Business and politics must align to drive innovation, particularly in today's technological era where artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly dominant. The newly launched €150 billion EU AI Champions Initiative marks a significant step forward, with 60 European companies - both startups and Incumbents uniting to streamline AI regulations. Switzerland has a strong representation with four startups and scale-ups supporting the vision of transforming industries with AIThe EU AI Champions Initiative launched at the AI Action Summit in Paris, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, aims to position Europe as a global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The initiative will foster collaboration across technology, industry, and policy sectors, boosting AI adoption, talent, investments and innovation to drive Europe’s economic growth and global competitiveness.For the first time, European leaders from across countries, industries, technology, and policy have come together to create a functional flywheel aimed at accelerating Europe's leadership in artificial intelligence. By framing an ambitious and positive vision for Europe, mobilizing talent and capital, and driving AI adoption, this unprecedented collaboration seeks to create self-reinforcing mechanisms that will foster the growth of new technology companies and strengthen the global leadership of Europe’s established industries. Together, they aim to drive economic growth and social prosperity across the continent.The initiative emphasizes the need for a regulatory environment that supports AI innovation while ensuring ethical and secure use of AI technologies

“A lot of foodtech founders in this dry capital environment are beating their heads against the wall with the conviction that the wall will break before their heads do,” observes Paul Shapiro at The Better Meat Co. “That said, deals are still getting done, and important technology is still being developed.”. In some cases, startups have found themselves swimming against the tide, with alt meat getting caught up in the culture wars (spoiler alert: JD Vance does not approve of “disgusting fake meat” and Ron DeSantis has been “fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish”) while the leading player in livestock methane reduction has been battling a barrage of misinformation on social media. In other cases, a confluence of factors has created far more favorable conditions for foodtech startups, however