Cologne, Germany, and various locations - February 16, 2026 - News from around the globe includes a satirical carnival in Germany, venture capital investments in AI and Swedish startups, and the muted debut of India's first AI company to IPO.
The annual Rose Monday carnival in Cologne, Germany, saw revellers mocking world leaders, including Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, through satirical floats. According to Euronews, the carnival is a space for social commentary, with many attendees stating that humor makes it easier to approach serious political topics. The sharpest designs come from sculptor Jacques Tilly, whose work has drawn legal threats from abroad.
In the world of technology, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is actively seeking investment opportunities in Europe. Gabriel Vasquez, a partner at a16z, took nine flights from New York City to Stockholm in one year, according to TechCrunch. These trips were aimed at identifying future Swedish unicorns, with the firm recently leading a 2.3 million pre-seed round into Dentio, a Swedish startup using AI for dental practice administration.
Meanwhile, in the AI sector, Flapping Airplanes, a new research-focused AI lab, has emerged with a focus on less data-hungry ways to train AI models. The lab has secured 180 million in seed funding. According to TechCrunch, the founders, brothers Ben and Asher Spector, and Aidan Smith, believe it's an exciting time to start a new AI lab.
However, not all AI news was positive. Fractal Analytics, India's first AI company to IPO, experienced a muted debut on the public markets. The stock listed at 876 per share on Monday, below its issue price of 900, and closed at 873.70, down 7 from its issue price. This gave the company a market capitalization of about 148.1 billion (around 1.6 billion), a step down from its recent private-market highs. In July 2025, the company raised about 170 million in a secondary sale, at a valuation of 2.4 billion.
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