Spanish deeptech company that shrinks large language models wants investors to bet that efficiency, rather than sheer scale, is where the next stretch of AI money gets made.

Multiverse Computing, based in San Sebastián in Spain’s Basque Country, has opened a Series C round targeting up to $570m (€500m), the company said on July 27.

The raise would value the startup at roughly $1.7bn (€1.5bn) before the new money arrives, which the company put at about five times its previous valuation.

The pitch rests on CompactifAI, a tool Multiverse says can compress a large language model by up to 95% with what it calls immaterial accuracy loss. It borrows tensor networks from quantum physics to strip redundancy out of a model, cutting the memory, cost, and energy each query burns.

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The technique sits inside a broader compression race that has pulled in far larger players.

In practice, the company sells slimmed-down versions of open models such as Meta’s Llama, packaged to run on cheaper hardware or on-premises rather than inside a hyperscaler’s data centre.

That edge-to-cloud framing is the heart of the Series C pitch. As inference, the cost of actually running a model, overtakes training as the dominant expense for many buyers, the argument goes, they will pay for the same output at a fraction of the compute and power.

It is not the only use Multiverse has found for the maths. The firm, which began in quantum software, has applied the same methods to other problems, including a system to predict floods. The through line is squeezing more out of less, whether the target is a neural network or a river.

The round is co-led by Forgepoint Capital International, the BNPP Solar Impulse Venture Fund, and Bullhound Capital, according to the company. If it closes at the top of the range, Multiverse’s total funding would reach about $800m across all rounds.

The company has not said when it expects to finish raising, nor disclosed the terms attached to the lead investors’ stakes. A round that is announced while still open can also close below its target.

In June 2025 the firm closed a Series B worth €189m, or about $215m, led by Bullhound with backing from HP Tech Ventures, Toshiba, Forgepoint, SETT, and Spain’s CDP Venture Capital. Bloomberg reported in February that Multiverse was in talks at a €1.5bn valuation, the same figure now attached to the Series C.

Multiverse was founded in 2019 by chief executive Enrique Lizaso, a former banker, and chief scientific officer Román Orús, a physicist whose work on tensor networks underpins the product. Both the compression business and its quantum tools sit inside a wider European quantum push that has drawn heavy public funding.

Its customer list, per the company, runs to Iberdrola, Bosch, Telefónica, Allianz, Bank of Canada, Indra, and PwC.

Multiverse also reported steep growth to match its ambitions, claiming a tenfold rise in annualised revenue since the last round and first-quarter sales up 96 times year on year. Those figures are self-reported and have not been independently audited.

The bet is a distinctly European one. As models grow more expensive to run, a cluster of the region’s startups is chasing the inference bill rather than the frontier.

Data-centre electricity demand has become one of the industry’s hardest constraints, and trimming the energy a model burns per query is one of the few levers a startup can pull without owning chips or power stations.

Multiverse is selling the opposite trade. If the future of AI is smaller, cheaper, and closer to the edge, a compression startup on the Basque coast would rather own that corner than chase the frontier it is quietly trying to cut down to size.

According to reports, Apple plans to introduce its new Apple Upgrade leasing plan in the United States next week. The program aims to spread the cost of eligible devices into monthly installments. It may also act as an alternative to the existing iPhone Upgrade Plan offered by Apple.

Apple is expected to launch the Apple Upgrade Program in partnership with Klarna. Customers will reportedly need to complete a soft credit check before enrolling. According to reports, the Apple Upgrade Program is expected to work just like a subscription. Customers have the option of paying for their device in full before the end of their lease period.

Customers can also retain the device after paying off the entire amount. If the customer is no longer interested in the device, they can give it back when the lease expires. The customer gets more freedom compared to a one-time purchase. Apple is likely to offer various lease deals depending on the device. iPhones and Apple Watch can be leased for 24 months. Macs and iPads will have a 36-month lease.

Eligible Devices, Exclusions, and Changes for Buyers

The plan is said to cover eligible iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. But not all Apple products are set to be covered by the new lease plan. This is because some products will be excluded from the list, among them the iPhone 16, Apple Watch SE, budget iPad, and MacBook Neo. Apple also plans to exclude business and education purchases.

Unlike the current iPhone Upgrade Program, the new service is not expected to offer AppleCare coverage. Reports also suggest Apple will stop accepting new customers for the existing iPhone Upgrade Program after Apple Upgrade launches. The new leasing option may make premium Apple devices easier to afford. Customers can spread payments over several months instead of paying the full price upfront.

Google is widening the rollout of two long-awaited Google Maps features for Android Auto users: Immersive Navigation and a built-in live speedometer. After months of limited availability, reports suggest both features are now reaching a broader group of users, including people running stable versions of Google Maps instead of beta builds.

