Notable rounds this past quarter include Neurent Medical, Aerska, Evervault, Circuit and XFuel.
VC funding into Irish SMEs fell 58pc to €221.7m in first quarter of this year, finds Irish Venture Capital Association’s (IVCA) quarterly Venture Pulse survey.
Life sciences SMEs led funding rounds this quarter, accounting for 54pc of the total investment – or €119.5m, followed by fintech at 13pc (€28m), software at 12pc (€26.9m), cybersecurity at 9pc and environmental tech at 8pc.
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The true impact of funding into AI companies, meanwhile, is difficult to estimate, noted IVCA, which classifies companies by their core industry, even if AI is embedded in their products and services.
According to the report, AI represents just 2pc of the total funding raised in Ireland this quarter. Meanwhile, globally, AI accounted for around 80pc of the record $300bn invested in start-ups in Q1 2026.
IVCA’s report found that funding declined across all deal-sizes except for investments less than €1m. Though this range already suffered a 42pc decline in the same quarter last year.
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Meanwhile funding in the €3m to €5m range fell 77pc to €7.9m from €35m a year earlier, and deals worth €5m and €10m dropped 62pc to €16.5m from €43.8m.
85pc of the total capital raised during this quarter came from international investors. “This is glass half full territory,” noted Caroline Gaynor, IVCA’s chairperson, “as it once again highlights our exposure to overseas investment, but also emphasises the appetite for quality Irish tech firms, despite unprecedented spending on AI in the US.”
Given Ireland’s high exposure to international investments, geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing Iran war, could impact investor confidence, IVCA said, adding that it is hard to predict its impact on SME funding in the next quarter.
“Ireland is a small market subject to global geopolitical headwinds. But local policy initiatives may mitigate against this to the benefit of early stage Irish start-ups looking to raise funding this year.
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“For example, Enterprise Ireland has raised its direct investment limit from €250,000, and we should see the benefits of the Government’s €250m Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2025-2029 start to feed through this year.”
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Facepalm: Microsoft has acknowledged a strange Recycle Bin bug affecting Windows 11 following this month’s Patch Tuesday update. Users have reported several other issues since the June 2026 update rolled out earlier this week, but this is the only bug Microsoft has officially confirmed.
According to Microsoft, users who have installed the KB5095051 update might encounter a strange Recycle Bin bug that replaces the names of deleted files with internal Recycle Bin filenames in specific situations. When permanently deleting a single file from the Recycle Bin, the confirmation dialog displays a cryptic internal filename, such as $Rxxxxx.ext, instead of the original filename, such as realfilename.txt.
However, the bug only affects the confirmation dialog, as the Recycle Bin window continues to display the original filename. Restoring the item also reportedly returns it to its original location with the correct filename. Despite the incorrect filename shown in the confirmation dialog, the file is still deleted as expected once the action is confirmed, meaning the bug does not cause any significant usability issues.
Microsoft says a workaround is available for affected devices, but only commercial users can deploy it for now. To obtain additional details on how to mitigate the issue, system administrators must contact Microsoft Support for Business. Everyone else will have to wait for a permanent fix, which Microsoft says will be delivered in a future Windows update.
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Despite Microsoft’s recent emphasis on improving the Windows user experience, the operating system’s updates continue to be plagued by bugs and reliability issues. According to posts on Microsoft’s official forums, the June 2026 update has introduced a variety of annoying bugs, including problems accessing OneDrive and Dropbox. IT administrators are also reporting sluggish File Explorer performance across hundreds of PCs in their organizations.
Some HP users are reporting random BSODs after installing the update, while Lenovo users say their PCs freeze even under moderate workloads. Additionally, one IT administrator claims the update is triggering BitLocker Recovery on devices configured with local accounts and says a Microsoft support chatbot told them the only solution is to wipe the computer and reinstall Windows.
