The Download: Microsoft’s quantum chip, and explaining rising energy demand - Related to explaining, moon,, pants,, digital, parenting

Europe's most-funded period pants, Snuggs, raises €5M

Europe's largest period pants brand, snuggs has raised €5 million bringing total funding to €12 million. This positions the snuggs as the most-funded brand in the category.

At only 23 years old, Sejdova founded Snuggs and, over two years, developed and designed premium period underwear. She worked with textile engineers and hired top designers from brands like Agent Provocateur to provide comfortable yet desirable designs.

"I didn't want to create just a practical and reliable solution, but something to look forward to every month."

The brand's high-performance, ultra-thin absorbent technology has redefined period protection, offering a sustainable, comfortable alternative to tampons and pads.

Since its founding in 2019, snuggs has experienced rapid growth, attracting over 700,000 consumers, selling over 3 million products, and expanding into seven markets.

The enterprise's latest designer collection sold out within two weeks of launching.

"Menstruation is not a problem to be solved; it's our superpower. We want to connect periods with something beautiful and comfortable, not something hidden away. I see in our clients that this is the real life changer".

With €12 million in funding, snuggs is set to further its mission of making period care more comfortable, sustainable, and widely accessible. The brand continues to grow its retail presence, expand its customer base, and ensure that premium period underwear becomes a mainstream alternative to disposable products.

With a presence in nearly 3,000 retail stores, including drugstores and food retailers, and offices in three countries, snuggs is pioneering the shift towards modern, dignified, and design-led menstrual care.

In 2024, snuggs generated €20 million in revenue with a positive EBITDA.

TripleB led the latest investment. . Bata:

As the market leader in Europe, Snuggs is uniquely positioned to extend its reach, set new benchmarks for innovation, and solidify its reputation as the most forward-thinking and respected brand in the segment."

With fresh capital, the organization aims to accelerate its growth in its key markets Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and Central and Eastern Europe, while exploring global opportunities.

Ring has officially revealed the Outdoor Cam Plus — a premium security camera offering Ring’s best image quality ever. Designed to capture 2K footage ......

Nokia is putting the first cellular network on the moon.

Later this month, Intuitive Machines, the private organization behind the first commercial lander ......

Developer app Serverpod has raised a €[website] Seed round led by [website], with participation from Greens Ventures and PreSeed Ventures.

The Download: 4G on the moon, and parenting in the digital age

Nokia is putting the first cellular network on the moon.

Later this month, Intuitive Machines, the private corporation behind the first commercial lander that touched down on the moon, will launch a second lunar mission. The plan is to deploy a lander, a rover, and hopper to explore a site near the lunar south pole that could harbor water ice, and to put a communications satellite on lunar orbit.

But the mission will also bring something that’s never been installed on the moon or anywhere else in space before—a fully functional 4G cellular network. Read our story to learn why.

Before journalist and culture critic Amanda Hess even got pregnant with her first child, in 2020, the internet knew she was trying. She saw pregnancy ads way before a doctor.

Hess’s experience is pretty typical these days, but still raises some big questions. How do we retain control over our bodies when corporations and the medical establishment have access to our most personal information? What happens when people stop relying on friends and family for advice on having a kid and instead go online, where there’s a constant onslaught of information?

In her new book, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, Hess explores these questions while delving into her firsthand experiences with apps, products, algorithms, online forums, advertisers, and more—each promising an easier, healthier, enhanced path to parenthood. Hess asks: Is that really what they’re delivering? Read our interview with her.

Scale Energy, Germany’s leading developer of industrial battery storage systems, has raised a €2M Seed funding round.

Microbiology testing startup [website] has raised $23 million Series A, bringing its total funding to date to $[website] million.

Barcelona-based VC 4Founders Capital has launched its third fund, 4Founders Capital III, having secured €44M, primarily from existing investors.

The Download: Microsoft’s quantum chip, and explaining rising energy demand

A new Microsoft chip could lead to more stable quantum computers.

Microsoft has revealed that it’s made significant progress in its 20-year quest to make topological quantum bits, or qubits—a special approach to building quantum computers that could make them more stable and easier to scale up.

The corporation says it’s developed a chip containing eight of these qubits, and has also . It’s a different approach to competitors like Google and IBM. But, if it works, it could be a significant milestone on the path to unlocking quantum computers’ dramatic new abilities to discover new materials, among many other possible applications.

What's driving electricity demand? It isn't just AI and data centers.

Electricity demand rose by [website] in 2024 and will continue to grow at close to 4% annually through 2027, .

There’s been a constant stream of headlines about energy demand in the recent past, largely because of the influx of data centers—especially those needed to power AI. These technologies are sucking up more power from the grid, but they’re just a small part of a much larger story.

What’s actually behind this demand growth is complicated. Read our story to learn what’s going on.

The current IPO framework includes KPIs like revenue from operations, profit or loss after tax, return on equity, earnings per share, among others.

“The convenience fee helps cover the costs associated with processing credit or debit card payments,” expressed Google Pay on its FAQ page.