Facebook’s Giphy takeover could harm Gif supply, watchdog warns March 25, 2021 The competition watchdog has given Facebook and Giphy five working days to address concerns their merger could harm the digital advertising market and the supply of Gifs. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today said Facebook’s planned takeover of the popular gif-maker, worth a reported $400m (£320m), could stifle competition. Following an initial investigation, the [...]
Big Tech hearing: Facebook, Google and Twitter face Congress grilling March 25, 2021 The chief executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter will be hauled in front of Congress again this afternoon to face questions about misinformation and extremism on their platforms. Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey will appear before a virtual joint hearing of two subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. It follows a [...]
Ikea and ITV invest in location tech startup what3words March 25, 2021 Ikea and ITV have both thrown their weight behind a startup that has divided the world into three-metre squares each with a unique three-word name to help pinpoint addresses. Ingka Group, the holding company behind the Swedish flat-pack giant, has pumped £12m into what3words, while ITV has taken a minority stake valued at £2m. What3words, [...]
Tencent confirms talks with regulators amid China tech crackdown March 24, 2021 Tencent has confirmed it is in talks with Chinese antitrust regulators as authorities in Beijing ramp up the pressure on tech firms. President Martin Lau today said the company’s founder Ma Huateng had held a voluntary meeting with antitrust watchdog officials this month to discuss compliance at the company. He said the two sides had [...]
Shares in IT firm Softcat jump as pandemic drives up profit March 24, 2021 Shares in IT firm Softcat fizzed in morning trading after after the pandemic helped drive strong growth in both revenue and profit for the second half of the year. The FTSE 250 firm reported revenue of £577m in the six months to the end of January — up 10 per cent on the same period [...]
Intel to splash out $20bn on factories in new chipmaking push March 24, 2021 Intel has unveiled plans to spend $20bn (£14.6bn) on two new semiconductor factories as part of a radical turnaround plan aimed at restoring the company’s chipmaking prowess. Under a multi-year strategy outlined by new chief executive Pat Gelsinger, Intel will build two new plants in Arizona. It will also start outsourcing to other manufacturers and [...]
Zentura launches range of Zenconnect® video conferencing Pods March 23, 2021 | Sponsored As remote working and video conferencing becomes more ingrained in our working lives, workspace interiors business, Zentura, has launched a family of video conferencing pods. Designed to enable high quality, professional video meetings and collaboration. Zentura founder & MD, James Hutchins said: ‘COVID 19 has changed the way we work, accelerating the already emerging trends [...]
Anti-virus firm Norton taken to court amid competition investigation March 23, 2021 The UK competition watchdog is taking anti-virus software firm Norton to court after it refused to provide information relating to an ongoing investigation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has identified concerns that Norton’s practices for automatically renewing contracts result in customers paying for services they no longer want or need. It asked the company [...]
Amazon to slim down Deliveroo stake after blockbuster float March 23, 2021 Amazon is set to trim down its stake in Deliveroo following the food delivery firm’s blockbuster initial public offering this year. The ecommerce giant plans to sell around 23m shares as part of the stock market debut, allowing it to raise as much as £107m from the deal. Its stake in Deliveroo will be reduced [...]
Using blockchain for personal monetisation March 23, 2021 | City Talk Fundraising has been around for as long as people have been launching new ventures and the ability to raise funds is one of the most vital leadership traits in any successful start-up CEO. Even the most incredible concepts can quickly fall flat if they do not get support from investors. This dichotomy has led technologists [...]