SXSW 26: Europe still struggles to invest in deep tech
At SXSW 2026 in London, Herman Hauser, co-founder of ARM and director at Amadeus Capital Partners, said European investors have been reluctant to back deep tech. He cited ARM’s valuation rising from about $50bn at a proposed UK listing opportunity to $410bn, and said UK/European unicorns he backed ended up in the US. Hauser pointed to the €5bn Scale-Up Europe Fund and said European VC returns may now exceed US.
Meta Now Selling AI Agents To Businesses Under Subscription Model
Meta says it is selling AI agents to businesses via a subscription under its Meta One brand, according to CNBC. Meta Business Agent can be deployed across apps to answer customer questions, recommend products, and book appointments. Meta introduced Meta One last week as it seeks new revenue amid weaker sales of physical and digital products.
Writing a single 100-word email with ChatGPT consumes approximately the volume of a standard bottle of water, the global infrastructure processing AI queries is projected to use the equivalent of half
A 2025 peer-reviewed paper in *Communications of the ACM* estimates that generating a single ~100-word ChatGPT-style response uses about 519 millilitres of water, including direct cooling and indirect water tied to electricity. The same research group estimates a 10–50 exchange conversation uses a similar ~500-millilitre order of magnitude. The article cites company and US data-centre reports showing rising water use driven by AI workloads.
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Meta is testing a new “series” feature on Instagram and Facebook with select creators, letting users follow episodic content via a profile tab and view/save episodes from feed or Reels. Meta said it is considering monetization but gave no details. Separately, it expanded Facebook Reels globally and plans to extend in-stream ads monetization to most eligible countries by mid-March.
Tech M&A Deals: Yoco, WTW, ICIS
Yoco said it will acquire Dyner to expand restaurant and hospitality operations management software, adding tools for order management, inventory, staff coordination, customer engagement and performance monitoring. WTW will buy Redefind to strengthen crypto insurance and digital risk management. ICIS, a RELX subsidiary, will acquire selected AMI assets to boost market intelligence for plastics and related manufacturing.
Medtronic reports strongest annual revenue growth in a decade
Medtronic reported FY26 total revenue of $36.4bn, up 8.4% YoY, its strongest annual growth in 10 years, and said it expects FY27 organic growth of 6.75%–7.25% with earnings of $5.90–$6.00 per share. FY26 cardiovascular revenue rose 12% YoY to ~$13.98bn. In Q4, revenue was $9.81bn, beating LSEG/Reuters estimates of $9.63bn.