Crystal ball: The company accused of making Pokémon copycats “with guns” says it is not interested in using generative AI in its games. It argues that gamers are largely opposed to this kind of content, while noting that generative AI is likely to remain a controversial topic in the industry for a range of reasons.
The debate around AI-generated assets in games is heating up, and Pocketpair has already taken a clear stance. The Japanese studio, best known for Palworld, says it is not using generative AI in its games, arguing that potential customers are rejecting “fake” assets and other AI-generated content.
In a recent interview, Pocketpair’s Head of Publishing & Communications John Buckley said that “gamers don’t want it.” And “if the gamers don’t want it, I guess that’s it, right? Not much of a conversation to be had.”
The Palworld developer has previously faced accusations of both plagiarism and the use of generative AI in creating some of the game’s assets and creature designs. Nintendo is pursuing legal action against the studio, though the dispute has not unfolded entirely in the company’s favor so far.
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During the interview, Buckley also said that some developers are already using generative AI in their games. However, he believes the trend is not yet widespread, and added that Pocketpair has no interest in extensively adopting the technology in any case.
Some companies are exploring chatbots and large language models to save time and reduce reliance on human creators, but growing public pushback suggests the generative AI “bubble” could eventually burst. Pocketpair already has all the in-house artists it needs, Buckley said, arguing there is no “pointless” reason to replace staff with AI systems doing the same work.
The controversy around generative AI in gaming continues to intensify. Established studios such as Crystal Dynamics have found themselves explaining the use of AI-generated assets as placeholders in the latest Tomb Raider remake. Meanwhile, Sega faced significant backlash after introducing the new Crazy Taxi game as an AI-assisted production.
Steam now requires developers to disclose whether and how they have used AI in their games. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, however, has argued that Valve’s disclosure requirement is unnecessary, claiming that nearly all future games will incorporate generative AI in some form.
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Pocketpair’s John Buckley is less convinced by Sweeney’s stance. He suggests the industry could eventually split, with some studios leaning into a heavily marketed “human-made” identity as a response to growing concerns over “AI slop” in digital storefronts. He also believes AI adoption could become a regional divide.
Developers in parts of Asia, including China and South Korea, may adopt AI more rapidly than competitors, while Western studios – and players – remain more resistant. Stellar Blade developer Shift Up has also said that generative AI could help South Korean studios compete with much larger companies in China and the US.
Alogic is bringing more touch and stylus input options to Mac with a new desktop monitor and portable displays, expanding a lineup that adds a feature Apple doesn’t offer on its own hardware yet.
The company unveiled the Aspekt Touch 27 and Folio portable displays at InfoComm 2026, expanding its lineup of touch-enabled hardware for Mac users. Both products let users interact directly with apps, documents, presentations, and creative projects through touch and stylus input.
Alogic is one of the few monitor makers offering touchscreen hardware for Macs. The company uses its own software to enable touch gestures, navigation, annotation, and drawing on macOS.
The Aspekt Touch 27 adds touchscreen input to a desktop monitor
The Aspekt Touch 27 is a smaller version of Alogic’s existing 32-inch model. The new display combines a 27-inch 4K IPS touchscreen with a 60Hz refresh rate, 600 nits of brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and support for 97% of the DCI-P3 color space, 93% Adobe RGB, and 100% sRGB.
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Alogic pairs the display with its Active Stylus, which offers 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. The monitor supports 10-point multitouch input and MPP 2.0 styluses, while a magnetic holder wirelessly charges the stylus between uses.
The monitor also functions as a docking station with HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C, Gigabit Ethernet, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Three USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, dual 5W speakers, and up to 150W of total charging output are built into the display, including up to 90W of USB-C power delivery for a connected laptop.
The Aspekt Touch 27 is available in Silver and Space Black, and buyers can choose from a Raise Stand, a Fold Stand, or an Omni Fold Stand. The Fold Stand lowers the display into a drafting position for stylus use, while the Omni Fold Stand includes an integrated mount for an M4 Mac mini.
