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Uber is going to put robotaxis in Madrid this year. The DGT’s response: we’ll see

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Robotaxis will arrive in Madrid before the end of the year. That is the headline you can read in the vast majority of media outlets. This is what Uber has made known, that has published the advertisement on your own website. There’s just one small problem: very few things are clear. The advertisement. With a press release that you can read on their own website. This is how Uber has announced that its robotaxis, in collaboration with WeRide and Avomo, will arrive in Madrid. In their press release they talk about collaboration with the regional government and the intention to launch the service before the end of the year. And little else. The information provided by the company about the project is, basically, that. It is barely mentioned that this is a pilot project and that they are willing to add “hundreds of robotaxis” as “key performance milestones are met” to “expand the commercial driverless taxi service to all urban areas.” many doubts. However, in the information that has been published there are many doubts that remain unresolved. In Xataka We have contacted Uber and WeRide but as of this writing we have not received answers to the following questions: How many cars will be available in the first phase? Will it be a service open to the entire city or will it be limited to specific neighborhoods in Madrid? Do Uber and WeRide already have permission to operate cars without a person on board? Will anyone be able to request a driverless vehicle to reach their destination? What the DGT says. The one who has answered our questions is the DGT. The organization assures us that they have no evidence that Uber or any other company associated with this project has requested permission to carry out tests of autonomous driverless cars. They also emphasize that, at this time, the companies in charge can only operate in “Test Mode” and, of course, “as long as they have been authorized to do so.” The latter, according to the DGT, has not occurred. What are the deadlines approved by the DGT? In its statement, Uber only mentions driverless vehicles but the DGT It refers us to the phases already approved to be able to carry out this type of tests. In these phases the most important points are the following: Controlled phase: no more than three autonomous cars and always with a safety operator behind the wheel. Extensive phase: no more than 10 vehicles and always with an operator behind the wheel. Pre-deployment phase: the limit of 10 vehicles is eliminated and the operator behind the wheel is optional but always has to supervise a remote operator. Right now, the only company that is in the “pre-deployment” phase is Tesla that is carrying out the tests of their FSD with 30 vehicles and have freedom of movement throughout the national territory. In collaboration with the Community of Madrid. In the text published by Uber it is mentioned that the arrival of the robotaxis to Madrid will be carried out “in collaboration with the Government of the Community of Madrid.” In Xataka We have tried to contact this party but have not received a response either. And, let’s talk about roads of regional or municipal ownership, the DGT has to give the go-ahead to be able to carry out this type of tests on Spanish soil. At first, from Expansion It was pointed out that two other municipalities, in addition to Madrid, would join the arrival of the aforementioned robotaxis and that companies such as Cabify or Bolt have also shown interest. At the moment, there is no more news on this. Europe. While in the United States and China the use of robotaxis is beginning to be normalized, Europe continues to be a forbidden field for them. Tesla has been pushing for some time your FSD is approvedpublishing videos collected in their tests in spaces as complicated to manage as Paris, Rome… or Madrid. The other test that had caught attention is the pilot project that is taking place in Zagrev (Croatia). There, 10 Arcfox Alpha T5 cars from the Chinese manufacturer BAIC offer commercial driverless taxi services, powered by the Chinese artificial intelligence company Pony.AI. Beyond. In China, as we say, the use of robotaxis is beginning to be widespread. Baidu’s Apollo Go, WeRide and Pony.AI have driverless vehicles that offer commercial services in cities such as Wuhan, Beijing, Shenzhen or Shanghai. However, the Chinese government itself is slowing down the arrival of automation in private passenger cars, especially after accidents involving some cars that had driving assistance functions active. In the United States, San Francisco and Texas or Los Angeles are the big places where autonomous taxis are tested. However, as the DGT suggests, the tests there began with humans at the wheel. And in some cases the service is limited in space and does not reach the entire city. Some doubts. The robotaxis service is one of the sectors that has moved and leveraged the most money in recent years. Also the one who has frustrated the most promises and money has burned. Billions of euros later and after a decade of intensive developmentits availability remains exceptional. Furthermore, robotaxis continue to generate doubts in the user. Transversal doubts from the moral dilemma to the purely practical debate. And in cities like San Francisco, the service is seen by many as an enemy not only for its ability to eliminate human jobs, but also for the problems that arise on a daily basis in case of facing an unforeseen event or, simply, if a blackout occurs. And in China they have also verified What happens when a system failure occurs and a hundred robotaxis are frozen in the middle of traffic. Some, frozen in the middle of a road with traffic on both sides. Photo | Jordi Moncasi and Uber In Xataka | Waymo’s self-driving cars have started honking at each other. At 4 in the morning

