Britain’s tech sector takes in $5.3bn in first half of 2020 June 10, 2020 The UK’s tech businesses have raised more than $5bn in investment so far this year, despite the impact of coronavirus weighing on funds. Startups across the UK took in $5.3bn between January and May 2020, more than the rest of Europe combined at $4.1bn. Data compiled by Tech Nation and Dealroom showed London commanded the [...]
Government unveils pandemic support package for struggling tech firms June 9, 2020 International trade secretary Liz Truss will on Wednesday unveil a package of measures designed to help bolster the UK’s tech community, as businesses continue to struggle during the coronavirus pandemic. Jointly supported by the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the measures are aimed at helping [...]
Softbank to lay off 15 per cent of staff at Vision Fund arm June 9, 2020 Softbank is set to cut 15 per cent of jobs at the investment arm which manages its $100bn Vision Fund, following a series of misplaced bets which damaged its overall value. The Vision Fund, which is responsible for taking major stakes on behalf of Softbank in tech startups such Wework and Uber, has a global [...]
Honda forced to suspend factory activity in wake of cyber attack June 9, 2020 Honda has halted production at a number of its global factories after suffering a suspected cyber attack to its internal servers. A spokesperson for Honda said today that activity had been suspended as the company needed to ensure that its quality control systems were not compromised. Honda was hit by a suspected hack yesterday that [...]
A further 140,000 people affected in Nintendo Switch hack June 9, 2020 A breach of Nintendo Switch users in April may have affected more people than the gaming company first announced, Nintendo said today. The Animal Crossing creator said an additional 140,000 Nintendo Network IDs may have been affected by unauthorised logins, on top of the 160,000 IDs revealed earlier this year. This brings the total number [...]
Apple set to manufacture its own chips for new Mac computers June 9, 2020 Apple is said to be preparing to announce a move to its own processors in Mac computers later this month, replacing a long-running partnership with Intel. The announcement could be made at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) on 22 June, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Codenamed Kalamata, an announcement at WWDC would provide [...]
IBM ditches facial recognition tech business amid racial profiling concerns June 9, 2020 Computing giant IBM has called time on its facial recognition business, after saying that it opposes the use of technology for racial profiling and mass surveillance. IBM chief execuvite Arvind Krishna said the company will no longer sell facial recognition services, as it seeks to “advance racial equality”. In a letter to members of US [...]
South Korean court denies arrest warrant request for Samsung leader June 8, 2020 A court in South Korea has today denied a request for an arrest warrant for Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee, after prosecutors sought to charge him with accounting fraud and stock manipulation. Prosecutors had requested an arrest warrant for Lee last week as part of a probe into a controversial 2015 merger of two [...]
Ride-hailing giant Gett chases $60m raise ahead of stock market debut June 8, 2020 Gett, the ride-hailing company part-owned by car giant Volkswagen, is close to raising a $60m (£47m) funding injection as it gears up to go public. The Uber rival is finalising the round which would be its first external fundraise since it secured $200m from investors last year. Sources told Sky News that the new funding [...]
Decision looms on second arrest of Samsung boss on fraud allegations June 8, 2020 A South Korean court is expected to rule today on whether to arrest Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee on new allegations including accounting fraud and stock manipulation, two years after completing his last jail sentence. Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Lee last week as part of a probe into a controversial 2015 merger [...]