Spotify and Amazon consider takeover bids for podcast platform Audioboom February 13, 2022 Spotify and Amazon are considering takeover bids for London-listed podcasting platform Audioboom which has enjoyed a boom in revenues through the pandemic, according to reports.
How investor ‘tourism’ in biotech industry can both bruise it – and supercharge it February 13, 2022 The pandemic trigged an “astonishing” surge in the biotech industry, with red-hot stock valuations and a flood of IPOs. The industry caught the eye of retail investors and a series of lockdown measures leaving many people homebound with spare time and easy access to online trading platform, saw many dive into these ‘on trend’ stocks. [...]
Business of Space on Saturday: Shoebox satellites and a Goldilocks planet February 12, 2022 This weekend: · Shoebox satellites prepare for launch · London scientists spy Goldilocks planet · The first pictures from $10bn James Webb Telescope Defence Science and Technology Laboratory prepares for twin launches Last week’s column explored how miliary interests are boosting an already blossoming industry. As part of the UK’s £1.4bn investment in space defence, [...]
Exclusive: The City’s hydrogen authority on Jeff Bezos’ first nuclear fusion plant in Britain February 11, 2022 Tower 42-based Gavin Watson, generally considered the City’s go-to lawyer for hydrogen projects, recently advised on the launch of a Jeff Bezos-backed, UK-first nuclear fusion plant, which uses hydrogen as an input. Given the growing investor interest in this gas and Boris Johnson’s claim that he intends for Britain to become the ‘Qatar of hydrogen’, time [...]
Competition watchdog accepts Google privacy changes February 11, 2022 The UK competition watchdog has accepted Google’s changes to its privacy sandbox, following a year-long investigation into the tech giant. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the inquiry in January 2021 over concerns that Google’s privacy sandbox – a set of new web standards that aim to protect people’s privacy more – would cause [...]
Twitter dodges Wall Street tech tumble despite missing analyst expectations February 10, 2022 Twitter appears to have avoided the wrath of Wall Street despite reporting a weaker-than-expected quarterly ad revenue and user growth this afternoon. The social media giant said it had made “meaningful progress” toward its goal of reaching 315 million users and $7.5bn (£5.5bn) in annual revenue by the end of 2023. Although ad revenue for [...]
Openreach adds 4000 new jobs to boost broadband February 10, 2022 Openreach announced it will create and fill more than 4,000 jobs during 2022 – including around 3,000 apprenticeships – as it continues to invest billions of pounds into its broadband network, people and training. The new recruits will be based throughout the UK, working to build and connect customers to boost the company’s Full Fibre [...]
AI and Big Data to be ‘most disruptive’ tech in pharma industry in 2022 February 10, 2022 AI and Big Data as a powerhouse duo will be the ‘most disruptive’ emerging technology in the pharmaceutical sector in 2022. This year is anticipated to be studded with high-figure tech deals within the healthcare space, after hailed Covid-19 vaccine maker AstraZeneca and BenevolentAI expanded their drug discovery partnership just weeks ago. “Undoubtedly AI [...]
Government injects £23m to boost UK skills and diversity in AI jobs February 10, 2022 The government has pumped £23m into Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data conversion courses for young and underrepresented groups, as the UK aims to be the industry leader. There will be up to two thousand scholarships for masters AI conversion courses, and the aim is to create a new generation of experts in data science and [...]
Microsoft crafts new app rules as it jumps through regulatory hurdles for Activision Blizzard deal February 9, 2022 Microsoft has announced a new set of principles for its app store, including open access to developers who meet privacy and security standards, as it jumps through regulatory hoops to gain approval for Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard mega-deal. Microsoft will file for approval of the deal in 17 jurisdictions for the $68.7bn deal, [...]