Eric Schmidt warned young university students that AI will change everything. Response from the university students: boo him

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We are living a curious moment in daily technological life. Well, in many ways, really, but obviously artificial intelligence is something that takes up a good part of the conversation and it seems that there are no half measures. Or wild optimism about how good this technology is for humanity (for the few who are striking gold, rather) or criticism and opposition. Because while Big Tech and technology gurus evangelize about the benefits of AIthere are more and more They oppose this technology and the gluttonous infrastructure it needs to function. And nothing represents that duality as well as the loud booing that Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, received when he spoke about AI in his graduation speech at a university. Schmidt’s speech. In large American universities it is common for them to invite personalities to give the graduation speech and, in Arizona, the chosen one was billionaire Eric Schmidt who commanded Google and Alphabet. He took the stage and, in front of 10,000 students, gave a speech that addressed several topics, but focused on the impact of modern technology on society. Last December, Time magazine selected its person of the year for 2025. And this time, they were the architects of artificial intelligence. So today we find ourselves on the verge of another technological transformation. One that will be bigger, faster and more impactful than what came before. It will affect every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship they have. I know how many of you are feeling about this. I can hear them. There is a fear. There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written. That the machines are already coming. That jobs are evaporating. That the climate is being destroyed. That politics is fractured. And that you are inheriting a disaster that you did not create. And I understand that fear. It’s rational. And it is amplified every day by social media platforms with algorithms that have learned with great precision that fear drives clicks and anxiety drives engagement. But I want to tell you something tonight in the clearest way possible. To talk about the future as if it had already been decided is to give up on the only thing that really matters. They are giving up their ability to act. The future doesn’t just arrive. It is built in laboratories, in college dormitories, in startups, in classrooms, in legislatures. And the people who will build it will be you and people like you. The booing of Schmidt. Depending on whether you are on the most optimistic side or the most critical side of the current situation of artificial intelligence, you will imagine the fragments in which the public could react to the speech, but one thing is clear: graduates do not seem to like being reminded of the world they are inheriting, that a technology that is far from perfect is going to impact all aspects of society (already is doing so, in fact) and that, with a certain hypocrisy, the blame is placed on the social media algorithms that serve as speaker of certain currents of thought. Whatever path you choose, AI is going to be part of it – Eric Schmidt Especially from a person who was in positions of responsibility at Google and Alphabet for more than 15 years, and Google works the way it works. In his speech, the former CEO addressed other issues such as that the same tools that connect us are the ones that are isolating us and more that “the question is not whether AI will shape the world: it will. The question is whether you will have been part of artificial intelligence.” The new Industrial Revolution. The video of Schmidt’s booing is not framed in a vacuum and has not been the only one that has gone viral in recent weeks. a few days ago, Gloria Caulfield received the same treatment from graduates at the University of Central Florida. Gloria is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Tavistock and Executive Director of the Lake Nona Institute and hit a nerve when she compared artificial intelligence and the moment we live in with the Industrial Revolution. Glory commented that we live in a time of profound change and, unlike Schmidt, he had to stop a couple of times due to the force of the boos. In fact, he reacted by pointing out that it was evident that there was a division of opinion and that he loved the passion of the students. He commented that, in his day, his generation had the same problems with the birth of the Internet and insecurity about the future, but it did not seem to convince the students. There was also applause, of course. Weird climate. These types of positions by personalities who give speeches about AI, as we say, are not isolated. Someone very active in this sense is Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia and a person extremely involved and interested in the development of AI, who also gave a talk recently at Carnegie Mellon University in which he commented that there is no better time to start working on “the job of your life”, which AI is a positive network for humanity because it provides opportunities that favor young people and that AI “will create many new jobs and new industries.” “AI is not likely to replace you, but someone who uses AI better than you could” – Jensen Huang Another example is that of monumental anger of the graduates of calartsone of the most important universities in the world in the arts segment, when the president of the institution began to praise artificial intelligence. The problem here is that, again, young people are not so convinced that AI is going to change their future… for the better. As they point out in Guardiana recent study suggests that about half of young Americans are more worried than excited about the rise of AI in … Read more

Nobody has yet been able to with Revolut in Spain. Monzo’s response: “yet”

