Venture’s gender gap: Top tech investors still don’t trust female founders, researchers find January 3, 2023 Tech investors still do not trust female entrepreneurs due to the prevalence of male founders and the popular perception that top tech tycoons are all young white men, researchers have found. In a new peer reviewed study, researchers at Vienna University of Economics and Business found that investors backing tech start-ups seek out certainty in [...]
FTX: Crypto exchange’s new chief has ‘cavalier attitude to truth’ – regulator January 3, 2023 Crypto exchange FTX and its new boss has been accused of having a “cavalier attitude towards the truth” and failing to cooperate with authorities during bankruptcy proceedings. FTX, founded by disgraced former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, imploded in November after allegedly dishing out billions of dollars of customers’ cash to its sister trading firm Alameda Research. [...]
EXCL – The unstoppable rise of the Chief Innovation Officer in 2023 January 2, 2023 More and more UK businesses are making innovation a priority. The conviction is growing that tech and the implementation of innovative solutions drive business growth and help firms to stay ahead of the competition. It is therefore no surprise that the chief innovation officer takes an increasingly prominent position within many businesses, and that won’t [...]
Five tech funding rounds that bucked the gloom this year December 23, 2022 At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking it had been another fairly rosy year for tech firms raising cash in the Capital. London’s start-ups bagged £16bn throughout the year; the capital now boasts more high growth firms and ‘unicorns’ than many European countries; and the UK’s tech industry on the whole sailed past a [...]
Narrow Escape: Sam Bankman-Fried released on $250m bail December 23, 2022 Disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried avoided prison on Thursday after posting a $250m recognised bond before awaiting trial for charges of fraud and money laundering. The US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has charged Bankman-Fried with eight criminal counts, including fraud and money-laundering offences. The previously heralded crypto hero reportedly used [...]
FinTech sector asks UK government for more clarity in 2023 December 22, 2022 A group of UK based FinTech companies have written an open letter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calling for greater clarity on how open banking will be regulated from 2023 onwards. The letter criticizes the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC), a regulatory body established in March by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The [...]
Crypto in 2022: It wasn’t all bad December 22, 2022 This year was turbulent, even by crypto standards. If the past twelve months have taught us anything it’s that crypto is still far from a mature asset class and time may be running out for the industry to prove itself as a functional and beneficial cog in our financial system. There are a number of [...]
Venture capital to play major role in European private equity December 21, 2022 Go big or go home, there is no time to be risk-averse as venture capital investments are set to play a major role in European deal values throughout 2023. The venture capital (VC) game was primarily played in the US however, since 2013 the European asset class has grown from €60bn (£52.6bn) assets under management [...]
Sam Bankman-Fried extradited to the US December 21, 2022 Sam Bankman-Fried will be extradited to the US to face criminal charges for the demise of cryptocurrency exchange FTX after a judge in the Bahamas approved his transfer. In a hearing on Wednesday morning, Bankman-Fried’s legal team told the court that the former crypto executive agreed to extradition to the US, waiving his right to [...]
Tech wins: UK sector retains No1 spot in Europe December 21, 2022 Despite a rough year on all financial fronts, UK’s tech sector retained the top spot in Europe. The country’s tech sector showed resilience with the fast-growing UK tech companies raising funds at near-record levels (£24b),which was substantially more than France (£11.8 b) and Germany (£9.1 b) combined. UK’s tech sector has raised nearly £100b over [...]