At GTC Paris — held alongside VivaTech, Europe’s largest tech event — NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang delivered a clear message: Europe isn’t just adopting AI — it’s building it. “We now have a new industry, an AI industry, and it’s now part of the new infrastructure, called intelligence infrastructure, that will be used by every country, every society,” Huang said, addressing an audience gathered online and at the iconic Dôme de Paris. From exponential inference growth to quantum breakthroughs, and from infrastructure to industry, agentic AI to robotics, Huang outlined how the region is laying the groundwork for an AI-powered future. A New Industrial Revolution At the heart of this transformation, Huang explained, are systems like GB200 NVL72 — “one giant GPU” and NVIDIA’s most powerful AI platform yet — now in full production and powering everything from sovereign models to quantum computing. “This machine was designed to be a thinking machine, a thinking machine, in the sense that it reasons, it plans, it spends a lot of time talking to itself,” Huang said, walking the audience through the size and scale of these machines and their performance. At GTC Paris, Huang showed audience members the innards of some of NVIDIA’s latest hardware. There’s more coming, with Huang saying NVIDIA’s partners are now producing 1,000 GB200 systems a week, “and this is just the beginning.” He walked the audience through a range of available systems ranging from the tiny NVIDIA DGX Spark to rack-mounted RTX PRO Servers. Huang explained that NVIDIA is working to help countries use technologies like these to build both AI infrastructure — services built for third parties to use and innovate on — and AI factories, which companies build for their own use, to generate revenue. NVIDIA is partnering with European governments, telcos and cloud providers to deploy NVIDIA technologies across the region. NVIDIA is also expanding its network of technology centers across Europe — including new hubs in Finland, Germany, Spain, Italy and the U.K. — to accelerate skills development and quantum growth. Quantum Meets Classical Europe’s quantum ambitions just got a boost. The NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform is live on Denmark’s Gefion supercomputer, opening new possibilities for hybrid AI and quantum engineering. In addition, Huang announced that CUDA-Q is now available on NVIDIA Grace Blackwell systems. Across the continent, NVIDIA is partnering with supercomputing centers and quantum hardware builders to advance hybrid quantum-AI research and accelerate quantum error correction. “Quantum computing is reaching an inflection point,” Huang said. “We are within reach of being able to apply quantum computing, quantum classical computing, in areas that can solve some interesting problems in the coming years.” Sovereign Models, Smarter Agents European developers want more control over their models. Enter NVIDIA Nemotron, designed to help build large language models tuned to local needs. “And so now you know that you have access to an enhanced open model that is still open, that is top of the leader chart,” Huang said. These models will be coming to Perplexity, a reasoning search engine, enabling secure, multilingual AI deployment across Europe. “You can now ask and get questions answered in the language, in the culture, in the sensibility of your country,” Huang said. Huang explained how NVIDIA is helping countries across Europe build AI infrastructure. Every company will build its own agents, Huang said. To help create those agents, Huang introduced a suite of agentic AI blueprints, including an Agentic AI Safety blueprint for enterprises and governments. The new NVIDIA NeMo Agent toolkit and NVIDIA AI Blueprint for building data flywheels further accelerate the development of safe, high-performing AI agents. To help deploy these agents, NVIDIA is partnering with European governments, telcos and cloud providers to deploy the DGX Cloud Lepton platform across the region, providing instant access to accelerated computing capacity. “One model architecture, one deployment, and you can run it anywhere,” Huang said, adding that Lepton is now integrated with Hugging Face, giving developers direct access to global compute. The Industrial Cloud Goes Live AI isn’t just virtual. It’s powering physical systems, too, sparking a new industrial revolution. “We’re working on industrial AI with one company after another,” Huang said, describing work to build digital twins based on the NVIDIA Omniverse platform with companies across the continent. Huang explained that everything he showed during his keynote was “computer simulation, not animation” and that it looks beautiful because “it turns out the world is beautiful, and it turns out math is beautiful.” To further this work, Huang announced NVIDIA is launching the world’s first industrial AI cloud — to be built in Germany — to help Europe’s manufacturers simulate, automate and optimize at scale. “Soon, everything that moves will be robotic,” Huang said. “And the car is the next one.” NVIDIA DRIVE, NVIDIA’s full-stack AV platform, is now in production to accelerate the large-scale deployment of safe, intelligent transportation. And to show what’s coming next, Huang was joined on stage by Grek, a pint-sized robot, as Huang talked about how NVIDIA partnered with DeepMind and Disney to build Newton, the world’s most advanced physics training engine for robotics. The Next Wave The next wave of AI has begun — and it’s exponential, Huang explained. “We have physical robots, and we have information robots. We call them agents,” Huang said. “The technology necessary to teach a robot to manipulate, to simulate — and of course, the manifestation of an incredible robot — is now right in front of us.” This new era of AI is being driven by a surge in inference workloads. “The number of people using inference has gone from 8 million to 800 million — 100x in just a couple of years,” Huang said. To meet this demand, Huang emphasized the need for a new kind of computer: “We need a special computer designed for thinking, designed for reasoning. And that’s what Blackwell is — a thinking machine.” Huang and Grek, as he explained how AI is driving advancements in robotics. These Blackwell-powered systems will live in a new class of data centers — AI factories — built to generate tokens, the raw material of modern intelligence. “These AI factories are going to generate tokens,” Huang said, turning to Grek with a smile. “And these tokens are going to become your food, little Grek.” With that, the keynote closed on a bold vision: a future powered by sovereign infrastructure, agentic AI, robotics — and exponential inference — all built in partnership with Europe. Watch the NVIDIA GTC Paris keynote from Huang at VivaTech and explore GTC Paris sessions.

