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    European start-up investment tops $60 billion this year, smashing 2020 record in first six months

    The Klarna logo displayed on a smartphone.Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty ImagesLONDON — Europe’s tech sector has already attracted more venture capital investment so far this year than it did throughout the whole of 2020, according to data shared with CNBC.Start-ups in the continent have raised a whopping 43.8 billion euros ($60.9 billion) in the first six months of 2021, figures from Dealroom show, easily surpassing the record 38.5 billion euros invested in 2020.That’s despite the fact that the number of venture deals signed so far is around half the amount agreed in 2020. About 2,700 funding rounds have been raised so far in 2021, versus 5,200 last year, according to Dealroom.Swedish buy-now-pay-later firm Klarna has raised over $1.6 billion in two financing rounds already this year, German stock trading app Trade Republic bagged $900 million in a May fundraise and British payments provider Checkout.com snapped up $450 million in January.It suggests that European tech firms are pulling in far larger sums of money per investment than in previous years, defying the economic uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, which provided a big boost to online services.Guillaume Pousaz, CEO of Checkout.com, said start-ups have often been created in times of crisis, citing the emergence of several new financial technology companies in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.”When people lose their jobs, people actually spend a lot of time at home or have to reconsider their lives,” Pousaz told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe during the Viva Technology conference in Paris.”When there’s a big transformational change in society, it’s quite often the time that you get the the emergence of a lot of new start-ups. We are particularly excited for this opportunity.”On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to see the creation of at least 10 tech companies in Europe worth over 100 billion euros each by 2030. While Europe is now home to many unicorns — start-ups valued at over $1 billion — it is yet to produce a company with the scale of American and Chinese tech giants.Scale-Up Europe, a group that includes the founders of UiPath and Wise, proposed 21 recommendations to help the region build “the next generation of tech giants.” Among the suggestions are tax credits to corporates for investing in start-ups and regulatory changes that adapt to new innovations.Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, said the U.K. leads Europe when it comes to tech policy, and that there are a number of issues that need to be addressed before the European Union can produce tech giants of its own.”I am concerned with how the regulatory environment in the European Union has developed,” he told CNBC, adding that Britain is focused on rules that make it easier for consumers to move from one tech service to another.Siemiatkowski highlighted EU regulation of web cookies as an example of “poor regulation,” given the multitude of consent messages users receive when they visit various websites. “It’s driving us to become more complacent and less worried about privacy rather than the opposite,” he said.”I hope to see now that the European Union steps up and starts writing really good regulation that helps the liberty and movement of consumers to increase competition in spaces like retail banking but also technology in general,” Siemiatkowski added.Still, as the number of $1 billion start-ups in Europe continues to grow, the number of exits in the continent is also increasing. This year has already seen some notable acquisitions, including Etsy’s $1.6 billion purchase of U.K. fashion resale app Depop and JPMorgan’s takeover of London robo-advisor Nutmeg.As for stock market listings, a number of notable debuts have taken place in London in particular, including food delivery app Deliveroo, cybersecurity firm Darktrace and reviews site Trustpilot. Money transfer giant Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, plans to go public in the U.K. capital soon.Siemiatkowski said it was too early to tell when Klarna, which was last privately valued at $45.6 billion, would go public, but that it was likely to happen in the next one or two years. Pousaz said a Checkout.com IPO was unlikely to happen soon but “of course one day we will be a public company.” More

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    Inflation breakout will drive 10-year Treasury yields above 2% in coming months, Wells Fargo predicts