Folio targets portable Mac and iPad workflows
Alogic also introduced the Folio and Folio Duo portable touchscreen displays for users who need a secondary screen away from a desk. The standard Folio features a 16-inch QHD IPS touchscreen, while the Folio Duo combines two 16-inch panels into a folding design that can be used side by side or stacked vertically.
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A fabric cover doubles as a stand and allows the displays to fold flat for travel.
The Folio Duo
Both models deliver 400 nits of brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and 100% sRGB color coverage. The displays support 10-point multitouch interaction, stylus input, and full gesture controls on both Mac and Windows.
The portable displays operate over a single USB-C connection and support up to 45W of passthrough charging. A magnetic attachment point wirelessly charges the Active Stylus. The Folio weighs about 1 kilogram, while the dual-screen Folio Duo weighs about 1.2 kilograms.
Alogic says the Folio lineup is the first portable display series to bring full gesture controls and 10-point multitouch support to both Mac and Windows. The company says users can draw, annotate, and edit content directly on screen without moving projects between a computer and tablet.
Alogic has spent years targeting users who want touch and stylus input on macOS. The Aspekt Touch 27 and Folio lineup expand those options with both desktop and portable designs.
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The Aspekt Touch 27 starts at $1,799 and will be available beginning in July. The Folio is priced at $899, while the Folio Duo costs $1,299. Both portable displays are expected to launch around September.
The neighbourhood’s heritage charm hasn’t saved it from a growing vacancy problem
Walk down East Coast Road on a weekday afternoon, and you might notice something that doesn’t quite fit the postcard image of Katong: shuttered shopfronts, darkened interiors, and “For Rent” signs that have clearly been hanging there a while.
Katong is the area where Joo Chiat Road meets East Coast Road, and it’s known for its hipster vibes—heritage shophouses, popular cafés, and a neighbourhood energy that earned it a spot on Time Out‘s list of the world’s coolest streets in 2025.
But that reputation is increasingly at odds with what people are actually seeing on the ground.
The unexpected side of Katong finally spilt into public view when a Reddit post on r/singapore gained traction. User u/HB_SG asked a simple question: has anyone else noticed the growing number of vacant shop units around Katong?
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“An endless parade of opening and closing”
Image Credit: u/HB_SG via Reddit
What the discussion made clear is that the vacancies aren’t new.
The mall, located at the junction of East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road, closed for renovations in 2020 and only reopened in 2022. Yet years later, some retail spaces remain unoccupied, while others have seen a steady churn of tenants come and go with little fanfare.
One commenter described it as an “endless parade of opening and closing.” Among the apparent casualties are Zero Healthcare, which relocated its East Coast Road showroom to Parkway Parade, and fried chicken brand Frosti Fck, whose last social media activity was a Nov 2025 post and whose Google listing now shows as closed.
Vulcan Post has reached out to both businesses for further comment, but has not received a response at the time of publication.
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The Reddit thread kept circling back to one word: rent. One Redditor summed up the prevailing sentiment bluntly: “Rents, rents, rents, rents—no vacancy tax. If rents were halved, everything will be occupied.”
Others pointed to specific examples. One commenter claimed that several shophouses along Koon Seng Road have remained vacant for years despite strong demand in the area, arguing that landlords are holding out for rents that many businesses simply cannot afford.
The issue also appears to extend beyond Katong. In other parts of the East Coast region, including Siglap, rising rents have become a growing concern for business owners. In 2025, it even pushed out several long-running businesses, including Flor Patisserie.
The frustration about retail rents has even reached Parliament. In Apr 2026, Member of Parliament Elysa Chen raised the issue in the House, asking how the government reconciles official data which suggests rent has actually fallen as a share of business costs, with what retailers on the ground are experiencing.
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DPM and MTI Minister Gan Kim Yong acknowledged the gap in his written reply: while aggregate rental costs for F&B dropped from 26% to 17% of total business costs between 2019 and 2024, he noted that “at the local level, rental costs can vary for retailers due to attributes such as proximity to key transport nodes or estates with high population density.”