As a global labor shortage leaves 50 million positions unfilled across industries like manufacturing and logistics, Hexagon — a global leader in measurement technologies — is developing humanoid robots that can lend a helping hand. Industrial sectors depend on skilled workers to perform a variety of error-prone tasks, including operating high-precision scanners for reality capture — the process of capturing digital data to replicate the real world in simulation. At the Hexagon LIVE Global conference, Hexagon’s robotics division today unveiled AEON — a new humanoid robot built in collaboration with NVIDIA that’s engineered to perform a wide range of industrial applications, from manipulation and asset inspection to reality capture and operator support. Hexagon plans to deploy AEON across automotive, transportation, aerospace, manufacturing, warehousing and logistics. Future use cases for AEON include: Reality capture, which involves automatic planning and then scanning of assets, industrial spaces and environments to generate 3D models. The captured data is then used for advanced visualization and collaboration in the Hexagon Digital Reality (HxDR) platform powering Hexagon Reality Cloud Studio (RCS). Manipulation tasks, such as sorting and moving parts in various industrial and manufacturing settings. Part inspection, which includes checking parts for defects or ensuring adherence to specifications. Industrial operations, including highly dexterous technical tasks like machinery operations, teleoperation and scanning parts using high-end scanners. “The age of general-purpose robotics has arrived, due to technological advances in simulation and physical AI,” said Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge AI at NVIDIA. “Hexagon’s new AEON humanoid embodies the integration of NVIDIA’s three-computer robotics platform and is making a significant leap forward in addressing industry-critical challenges.” Using NVIDIA’s Three Computers to Develop AEON  To build AEON, Hexagon used NVIDIA’s three computers for developing and deploying physical AI systems. They include AI supercomputers to train and fine-tune powerful foundation models; the NVIDIA Omniverse platform, running on NVIDIA OVX servers, for testing and optimizing these models in simulation environments using real and physically based synthetic data; and NVIDIA IGX Thor robotic computers to run the models. Hexagon is exploring using NVIDIA accelerated computing to post-train the NVIDIA Isaac GR00T N1.5 open foundation model to improve robot reasoning and policies, and tapping Isaac GR00T-Mimic to generate vast amounts of synthetic motion data from a few human demonstrations. AEON learns many of its skills through simulations powered by the NVIDIA Isaac platform. Hexagon uses NVIDIA Isaac Sim, a reference robotic simulation application built on Omniverse, to simulate complex robot actions like navigation, locomotion and manipulation. These skills are then refined using reinforcement learning in NVIDIA Isaac Lab, an open-source framework for robot learning. https://blogs.nvidia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Copy-of-robotics-hxgn-live-blog-1920x1080-1.mp4 This simulation-first approach enabled Hexagon to fast-track its robotic development, allowing AEON to master core locomotion skills in just 2-3 weeks — rather than 5-6 months — before real-world deployment. In addition, AEON taps into NVIDIA Jetson Orin onboard computers to autonomously move, navigate and perform its tasks in real time, enhancing its speed and accuracy while operating in complex and dynamic environments. Hexagon is also planning to upgrade AEON with NVIDIA IGX Thor to enable functional safety for collaborative operation. “Our goal with AEON was to design an intelligent, autonomous humanoid that addresses the real-world challenges industrial leaders have shared with us over the past months,” said Arnaud Robert, president of Hexagon’s robotics division. “By leveraging NVIDIA’s full-stack robotics and simulation platforms, we were able to deliver a best-in-class humanoid that combines advanced mechatronics, multimodal sensor fusion and real-time AI.” Data Comes to Life Through Reality Capture and Omniverse Integration  AEON will be piloted in factories and warehouses to scan everything from small precision parts and automotive components to large assembly lines and storage areas. Captured data comes to life in RCS, a platform that allows users to collaborate, visualize and share reality-capture data by tapping into HxDR and NVIDIA Omniverse running in the cloud. This removes the constraint of local infrastructure. “Digital twins offer clear advantages, but adoption has been challenging in several industries,” said Lucas Heinzle, vice president of research and development at Hexagon’s robotics division. “AEON’s sophisticated sensor suite enables the integration of reality data capture with NVIDIA Omniverse, streamlining workflows for our customers and moving us closer to making digital twins a mainstream tool for collaboration and innovation.” AEON’s Next Steps By adopting the OpenUSD framework and developing on Omniverse, Hexagon can generate high-fidelity digital twins from scanned data — establishing a data flywheel to continuously train AEON. This latest work with Hexagon is helping shape the future of physical AI — delivering scalable, efficient solutions to address the challenges faced by industries that depend on capturing real-world data. Watch the Hexagon LIVE keynote, explore presentations and read more about AEON. All imagery courtesy of Hexagon.

