Google settles lawsuit for $118m over claims it ‘systematically’ underpaid female employees June 13, 2022 Google has agreed to pay $118m (£96m) to settle a class-action lawsuit brought forward by four of its former employees over claims the tech giant “systemically” underpaid 15,500 of its female employees. The Silicon Valley firm will also bring in an independent labour economist to analyse its pay practices to ensure female workers are not [...]
OnlyFans: The ‘UK success story’ and online safety pioneer June 13, 2022 OnlyFans has a tendency to make headlines – and sometimes for the wrong reasons. Founded in the UK in 2016, the company has experienced momentous growth in the depths of lockdown, shifting from 17m fans to over 100m in 2020. In 2022, the platform boasts 200m fans, with over two million creators serving up content. [...]
Tech week a chance to celebrate London and the City’s most powerful urge: competition June 13, 2022 It is more than a little tempting to think at the moment that nothing in Britain works very well. Anybody with tickets to the Rolling Stones or the cricket in Headingley next week will face a rail strike, families looking to get away for a well-deserved break will need to carry a week’s supplies just [...]
Lord Gilbert considered to lead BBC funding review June 11, 2022 Lord Gilbert is reportedly in the race to lead the BBC’s funding review. Gilbert, who was recently snubbed in favour of Lord Grade as chair of Ofcom, is among the people being considered by culture secretary Nadine Dorries, Sky News first reported. Whitehall sources told the outlet Gilbert would be an “uncontroversial” choice but that [...]
Apple goes solo for buy-now pay-later snubbing Goldman June 9, 2022 Apple has snubbed banking partners Goldman Sachs for its new buy-now pay-later offering, instead opting for its own in-house team to manage the service.
Govt buys UK’s first-ever quantum computer in ‘milestone moment’ for Ministry of Defence June 9, 2022 The Government’s first quantum computer has been acquired by the Ministry of Defence. The machines are able to rapidly make highly complex calculations that cannot be done by regular computers. The BBC said the ministry will work with London-based firm Orca Computing on applying the computers to defence applications. It marked a “milestone moment”, according [...]
Looming environmental report on SpaceX’s Starship could be a ‘pain point’ June 9, 2022 Elon Musk’s Starship dreams could be extinguished before the mega-rocket has even left the ground, as US regulators assess its potential environmental damage. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to publish its assessment on Monday. The report, a year in the making, has been pushed back several times since December, with delays bleeding into [...]
Richard Branson’s right hand man: Mastering rail is ‘harder than space’ June 8, 2022 Mastering rail is “harder than space”, according to one space veteran, formerly Richard Branson’s right-hand man in the making of Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit. As Britain prepares to launch satellites from its own soil for the first time this summer, unions are set to bring the country’s rail network to a standstill in later this month. Speaking on [...]
TikTok exec who ‘didn’t believe’ in maternity leave takes step back June 8, 2022 TikTok has launched a formal investigation into comments from a senior exec at its parent firm ByteDance, who said at a staff dinner in London that as a “capitalist”, he “didn’t believe” companies should offer maternity leave.
Soonicorn to unicorn: Euan Blair’s apprenticeship outfit Multiverse hits $1bn valuation after new funding round June 8, 2022 Multiverse, the professional apprenticeship start-up founded by Euan Blair, has hit a valuation of $1.7bn (£1.3bn) after completing a $220m (£175m) series D funding round. The round – co-led by StepStone Group and returning investors Lightspeed and General Catalyst – doubles the London-based firm’s valuation from just eight months ago, and will be used in [...]