In other words, national averages may look fine, but they reveal little about what an individual business owner is paying for a shophouse in a highly sought-after neighbourhood.
ERA’s 1H 2025 shophouse market report also noted that more F&B operators were shutting down, and that a weaker rental outlook might push some landlords, particularly those with less holding power, or private equity investors looking to exit, to start accepting lower rents.
But for many, that moment hasn’t come yet.
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Beyond just rent
The roads on Joo Chiat Road are notoriously small. /Image Credit: Vulcan Post via Google Maps
The vacant units around Katong are not the result of a single problem. Beyond rental costs, Redditors highlighted a range of factors that may be contributing to the area’s retail struggles.
Firstly, parking is a nightmare on Katong’s roads. The streets around the area are notoriously narrow—barely two car-widths in places—and roadside parking creates its own bottleneck. On weekends, cars are often caught waiting for a spot to free up, which puts people off before they’ve even stepped out of the vehicle.
Then there’s the heat. Katong’s charm is mostly outdoors, but the dense rows of shophouses create a concrete warming effect that traps heat and humidity. Browsing around on foot in the middle of the day is genuinely unpleasant for most of the year.
The layout of buildings themselves doesn’t help either. Narrow footprints, tight staircases, and without the climate-controlled comfort of a mall, browsing on foot in Singapore’s heat is already a hard sell. Moreover, bus services through the smaller back streets are also sparse, limiting how easily people can get there without a personal vehicle.
Lastly, the gradual gentrification has narrowed the appeal of Katong. Several commenters pointed out that the shop mix has drifted toward expensive, Instagram-friendly concepts—the kind of places influencers visit once for the photo, not twice for the overpriced food. When the locals themselves don’t want to patronise the local shops, the foot traffic problem starts to make a lot more sense.
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On top of all that, these aren’t units you can just slap a fresh coat of paint on and hand to a tenant. Shophouses fall under conservation rules, meaning any renovation requires engaging a qualified person, submitting drawings to URA, getting conservation approval, and then separate BCA permits for structural work.
Shophouses along East Coast Road./ Image Credit: Singapore Realtors Inc.
This is where the broader market context matters.
ERA’s data shows that landed shophouse transactions fell to just 34 in H1 2025, totalling S$234.7 million—the lowest half-year figure since 1998, and a steep fall from the peak of 245 transactions worth S$1.8 billion in 2021. District 15, which covers Katong and Joo Chiat, saw only four transactions in that period.
Many of the landlords sitting on empty units aren’t being stubborn for no reason—they’re caught in a bind.
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For owners who bought at high prices, the rent they collect helps determine the property’s investment returns. Accepting a significantly lower rent may reduce their yield and potentially affect how the property is valued when they refinance or sell.
That creates a difficult trade-off: some landlords may prefer to wait for a tenant willing to pay closer to their asking price rather than lock in a lower rent that changes the financial assumptions behind the investment.
The problem is that prolonged vacancies carry their own costs. Empty storefronts can weaken a street’s vibrancy, reduce foot traffic, and eventually make it harder for landlords to attract the quality tenants needed to revive the area.
The empty units are hard to ignore
What the Reddit thread captured, more than any single data point, is a lived sense of mismatch: a neighbourhood with genuine heritage value and cultural cachet that isn’t consistently translating into a viable environment for the businesses trying to operate there.
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Whether the fix requires lower rents, a vacancy tax to nudge landlords off the sideline, better infrastructure, or pedestrianising the area altogether, locals are clearly paying attention, and the patience for empty units is wearing thin.
For now, the “For Rent” signs stay up.
Read other articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.
Featured Image Credit:u/HB_SG via Reddit/ Visit Singapore
The UK’s top data and AI regulator has resigned. It is the first time it has ever happened.
