What does Britain need? More robots October 17, 2019 On Monday, the Queen’s Speech set out the government’s legislative plans, starting with tackling all things Brexit, before laying out a radical programme to shake the country out of its current torpor. Leaving aside whether any of this legislative programme manages to get through parliament, I would argue that one of the most critical issues [...]
Facebook suffers drop in brand value as consumer trust slides October 17, 2019 Facebook has suffered a second successive annual decline in its brand value as the social media firm faces a backlash over data use and its faltering move into digital currency. The Silicon Valley giant has dropped out of the top 10 rankings of the world’s most valuable brands, suffering a decline of almost 12 per [...]
AI marketing sector attracts $2.5bn of investment in 2018 October 17, 2019 Artificial intelligence (AI) marketing companies bagged $2.5bn of investment last year as marketers turned to the new technology to help analyse huge troves of data. Last year’s investment surge has continued into 2019, with $1bn invested in the second quarter alone, according to figures compiled by tech investment firm GP Bullhound. Read more: Meet the [...]
Netflix shares rise as it beats profit expectations ahead of streaming wars October 16, 2019 Shares in Netflix rose as much as much as nine per cent in after-hours trading as the streaming giant’s third-quarter profit beat analysts’ forecasts. Netflix today reported net profit of $665m (£518.5m) in the three months to the end of September, up almost 40 per cent on the same period last year. Earnings per share [...]
Government ditches controversial ‘porn block’ plan in favour of wider online harms laws October 16, 2019 The government has quietly dropped plans to introduce strict age verification measures to prevent under-18s from viewing online pornography. The controversial proposals, which were hampered by a series of delays, would have forced commercial porn providers to verify their users’ age, or face being blocked in Britain. Read more: Minister apologises as UK porn laws [...]
Huawei posts revenue rise as US crackdown fails to halt growth October 16, 2019 Huawei has reported a sharp increase in revenue for the third quarter as US sanctions failed to hamper its smartphone shipments. The Chinese tech giant pulled in revenue of 610.8bn yuan (£67.2bn) in the first three quarters, up 24.4 per cent year-on-year. Revenue was up 27 per cent in the three-month period to the end [...]
EU orders Broadcom to suspend business deals in competition probe October 16, 2019 Broadcom has been ordered to halt its deals with six major customers amid an investigation into whether the chipmaker abused its market position to hurt rivals in its television and modem market. The EU’s antitrust regulator is imposing interim measures to prevent any likely “harm” to competition, suspending certain business deals between the tech giant [...]
AI health firm Healx bags $56m funding as it looks to fast track rare disease treatments October 16, 2019 Health tech firm Healx has secured $56m (£44m) in a Series B funding round as it looks to launch a new accelerator programme to find treatments for rare diseases. The Cambridge-based company said it raised the funds from European venture capital giant Atomico, Global Brain and Btov Partners, as well as its existing investors. Read [...]
DEBATE: Is the G7 warning the end for Facebook’s libra? October 16, 2019 Now that the G7 has issued a warning against the cryptocurrency, is this it for Facebook’s libra? YES, says Ana Bencic, president of Nexthash. Facebook’s libra is the most high-profile example of a centralised cryptocurrency and is a living example of how it will be perhaps the last one to exist. The G7’s warning to [...]
Google unveils new Pixel 4 phone as it looks to take on Apple October 15, 2019 Google has unveiled its new series of Pixel phones with a host of upgraded features as the tech giant looks to challenge the dominance of rival Apple in the smartphone market. Read more: Google Safari lawsuit: iPhone users win appeal to seek £3bn in damages The new Pixel 4 phones, which come in two sizes, [...]