Softbank ‘mulls $300bn Spac listing’ for Vision Fund May 17, 2021 Softbank is reportedly weighing up a $300bn (£212bn) blank-cheque deal to take its tech-focused Vision Fund public. The Japanese conglomerate is said to be discussing plans to raise capital through a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) deal on the Amsterdam stock exchange later this year. It is planning to seek around €250bn from the listing, [...]
Nine technologies imagined in SciFi that actually became a reality May 17, 2021 | City Talk Some say that imagination is a form of prediction. Through deep analysis Rewired seeks to back the deep tech ventures that will unlock an artificial intelligence revolution with the backing of investors such as technologist Tej Kohli. We aim to ‘get in early’ when investing across five verticals including machine learning, robotics, bionics, sensors, mapping and [...]
Bill Gates left Microsoft board amid investigation into affair May 17, 2021 Microsoft founder Bill Gates had an affair with an employee and stepped down from the company’s board during an investigation into the matter, according to multiple reports. The tech giant today confirmed that it had launched a probe almost two years ago after receiving a complaint about Gates’ behaviour. A spokesperson said the company had [...]
6 Technology-driven trends that will change business strategy May 14, 2021 | City Talk Last year Gartner’ published ‘Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2021’ as an e-book to highlight those trends that are set to drive significant disruption and opportunity over the next five to 10 years. Nearly half-way into 2021 and many of the trends identified in the report are as pertinent now as they were then, with some [...]
Embracing technology to become better chartered accountants May 14, 2021 | City Talk Gareth Lewis CA, chief executive and co-founder of Delio, and the 2019 winner of ICAS’ Top 100 Young CAs Technology category, talks about the changing profession and why it’s time for chartered accountants to embrace technology. Over the last decade, multiple technological developments have impacted the accountancy profession, financial services and the wider world of [...]
Solving the efficiency problem at the heart of AI May 13, 2021 | City Talk Our Switzerland-based investment fund focuses on investing in the technologies that can help to unlock an artificial intelligence revolution. Backed by prominent investors such as technologist Tej Kohli*, we invest across five verticals including machine learning, robotics, bionics, sensors, mapping and localization; and we also back frontier applications which combine AI with new innovations such [...]
Facebook loses appeal over investigation into Giphy takeover May 13, 2021 Facebook has lost an appeal over the regulatory probe into its acquisition of Giphy. The social media giant announced plans to buy Giphy last May but the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) then said it was looking into whether it could cause a “substantial lessening of competition in any market or markets in the United [...]
The human genome project – From then to now May 12, 2021 | City Talk Around 64 years ago, a group of scientists took biology to the next level: the molecular level. This provided us with revelations about the structure of the DNA helix and how genetic information flows through cells. Thus, molecular biology came into being. Following this huge success, the early 1970s marked the emergence of two historical [...]
Are we working more than ever? May 12, 2021 | City Talk Furlough and working-from-home have dispersed workers into a diverse range of new working patterns. Social media is filled with anecdotes from workers who start their day late and finish early but still get more done by virtue of not having to commute to an office. There are those who have already returned to and embraced [...]
The promise of CRISPR for curing congenital eye disorders May 11, 2021 | City Talk Genome editing is emerging as a powerful tool with the potential to eliminate a range of genetic disorders. Now the CRISPR-cas9 gene-editing tool, which is adapted from the bacterial anti-viral defense system, has broken new scientific ground by being directly administered into the body of live patients for the first time, in an attempt to [...]