John Edwards stepped down as information commissioner on Friday, with immediate effect. His exit followed a months-long workplace investigation. He said his position had become “untenable”.
What he admitted
Edwards was careful in his statement, posted on LinkedIn. He said there had been “occasions where I exercised poor judgement and made attempts at humour that were inappropriate and caused offence”. He also said he disagreed with how the investigation had been run.
Crucially, the details remain hidden. Neither the regulator nor the government has said what the conduct actually was. The probe began in February over unspecified “HR matters”, and concluded this month with a finding that there was “a case to answer”.
The job matters more than the man. The Information Commissioner’s Office oversees data protection, freedom of information and AI in Britain. It can fine companies up to £17.5mn, or 4 per cent of global turnover. It also sets the rules on how companies handle Britons’ personal data, and recently hit Reddit with a £14mn penalty over children’s data.
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His departure is also a historic first. The office has existed since 1984, and no commissioner had ever resigned before, one data-protection lawyer noted. So Britain’s data and AI watchdog is now without a permanent chief, while a deputy keeps things running.
A regulator already under fire
The timing is awkward. Campaigners have been attacking the ICO as toothless, accusing it of brushing aside thousands of public complaints. One group called Edwards’s exit a chance to appoint “a regulator with teeth”.
The post is also about to change shape. Under new UK law, the role is being folded into a wider Information Commission, and Edwards was expected to leave later this year anyway. His abrupt resignation simply brings that reset forward, in far less flattering circumstances.
Why it matters
Edwards used his farewell to look ahead, not back. “As the AI tsunami breaks over us, we must redouble … our collective efforts to ensure safety, accountability, and trust online,” he wrote. He added that “no single organisation or country can address these challenges alone”.
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For the tech industry, the real question is who governs AI and data in Britain next. The answer is suddenly unclear, just as governments everywhere fight over how to rule AI, and even as the EU’s own AI rulebook keeps slipping. A strong successor could sharpen enforcement. A weak one could prove the critics right. Either way, Britain has lost its data chief at an inconvenient moment.
Once the purview of crime labs and TV shows, DNA tests have instead become common gifts for birthdays, holidays and special occasions like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Quick tests like 23andMe and AncestryDNA have made the process of learning more about your family history easier, cheaper and faster than ever.
But in her new book, The Psychology of Genealogy, psychologist Susan Moore warns that you should consider all the risks before undergoing a test.
“Should you give DNA kits as gifts? It can be fun; it can be risky,” Moore said.
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Why you should exercise caution
Beyond the safety concerns of a company having your DNA on file with the potential of data breaches and privacy concerns, emotional fallout can be an unexpected — yet not uncommon — result of these DNA tests. While genetic testing promises answers and connection, those findings can upend long-held beliefs about your identity and family.
With over 30 million users and a multibillion-dollar industry, surprising matches and results are common. Misattributed paternity, donor-conception discoveries, late-found adoptions and unknown family members have all emerged from growing databases. For people unprepared for these outcomes, the psychological effects can be severe, according to Moore.
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Moore calls it “identity disruption” when new genetic information can undermine a person’s sense of self and belonging. She says some integrate the news and move on, while others face betrayal, mistrust and grief.
Why do people test anyway?
There are many practical, real risks when it comes to DNA testing. So why do millions of people still purchase them and send in their swabs?
Moore points to a few basic drives, such as curiosity, a need for rootedness and the intellectual thrill of uncovering family lore as to why people still undergo genetic tests. Genealogy can bring joy when people find long-lost relatives or overcome research barriers. Yet, curiosity often meets hard, unexpected truths.
“DNA gives you some new and interesting clues to your family tree structure, but the hard work of making sense of those clues must still be done,” Moore said.
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If you’re still interested in pursuing genetic testing anyway, Moore offers some simple advice: Test only if you want to explore ancestry and are ready to learn how to interpret results and contact matches ethically. Do not gift a kit without asking first, and make sure recipients are emotionally prepared and aware of privacy risks.