Notes for weekly communication of ongoing projects and modules. Announcements Blender Projects is moving its Git SSH domain to git.blender.org Reminder: Upcoming Blender 5.0 Release & Compatibility Breakages - #6 by mont29 Modules & Projects

ActuGaming.net Déjà 1 million de personnes sur Rematch, le jeu de foot rassemble beaucoup de monde Rematch part d’une idée si bonne et pourtant si évidente après le succès de Rocket […] L'article Déjà 1 million de personnes sur Rematch,

In this episode of Uncanny Valley, we talk about Meta’s recent investment in Scale AI and its move to build a superintelligence AI research lab. So we ask: What is superintelligence anyway?

La compañía de ciberseguridad Acronis refuerza su equipo en Iberia con el nombramiento de un nuevo Country Manager en la zona: Eduardo García Sancho, que se pondrá al frente del equipo de la compañía en la zona con el objetivo de fomentar el crecimi

Logiciel de simulation de travaux   Ce logiciel est destiné aux architectes, bureaux d’études, entreprises du bâtiment et courtiers en travaux qui souhaitent présenter rapidement à leur client le résultat des travaux qu’il envisage d

Key Takeaways Meta and Yandex have been found guilty of secretly listening to localhost ports and using them to transfer sensitive data from Android devices. The corporations use Meta Pixel and Yandex Metrica scripts to transfer cookies from browsers to local apps. Using incognito mode or a VPN can’t fully protect users against it. A Meta spokesperson has called this a ‘miscommunication,’ which seems to be an attempt to underplay the situation. Denmark’s Ministry of Digitalization has recently announced that it will leave the Microsoft ecosystem in favor of Linux and other open-source software. Minister Caroline Stage Olsen revealed this in an interview with Politiken, the country’s leading newspaper. According to Olsen, the Ministry plans to switch half of its employees to Linux and LibreOffice by summer, and the rest by fall. The announcement comes after Denmark’s largest cities – Copenhagen and Aarhus – made similar moves earlier this month. Why the Danish Ministry of Digitalization Switched to Open-Source Software The three main reasons Denmark is moving away from Microsoft are costs, politics, and security. In the case of Aarhus, the city was able to slash its annual costs from 800K kroner to just 225K by replacing Microsoft with a German service provider.  The same is a pain point for Copenhagen, which saw its costs on Microsoft balloon from 313M kroner in 2018 to 538M kroner in 2023. It’s also part of a broader move to increase its digital sovereignty. In her LinkedIn post, Olsen further explained that the strategy is not about isolation or digital nationalism, adding that they should not turn their backs completely on global tech companies like Microsoft.  Instead, it’s about avoiding being too dependent on these companies, which could prevent them from acting freely. Then there’s politics. Since his reelection earlier this year, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.  In May, the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen summoned the US ambassador regarding news that US spy agencies have been told to focus on the territory. If the relationship between the two countries continues to erode, Trump can order Microsoft and other US tech companies to cut off Denmark from their services. After all, Microsoft and Facebook’s parent company Meta, have close ties to the US president after contributing $1M each for his inauguration in January. Denmark Isn’t Alone: Other EU Countries Are Making Similar Moves Denmark is only one of the growing number of European Union (EU) countries taking measures to become more digitally independent. Germany’s Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger emphasized the need to be more independent of global tech companies during the re:publica internet conference in May. He added that IT companies in the EU have the opportunity to create tech that is based on the region’s values. Meanwhile, Bert Hubert, a technical advisor to the Dutch Electoral Council, wrote in February that ‘it is no longer safe to move our governments and societies to US clouds.’ He said that America is no longer a ‘reliable partner,’ making it risky to have the data of European governments and businesses at the mercy of US-based cloud providers. Earlier this month, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, experienced a disconnection from his Microsoft-based email account, sparking uproar across the region.  