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Spain has been a country of neobanks for some time. Its market share exceeds 25%and they are fully achieving their goal of stealing customers from traditional banking. With Revolut Leading the surprise and capturing more new accounts than banks like BBVA or Santander, there is a new actor with enough muscle to stand up to it. monzo. It may not sound familiar to you, but monzo It is the most used bank in the United Kingdom, with 13 million customers. In other words, more than 25% of English people have an account open at Monzo, and the entity has been working silently for months to obtain the green light from the Bank of Spain. The “OK”. The neobank has been registered with the Bank of Spain as a bank branchhaving formally authorized registration in the BOE. The first key regulatory step for Monzo to set foot in our country, although at the moment there is no set date for its landing. Why is it important. Monzo is not just another niche neobank looking to survive. It is an entity with millions of customers, profitable since 2023, and with a product proposal that has managed to take the UK by storm. If it plays its cards right, Monzo can become one of Revolut’s main players, and a major threat to other propositions such as N26 either Trade Republic. why now. Experts like Jose Luis Antúnez told us back in 2019 why Monzo did not seem to have any special interest in leaving the United Kingdom. The answer was clear: customer service. Regarding traditional banking, neobanks are failing in this aspect, while Monzo has been wanting to be more responsible in terms of experience and service for years. A conservative strategy. Monzo’s differential is not currently in its offer of financial products, it is that it is a simple Neobank. Allows you to use “Pots”, a tool to divide into subaccounts and save by objectives with automatic transfer. It allows you to automate the payroll so that a certain part goes to the savings pot, a certain part to the invoices (direct debits) and the rest is available for spending. Bill Splitting with Friends Remuneration higher than 3% in the United Kingdom. The numbers. Revolut closed 2025 with 6.3 million customers in Spain, its third global market by user volume, after gaining two million in the last year alone. Trade Republic, for its part, went from 1.2 to 2.4 million users between June 2025 and April 2026. Revolut is already the fifth bank in Spain, ahead of ING, Unicaja, Cajamar and Ibercaja. Only 200,000 clients from Sabadell, which has been building a network of offices throughout the country for decades. Traditional banking continues to dominate in volume—CaixaBank has almost 19 million customers—but the ranking is no longer just a matter of entities with branches on every corner. Three of the ten largest banks in Spain are neobanks, and Monzo wants to add a fourth. In Xataka | Revolut wants more than your savings: it’s going after Spanish millionaires

Doomsday. Disney’s response has been to invent its own IMAX

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On December 18, 2026, two of the most anticipated blockbusters of the last decade share release date. Warner Bros. has contracted exclusivity on all IMAX screens in the United States for ‘Dune: Part Three’ for three weeks. It is a vital space for the box office blockbusters of this type, so Disney, following Bender’s teachings on the moon from the legendary pilot episode of ‘Futurama’, decides to set up its own IMAX for ‘Doomsday‘. He called it Infinity Vision. The contract of evil. The key is in a contract signed before both premieres collided. Warner Bros. booked December 18, 2026 for ‘Dune: Part Three’ in June 2024, almost a year before Disney moved ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ on that same date. Under this contract, Villeneuve’s film has all IMAX screens blocked for three consecutive weeks starting December 18, leaving the Marvel film without access to that circuit in the US market. In favor of ‘Dune’. In addition to the contractual issue, there is an added topic: ‘Dune: Part Three’ has been filmed mainly with 65mm IMAX cameraswhile ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ has done so with IMAX certified digital cameras. For the IMAX standard, there is a difference: the 65mm negative produces a native image in the expanded format of the characteristic IMAX screens, which makes ‘Dune 3’ a more technically competent release. Something that IMAX will undoubtedly use as a selling ingredient. Despite insistent rumors, it seems that Marvel will not move the release date, and Kevin Feige confirmed it at CinemaCon. Infinity Vision arrives. It was there where Disney announced Infinity Vision as a new certification for premium rooms. This is a seal that will help the viewer “find the best screens in their area.” This rating refers to the largest possible screen sizes, laser projection for superior brightness and sharpness, and premium audio formats for an immersive sound experience. That is to say, about 75 certified rooms in the United States and more than 300 globally. What Infinity Vision is not. It is not a new format. It is simply a certification for rooms that already exist and can boast high-quality equipment. IMAX, with its characteristic aspect ratio of 1.43:1, is a different experience from traditional cinema, a space that Infinity Vision does not come out of, no matter how much it is applied to high-quality screens. The Infinity Vision certificate will start with the re-release of ‘Endgame’, as an appetizer before the arrival of ‘Doomsday’. Why IMAX matters. To understand why Disney has a problem, let’s look at the numbers. IMAX occupies less than 5% of the screens, but for large studio productions it represents between 15% and 25% of the collection of the first weekend. For example, ‘Dune: Part Two‘ grossed $81.5 million domestically and $178.5 million worldwide in its opening weekend, with premium formats (IMAX and 70mm) accounting for 48% of the total opening business. That is, almost half of the box office concentrated in a small percentage of the theaters. With ‘Oppenheimer’, IMAX generated 35 million global dollars in the premiere alone, 20% of the opening total. EITHER said by the CEO of IMAX himselfRichard Gelfond: the format has added 15% of the box office in premium releases during 2025. IMAX’s global revenues are on track to exceed $1.4 billion in 2026and ‘Dune 3’ is one of the main drivers of that growth. Disney, for its part, is the largest contributor to IMAX revenue among all the Hollywood studios, which gives an idea of ​​the volume of business that is at stake with ‘Doomsday’. The precedent. In 2025, Jurassic World Rebirth was one of the few big blockbusters that could not have a premiere in IMAX for scheduling reasons. Some analysts blame this for its somewhat weaker performance than other deliveries. Meanwhile, Warner has already reported that the 70mm IMAX screenings of ‘Dune: Part Three’ they have already sold out in 19 locations in North America and London. A panorama for ‘Doomsday’ that, although it does not point to problems for what will undoubtedly be one of the great assets at the box office this year, may have more than one anxious executive in the Disney offices. In Xataka | If you download ‘Torrente Presidente’, Santiago Segura has the same message for you as if you downloaded ‘Torrente 3’