TL;DR: ASML’s most advanced chipmaking tools have become the focus of a renewed dispute in Washington over how far the US should go to keep cutting-edge semiconductor technology out of China. In recent months, the Trump administration has pressed ASML over whether one of its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines may have slipped past export controls and ended up in China. According to people familiar with the talks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised the issue directly with ASML’s senior leadership, asking whether a machine that has never been approved for export to China could have nonetheless reached the country.
EUV is the technology that underpins today’s most advanced processors. The machines are used by companies such as TSMC to manufacture high-performance chips for Nvidia and Apple. They are roughly the size of a school bus, are produced in limited quantities, and require constant maintenance from ASML engineers.
US export rules have long barred ASML from selling EUV tools to China, and the company says it complies with those restrictions. In its discussions with Lutnick, ASML pushed back on the suggestion that an EUV system could be operating in China, according to people familiar with the talks.
A company spokesperson, responding to questions about those meetings, said ASML has never shipped an EUV machine to China and stressed that it regularly engages with governments worldwide while adhering to export regulations.
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The conversation has taken on a sharper edge in Washington. Multiple senior Trump administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they believe ASML is not acting in good faith, citing exports to China of equipment they say is specifically related to EUV tools.
They declined to provide documentation, citing the sensitivity of the information, and did not say they had proof of an actual EUV machine operating in China. ASML, for its part, denied to Bloomberg that it has shipped any EUV-specific equipment to China.
Behind the scenes, the pressure has triggered an internal scramble at ASML. After Lutnick’s April meeting, the company prepared a document titled “No Indication of Any ASML EUV System in China” and circulated it among officials in Washington, according to people familiar with the situation.
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The document, reviewed by Bloomberg, says there are 314 EUV machines in use worldwide and 26 that have been decommissioned, with none located in China. It also states that ASML can automatically detect “any interruption, abnormal behavior, or loss of connectivity” across its EUV fleet, and that customers “cannot remove, transport, or relocate EUV systems without ASML involvement due to specialized handling procedures.”
Those technical constraints are central to ASML’s argument. EUV tools are so complex that they effectively remain under the company’s oversight throughout their operational life. ASML says customers cannot remove, transport, or relocate EUV systems without its involvement because of specialized handling requirements.
Yet skepticism within the Trump administration persists. Senior officials say they have evidence that ASML shipped specialized transport equipment and other components for use with EUV systems to Chinese customers, though they have declined to provide supporting records.
The technology at the heart of the dispute is critical to China’s AI ambitions. Huawei Technologies, which has been cut off from EUV tools, has made progress in producing advanced chips without ASML’s most sophisticated equipment, narrowing the gap with TSMC. That absence of EUV capability is widely seen as one of the most significant constraints on Huawei’s ability to mass-produce cutting-edge AI chips.
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If investigators were ever to confirm that a full EUV system had reached China, it would amount to one of the most serious known breaches of the US-led export control regime designed to limit Beijing’s access to high-end AI hardware. For now, officials have declined to explain why, if they suspect such a violation, they have not brought public enforcement actions or further tightened restrictions.
ASML’s broader China business is already constrained. The Netherlands has blocked EUV sales to Chinese chipmakers and, under US pressure, has also restricted certain types of immersion deep ultraviolet tools. Washington has been frustrated that ASML accelerated shipments of some DUV systems before the newer rules took effect.
Senior Trump administration officials say those episodes, along with alleged EUV-related exports, point to a company that is too willing to prioritize short-term revenue over national security.
The dispute over EUV is unfolding as Washington debates how far to extend its export control regime. The US has effectively severed Huawei from most foreign technology and has used extraterritorial measures to draw companies such as ASML into that effort.
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At the same time, gaps remain in how allied controls are applied and how far they extend to maintenance, servicing, and support for restricted Chinese firms such as SwaySure Technology, which US officials say has received technological support from ASML. The administration has tools to halt those relationships outright but has not done so, and negotiations with the Netherlands and Japan over tighter rules have yet to produce a decisive outcome.