Speculation quickly arose that the incident was linked to sanctions previously imposed on the ICC by the Trump administration, an assertion Microsoft has denied. Earlier this month, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, disconnection from his Microsoft-based email account caused an uproar in the region. Some speculated that this was connected to sanctions imposed by Trump against the ICC, which Microsoft denied. Weaning the EU Away from US Tech is Possible, But Challenges Lie Ahead Change like this doesn’t happen overnight. Just finding, let alone developing, reliable alternatives to tools that have been part of daily workflows for decades, is a massive undertaking. It will also take time for users to adapt to these new tools, especially when transitioning to an entirely new ecosystem. In Aarhus, for example, municipal staff initially viewed the shift to open source as a step down from the familiarity and functionality of Microsoft products. Overall, these are only temporary hurdles. Momentum is building, with growing calls for digital independence from leaders like Ministers Olsen and Wildberger.  Initiatives such as the Digital Europe Programme, which seeks to reduce reliance on foreign systems and solutions, further accelerate this push. As a result, the EU’s transition could arrive sooner rather than later As technology continues to evolve—from the return of 'dumbphones' to faster and sleeker computers—seasoned tech journalist, Cedric Solidon, continues to dedicate himself to writing stories that inform, empower, and connect with readers across all levels of digital literacy. With 20 years of professional writing experience, this University of the Philippines Journalism graduate has carved out a niche as a trusted voice in tech media. Whether he's breaking down the latest advancements in cybersecurity or explaining how silicon-carbon batteries can extend your phone’s battery life, his writing remains rooted in clarity, curiosity, and utility. Long before he was writing for Techreport, HP, Citrix, SAP, Globe Telecom, CyberGhost VPN, and ExpressVPN, Cedric's love for technology began at home courtesy of a Nintendo Family Computer and a stack of tech magazines. Growing up, his days were often filled with sessions of Contra, Bomberman, Red Alert 2, and the criminally underrated Crusader: No Regret. But gaming wasn't his only gateway to tech.  He devoured every T3, PCMag, and PC Gamer issue he could get his hands on, often reading them cover to cover. It wasn’t long before he explored the early web in IRC chatrooms, online forums, and fledgling tech blogs, soaking in every byte of knowledge from the late '90s and early 2000s internet boom. That fascination with tech didn’t just stick. It evolved into a full-blown calling. After graduating with a degree in Journalism, he began his writing career at the dawn of Web 2.0. What started with small editorial roles and freelance gigs soon grew into a full-fledged career. He has since collaborated with global tech leaders, lending his voice to content that bridges technical expertise with everyday usability. He’s also written annual reports for Globe Telecom and consumer-friendly guides for VPN companies like CyberGhost and ExpressVPN, empowering readers to understand the importance of digital privacy. His versatility spans not just tech journalism but also technical writing. He once worked with a local tech company developing web and mobile apps for logistics firms, crafting documentation and communication materials that brought together user-friendliness with deep technical understanding. That experience sharpened his ability to break down dense, often jargon-heavy material into content that speaks clearly to both developers and decision-makers. At the heart of his work lies a simple belief: technology should feel empowering, not intimidating. Even if the likes of smartphones and AI are now commonplace, he understands that there's still a knowledge gap, especially when it comes to hardware or the real-world benefits of new tools. His writing hopes to help close that gap. Cedric’s writing style reflects that mission. It’s friendly without being fluffy and informative without being overwhelming. Whether writing for seasoned IT professionals or casual readers curious about the latest gadgets, he focuses on how a piece of technology can improve our lives, boost our productivity, or make our work more efficient. That human-first approach makes his content feel more like a conversation than a technical manual. As his writing career progresses, his passion for tech journalism remains as strong as ever. With the growing need for accessible, responsible tech communication, he sees his role not just as a journalist but as a guide who helps readers navigate a digital world that’s often as confusing as it is exciting. From reviewing the latest devices to unpacking global tech trends, Cedric isn’t just reporting on the future; he’s helping to write it. View all articles by Cedric Solidon Our editorial process The Tech Report editorial policy is centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written by real authors.