The US already has the first response to its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. A boomerang of unpredictable consequences: China

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During a crisis with Japan in 2019, China constantly sent patrol boats and government vessels to the disputed waters of the senkaku islandsmaintaining an almost daily presence without completely crossing the line of direct confrontation. That strategy, based on sustained pressure without shock frontal, showed how Beijing can protect its interests at sea by playing on an ambiguous terrain where every move counts. The block changes the board. USA has finally activated the naval blockade of Iranian ports in response to the failure of negotiations, deploying ships, special forces and interdiction capabilities to cut off the flow of oil and economically suffocate Tehran. The operation does not seek to completely close the Strait of Hormuz, but to control who enters and who leaves of the Iranian energy system, which involves intercepting, diverting or even boarding ships in transit. This movement, long studied by the Pentagon, marks a qualitative leap in war, since it transfers pressure from the air and land to the sea, where the legal, military and commercial implications are much more diffuse. and potentially explosive. The reality of global trade. The fundamental problem of the blockade is not only in its military execution, but in its fit with the global system of energy transport, where the majority of the ships are not Iranian, but from third countries such as India, Iraq or, especially China. Intercepting or pressuring these ships in international waters introduces an entirely different dimension, one where the line between military action and global economic conflict is blurred.becomes extremely thin. Thus, each attempt to stop this flow not only affects Iran, but also removes more crude oil from the market, raises prices and transfers the political and economic cost to the blocker himself. Iran and the long term. I remembered the weekend the new york times that, far from collapsing, Iran has demonstrated remarkable strategic resilience, relying on alternative routes, land trade with Asia and financial networks that include Asian, especially Chinese, banks and partners. Its economy, although under pressure, continues to function thanks to indirect exports, accumulated income and access to credit, while control of the strait allows it to continue conditioning the global energy market. In this context, the time plays in your favor: The longer the crisis continues, the greater the wear and tear on the United States and its allies, both in economic and political terms. Permanent military friction point. The blockade forces the US navy to operate in a extremely delicate environmentone where any interaction with suspicious vessels can escalate quickly. The need to board oil tankers, manage crews or redirect cargo turns each operation into a possible international incidentespecially if those ships are protected or linked to state actors. Added to this is the latent threat from Iran, which maintains sufficient capacity (missiles, drones, fast boats) to turn any mistake or specific confrontation into a major climb. The boomerang effect: China. The great consequence of the blockade at this time has not been long in coming, and it is China’s reactionthe main buyer of Iranian oil and a key player in the region. Beijing has made it clear through a statement that it will continue to defend its energy and commercial interests, keeping its routes open and warning against any external interference. There is no doubt, this introduces a completely new risk to the conflict: that of a direct or indirect shock between US forces and assets linked to China, whether in the form of tankers, escorts or diplomatic and economic pressure. Furthermore, the Asian giant has response tools that go beyond the military sphere, from the use of its commercial weight to the control of critical resources. Dead end scenario. The result is a situation in which the attempt to strangle Iran It becomes a system of crossed tensions with multiple actors, where each movement generates new frictions. Blocking does not guarantee a quick resolutionbut it does increase the chances of miscalculations, incidents at sea and escalations that are difficult to contain. Precisely in this unstable balance, the United States not only faces Iran, but an environment where the consequences rebound outside the region, with China as the actor who turns a regional operation into a first order global problem. Image | US Navy In Xataka | The problem in Hormuz is not that it is closed: it is that Iran has “lost the keys” and without them the balance is broken In Xataka | The most buoyant market right now is selling streaming and satellite images of US movements to Iran.