    Treasury yields may be about to break out.Even though yields temporarily fell after this week’s Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, Wells Fargo Securities’ Michael Schumacher expects the benchmark 10-year Treasury Note rate to end the year as high as 2.20%.”The 10-year yield is going up a fair bit through the remainder of the year,” the firm’s head of macro strategy told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Thursday. “Not a steady rise to be sure. But we do think there’s a pretty strong bear case to be made over the next six [to] seven months.”Schumacher attributes the inflation comeback for his forecast — with an emphasis on the next 12 months.”Core PCE which the Fed likes to look at is above 3% for the next year. It’s an amazing number. We have not seen inflation like that in the U.S. on a sustained basis for a very long time,” he said. “This really gets at what the people in the market are focused on: Just how long is that inflation spike going to last? Is it transient? Is it transitory? I don’t know. But it’s troubling, that’s pretty clear.”In his post-Fed decision research note, Schumacher said the Fed is still coming to terms with the inflation spike. According to Schumacher, the biggest risk facing the bond market and economy is the Fed’s potential response to the strong economic comeback. If the Fed gets spooked, it would likely hike rates next year instead of waiting until at least 2023.So far, Schumacher’s bond market outlook is on target.Coming into 2021, Schumacher predicted the 10-year yield would hit 1.15% to 1.35% by this year’s halfway point — with the caveat it could reach as high as 1.50%. He made the forecast when the yield was below 1% and months before the Covid-19 vaccines were widely available.On Thursday, the 10-year yield closed at 1.51%. It’s up almost 4% over the past week, but down 8% over the past three months.He also doubts the dollar, which initially surged on a more hawkish Fed, will continue to extend its gains.”For the first quarter of this year, the U.S. and arguably the U.K. had a tremendous advantage over most of the Western world in terms of Covid vaccinations. Now, a lot of countries are catching up, and you could view that as a proxy for future economic activity,” Schumacher said. “The dollar is losing some of those tailwinds.”Disclaimer More

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    With car prices surging, yours is a prime target for thieves

    RubberBall Productions | Brand X Pictures | Getty ImagesYou can blame the Covid pandemic for yet another thing: a surge in auto thefts.Vehicle thefts in the United States jumped 9% last year from a year earlier to 873,000, the highest number in more than a decade, according to statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau provided to CNBC’s “American Greed.”The pandemic created a “perfect storm” of conditions for auto thefts to increase, said NICB President and CEO David Glawe.”We have a lot of disenfranchised youth that are unemployed, and outreach programs are shut down or limited due to Covid,” he said. “There is frustration and anger in society. We are also seeing public safety resource limitations and withdrawal of proactive policing due to budget constraints.”Vehicles are also especially valuable these days. Because of tight supply and heavy post-pandemic demand, used car prices are up nearly 30% from a year ago.The increase in thefts began slowly, coinciding with the start of the pandemic in March 2020. They accelerated by last June as the first wave of Covid lockdowns subsided and a second wave loomed. By November, monthly thefts were running 18% ahead of 2019.The biggest jump was in Chicago, which saw a 134% increase in vehicle thefts last year, the NICB said. The Chicago Police Department said it also recorded a doubling in the number of carjackings.”This has been a year that has presented numerous challenges to law enforcement,” Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said in a statement in January announcing the figures.Numbers leveled off a bit as pandemic restrictions have subsided, but Chicago police data released this month show thefts are still 9% higher than a year ago.Elsewhere, thefts surged 68% in New York City and 50% in Washington, D.C., the NICB said.Hot commodityCriminals have long understood how lucrative trafficking in vehicles can be. One extreme example of a different kind of vehicle crime, in 2014, involved serial fraudster and internet influencer T. R. Wright III, who portrayed himself as an arms dealer and an international man of mystery.”All the Instagram photos were of this individual with fancy cars, guns, high-end clothes, high-end vehicles, yachts, jets, traveling all over the world,” U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent James Reed told “American Greed.” Wright, 36, admitted he took part in a conspiracy in which he purchased a 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo with a salvage title for the bargain price of $76,000, deliberately crashed it into a ditch, and collected nearly $170,000 in insurance proceeds.Wright pleaded guilty in 2018 to two conspiracy counts in what prosecutors said was a wide-ranging scheme involving not just vehicles, but also boats and airplanes. Wright, who is serving a five-year sentence, claimed to “American Greed” that he brought in even more money than prosecutors contend.”It depends on how you do the math, but if you had to go on complete losses, let’s say somewhere around 30 to 40 million dollars,” Wright said.But much smaller-time crooks can also make a killing in the vehicle market in a different way, especially with today’s high prices. There is a ready market for most cars and trucks, as well as their parts.While Wright purchased his Lamborghini through a company he controlled, criminals are finding it remarkably easy to simply steal vehicles. The NICB says more than 10% of the vehicles stolen in 2019 — the last year for which complete figures are available — had the keys left inside.How to thwart the thievesBecause nearly all cases lead to an insurance claim, every policyholder suffers in the form of higher premiums. That’s why the NICB is urging vehicle owners to protect themselves, especially when crooks are so active.Here are some tips, several of which are common sense:Take your keys out of the ignition when you park the vehicle, or if your car has a remote key fob, keep it with you even if you are just exiting your vehicle briefly.Lock your doors and windows, and park in a well-lighted area.Don’t leave valuables or anything else that might draw thieves’ interest inside your car. That includes your garage door opener.Consider keeping a picture of your vehicle registration on your phone rather than leaving the actual document in your glove compartment.Think about installing a car alarm as well as a kill switch that can immobilize a stolen vehicle.Consider getting a GPS tracker that can help authorities find your vehicle.You may not own a six-figure Italian sports car, but just about anything you drive is a hot commodity these days.See how social media star T.R. Wright III drove a brazen fraud scheme to fame and fortune, and hear his own words from prison. Watch an ALL NEW episode of “American Greed,” Monday, June 21, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, only on CNBC. More