Casa Sofia | © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG Located in the historic heart of Lagos, Portugal, Casa Sofia by Mário Martins Atelier is a thoughtful exercise in urban integration and contemporary reinterpretation. Occupying a site once held by a modest two-story house, the project is situated on the corner of a block facing the Church of St Sebastião. With its commanding presence, this national monument set a formidable challenge for the architects: introducing a new residence that respects the weight of history while offering a clear, contemporary expression. Casa Sofia Technical Information Architects1-4: Mário Martins Atelier Location: Lagos, Portugal Project Completion Years: 2023 Photographs: © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG It is therefore important to design a building to fit into and complete the block. A house that is quiet and solid, with rhythmic metrics, whose new design brings an identity, with the weight and scent of the times, to a city that has existed for many centuries. – Mário Martins Atelier Casa Sofia Photographs © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG Spatial Organization and Circulation The design’s ambition is anchored in reconciling modern residential needs with the dense urban fabric that defines the walled city. Rather than imposing a bold or disruptive form, the project embraces the existing rhythms and textures of the surrounding architecture. The result is a building that both defers to and elevates the neighborhood’s character. Its restrained profile and carefully modulated facade echo the massing and articulation of the original house while introducing an identity that is clearly of its time. At the core of Casa Sofia’s spatial organization is a deliberate hierarchy of spaces that transitions seamlessly between public, semi-public, and private domains. Entry from the street occurs through a modest set of steps leading to an exterior atrium. This threshold mediates the relationship between the public realm and the interior, grounding the house in its urban context. Once inside, an open hall reveals the vertical flow of the building, dominated by a staircase that appears to float, linking the house’s various levels while maintaining visual continuity throughout. The ground floor houses three bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom, radiating from the central hall. This level also contains a small basement for technical support, reinforcing the discreet layering of functional and domestic spaces. Midway up the staircase, the house opens onto a garage, a laundry room, and an intimate courtyard. These areas, essential for daily life, are seamlessly integrated into the overall composition, contributing to a spatial richness that is both pragmatic and sensorial. On the first floor, an open-plan arrangement accommodates the main living spaces. Around a central void, the living and dining areas, kitchen, and master suite are arranged to encourage visual interplay and shared light. This configuration enhances the spatial porosity, ensuring that despite the density of the historic center, the house retains a sense of openness and fluidity. Above, a recessed roof level recedes from the street, culminating in a panoramic terrace with a swimming pool. Here, the building dissolves into the sky, offering expansive views and light-filled leisure spaces that contrast with the more enclosed lower floors. Materiality and Craftsmanship Materiality plays a decisive role in mediating the building’s relationship with its context. White-painted plaster, a familiar element in the region, is punctuated by deep limestone moldings. These details create a play of light and shadow that emphasizes the facade’s verticality and rhythm. The generous thickness of the walls, carried over from the site’s earlier construction, lends a sense of solidity and permanence to the house, recalling the tactile traditions of the Algarve’s architecture. The interior and exterior detailing is characterized by an economy of means, where each material is selected for its ability to reinforce the house’s quiet presence. Local materials and craftsmanship ground the project in its immediate context while responding to environmental imperatives. High thermal comfort is achieved through careful orientation and passive design strategies, complemented by the integration of solar control and water conservation measures. These considerations underscore the project’s commitment to sustainability without resorting to superficial gestures. Broader Urban and Cultural Implications Beyond its immediate function as a family home, Casa Sofia engages in a broader dialogue with its urban and cultural surroundings. The project exemplifies a measured response to the question of how to build within a historical setting without resorting to nostalgia or pastiche. It demonstrates that contemporary architecture can find resonance within heritage contexts by prioritizing the values of continuity, scale, and material authenticity. In its measured dialogue with the Church of St Sebastião and the centuries-old urban landscape of Lagos, Casa Sofia illustrates the potential for architecture to enrich the experience of place through quiet, rigorous interventions. It is a project that reaffirms architecture’s capacity to negotiate between past and present, crafting spaces that are at once deeply contextual and unambiguously of their moment. Casa Sofia Plans Sketch | © Mário Martins Atelier Ground Level | © Mário Martins Atelier Level 1 | © Mário Martins Atelier Level 2 | © Mário Martins Atelier