Blockchain startup Everledger raises $20m in funding round led by Tencent September 24, 2019 UK-based blockchain startup firm Everledger has raised $20m (£16m) in a series A funding round led by Chinese investment firm Tencent. Everledger also received backing from startup funder Graphene Ventures and Fidelity Investments. Read more: Santander issues first end-to-end $20m blockchain bond Founded in 2015 by Australian business woman Leanne Kemp, Everledger uses blockchain technology [...]
EU Court hands Google victory in right to be forgotten case September 24, 2019 Google combed home a win today as it battled a French demand that it extend European right to be forgotten laws across the world. Europe’s top court said that the search giant is not obliged to remove sensitive personal data worldwide. Read more: Google should be allowed to limit ‘right to be forgotten’, says EU [...]
School recruitment platform raises £5.6m Venture Capital funding September 24, 2019 A digital staffing platform for teachers has raised £5.6m in a Series A funding round in a bid to tackle teacher shortages. Zen Educate is designed to be a cost-saving alternative to recruitment agencies for schools, and is currently works with 10 per cent of schools in London. Read more: London design startup Papier picks [...]
Google’s ‘quantum supremacy’ claim does not compute, rivals say September 23, 2019 Google’s rivals have cast aspersions on claims that the tech giant has achieved a major milestone in quantum computing. Researchers at Google last week claimed to have built a quantum computer capable of performing calculations far beyond the abilities of current supercomputers, an achievement known as quantum supremacy. Read more: Google plugs €3bn into European [...]
Huawei CFO’s arrest to be probed in Vancouver hearing September 23, 2019 Lawyers for Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou are set to probe her arrest in Vancouver airport during a court hearing today. Meng was arrested in December on suspicion of misleading banks and violating sanctions against Iran, and is now facing extradition to the US. Read more: Huawei drops lawsuit against US over seized equipment [...]
Facebook’s London accelerator programme expands to startups outside UK September 23, 2019 Facebook has announced the third edition of its London accelerator programme, which will be open to startups from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) for the first time. The scheme is open to high-growth startups and aims to support those that are “harnessing the power of technology to have a positive impact on the [...]
UK Finance chair Bob Wigley named in employment claim alleging fraud at company he chaired September 23, 2019 UK Finance chair Bob Wigley has been named in an employment tribunal claim alleging fraud at a company he chaired. The claim, seen by City A.M., relates to Northern Ireland tech firm Secure Broadcast. Its former chief operating officer Richard Johnston is claiming constructive dismissal from the company after uncovering an alleged fraud. According to [...]
NHS software delays cause headache for digital health firm Babylon September 22, 2019 British health startup Babylon has suffered a setback to its expansion plans after the NHS missed the deadline to upgrade a key piece of software. The London-based firm, which connects patients with doctors through a video chat service, won approval in June to expand its operations to Birmingham. Read more: US health firm Centene invests [...]
DEBATE: Are MPs on right that UK firms need more robots? September 19, 2019 Are MPs on the Beis committee right to say that British businesses have too few robots? YES, says Chetan Dube, chief executive at IPsoft Whether it’s a physical robot or digital colleague, MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy (Beis) committee are absolutely right that UK businesses need to step up their automation efforts [...]
Since when was coding a job just for boys? September 19, 2019 It is national coding week, and the same tired debate is raging once again: why are so few software engineers women? An industry that is shaping our lives only represents a small minority of society. It’s bad for our collective futures, and bad for business. New data from coding bootcamp provider Makers has shed fresh [...]