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    Five years before a vaccine can 'hold the line' against Covid variants, England's medical chief says

    Covid vaccinator, Petra Moinar, prepares syringes with the AstraZeneca vaccine before it is administered at Battersea Arts Centre on March 8, 2021 in London, England.Chris J Ratcliffe | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLONDON — England’s top medical officer has warned that the coming winter will continue to be difficult for the country’s health system despite the country’s successful coronavirus vaccination program.A further easing of lockdown restrictions in England was delayed this week due to a surge in cases of the delta variant first discovered in India. In a speech to the NHS Confederation Thursday, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said the current wave of Covid infections due to the delta variant would likely be followed by another surge in the winter.He said that Covid-19 “has not thrown its last surprise at us and there will be several more [variants] over the next period,” according to Sky News. He added that it would likely take five years before there are vaccines that could “hold the line” to a very large degree against a range of coronavirus variants.And until then, he said that new vaccination programs and booster shots would be needed.In the U.K., where the delta variant is now responsible for the bulk of new infections, cases have spiked among young people and the unvaccinated, leading to a rise in hospitalizations in those cohorts.It’s hoped that Covid-19 vaccination programs can stop the spread of the delta variant and so the race is on to protect younger people who might not be fully vaccinated. CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:New Covid study hints at long-term loss of brain tissue, Dr. Scott Gottlieb warnsBiden administration to spend $3.2 billion on antiviral pills for Covid  Five years before a vaccine can ‘hold the line’ against Covid variants, England’s medical chief says President Biden’s Fourth of July Covid vaccination goals are in jeopardy The fast-spreading delta Covid variant could have different symptoms, experts sayAnalysis from Public Health England released on Monday showed that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalization from the delta variant.But some vaccines are reported to be less effective against other strains. For example, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this month that it has started commercial negotiations with AstraZeneca to secure a variant vaccine — which has been adapted to tackle the variant first discovered in South Africa.Meanwhile, trials of booster shots are already underway in Britain and there are reports that the population will receive a third shot before winter this year. Over 42 million people have had a first dose of a vaccine in Britain — that’s about 80% of the adult population — and over 30 million people have had their second dose.—CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this article. More

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    Travelers care deeply about sustainability – until it inconveniences them