The update is part of Google’s ongoing effort to modernize the Android Auto navigation experience. While the company unveiled Immersive Navigation earlier this year as one of the platform’s biggest upgrades in years, the feature has been trickling out slowly, leaving many users without access. That appears to be changing, with more devices now receiving the update through a server-side rollout.

The rollout is still gradual, and availability may vary depending on region and device, but it signals that Google is becoming more confident about deploying the new experience at scale.

Maps becomes more visual while Android Auto gains a useful driving tool

Immersive Navigation makes Google Maps easier to follow while driving by displaying richer road layouts, clearer lane guidance, and more detailed intersections. The updated interface is designed to present navigation information in a way that’s easier to interpret with a glance instead of requiring drivers to study the map.

Alongside the redesigned navigation view, Google is also expanding the rollout of a live speedometer inside Android Auto. Unlike speed limit warnings, the feature displays the vehicle’s current speed directly within Google Maps, reducing the need to switch attention between the infotainment display and the instrument cluster in vehicles where that information isn’t readily visible.

Users receiving the update will also notice another interface change. On Android phones, the Gemini icon has replaced the Google Assistant shortcut in the top-right corner of Google Maps, continuing Google’s transition from Assistant to Gemini across its ecosystem.

A server-side rollout means patience is still required

Although more users are reporting access, Google has not released the features through a standard app update. Instead, the rollout appears to be happening server-side, meaning installing the latest version of Google Maps or Android Auto does not necessarily guarantee immediate access. Reports also suggest the features are appearing on stable builds rather than remaining exclusive to beta users, making them accessible to a much wider audience over time.

For Android Auto users, this update is less about adding flashy new capabilities and more about refining the everyday driving experience. Better lane visualization, more detailed navigation guidance, and an integrated speedometer are incremental improvements individually, but together they make Google Maps feel more complete as an in-car navigation system. As the rollout expands, more drivers should begin seeing those upgrades without needing to join Google’s beta programmes.

It’s been two years since the last total solar eclipse, but another one is coming in a few weeks — and with it, a special addition that rarely happens. Some people will get to see the solar eclipse during sunset, giving them an extraordinary view. The only problem is, you may have to jet off on a summer vacation to see it.

The total eclipse will only grace the shores of a few countries. According to NASA, the total eclipse on Aug. 12 will hit Greenland, Iceland, the northern half of Spain and one corner of Portugal. Spain is at the tail end of the eclipse, and as such, it will occur later in the day at around sunset, giving viewers in Spain a spectacular sight. 

Other countries in Europe and Africa will also get quite a show. Most of Europe and a sizable portion of northern Africa are still getting a partial solar eclipse, which will happen around sunset. That means tens of millions of people will be in the right place to see a partial or total solar eclipse at sunset. 

Russia is the luckiest country this time around. The eclipse starts at sunrise near the uninhabited Taymyr Peninsula, streaks across the world all day, and then Russians on the other side of the country are in the path for the partial solar eclipse at sunset, making Russia the only country that will see the eclipse at both sunrise and sunset.

How often do sunset eclipses happen?

Sunset eclipses don’t occur very often, at least where people can see them. There are two reasons for this. 

The first is that solar eclipses usually only last for a few hours, and the timing for that being right at sunset isn’t terribly common. 

The other reason is that solar eclipses have long paths, and sometimes those paths cut through the ocean or places where people don’t live. In the last 15 years, only a handful of total eclipses sit in that Venn diagram of occurring late enough in the day to happen at sunset, while also taking place where humans can see it.

The most recent sunset eclipse in North America was in 2014, but it was only a partial eclipse. South America’s most recent one was in July 2019, where people in Chile and Argentina had the best view of a total solar eclipse happening at sunset, while most of the rest of the country had a partial view. Asia’s most recent was in December 2019.

In short, this is a once-in-a-decade event for most of the world. 

Will this eclipse be visible in North America?

North America is pretty far from the main action, but a few states are in the path. The math is a little complicated, but if you look at a map of the US and draw a line from Alaska to North Carolina, all the states north of that line will get a little bit of an eclipse (less than 20% coverage), and all the states south of that line are sitting this one out. 

If you live in the path and want to check it out, be sure to adhere to proper solar eclipse viewing safety protocols so that you don’t harm your eyes.

Apple is reportedly testing its September 2026 Apple Watch lineup, but the new models are expected to be minor updates while more substantial changes are much further off.

Most recent rumors have claimed that the forthcoming Apple Watch Series 12 will not feature any hardware improvements over its predecessor. Now backing up those reports, Bloomberg says that neither the Apple Watch Series 12 nor the expected Apple Watch Ultra 4 will get visible upgrades to their design.