The US is suffocating Cuba energetically. Russia’s response is to send two megaships loaded with oil

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The island of Cuba woke up this week plunged into darkness. A total collapse of the national electrical grid last Monday left the country paralyzedinterrupting surgeries in hospitals, food rotting in refrigerators due to lack of refrigeration and forcing airlines to suspend their flights. This massive blackout is the sixth that the Caribbean nation has suffered in the last 18 months, an unequivocal symptom of a humanitarian and energy crisis that has hit rock bottom. Where does it start. The origin of this asphyxiation dates back to the beginning of the year. The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in january by US forces cut off the supply of oil that Venezuela, its main benefactor, sent to the island. Since then, Donald Trump’s government has intensified the energy blockade. However, in the midst of this strangulation, an old ally has decided to make a move on the board: Russia. The voyage of the lifeboats. Cuba only produces around 40% of the oil it needs for its national demand, historically depending on imports. according to the data provided The Maritime Executive. The island has not received “a single drop” of large-scale fuel since January 9, the date on which the Mexican ship docked Ocean Mariner with 86,000 barrels. Mexico canceled subsequent shipments after giving in to pressure and threats of tariffs from the Trump administration. Now, all eyes are on two boats: seahorse: This Hong Kong-flagged vessel is carrying 200,000 barrels of diesel (or about 27,000 tons of Russian gas, according to maritime intelligence firm TankerTrackers cited by him Financial Times). After being detained for three weeks in the Atlantic, it resumed its march at a speed of 9.9 knots and is expected to reach the western Cuban coast between this weekend and Monday, March 23. Anatoly Kolodkin: Flying the Russian flag and owned by the state company Sovcomflot (sanctioned by the US, the EU and the United Kingdom), this colossus set sail from the Russian port of Primorsk on March 8. According to statements from the Kpler firm collected by Guardianis loaded with about 730,000 barrels of crude oil from the Urals. Its arrival is estimated for April 4, although other sources place it earlier. A fight between the Kremlin and the White House. The arrival of these ships is much more than a commercial transaction; It is a declaration of intent. According to ReutersUS President Donald Trump has raised the tone drastically, telling reporters that he hopes to have “the honor of taking Cuba” and that he can do “whatever he wants” with a nation he considers “very weakened.” Washington’s goal according to New York Timesis to force the departure of the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also demanded regime change. Moscow’s response has not been long in coming. Without directly mentioning Trump, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement reaffirming its “unbreakable solidarity” with the “government and brotherly people of Cuba,” condemning attempts at “crude interference” and intimidation on what they called the “Island of Freedom.” as detailed Reuters. However, in practical terms, the relief for Cubans will be short-lived. Jorge Piñón, researcher at the Energy Institute of the University of Texas interviewed by The Countrywarns that diesel seahorse—vital for generating sets, transportation and agriculture—will only be able to satisfy national consumption for 10 days. “We must remember that inventories are empty,” emphasizes Piñón. Cuba had already reached its “zero hour.” Military tension and desperate measures. The Caribbean board is red hot. Adding to the diplomatic tension is the military presence. According to The Country, Two US-flagged vessels, one of them identified as part of the Coast Guard (USCGC), were recently prowling near the coast of Holguín, in eastern Cuba. Asphyxiated by the blockade, the Díaz-Canel government has resorted to unprecedented measures. Havana has allowed for the first time that small private companies import their own fuel. Simultaneously, the regime has invited Cuban exiles to invest and own businesses on the island, while the official newspaper Granma desperately promotes the installation of solar panels, calling them “the light and energy that cannot be blocked.” The countdown. While the ships seahorse and Anatoly Kolodkin shorten the nautical distance to the port of Matanzas, the outcome of this crisis remains uncertain. The secret negotiations between Havana and the US administration to ease the blockade, confirmed last week, hang by a thread in the face of the aggressive rhetoric of the White House. For now, the Cuban government is entrenching itself. As published by President Díaz-Canel on social networkCuba will not give in to those who plan to “take over the country, its resources and its assets.” Any external aggressor, the president warned, will encounter “unassailable resistance.” It is a scenario that inevitably awakens the ghosts of the Cold War: the United States tightening the siege and Moscow sending an energy lifeline to its historic ally. Meanwhile, eleven million Cubans look at the sea, waiting for those ships to bring just over 10 days of light. Image | Unsplash Xataka | Cuba faces an unprecedented situation in the 21st century: that no plane enters or leaves the country due to lack of fuel