Roof Plan | © Mário Martins Atelier Section | © Mário Martins Atelier Casa Sofia Image Gallery About Mário Martins Atelier Mário Martins Atelier is a Portuguese architecture and urbanism practice founded in 2000 by architect Mário Martins, who holds a degree from the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Lisbon (1988). Headquartered in Lagos with a secondary office in Lisbon, the firm operates with a dedicated multidisciplinary team. The office has developed a broad spectrum of work, from single-family homes and collective housing to public buildings and urban regeneration, distinguished by technical precision, contextual sensitivity, and sustainable strategies. Credits and Additional Notes Lead Architect: Mário Martins, arq. Project Team: Rita Rocha, Sónia Fialho, Susana Caetano, Susana Jóia, Ana Graça Engineering: Nuno Grave Engenharia Building: Marques Antunes Engenharia Lda

India has been one of the top recipients of remittances in the world for more than a decade. Inward remittances jumped from $55.6 billion in 2010-11 to $118.7 billion in 2023-24, according to data from the country’s central bank. The bank projects that figure will reach $160 billion in 2029. This means there is an increasing market for digitalized banking experiences for non-resident Indians(NRIs), ranging from remittances to investing in different assets back home. Aspora (formerly Vance) is trying to build a verticalized financial experience for the Indian diaspora by keeping convenience at the center. While a lot of financial products are in its future roadmap, the company currently focuses largely on remittances. “While multiple financial products for non-resident Indians exist, they don’t know about them because there is no digital journey for them. They possibly use the same banking app as residents, which makes it harder for them to discover products catered towards them,” Garg said. In the last year, the company has grown the volume of remittances by 6x — from $400 million to $2 billion in yearly volume processed. With this growth, the company has attracted a lot of investor interest. It raised $35 million in Series A funding last December — which was previously unreported — led by Sequoia with participation from Greylock, Y Combinator, Hummingbird Ventures, and Global Founders Capital. The round pegged the company’s valuation at $150 million. In the four months following, the company tripled its transaction volume, prompting investors to put in more money. The company announced today it has raised $50 million in Series B funding, co-led by Sequoia and Greylock, with Hummingbird, Quantum Light Ventures, and Y Combinator also contributing to the round. The startup said this round values the company at $500 million. The startup has raised over $99 million in funding to date. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | July 15 REGISTER NOW After pivoting from being Pipe.com for India, the company started by offering remittance for NRIs in the U.K. in 2023 and has expanded its presence in other markets, including Europe and the United Arab Emirates. It charges a flat fee for money transfer and offers a competitive rate. Now it also allows customers to invest in mutual funds in India. The startup markets its exchange rates as “Google rate” as customers often search for currency conversion rates, even though they may not reflect live rates. The startup is also set to launch in the U.S., one of the biggest remittance corridors to India, next month. Plus, it plans to open up shop in Canada, Singapore, and Australia by the fourth quarter of this year. Garg, who grew up in the UAE, said that remittances are just the start, and the company wants to build out more financial tools for NRIs. “We want to use remittances as a wedge and build all the financial solutions that the diaspora needs, including banking, investing, insurance, lending in the home country, and products that help them take care of their parents,” he told TechCrunch. He added that a large chunk of money that NRIs send home is for wealth creation rather than family sustenance. The startup said that 80% of its users are sending money to their own accounts back home. In the next few months, the company is launching a few products to offer more services. This month, it plans to launch a bill payment platform to let users pay for services like rent and utilities. Next month, it plans to launch fixed deposit accounts for non-resident Indians that allow them to park money in foreign currency. By the end of the year, it plans to launch a full-stack banking account for NRIs that typically takes days for users to open. While these accounts can help the diaspora maintain their tax status in India, a lot of people use a family member’s account because of the cumbersome process, and Aspora wants to simplify this. Apart from banking, the company also plans to launch a product that would help NRIs take care of their parents back home by offering regular medical checkups, emergency care coverage, and concierge services for other assistance. Besides global competitors like Remittly and Wise, the company also has India-based rivals like Abound, which was spun off from Times Internet. Sequoia’s Luciana Lixandru is confident that Aspora’s execution speed and verticalized solution will give it an edge. “Speed of execution, for me, is one of the main indicators in the early days of the future success of a company,” she told TechCrunch over a call. “Aspora moves fast, but it is also very deliberate in building corridor by corridor, which is very important in financial services.”