Instead, the updates will be concentrated on giving the new Apple Watches a significant performance boost through a new processor. There may also be health and fitness tracking improvements, though previous reports have claimed that there won’t be new sensors, so this may be a software update.

The new lineup has the codenames N237 and N238 for the Wi-Fi and cellular versions of the Apple Watch Series 12 while the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is codenamed N240. All three models are said to now be in late-stage testing.

It’s claimed that these are the only three models due to be launched in September 2026, and specifically that there will not be a new Apple Watch SE released at this time.

There’s no indication of when an upgraded Apple Watch SE may come, but the report says that work is being done on a significant redesign for the regular Apple Watch. That’s not expected to result in a new device for at least a couple of years, however.

Separately, a recurring rumor has claimed again that the 2026 Apple Watch models will feature a new system for attaching bands. It remains as possible yet unlikely, though, as it has for the last several years that the rumor has circulated.

Also, while this new report predicts no noticeable changes to the Apple Watch Ultra, a rumor in May 2026 suggested that there may well be a significant update. Supply chain sources claimed that the Apple Watch Ultra 4 could double its number of sensors over the previous models.

“The rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels and Amazon storefronts has created a new kind of white-collar exit strategy,” reports Bloomberg. Workers ditch office jobs not to become celebrities, necessarily, “but to piece together an income online through brand deals, affiliate links and highly personal videos documenting everyday life.”

In many cases, the followers necessary to sustain a living are smaller (and more attainable) than people might assume. A small but loyal audience can now generate enough income to rival a midlevel salary. Welcome to the middle-class creator economy. Last year, 25-year-old Abi Platock balanced a corporate marketing job in New York while posting online in her spare time. She built her audience by posting one or two videos a day, offering career advice, beauty tips and daily vlogs. “I signed my first brand deal in the four-figure range, and for me that was just such a big eye-opening moment,” Platock says of her partnership with deodorant brand Secret. She had 8,000 followers on TikTok at the time. “You can totally make it work without having hundreds of thousands of followers.” Platock, who now has roughly 25,000 followers across platforms, has signed about $25,000 in brand deals so far this year and expects her annual creator income to reach around $50,000 by yearend.

Her experience reflects a broader shift in advertising. Brands are increasingly moving money toward so-called microinfluencers — smaller online personalities who have less than 100,000 followers. “They are hiring a bunch of microcreators at scale instead of hiring a handful of macrocreators for what could potentially be the same cost,” says Ali Grant, co-chief executive officer of the Digital Department, a creator management company. And they perform where it matters most: engagement. An engagement rate of 3% is considered strong, and some microinfluencers exceed 10%, Grant says of the closely watched metric that tracks how often followers interact with content through likes, comments, shares and saves. Microinfluencers average a 3.2% engagement rate, almost triple the 1.1% rate for macroinfluencers (more than 1 million followers), according to growth marketing agency ATTN… A TikTok partnership with a creator who has around 50,000 followers can run a brand more than $3,500 for a single post, Grant says; with 10 times the followers, that fee might just triple, to around $10,000….

The influencer marketing economy ballooned to a projected $33 billion in 2025 up from $1.7 billion in 2015. The segment gained momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic, as dissatisfaction with traditional work pushed many to reconsider conventional career paths, says Brooke Duffy, a professor of communications at Cornell University. “They realized the trade-offs in terms of the investments of time, energy and human capital were not necessarily worth sacrificing so much of one’s personal self for,” she says. Success online can bring greater freedom — and even higher pay than many traditional office jobs, which have a median US salary of $69,000, according to Glassdoor. But the middle-class hustle still requires constant effort to maintain. The career has no promise of lifetime longevity. And unlike traditional workers, creators have no predictable paycheck or job protections, making career stability elusive. Roughly 57% of 3,000 surveyed full-time creators earn below a living wage from content creation, according to a report last year from Influencer Marketing Hub. Income from social media can fluctuate wildly from month to month, driven by shifts in algorithms, sponsorship cycles and platform trends.

“You could have a month where you make zero dollars, or you could have a month where you make $10,000,” Platock says.
The article cites Gallup Poll data released last year that found employee engagement in the U.S. had fallen to its lowest level in a decade [with engagement defined as “the psychological attachment workers have to their work/team/employer]. “Among the hardest-hit groups were Generation Z and workers in finance and technology. Broader workplace challenges, including rapid organizational change, hybrid and remote work transitions, and rising employee expectations are considered drivers of the overall trend.”

“For many workers, influencing can seem like a better deal; flexible schedules and independence wrapped in a veneer of creativity and fun. Almost 60% of Gen Zers say they’d become an influencer if given the opportunity, according to a 2023 survey from Morning Consult.”