The Tagus reservoirs have reached their maximum level. The response of the authorities has been to empty them immediately

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1,639.67 hm3 of water. That is what the Entrepeñas and Buendía reservoirs store today at the head of the Tagus. This means that they have reached 65.11% of their capacity (compared to 48.52% last year) and, more importantly, that have reached level 1the maximum possible step. Finally, some good news! After years of hardship, the river has reached its “dream level.” Then, we are going to empty it. As? This same week, the Tajo-Segura Transfer Exploitation Commission is going to propose sending 180 hm3 of water to the Segura basin. It will be done in stages over three months. And the truth is that it was something totally predictable: the growth of reserves in the headwaters of the river has reached milestones that we have not seen since the late 90s. In application of the transfer rules that were set in 2013the irrigators of Segura request that the necessary procedures be activated so that they can give them the water that is theirs. What happens is that the political mess is enormous. What is happening with the water of the Tagus? Basically, by virtue of the Tagus Hydrological Plan, approved in 2023the transfer rules had to be updated to adapt them to the current reality. It has been tried; late, but it has been tried. What happens is that the process (due to the enormous political costs it entails) has been stalled for months and months. Right now, he is stopped waiting for pending resolutions in the Supreme Court. This has generated a very complicated situation: the plan that was going to be approved included a progressive reduction of transfers up to 40% in the next five years. The stated intention was recover the Tagus River and look for management formats that do not focus on specific moments (“emptying the pantry just when we have finished filling it”), but on more global measures that do not compromise the management of the basins in the medium term. But since it is not approved, the law is clear: Segura can claim its water and the Exploitation Commission will proceed to send it. The central issue is whether all this is a mirage or not. It is not lost on anyone that this January has not been a normal month (it has been the rainiest in the last 25 years) and, for this reason, each of the parties wants to use ‘this gift from heaven‘ for their own interests: some to regenerate the Tagus (and ensure the economic activity linked to it) and the others to keep the Segura agroindustry alive. That is, we have to choose at the worst possible moment: with the elections just around the corner. Image | Maria LVRZ In Xataka | The water from the Tagus is going to stay in Castilla-La Mancha. So Alicante and Murcia already have a plan B: set up desalination plants

Ouigo has presented record numbers (and profits) in Spain. Renfe’s response is clear: they do not believe it

