Railsbank closes in on ‘unicorn’ status with $100m funding round February 4, 2022 British fintech firm Railsbank is eyeing up ‘unicorn’ status as it looks to raise $100m funding that at a valuation of over $1bn, according to news reports.
Oxford Biomedica raises £39m after snapping up majority stake in US firm February 4, 2022 Oxford Biomedica, which helped AstraZeneca with its Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing, has raised £39.4m in a share placing. The placing represents 5.6 per cent of the company’s issued share capital to date. The London-listed gene and cell therapy group launched a placing to raise £80m last week, as it looks to widen its viral vector manufacturing [...]
Cybersecurity: ‘To cripple UK, Putin does not need nuclear weapons’ February 4, 2022 The UK’s public sector needs to be “agile” in employing the government’s new cybersecurity strategy, according to analysts, amid fears of a Russian devised cyberattack. While the strategy, published last week, “looks good on paper” – there are significant areas of improvement, say experts. “To cripple the UK, Putin does not need nuclear weapons,” explained cybersecurity expert [...]
Tech stocks in a valley February 4, 2022 Just when Silicon Valley thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. Meta tanked over 25 per cent on Wall Street yesterday, losing around $200bn (£147bn) in value, dragging the tech-heavy Nasdaq down along with it.
Cheer up Mark, the share price might have done better in the metaverse… February 4, 2022 Meta faced its worst single-day wipeout yesterday, as shares plunged over 25 per cent, slashing $220bn (£162bn) off the company’s value. It comes after Facebook’s owner reported dismal results on Wednesday night, citing Apple’s privacy changes and “increasing competition” as the key drivers for its demise. “Meta’s quarterly results confirmed what investors were already worried [...]
EU aims to tighten data curbs on non-EU governments February 3, 2022 New European law will start requiring cloud services, like Amazon and Microsoft, to set up safeguards against illegal data transfers to non-EU governments, as the EU continues to rein in US tech giants. According to reports by Reuters, the European Commission’s Data Act, which is set to be published at the end of this month, [...]
Nintendo sales and profits slip as demand for Switch consoles dries up February 3, 2022 Nintendo’s sales and profits have slipped, as momentum for its Switch console wanes and it continues to battle a shortage of semiconductor chips. The Japanese gaming giant pulled in £2.3bn in profit in the nine months through December, which dipped 2.5 per cent from the year prior. Nintendo’s sales have continued to sink since [...]
UK gambling regulator clamps down on illegal Facebook lotteries February 3, 2022 The Gambling Commission have shut down hundreds of illegal lotteries operating on Facebook, as the regulator aims to protect vulnerable social media users.
UK unveils cash pot for young space entrepreneurs February 3, 2022 The government has opened the gates to a new cash pot for young space entrepreneurs, ahead of the country’s first-ever launches from UK soil this year. The £50,000 prize money up for grabs will see entrepreneurs between the ages of 11 and 22 present their ideas to a panel of ‘dragons’ from across the UK [...]
New Covid-19 vaccine wins regulatory approval in UK February 3, 2022 A new Covid-19 vaccine has been approved by the UK’s medicines watchdog, making it the fifth jab to be authorised for use in the country. The Nuvaxovid vaccine, developed by US biotech firm Novavax, will add another string to the UK’s vaccine bow, with 71 per cent of the population having received at least two [...]