On Tuesday, Deutsche Bank and Postbank once again experienced massive problems with online and mobile banking. Customers of both institutions were temporarily unable to access their accounts via the internet or apps.

Germany has played a minimal role in classical computers for years. In quantum computing, however, the location has surprisingly positioned itself strongly. With the start-ups Planqc from Munich and EleQtron from North Rhine-Westphalia, two German companies are pursuing different but technologically related approaches, thus moving to the center of the so-called second wave of the quantum revolution.

The Berlin-based neobroker Trade Republic has reached a new milestone. In a stake sale among investors, the fintech is valued at 12.5 billion euros, surpassing the AI defense company Helsing for the first time as the most valuable German startup. At the same time, a number of prominent new investors are joining.

The Berlin-based defense start-up Stark completes the establishment of its leadership team. With a former top manager from Rheinmetall and a long-time Zalando manager, the company brings experience in the defense industry and tech scaling to the board—a strategic move in a phase of rapid growth.

The US start-up Luma has suddenly become one of the most valuable AI companies in the world. With its Ray 3 video model, the company not only competes with OpenAI and Google but also sets new standards for photorealistic, logically structured AI videos. Founder Amit Jain, however, sees the toughest competition not in Silicon Valley, but in China. And it is precisely this pressure, he says, that makes the West better.

While politics and large parts of the automotive industry are fully committed to electromobility, Mazda is taking a different path. The Japanese manufacturer is working on a combustion engine that is not only intended to be climate-neutral but also actively removes CO₂ from the atmosphere. If the concept becomes market-ready, it could fundamentally change the existing debate on propulsion systems.

Despite once again outstanding business figures, NVIDIA's stock has recently come under pressure. CEO Jensen Huang responded to this with unusual openness and sharply criticized executives internally who, in his opinion, are too skeptical about the AI boom.