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“Renfe is today the only high-speed operator in Spain that manages to close the year with profits, while the rest of the companies in the sector continue in the red” The phrase is clear and the content clear: Renfe continues to be considered the only company in Spain that presents benefits in high speed. We could consider the statement valid but it has only been a few days since Ouigo put another piece of information on the table. “For the first time,” they noted in the presentation of their results that the company “managed to generate positive EBITDA for the first time.” And yet, both may be right even if the data seems contradictory. A fight that doesn’t stop From March 15, 2021the Spanish railway sector lives two realities. The first is that Ouigo operates on Spanish railways, standing up to Renfe. The second reality is that both companies maintain an open war in an exchange of statements that does not seem to end. Although a low profile was maintained in the first two years, in 2024 the Government arrived to support Renfe in a fight that they consider unequal. Then, Óscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, already stated that Ouigo operated through unfair competition. According to the Government and Renfe, Ouigo can offer lower prices than them because it is supported by France from the other side of the border. Months later, Puente raised the bar and said that I would report the French to the European Commission for unfair competition. Then it was pointed out that Ouigo was operating in Spain because it was losing money. But, in addition, France would be torpedoing its arrival to new lines in the country that could confront them in the local market. That is to say, Spain had ended up opening doors that France closed to them. Since then, we have not had news of the complaint but it is certain that Ouigo and Renfe maintain an open battle that has presented us with various chapters. We have seen disputes over prices but also over the type of repairs Ouigo was doing in the Renfe workshops (Renfe has to offer them its space but considered that these exceeded the current permits) or statements from the French making it clear that for the particularities of high speed spanish It would be impossible for them to compete in Madrid-Galicia. The last battle of this war has to do with the financial results. January 26, 2026the SCNF group, owner of Ouigo, presented a press release in which it boasted that it had achieved a 44% increase in passengers on its Spanish trains. And, in addition, he pointed out that for the first time they achieved a positive EBITDA. This has been read as if, for the first time, the French company was making profits in our country, although the truth is that the accounts were not detailed and only that financial term is pointed out. The point is that the EBITDA It refers to the operating income of the business and certain expenses but does not take into account taxes on profits, financial expenses such as interest on loans or amortizations. At the moment, Ouigo has not provided these data, but we do know that the companies that operate in our country at high speed they were losing money. This has been a constant since the arrival of Ouigo and Iryo and, in fact, both have had to receive new investments to be able to face the losses that have come upon them in the last four years. This difference between the EBITDA and the net result is what Renfe uses to proclaim itself as the only company that operates on Spanish high speed and making profits. “At the end of 2025, the Renfe division dedicated to passenger transport obtained a net profit of 70.2 million eurosa figure clearly higher than the previous year (5.4 million)”, points out in his statement. Therefore, both companies are right, neither is lying. But none of them tell the whole truth. And Ouigo, everything indicates, will continue to give net losses this year but it is true that it has years left to amortize the investment it had to make to bring its trains to Spain. Collecting a positive EBITDA is a good sign because it indicates that you are moving towards profitability but you will not be able to obtain it until you meet the interest on the requested loans and the amortizations. Renfe, on the contrary, with a consolidated network in Spain and the experience of working in the field since before becoming a company with private capital, has a clear advantage over rivals. It is true that, as Transport Minister Óscar Puente has complainedis also obliged to provide a public service that does not always have to be profitable. Photo | Wayback Machine and Cheng-en Cheng In Xataka | The overwhelming success of the train in Spain: when they gave us a choice, we chose to flee the airports

The US tried to burden Huawei with vetoes. Huawei’s response: thank you very much for everything

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According to the RAE, the resilience It is the ability of a material, mechanism or system to recover its initial state when the disturbance to which it had been subjected has ceased. According to the tech industry, resilience is… Huawei. After nearly half a decade of frontal attack by the US administrationthe Chinese company has just achieved its second best result on record to date. 127 billion dollars. Huawei Technologies record more than 880 billion yuan ($127 billion) by 2025, according to company executives. This is the second highest figure recorded for the company, after the historical figure it achieved of 891 billion yuan (129 billion dollars). which he obtained in 2020. China’s role. After the fight launched by the United States government, China’s national plan with Huawei has been clear: make it the main actor in the country. During the last year, the company managed to take first place in mobile phone sales, surpassing Apple according to IDC data. The Harmony Tsunami. The United States banned Huawei from the Android ecosystem. The answer was not to improvise an alternative, but to do something much more ambitious: build your own with HarmonyOS. That has been the key to not being buried. Huawei didn’t just develop a replacement for Android; has managed to develop a complete and integrated ecosystem. A system that connects mobile phones, smart watches, tablets and even electric cars under the same architecture and services. HarmonyOS has permeated, according to Huawei itself, in more than 100 million smartphones (sales estimates five years ago gave Huawei barely 10 million after its crisis), and this is just the beginning. Ambition. Huawei has doubled its artificial intelligence infrastructure in recent years, betting on its internally designed Ascend chips and becoming a key player to train some of the great AI models. Together with its partner SMIC, and without access to the EUV machinery of the Dutch ASML, Huawei has managed raise the attention of companies like Intelwhose executives warned a few days ago that the blockade of Huawei was having exactly the opposite effect to that desired. Summing up. There are several pillars that support Huawei’s rise: Strong support from the Chinese Government A clear strategy to achieve technological self-sufficiency Massive and sustained investment in R&D, even in critical moments of the veto Building an enabling ecosystem that unites hardware, software and services. An ecosystem, also, open to other manufacturers Yes, but. Huawei continues to face the challenge of having practically disappeared in the smartphone and tablet market in Europe, as well as convincing in China that its high-end phones are a better alternative to the iPhone (Huawei is gaining in sales, but in high-end the iPhone continues to reign even in China). Despite this, the paradigm change is clear: Huawei is obtaining the same income as in 2020 despite having lost muscle outside its native country. It is the best proof that trying to isolate it from the Western world may not have been the best idea. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Catalonia wanted to create the mother of networks for its public headquarters with Huawei equipment. He thought better of it

