UK tech looks to put on a show as France finds another gear

Welcome to the 26th issue of the Tech Wrap-Up Europe newsletter.

Every few weeks, we'll be sharing interesting stories and expert insights from LinkedIn members.?

In this issue, Sam Shead , LinkedIn's tech and innovation editor for the UK and Europe, looks ahead to London Tech Week. He also tries on Snap Inc. 's latest augmented reality glasses and looks back at a fireside chat with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman .?

When it comes to tech, the US ???? and China ???? are widely perceived to be the world's superpowers, but who is leading in Europe ?????

The main contenders are perhaps the obvious culprits: the UK ????, France ????, Germany ???? and Sweden ????. But there's plenty of fast-growing and innovative companies across the continent these days.

One nation that's getting a lot of attention right now is France.

Last month, 微软 , LinkedIn 's parent company, said it will invest €4bn on initiatives such as developing France’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector and building a new data centre in the city of Mulhouse. Meanwhile, 亚马逊 said it will spend around €1.2bn on its French operations and create more than 3,000 permanent jobs in the country.

The country is also aiming to become an AI leader , with help from startups like Mistral AI and Holistic AI , which have both raised large funding rounds recently.

But the UK's tech industry is still the largest in Europe , with a combined market value of over $1tn (€920m), according to figures shared by Dealroom.co for the Digital Economy Council in 2022.?A report from the Computer & Communications Industry Association in January concluded that the UK is Europe's most "advanced digital economy."

Starting on Monday, the UK's tech sector will be celebrated and shown off to the world as London Tech Week (LTW) returns for another year, with some 45,000 expected to attend a range of events throughout the week.?

Over 5,000 startups and 1,000 investors are set to come together to pick up insights, get inspired and network.?Speakers include the likes of Lila Ibrahim , Google DeepMind 's chief operations officer, and Nicola Hodson , IBM 's CEO for the UK and Ireland. There's also Monzo Bank CEO TS Anil and Olio co-founder Tessa Clarke , to name just a few.?

"London is Europe’s biggest hub for starting, scaling and investing in new tech businesses and this is the best place to meet the people who create this thriving ecosystem," tech investor and LTW co-host Brent Hoberman wrote on LinkedIn.?

The bulk of the action will now take place at the Olympia London venue in West London after the organisers decided to part ways with the QE2 venue in Westminster.?

During the week, there will also be a series of fringe events including the exclusive Founders Forum at Soho Farmhouse (Soho House & Co) , which will have a broadcast stage streaming live to 彭博资讯 for the first time, with guests including Atomico 's Niklas Zennstr?m and Cohere 's Aidan Gomez .?

There's likely to be a series of announcements next week from a variety of companies.

Salesforce got the ball rolling on Thursday by pledging to set up a new AI centre in London as part of a $4bn investment in the UK that it announced in 2023.

What's your favourite tech event and why? Let us know in the comments below.

?? "I look a bit silly" was my first thought when I tried on Snap's next generation Spectacles at the company's UK headquarters in Farringdon last week. They're like the Tesla Cybertruck of the smart glasses world.?

My second thought: "Wow, these feel heavy". Weighing in at 134g, they're considerably heavier? than the 48g Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, although they're quite different in terms of what they offer.?

What followed was two fun and interactive demonstrations that gave me a glimpse of what Snap is planning for its next AR headset.?

The first demo overlaid the Milky Way on top of the Snap boardroom I was in. I was able to look around and see the planets, the Sun and an asteroid belt. It was pretty impressive, and I particularly enjoyed walking up to a highly detailed-Sun and touching it. It's easy to see this being used in a classroom as a more immersive learning experience.?

The second demo was "Magic Forest". A dense, digital forest was overlaid on top of the room and as I walked around, new plants and trees emerged on top of the table and chairs. The pièce de résistance came at the end when the Snap employee leading the demo told me to hold out my hand in front of me and look at it through the glasses. One of the golden butterflies that had been flying around came down and landed in the palm of my hand.?

The next generation Spectacles aren't on sale to the public yet, but Snap is giving them to developers who can build AR apps for the device, which is equipped with two cameras, four microphones, immersive AR displays and a bunch of other tech.?

My main gripe on the day was it was relatively difficult to navigate through the "carousel" to the correct demo app. This involved swiping two fingers horizontally along the touchpad on the right arm of the glasses. It wasn't all that easy and took a few goes, but I got there in the end.?

Snap says that it will continue to iterate the Spectacles before making them available to the public. There's no release date as it stands, but Snap is holding an event in September where it typically announces new products and features.?

In 2017, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman invested in startup builder Entrepreneur First (EF) through Greylock , a venture capital firm where he is a partner.?

While Hoffman undoubtedly had plenty of questions for EF co-founder Matt Clifford back then, the shoe was on the other foot last week as Clifford asked the Silicon Valley icon a range of questions about his thoughts on everything from artificial intelligence and defence tech to techno-optimism and surveillance.?

Here are some of the attendees' key takeaways on LinkedIn:

?? Monzo Bank breaks even for the first time ever.?The company, which was founded in 2015, posted a ￡15.4m (€18m) pre-tax profit in the year to the end of March, up from a ￡116.3m loss the previous year. Here's what the CEO and others had to say.

?? The rise of brain chip implants. Labs in Europe and North America are developing neurotechnology with transformative potential. Learn more here .

?? VC investors raise new European funds. Creandum , a Stockholm-headquartered VC firm and an early backer of Spotify , Klarna and Depop , has raised a €500m fund to back new companies with. See what the Creandum partners are saying .

????♀? CNN and Paris Hilton targeted in TikTok hack. Hackers have taken over several high-profile TikTok accounts after identifying a major security flaw within the app’s direct message (DM) feature. Read what cyber experts are saying .

???? IKEA opens new roles...in Roblox . The Swedish furniture maker has launched a store on Roblox, the digital universe, following a trend embraced by several other global brands. Find out more here .

Steve O'Hear – O'Hear is the founder of O'Hear & Co communications agency and a senior vice president at Zapp .

Bridget Lea – Lea is Snap's general manager in the UK.

Carolyn Dawson –?Dawson is the CEO of the Founders Forum Group.

Get Hired UK – A fortnightly update dedicated to advice and insights on landing your next role and progressing in your career.

Get Hired Europe – A newsletter focused on helping you land your next job.

LinkedIn Insider UK – a biweekly newsletter keeping you inspired, informed and connected to the LinkedIn community.?

Finance Wrap-Up UK – The latest financial news and insights from LinkedIn News UK finance editor Manas Pratap Singh .

Retail Wrap-Up UK – The latest retail news and insights from LinkedIn News UK retail editor Aaron Toumazou .