    In this articleAXPSurveys indicate a silver lining to the pandemic is a heightened commitment to “sustainable” travel by consumers. But as vaccinations lift travel prospects, hopes for a “green” recovery may have been overblown.Sustainable travel has grown in popularity in recent years as people have tried to mitigate the negative effects of tourism, either by avoiding damaging practices or offsetting them.The pandemic appeared to accelerate that trend.According to a recent study by travel company Virtuoso, four in five people (82%) said the pandemic has made them want to travel more responsibly in the future. Almost three-quarters (72%) said travel should support local communities and economies, preserve destinations’ cultural heritage and protect the planet.Sustainable travel will have to cost more if it must reduce its carbon footprint.Dr. Srikanth Beldonaprofessor, University of DelawareBut a further probe tells a different story.In a separate study by travel site The Vacationer, a similar majority (83%) said sustainable travel was somewhat or very important to them. Yet, almost half (48%) of respondents said they would opt for such trips only if it did not inconvenience them.And convenience isn’t the only limitation.Travel that costs the earthGood intentions aside, cost remains the primary consideration for most travelers (62%) when planning a holiday, the study from The Vacationer found. Sustainability and carbon footprint, on the other hand, pales at 4%.Seven in 10 (71%) said they would pay more to lower their carbon footprint, but the extent to which they’re willing — or able — to do so varies greatly.Just over a quarter (27%) of respondents said they would pay less than $50 to counter their emissions, while one-third (33%) said they would contribute $50 to $250. Only 3% said they would be willing to pay over $500, and 29% would pay nothing.Over-tourism and the resulting environmental damage are among factors hastening calls for sustainability in the travel industry.Oleh_Slobodeniuk | E+ | Getty ImagesTherein lies the problem for the travel industry. It would cost $69 for an individual traveling from New York to Rome to offset the carbon emissions for the flight alone.Such costs make mass adoption on the consumer side unlikely, said Dr. Srikanth Beldona, a professor at the University of Delaware.”Sustainable travel will have to cost more if it must reduce its carbon footprint, and there are signs that a niche market for this can emerge,” he said, calling instead for a “universal solution” that combines the efforts of businesses and regulators.Businesses get in on ‘sustainability’Already, the pandemic has spurred some governments and companies to tout sustainability as part of their modus operandi — or at least their future modus operandi.American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, for instance, are among the major travel companies to have committed to carbon neutrality targets. Meanwhile, new businesses are emerging to meet consumer appetite for environmentally friendly vacations.”Rather than overshadow the issue, the Covid-19 pandemic has roughly doubled the rate at which businesses and local governments commit to reach net-zero,” said Nora Lovell-Marchant, vice president of global sustainability at American Express global business travel.Younger travelers express a greater interest in and willingness to pay for sustainable travel options.Paul Biris | Moment | Getty ImagesBut with sustainability metrics and accountability still in their infancy, greater collaboration is needed to ensure targets are met.In the airline industry, for instance, offsetting carbon is just the first step. Developments in sustainable aviation fuel and aircraft are necessary in order to create long-term change, said Emily Weiss, global travel industry lead at Accenture, who has been advising airlines on getting back to normalcy.”The pandemic’s carbon emissions data has highlighted that even severely reducing air travel is not the single answer to neutralizing the climate threat,” she said. “It will take cross-industry collaboration coupled with a more environmentally conscious consumer mindset to achieve a more sustainable future.”‘Ceasing travel altogether isn’t feasible’Still, with international travel showing signs of reopening, waiting for a wave of sustainable tourism is not an option — especially for the hundreds of millions of people whose livelihoods depend on the industry.”Ceasing travel altogether isn’t feasible,” said James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Group, a travel company specializing in sustainable tourism. “In fact, tourism provides countless benefits to communities around the world and the traveler themselves.”Instead, travelers can opt for more environmentally friendly travel options that suit their price range and schedule, said Thornton, whose company employs 21 forms of public transport. Train travel, for instance, can be a novel way to experience a new place with far lower emissions than air travel.”Traveling responsibly is not about making sacrifices or staying home,” he said. “It’s about planning trips carefully so that you’re able to enjoy the experience you seek, while leaving a positive footprint in the destination you’re visiting.” More

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    Singapore slows the pace of reopening as Covid cases haven't declined significantly