In Congress, lawmakers are pushing a bill that would bring foreign suppliers, including ASML and Tokyo Electron, under restrictions more closely aligned with those on US firms, and would effectively ban ASML’s shipments of immersion DUV tools to China.
That shift would hit a business ASML expects to generate about one-fifth of its 2026 revenue. The Trump administration has not taken a formal position on the legislation, and US diplomats have suggested that a broader US-EU trade deal could reduce momentum behind the bill, which several European governments oppose.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) disclosed a data breach at its license system vendor that exposed personal information for more than three million individuals.
The Texas Cyber Command discovered the intrusion and launched an investigation to determine the extent and impact of the unauthorized access. The state authority found that Social Security Numbers (SSNs), dates of birth, or any financial information, such as credit cards, have not been impacted.
However, the threat actor may have obtained personally identifiable information that includes the following data types associated with 3,087,721 Texas hunting and fishing license customers:
Driver’s license information
Passport numbers
Email addresses
Phone numbers
Residential addresses
The exposed data set is sufficient for hackers to target impacted individuals in phishing and social engineering attacks that lead to web pages distributing malware or seeking more sensitive information.
“There is no evidence that customers under the age of 18 were involved or that any specific group was targeted,” TPWD says in the data breach notification.
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TPWD is the Texas state agency responsible for managing wildlife and fisheries, state parks, conservation programs, hunting and fishing regulations, boating registration, and enforcement by Texas Game Wardens.
The Texas state agency also issues hunting and fishing licenses and permits, which are sold through an external vendor.
BleepingComputer contacted TPWD for more information about the incident and the name of the third-party service provider, but we have not yet received a statement.
The agency says that it is “working closely with the license system vendor to implement new safeguards and enhanced monitoring services.”
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TPWD advises customers to monitor their credit reports and financial statements. Impacted individuals are eligible for one year of free credit monitoring and should consider placing a credit freeze or fraud alert with major credit bureaus as an added protection against identity thieves.
It is also strongly recommended to remain vigilant for phishing and impersonation scams, as threat actors may try to send communication posing as a company or an official.
Security teams log 54% of successful attacks and alert on just 14%. The rest move through your environment unseen.
The Picus whitepaper shows how breach and attack simulation tests your SIEM and EDR rules so threats stop slipping by detection.
Jon Prosser, the leaker Apple is currently suing for allegedly leaking iOS 26 trade secrets, has published yet another video on his YouTube channel called Front Page Tech, showing what he says could be the final design of the purported iPhone Ultra.
Along with slightly different renders from last time, Prosser also points to iOS 27 developer code to back up his claims, particularly regarding the existence of the iPhone Ultra and a new feature that iOS users have been requesting for years.
Front Page Tech / YouTube
So what does the latest iPhone Ultra leak actually show?
The renders show a book-style foldable that Prosser describes as a “chunky iPhone” when closed and an “iPad” when opened, something we’ve already known for a while. When unfolded, the phone could measure just 4.5 mm, making it slimmer than the iPhone Air at 5.6 mm.
The titanium body pairs with what the host calls an “over-engineered hinge” designed to produce a near-creaseless display. Apple has reportedly been developing the technology for quite some time and has also faced a couple of setbacks.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
As seen in the video, the purported iPhone Ultra could come in two colors: white and black (or a dark gray finish). Most of these details aren’t entirely new and have been echoed by several different sources.
What stood out to me, however, were a few smaller details that didn’t get much attention in the video.
Front Page Tech also uploaded a similar video in December 2025, calling the foldable the “iPhone Fold” instead of iPhone Ultra. After watching both videos side by side, here are some changes that I’ve noticed.
