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Penzilla, a Munich-based pension technology company, is transforming the way businesses manage occupational pension schemes through its digital platform.The start-up has raised €3.2m in seed funding to accelerate product development and expand its market presence. The round was led by Acadian Ventures and Delin Ventures, with participation from Robin Capital, as well as existing backers Motive Ventures and WENVEST Capital. Prominent angel investors including Diana zur Löwen also contributed strategic support.Penzilla offers a digital solution that automates the complex and often error-prone process of managing occupational pensions. The platform integrates with widely used HR and payroll systems such as Personio,…

Google announced on Thursday that it’s rolling out new AI and accessibility features to Android and Chrome. Most notably, TalkBack, Android’s screen reader, now lets you ask Gemini about what’s in images and what’s on your screen. Last year, Google brought Gemini’s capabilities to TalkBack to give people who are blind or have low vision access to AI-generated descriptions for images, even when Alt text isn’t available. Now, people can ask questions and get responses about their images. Image Credits:Google For example, if a friend texts you a photo a their new guitar, you can get a description of it…

Chips are a critical component of the AI industry. But new chips don’t hit the market with the same speed as new AI models and products do. Cognichip has a lofty goal of creating a foundational AI model that can help bring new chips to market faster. San Francisco-based Cognichip is working to build a physics-informed foundational AI model that can be used by semiconductor companies to speed up the development process of new chips. The company is calling this approach “artificial chip intelligence” and hopes it can help speed up chip production times by 50% and reduce the associated…

SurgePays, a wireless and FinTech firm delivering mobile and financial services to underserved communities, has announced a $7m senior secured convertible note agreement with a current institutional shareholder.The financing comprises $6m in cash and a buyback of 333,333 shares from the investor’s existing equity holding. The note will mature two years from issuance and becomes convertible after eight months at a fixed price of $4 per share, representing a premium on the company’s closing price as of 13 May 2025. SurgePays retains the option to repay the note early with a 2% premium plus accrued interest.SurgePays operates as both a…

Sunbound, a FinTech company specialising in financial and accounts receivable solutions for senior living operators, has formed a strategic partnership with Omega Healthcare Investors, a leading real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the skilled nursing and assisted living sectors.As part of the agreement, Omega Healthcare Investors has taken an equity stake in Sunbound. The partnership will also offer Omega’s network of operator partners exclusive benefits, including preferred access and pricing to Sunbound’s suite of payments, accounts receivable, and financing services.Sunbound provides a modern, user-friendly platform that enables senior living operators to streamline billing, ensure timely payments, and optimise cash…

NEW YORK (AP) — New York University said it would deny a diploma to a student who used a graduation speech to condemn Israel’s attacks on Palestinians and what he described as U.S. “complicity in this genocide.”Logan Rozos’s speech Wednesday for graduating students of NYU’s Gallatin School sparked waves of condemnation from pro-Israel groups, who demanded the university take aggressive disciplinary action against him. In a statement, NYU spokesperson John Beckman apologized for the speech and accused the student of misusing his platform “to express his personal and one-sided political views.”“He lied about the speech he was going to deliver…

Coinbase on Thursday laid out the full scope of a security breach first disclosed to the SEC, confirming that a group of rogue contractors were bribed to pull customer data from internal systems and then demand a $20 million payoff.  Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong said the cryptocurrency exchange “won’t fund criminal activity” and is instead setting up a $20 million reward fund for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the extortionists. In a filing with the Security and Exchanges Commission, Coinbase said criminals made contact May 11 claiming to possess data on “less than one percent”…

Brussels is drawing up plans to use trade tariffs and capital controls to maintain financial pressure on Russia, even if Hungary decides to use its veto to block an extension of the European Union’s sanctions regime, which lapses in July of this year. The European Commission has told ministers that a large part of the EU’s sanctions, which included freezing 200 billion euros ($224bn) of Russian assets, could be adapted to a new legal framework to bypass Budapest’s veto, according to the United Kingdom’s Financial Times newspaper. Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, has repeatedly held up EU boycotts on Moscow…

When examining the on-again, off-again tariff proclamations of United States President Donald Trump during his second term in office, it is unclear what has actually been achieved. What is clear is that Trump’s tariff announcements have roiled global markets, wiping out trillions in value, and leaving many businesses stumped on how to plan for the future amid the never-ending uncertainty. Within days of being sworn into office for his second term, Trump imposed 25-percent tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10 percent on China, arguing they needed to do more to stem the flow of fentanyl and undocumented…

WorkFusion has teamed up with 1LoD to produce a comprehensive Financial Crime Benchmarking Survey & Report, offering fresh insight into how top global banks are managing the operational complexities of anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) compliance.According to Workfusion, the study delves into four key areas – operating models, staffing, technology, and resources – revealing common challenges and how institutions are adapting in response.The data highlights just how heavily banks are weighed down by manual processes. A striking 94% of banks pinpoint manual workloads as a major operating challenge, while 80% indicate technology as the area requiring the…