OpenClaw is the total AI agent that challenged Big Tech. Big Tech’s response: buy it, of course

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Peter Steinberger It was a great unknown to the vast majority of the planet until less than a month ago. His project, which he initially called Clawdbot (later Moltbot and finally OpenClaw), became the new sensation of the internet and the world of AI. Its growth has been so spectacular that the majors in this segment set their eyes on it and, inevitably, began to fight to sign its creator and acquire his project. We already have a winner of that bid: OpenAI. What is OpenClaw. OpenClaw is what we could define as “the total AI agent.” A system that uses one or more AI models such as those from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google to do things for you. Here are some differences from using those models in a “traditional” way: You can chat with your AI agent using messaging apps like Telegram or WhatsApp, as if it were just another contact OpenClaw takes full control of the machine you install it on, whether it’s an old PC, a Raspberry Pi or a VPS, for example. You have permission to do whatever you want inside that machine, which also involves risks The capacity of current models, such as Opus 4.5, makes the agent certainly autonomous and proactive and, for example, suggests things to you or makes decisions based on the conversations you have with him? she? it? OpenAI buys OpenClaw. Last week Steinberger I already commented in an interview with Lex Fridman that OpenAI and Meta had made offers to sign him and acquire his project. Those intentions crystallized on Saturday, when the creator of OpenClaw advertisement that he had signed with OpenAI and that the OpenClaw project “will become managed by a foundation and will remain open and independent.” It was a more than reasonable exit for Steinberger, who will probably have received a significant sum of money and prestige, but that leads us to the eternal question: can you compete with the big companies? Short answer: probably not. Large companies have always been hampered by their own size when it comes to reacting quickly to new trends, and even the largest AI companies suffer from this same problem. OpenClaw was doing something that none of them had dared to do – partly because this type of agent has too much “power” – but with these projects and with startups that are beginning to emerge, the same thing always happens: either the big companies copy the idea and they end up burying the originalor they buy that startup that threatened to compete with them. For many startups, in fact, the “exit” or future strategy of the project happens to be bought by a large company. A creator who didn’t want to be CEO. Steinberger explained in his post how his project opened up “an endless string of possibilities” for him, and confessed that “yes, I could really see that OpenClaw could have become a giant company. But no, I’m not excited about that. I’m a creator at heart.” Steinberger has already created a company and dedicated 13 years of his life to it, and “what I want is to change the world, not create a big company, and partnering with OpenAI is the fastest way to bring this to the entire world.” One person’s first unicorn? The appearance of ChatGPT soon made will be spoken of the ‘Solo Unicorn’ phenomenon, a startup created by a single person and which, thanks to AI, would be valued at more than 1 billion dollars. We do not know what price OpenAI has paid for this signing, but it is likely that it will not reach that much. What does seem evident is that OpenClaw was the type of project and idea that certainly could have turned it into that “Solo Unicorn”. The era of custom AI agents. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, confirmed the news in X. There it indicated that the creator of OpenClaw had joined OpenAI “to lead the next generation of personal agents”, and highlighted that “we expect this (personalized AI agents) to quickly become an integral part of our product offerings.” In addition, he assured that OpenClaw will remain open source, something that was probably one of the essential conditions that Steinberger set to join the ranks of OpenAI. And now what. That the project remains Open Source and independent is great news and theoretically that will allow OpenClaw to continue functioning as before, but having OpenAI’s resources can undoubtedly make it grow exceptionally. It remains to be seen whether that will end up having a negative impact in any way, but what also seems clear is that these types of “full AI agents” could soon also be an integral part of the offering of other AI companies. Welcome to the era of total AI agents. We had already partially seen what OpenClaw does with projects like Computer Use from Anthropic, Project Jarvis/Mariner by DeepM Mind u Operator from OpenAI itself. Both allowed AI would do things for us in the browser, but OpenClaw does things for us with all the applications on the machine on which we install it (the email client, the command console, etc.). We are facing an interesting stage for this type of systems. In Xataka | OpenClaw is one of the most fascinating and “dangerous” AIs of the moment. A Malaga company has come to the rescue

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