While the previous video had the power button (with integrated Touch ID) at the top of the smartphone, right above the camera bar (with the display facing you), the new renders show volume buttons in that position instead. There’s also a speaker grille on the top frame.
iPhone Ultra with volume buttons on the top edge (new render)Front Page Tech / YouTubeiPhone Ultra’s right panel with an Action Button and volume rockers (old render)Front Page Tech
The power button is now located on the right frame, where it normally sits on an iPhone, but on the bottom half of the foldable. This isn’t the typical iPad button layout everyone is used to, and it may take some adjustment.
The elephant in the room is the new, more compact camera visor. Instead of covering the entire width of the rear panel, it extends only around the dual rear-facing camera module, elevating the sensors above an otherwise flat panel and creating a more seamless look.
iPhone Ultra’s compact camera island (new render)Front Page Tech / YouTubeiPhone Ultra with an elongated camera island (old render)Front Page Tech
What about the new iOS feature?
Prosser claims the iPhone Ultra will bring split-screen multitasking to iOS, though it would reportedly be exclusive to the foldable. That means your current iPhone likely won’t get it, even though it supports iOS 27.
Apple appears to be laying the groundwork in iOS 27 code, with strings like “fold state” and “angle degrees” surfacing in the developer beta.
Following WWDC 2026, Apple also instructed developers to prepare for a dynamic range of screen sizes and aspect ratios. If Prosser is right, the iPhone Ultra would be the first iPhone to properly run two apps side by side.
A clip of a helicopter landing has gone viral following an incredibly precise landing. In the video, first posted by the YouTube channel Rescue -Helispotter Pipo St.Gallen Switzerland, a red Rega rescue helicopter lands on the roof of the St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital in Switzerland, but it’s not just any helicopter landing. The speed and angle the pilot takes are what make the video impressive, with the pilot neatly drifting into the landing rather than the usual slow turn pilots make from further out.
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Rega helicopters are on standby at 14 locations in Switzerland, including its towns and mountains. The rescue helicopter in the viral clip is an AgustaWestland Da Vinci, used on all of Rega’s mountain bases due to its aerodynamics and power. What allows the Da Vinci helicopter to land so precisely, like in the video, even on mountains? It has landing gear rather than skids. It can land just about anywhere, perfect for mountain rescues or racing to hospital landing pads.
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What makes the Da Vinci so maneuverable?
The Da Vinci helicopter has four main rotor blades and two tail rotor blades. These tail rotor blades counteract the rotational torque of the main blades, keeping the helicopter stable and providing the pilot with more pitch control. The Da Vinci’s dual duplex four-axis digital Automatic Flight Control System offers incredible stability by adjusting all its rotor blades simultaneously. A four-axis system also handles the vertical motion during climbs and descents, allowing control during hovering and any significant altitude changes.
The autopilot system has altitude hold, which reduces the vibration. The autopilot also has various modes for approach, making the descent a lot smoother. Approach to hover allows the pilot to predict the final hover point and adjust the descent slope as needed. All of this is very important since the Da Vinci is designed specifically for critical tasks such as emergency medical services and search and rescue. Rega’s other helicopter, the Airbus H145, is additionally used by law enforcement and for military rescue missions.
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Helicopters are important to Swiss Alps rescue missions
It’s unclear what prompted this particular viral landing, but it wouldn’t be shocking if the pilot was rushing a person from the Swiss Alps to the hospital’s ER. That’s not an uncommon occurrence: According to Swiss Alpine Club data (via Swissinfo), nearly 4,000 people had to be rescued from the Alps in 2025, primarily due to falls and getting lost.
These mountain rescues are performed by helicopters like the Da Vinci, as they are well-suited to the requirements of high-altitude flights. Think about it: The helicopter crew must search for the rescue location, with mountainous terrain possibly requiring the pilot to land on cramped or uneven surfaces. If the pilot can’t land the helicopter, they must have a chopper that will hover steadily as the rescue specialist descends, so they can hitch the injured hiker and lift them back up. None of this would be possible with airplanes, of course — and maybe not with a more conventional helicopter, either.
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