Nvidia to build UK’s largest supercomputer after $40bn Arm takeover bid October 5, 2020 Nvidia today announced plans to build the UK’s largest supercomputer, just weeks after the US tech group tabled a controversial $40bn (£31bn) offer for British chip designer Arm. The £40m supercomputer — dubbed Cambridge-1 — will be made available to healthcare researchers using artificial intelligence to find cures for a range of medical challenges, including [...]
Crowdfunding platforms Seedrs and Crowdcube announce plans to merge October 5, 2020 Crowdfunding platforms Seedrs and Crowdcube have announced plans to merge, creating one of the world’s biggest private equity marketplaces. In a statement this morning the companies said the deal would create a “more robust” firm, allowing it to help fund more businesses. Crowdcube will acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Seedrs, with existing [...]
NZX information boss departs after four-day cyberattack October 5, 2020 New Zealand Exchange (NZX) is replacing its chief information officer after the stock exchange was forced to shut down for four days as a result of a major cyberattack last month. David Godfrey, who had been with the NZX for more than a decade, will leave at the end of this year, the company confirmed. [...]
US senate votes to subpoena tech bosses to testify October 1, 2020 US tech bosses will be hauled in front of congress after a senate committee voted to compel them to testify. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey will be questioned on reforming Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The act shields social media firms from [...]
Tech Nation bolsters board as it seeks to help economy recover from Covid-19 September 28, 2020 Tech Nation has bolstered its board as it seeks to help the UK economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The tech entrepreneur network has appointed former Palamon Capital finance chief Annette Wilson, Impact X Capital Partners founder Eric Collins, Hoxton Ventures partner Hussein Kanji and Benevolent AI senior vice president Trecilla Lobo to its board [...]
Boris Johnson’s gigabit broadband target will be ‘missed by years’, warns BT boss September 27, 2020 Boris Johnson’s target for delivering gigabit broadband across the UK will be missed by eight years without £9bn worth of tax and red tape cuts, BT has warned ministers. BT claims the industry is on course to deliver gigabit speeds across the nation by 2033, significantly later than Johnson’s election pledge of full coverage by [...]
Brussels to appeal court ruling over Apple’s €13bn Irish tax bill September 25, 2020 The European Commission today said it will appeal a court decision that overturned a ruling for Apple to pay back €13bn (£11.8bn) in back taxes to Ireland. In July the General Court scrapped a 2016 ruling by the Commission that found Ireland’s selective tax breaks constituted illegal state aid and ordered Apple to pay back [...]
Volunteers ‘to be deliberately infected with Covid-19’ in UK vaccine trials September 24, 2020 Britain is reportedly planning to host clinical trials where volunteers are deliberately infected with Covid-19 to test the effectiveness of potential vaccines. So-called challenge trials are expected to begin at a quarantine facility in London in January, the Financial Times reported, citing people involved with the project. The government said it was working with partners [...]
Facebook to launch oversight board just before US election September 24, 2020 Facebook is planning to launch its long-delayed oversight board in mid- to late October, just ahead of the US presidential election, following mounting criticism over its handling of hate speech and other divisive content. The social media giant’s independent oversight board will initially have the power to review decisions to remove content from Facebook and [...]
Youtube launches UK fact checking amid Covid-19 misinformation September 24, 2020 Youtube has today announced it will expand its fact-checking tool to the UK, as it battles the spread of misinformation related to the coronavirus pandemic. The feature, which is already available in the US, Brazil and India, provides an information panel displayed above searches covering topics “prone to longstanding misinformation”, such as coronavirus or flat [...]