    A man wearing a protective face mask walks past an indoor waterfall at Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore.Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty ImagesSINGAPORE — Singapore’s government said Friday it will further ease Covid-related restrictions next week, but at a slower pace than previously announced as local infections have not declined significantly.The government started relaxing some measures this week, including increasing the limits on social gatherings and event attendees.It said that starting Monday, “higher-risk activities” such as dining in and indoor mask-off sports and exercises will be allowed to resume in groups of two people — instead of five people as previously announced.We remain concerned, especially when we have yet to achieve a high level of vaccination,Gan Kim YongSingapore minister for trade and industryBarring another super-spreader event or a big cluster of infections, the government will allow those activities for groups of up to five from mid-July.”The number of cases in the community has somewhat stabilized, but it’s not going down significantly and we’re seeing several unlinked cases every day,” said Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s minister for trade and industry who co-chairs the country’s Covid taskforce.”Therefore we remain concerned, especially when we have yet to achieve a high level of vaccination,” Gan told reporters at a briefing.Singapore has to be cautious in resuming activities deemed to be of higher risks due to the more transmissible delta variant first detected in India, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at the same briefing.Ong, who also co-chairs the Covid task force, said a phased reopening will help “buy time to get more people vaccinated, so the imperative now is to boost vaccinations.”Singapore has one of the fastest vaccination roll-outs in Asia-Pacific, but lags many countries in the West. Around 2.7 million people — or roughly 49% of the population — have received at least the first dose of Covid vaccine as of Tuesday, Ong said. Around 35% of the population have been fully vaccinated, he added.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:The fast-spreading delta Covid variant could have different symptoms, experts sayCosta Rica rejects delivery of China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine, says it is not effective enough  Africa sees 44% spike in new Covid infections, 20% increase in deaths  WHO says delta Covid variant has now spread to 80 countries, and it keeps mutating The country had largely controlled the spread of Covid until a flare-up in locally transmitted cases in end-April. Many of the recent cases were caused by the delta variant. The rise in cases forced the government to tighten social-distancing measures twice last month.Daily reported cases in the local community fell to single-digit levels for most of last week, but have stayed above 10 cases per day since Sunday as a major cluster of infections emerged around a wet market in southern Singapore.Overall, the Southeast Asian country has reported 34 deaths and more than 62,300 confirmed cases since the beginning of 2020 as of Thursday, health ministry data showed. More

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    China's entertainment industry is set to bounce back from Covid, says Chinese dancer

    BEIJING — Chinese dancer and TV host Jin Xing is confident the entertainment industry will return to normal, and that the arts will be more prized post-pandemic.In China, where stringent lockdowns helped control the domestic spread of Covid-19 within months, Jin’s private dance company was able to resume national touring last year, she told Tania Bryer as part of the virtual CNBC Evolve Global Summit.The troupe is now in “very good condition,” Jin said. She expects all of China’s theaters to open up this year, followed by live stadium concerts.While most of China has resumed normal business activity for more than a year now, the country has had to deal with small-scale coronavirus outbreaks, most recently in the southern export hub of Guangzhou city. The uncertainty, as well as the persistent spread of the virus overseas, have contributed to a muted recovery in Chinese consumer spending.Jin has seen the ups-and-downs of China’s development since the 1960s.She became an award-winning military dancer as a teenager, then found similar success as a dancer in New York before returning to China. Jin is best known today as China’s earliest openly transgender celebrity, who also hosts television shows.Audience becomes ‘super quiet’In the wake of the pandemic, new protocols like virus tests and face masks have created a new dynamic between performers and their audience — especially when they are allowed to meet offline rather than online.Jin Xing (in red) performs for the first time in over 20 years and the first time ever as a female during a dress rehearsal on January 31, 2012, before opening at the Joyce Theater.Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty ImagesAt a recent performance in the city of Nanjing, near Shanghai, all 1,900 members of the audience were wearing masks, Jin said.That meant the audience was “super quiet” and “concentrating on what’s happening,” rather than chatting with each other, she said. That creates a “fantastic” environment for an on-stage performer, she added.Another TV show takes offJin has also found success with young people online.This spring, the first season of her reality TV dating show “Ni hao ling yi ban” aired on video platform iQiyi. The show’s name translates roughly to “Hello, (my) other half” and focuses on Chinese who have studied at top overseas universities before becoming entrepreneurs in China.”They have huge success in the professional way. But in their private life, there’s still (a) big gap,” Jin said, noting that regardless of education, contestants face the same question of what kind of family they want to create.Read more about China from CNBC ProChina’s Gen Z are set to spend big – analysts pick 3 stocks that could be winnersCiti upgrades Nio, says growing EV demand in China can lift stock more than 50%Chinese yuan will become a top reserve currency sooner than expected, says Ray DalioThe matchmaking show is set for another season later this year, she told CNBC.Whether on stage or online, Jin hopes her work can contribute to more quiet thoughtfulness among viewers, particularly after the shock of the pandemic.Humans can never make enough money, she said, but people can “slow down.” More

