Fintech firm Pipe secures $2bn valuation after funding round May 19, 2021 Pipe, a startup that allows companies to sell their recurring revenue streams, has secured a valuation of $2bn (£1.4bn) following a fresh funding round. The fintech firm today said it had raised a further $250m in a round led by venture capital firm Greenspring Associates. New investors such as Morgan Stanley’s investment arm Counterpoint Global, [...]
UK tech industry grows tenfold in last decade as London leads Europe May 19, 2021 The UK tech industry has expanded tenfold over the last 10 years as London continues to close the gap on Silicon Valley. Between 2010 and 2020 the number of British unicorns — private tech firms valued at more than $1bn — grew from eight to 81, while the number of companies nearing unicorn status also [...]
Robinhood poised to publish IPO filings ‘as soon as next week’ May 18, 2021 Trading platform Robinhood is reportedly preparing to publish filings for its initial public offering as soon as next week as it gears up to go public next month. The commission-free app, which saw its popularity surge following a retail trading frenzy during the pandemic, is targeting late June for its float, Bloomberg reported. The filings [...]
Finance: TikTok yea or nay? May 13, 2021 | City Talk ICAS Lecturer, Nisha Sreedharan CA, discusses the recent trend of financial advice being given on social media channels in our latest blog post and whether people are being made aware of the risks. During lockdown many of us have used social media as a means of combating boredom, loneliness or connecting virtually with the world [...]
Evening Read: Investors sit on record levels of dry powder, says Silicon Valley Bank’s UK boss May 12, 2021 In recent months we have glimpsed potential opportunities for the post-Covid economy: the huge acceleration in technology adoption, both corporate and personal. And that’s good news for London’s technology and innovation space. But to get startups’ ambitious growth plans off the ground and put the pandemic recovery into motion, sources of capital are needed: financing [...]
Curve follows Series C with crowdfunding round to pursue global expansion May 11, 2021 London fintech Curve has launched a new crowdfunding campaign five months after closing its £72.5m Series C round. Founded in 2015, the company allows users to consolidate all their credit and debit cards into one smart card and app and now boasts more than 2m customers. Its Crowdcube campaign is set to go live later [...]
Exclusive: The City’s hunger for success and willingness to push boundaries is infectious, says tech guru May 10, 2021 Since the start of the pandemic, the entire economy and its workforce have moved online, with technology and digital tools keeping many businesses going. Jeremy Silver, CEO of Digital Catapult, a digital technology innovation firm based in Camden Town, has helped UK businesses small and large and across various industries to be more competitive online [...]
AI is growing: How do we create fair technology we can trust in, and minimise the risks of gender bias? May 7, 2021 | City Talk This year marks 20 years since Spielberg’s sci-fi / drama movie came to our screens: A.I. Artificial Intelligence – and in 2021, AI is no longer the work of science fiction. In the last 20 years, AI uses have been explored for human benefits in numerous industries. AI has played a key role in developing vaccines against [...]
Travel finance start-up raises £10m to build up US operations May 5, 2021 A new fintech firm offering users the chance to split the cost of travel over 12 months has raised another £10m in funding, it was announced today. Start-up Fly Now Pay Later has now raised a total of £45m in funding following the close of its latest round, co-led by asset management firms Revenio Capital and [...]
Exclusive: A heavy metal drummer working to infuse rhythmic harmony into the payments space May 3, 2021 Meet Tom Cregan, a heavy metal drummer and martial arts enthusiast who is on a mission to infuse rhythmic harmony into the world of global payments. The managing director and CEO of digital payments giant EML’s favourite part of any day as chief executive is, what he calls, finding a ”1+1=5 moment” by thinking and [...]