may not ring a bell. Your image for sure yes. Typical bars where you can drink beer or sake with office colleagues while devouring chicken skewers, plates of sashimi or bowls of edamameThere are few places more iconic in Japanese gastronomy. The problem is that tradition is not necessarily synonymous with success. The izakaya They may be emblematic, but they are going through hard momentswith its highest level of bankruptcies in the last decade (at least) and a large part of the stores that still exist, recognizing economic difficulties. Good story, bad data. If each city has its own urban landscape, made up of unmistakable symbols, in Japanese cities one of those iconic pieces are the izakaya. There are many. And with a long tradition. There are even different types: robotayaki, yakitor-ya, oden-ya…depending on their characteristics and specialization. Neither its long history nor its roots have freed hundreds of izakayas to close its doors for the last two years. In 2023 they declared 204 bankruptcies and, in the absence of definitive data for the exercise, between January and November 2024, 203 were registered, which indicates that in all likelihood it has been their toughest exercise since at least 2010. More closures than with COVID-19. The data collected by Teikoku Databank are certainly devastating. That between January and November of last year 203 izakayas If they declared bankruptcy, meaning that they accumulated debts exceeding ten million yen, about $64,000, it is a bad sign for several reasons. To begin with, it is the highest figure during that period since at least 2010, when 115 were counted bankruptcies from January to November. Furthermore, the balance as of November 30, 2024 was practically identical to that of the entire 2023 financial year, which means that in all likelihood the year closed with a higher balance. There would be a third reason why the statistics of Teikoku are worrying: the bankruptcies of 2023 and 2024 far exceed those recorded in 2020, probably the year most affected by the COVID pandemic. During that year, 189 succumbed to economic asphyxiation. izakayas. Does it affect everyone equally? No. Family businesses, which can be equated to microenterprises or small or medium-sized businesses, suffer the most. The diary The Manichi remember that of the 203 izayakas bankrupt between January and November of last year, around half (100) were establishments with a capital of less than one million yen, $6,400. Another 86 had a capital between one and ten million yen, which did not exceed $64,000. What does this data mean? That not all izayakas They seem to be suffering equally. The Mainichione of the most relevant newspapers in Japan, even talks about a “clear gap” between small establishments and those in the hands of chains. One of them, Watami Co.has even shown signs that it is doing better than other years: reservations for the December holidays, closely related to income, were between 10 and 20% higher in 2024 than in 2023. “Survival of the fittest”. reading What they get from Teikoku Databank is clear: “Medium, small and micro businesses have limited options when it comes to adopting countermeasures and the current situation is accelerating the survival of the fittest within the industry.” izayakasomething that was difficult to see during the pandemic.” However, there would be two worrying indicators for the sector. Its economic weight seems to have shrunk in a short time. At the end of last year it was estimated that the izakayas reached an estimated size of 10.6 billion dollarssignificantly above the 5,680 to which it was reduced in 2021, during the pandemic, but still far from the levels at which it was moving before COVID-19 entered the scene. During fiscal year 2017, it is estimated that this value was around $12.1 billion. The scenario is not flattering either. A considerable percentage of those responsible for izakayas (about 40%) have recognized that during fiscal year 2023 they went through economic difficulties, which leaves out the possibility that there are more businesses that are headed to ruin. And what is the reason? Reasons rather. that the izakayas seem to be going through a “lean season” can be explained for several reasons. Some of a general nature, related to the economic context, and others more linked to its culture and business model. Among the first, the demographic drift from Japan, inflationthe increase in the cost of imports due to yen weaknessthe impact of the Ukrainian war on the supply and cost of energy or labor costs. The izakayas They are not the only places in Japan that have suffered the consequences of that explosive cocktail. Restaurants specializing in ramen are not exactly going through their best times either, with more than 70 businesses in bankruptcy in 2024, 30% more than the previous year. In their case, there is also an equally important handicap: the reluctance of many hoteliers to charge more than a thousand yen for their bowls of noodle soup, a psychological barrier from which, they believe, they could lose their clientele. “A vestige of bygone eras”. At izakayas They are also affected by another factor, more intrinsic and linked to their business model. For years in its premises it was not unusual to find office colleagues drinking together when leaving work or on the way home, but that habit was cut during the pandemic and does not seem to have recovered. Or at least with the same vitality as before. Not to mention that Gen Z seems less interested for alcohol. “He izakaya It is a vestige of earlier times, when the postwar generation of baby boomers dominated”, explains to Guardian Robbie Swiennerton, food critic for Japan Times. “Nowadays there are fewer young people and they don’t drink as much, nor do they want to drink in the same … Read more

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