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    Moving around China has changed since Covid — and the changes may be permanent

    The coronavirus pandemic could provide boost to newer modes of transportation in China, such as making autonomous driving more mainstream, a panel of industry leaders told CNBC.The Covid-19 outbreak accelerated the commercialization of autonomous aerial vehicles — or driverless drones — which were used to transport goods, medical supplies and even passengers to and from quarantine zones, Edward Xu, chief strategy officer at Chinese drone manufacturer EHang, told Arjun Kharpal during the virtual CNBC Evolve Global Summit on Wednesday.The Guangzhou-headquartered company made headlines in 2016 when it revealed a passenger drone concept.Pony.ai self-driving cars run along a road during a trial run on February 1, 2018 in Guangzhou, China.VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images”Going forward, we are working with … Chinese government officials to accelerate the commercialization of our product,” Xu said, adding that the company has had two meetings with regulators and aims to have its passenger drones certified within two years.Chinese driverless car start-up Pony.ai has sent some of its unmanned cars to ferry medical workers to Covid-affected areas and transport much needed goods. It showed people how new technology can be used to fight a pandemic, according to founder and CEO James Peng.”What we can imagine that after the post-pandemic era, people will get more familiar, more comfortable with fully driverless vehicles and we are ready to push that,” he added.Rising demand in urban mobilityWhile the pandemic made many commuters wary of public transportation, some turned to personal mobility devices for their travels.Chinese electric scooter maker Niu Technologies saw a “huge demand in individual urban mobility devices,” according to CEO Yan Li. He said the company shipped almost 150,000 units of e-scooters in the first quarter.Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC ProEV stocks are ‘overpriced’ — but there’s a good way to play them, says strategistBofA picks 3 auto stocks to buy as ‘car wars’ heat upCiti upgrades Nio, says growing EV demand in China can lift stock more than 50%Even after the pandemic, the trend is likely to stay, according to Li. He said people in China are likely to continue commuting on scooters as they offer more freedom compared with public transport.”We don’t see the trend of people going back to public transportation. Lots of people are starting to get used to those individual mobility devices and I think that’s a good trend for us,” Li added.Challenges aheadMainstream adoption of autonomous vehicles faces a number of challenges, according to the industry leaders. Pony.ai chief Peng listed three issues: technical advancement, regulation and consumer acceptance.It takes time for customers to get used to how it feels and understand that autonomous driving is actually safer and more convenient way of transportation.James PengPony.ai”I think from the technical point of view, we have made progress in leaps and bounds in the last several years,” he said. Peng added that the company obtained a fully driverless testing permit in California and is about to receive some in China as well.Driverless vehicles have made plenty of progress over the years as companies repeatedly tested their technology to address potential problems and prevent accidents. Still, questions around safety from the public and regulators remain a major hurdle in the way of mainstream adoption.Regulation is the “biggest bottleneck” when it comes to unmanned passenger drones, according to EHang’s Xu.An Ehang 216, a two-seater autonomous aerial vehicle of drone maker EHang, is seen during its presentation in Vienna, Austria April 4, 2019.Leonhard Foeger | Reuters”Because so far there is no regulation. There is no precedence in the past which allow the AAV to fly over the urban area,” he said.”Right now, the situation is becoming more convincing because we did handle the trial flights over about 43 cities in 8 countries with more than 4,000 flights done,” Xu added.Convincing passengers to take either driverless cars or autonomous passenger drones also remains a major obstacle.”That front, it takes time for customers to get used to how it feels (and understand that) autonomous driving is actually safer and more convenient way of transportation,” Peng said. More