(Editor’s note: The Eindhoven Business Briefing is part of our Tech Tuesdays series. Dispatches covers tech because so many of our highly skilled internationals are engineers and scientists. Multiple staffers contributed to this post including details about the HighTechXL event.)
First things first. On 27 October, HighTechXL has a full day of events scheduled, including opportunities for you to found, or join, deep-tech startups. And we finally have the full details, including the big reveal of new technologies around which teams will be built.
HighTechXL, Europe’s only deep-tech accelerator/venture builder, is looking for cofounders, mentors, team members and every other person interested in creating, building and supporting impact-oriented deep-tech ventures.
All events will be in High Tech Campus Eindhoven Building 27 starting with an info session.
• Info Session, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Learn about HighTechXL’s deep-tech venture building program and what it takes to become a co-founder and what’s in it for you. And you’re free to ask anything, so bring your best game.
• FasTrackathon, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Learn about the technologies available for venture teams. Bring your boldest ideas to the table, brainstorm potential application areas and business propositions to take the tech to market.
You’ll have your pick of three transformative technologies and one intriguing challenge to aid you in crafting your deep-tech venture:
💡 Harness the power of Radar technology.
💡 Dive into the possibilities of Spectral technology.
💡 Explore the potential of Fiber Sensor technology.
💡 Take on the Port of Amsterdam Challenge.
• HealthTechXL Job Fair from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. – Startups in HighTechXL’s healthcare and MedTech program need team members to develop companies of the future. See who’s hiring and start the process to join a venture addressing one of our biggest global challenges: accessible, high quality healthcare for all.
You can see all the founders’ pitches in the video above.
Okay, there’s one place to sign up for all the events … and here’s the link.
PyData
Speaking of big events, Eindhoven tech influencer Gareth Thomas is busy putting the final touches on the big PyData event scheduled for 30 November at High Tech Campus Eindhoven’s Conference Center. PyData is an international forum for Python developers to share ideas and debate the relative merits of game development versus scientific programming.
Gareth, who is also co-founder of VersionBay, put on a big event earlier this year at the HTCE Conference Center and we were mightily impressed. We’ll have a full interview with him coming up, with all the details of the event.
Chip Wars, Chapter 2: The Chinese Dilemma
The New York Times has more about the Biden Administration’s intensifying efforts to stop China from getting the latest chip technology. And of course, the post is mostly about ASML.
As you know, Eindhoven-based ASML makes the most complicated “tools” in the world, the room-sized multi-million dollar photolithography machines essential to making the most advanced computer chips. The Chinese want ’em, and the Dutch want to sell them to the Chinese. But the Americans say not if you, Mark Rutte, want to keep being our friend. Which means selling only to American and Taiwanese chip makers. Oh, and getting military goodies like F-16s and access to crucial airlift, including C-17s.
Because ultimately, this is a military issue, with the Americans worried that any advances in Chinese chips will benefit the Chinese military, which essentially run the country anyway.
From the NYTimes post:
This week, U.S. officials took steps to curb China’s progress toward that goal by barring companies globally from sending additional types of chip-making machines to China, unless they obtain a special license from the U.S. government.
The back story: Under a new, more muscular global strategic trade policy, the Americans – bless their hearts – have decided they have the right to unilaterally regulate equipment manufactured outside the U.S. if it contains a single American-made part.
Dutch officials, including ASML CEO Peter Wennink, are not happy. They’ve got no choice but to comply. But Wennink noted that every tool they’re prohibited from selling is potentially billions in revenue off the bottom line. And Dutch trade officials are pushing for more liberal export regs to China, and the post notes that Chinese business has risen to 46-percent of the total ASML revenue. So, this won’t go away anytime soon.
Chip Wars, Chapter 3: The Betrayal
NRC and other media are reporting that a former ASML employee, a Chinese national, stole trade secrets from ASML, then passed them on to Chinese tech giant Huawei. ASML documented the theft of trade secrets in its 2022 annual report but left out one important detail … that the guy absconded to Huawei.
The former employee left with trade secrets that fall under the American tech transfer ban and took them to a company on the American’s Naughty List: those Chinese tech companies forbidden to acquire advanced technology.
Huawei recently announced it was making its own 7 nanometer chip, a major breakthrough. But semiconductor industry websites note that without access to ASML’s advanced EUV technology, Huawei and chipmaker SMIC are unlikely to equal the 2 nanometer and 4 nanometer chips made by Taiwan’s TSMC and Qualcomm.
Still, the chip wars are starting get a little dangerous, with the future of the West’s technology advantage in the balance.
Squadhelp is looking for startups to test its new Brand Builder tool
We got an email pitch from Chicago-based Squadhelp asking if we’d test its new Brand Builder tool.
According to the pitch, Brand Builder helps you create in minutes a detailed document that provides your brand essentials. This includes an elevator pitch, mission statement and even a list of your target customers’ psychographics, and much more … all via the magic of AI.
We have team members who do this, but if you try it, we’d love to hear how it went.
You can get the startup kit here.
Co-CEO of Dispatches Europe. A former military reporter, I'm a serial expat who has lived in France, Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands.
