The IT skills gap is growing: It’s not all about startups and Silicon Roundabout February 4, 2016 Amid all the pleas and promises to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of the digital revolution we need to remember that it is not all about startups and the "Silicon Roundabout". A more pressing problem of not having enough workers to fill the jobs in IT departments across Britain is now confronting the [...]
Index Ventures has a new $550m VC investment fund and its eye on London tech startups February 3, 2016 Europe's biggest venture capital investor and the backer of star startups such as Just Eat, Asos and Transferwise has raised millions of pounds in new funds to invest in tech startups across Europe, the US and Israel. Index Ventures has raised a new $550m (£377m) fund from its existing long-standing investor base which includes endowments, pensions and insurance funds, among [...]
Tech startups have transformed the UK: Backing Britain’s scale-ups is the next challenge February 3, 2016 The growth of the UK’s digital industries has been nothing short of extraordinary, and it has had a profound effect on the wider economy. Statistics from last year’s Tech Nation report show that more than 1.46m people are currently employed within the sector. The UK is increasingly underlining its digital credentials on the global stage. [...]
Draft Investigatory Powers Bill: “Snooper’s Charter” puts UK tech sector in jeopardy, MPs warn February 1, 2016 A group of MPs has warned that the cost of implementing new legislation designed to give the government greater surveillance powers could put the UK's thriving technology sector in jeopardy. The cross-party group of MPs has warned that a lack of clarity in the so-called Snooper's Charter risks undermining UK tech by adding burdensome costs to businesses and potentially [...]
Can fintech survive when interest rates rise? This is what will happen to those models when it does… January 28, 2016 London is the epicentre of fintech development, and there are a plethora of different approaches appearing, some of which are more 'tech' than 'fin', while others are more 'fin' than 'tech'. If you look around, most people are being opportunistic, doing what has been done before, only slightly differently, using technology to make old things work more efficiently. But [...]
Bloomberg innovators 2016 list: These are the most innovative businesses in the UK – From coffee creators to fintech leaders January 26, 2016 More than 50 businesses have been named the most innovative in Britain credited with changing the way we live, work and think. Leading fintech startups, creative coffee makers and bionic hand creators, are just some of those to have been chosen by a group of leading investors and entrepreneurs including Saul Klein and Rohan Silva. [...]
How the next mayor can turn London into a truly digital city January 26, 2016 In a little over three months, Londoners will elect a new mayor. When we last went to the polls in 2012, London’s tech industry was only just starting to bloom, but since then it has gone on to become the driving force of the capital’s economy. The next mayor will take the helm of the undisputed [...]
Here’s what early and seed-stage investor Seedcamp’s portfolio looks like: UK tech startups, fintech and blockchain January 25, 2016 One of the UK and Europe's leading investors in startups at an early stage has lifted the lid on its portfolio of companies. Eight-year old Seedcamp which initially started life as an accelerator but now concentrates on first-round funding, has backed more than 200 companies, which went on to pick up a further $365, in their next stage. Investments include [...]
Blockchain payment revolution: How to ensure confidence in twenty-first century transactions January 22, 2016 We are on the threshold of a revolution in financial services which promises extraordinary leaps in efficiency for all kinds of transactions. And arguably the biggest obstacle to our society reaping the full benefit of this findustrial revolution is the issue of trust in transactions. When stock exchanges developed centuries ago, a handshake between (predominantly) [...]
Blockchain technology is useful – just not for everything January 20, 2016 You may have heard of blockchains and Bitcoin as exciting new innovations but you’d be forgiven if you’re confused about what they are or their relationship to each other. Blockchains provide a way to store information so that many people can see it, keep a copy of it, and add to it. Once added, it [...]