Fintech is all the rage, but is the bubble about to burst? September 5, 2019 Fintechs are all the rage. Scarcely a day goes by without a new challenger bank or money app making headlines about how it seeks to disrupt traditional banking and solve personal finance problems. As a result, capital is pouring into the sector – last year, global investment into financial technology ventures more than doubled to [...]
Hey Conservatives, stop attacking Greta Thunberg and come up with better market-led ideas September 5, 2019 Nobody likes being lectured at. Perhaps this aversion explains – although in no way excuses – the sustained attacks on the teenaged climate activist Greta Thunberg by many on the right. Whether it’s vile jokes about her dying at sea or the faux concern about her mental health, anyone who makes such comments should be [...]
It’s time to give AI the human (resources) touch September 5, 2019 It is no secret that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the workplace. The debate on how wide-reaching these changes will be is one that feels never-ending, with no one truly knowing what impact it will have. The one certainty is that unless the workplace is fully behind AI and automation, it’s likely to [...]
Investors balk at Slack’s earnings debut on Wall St September 4, 2019 Shares of workplace technology giant Slack fell more than 15 per cent in after-hours trading tonight, following the company’s first set of quarterly results published since its markets debut in June. Slack, which is the creator of its eponymous workplace messaging app, said it had suffered a significant impact on its revenue due to the [...]
Sony WF-1000XM3 review: Noise-cancelling earbuds just got sexy September 4, 2019 The guy in charge of naming new Sony products sits bolt upright in his bed, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. In a corner of the room, illuminated by the pale moonlight, is a whiteboard. Every inch of it is covered with hastily scrawled ideas, each of them struck through. WB-1010XM? No. FMX-700D? Ridiculous. GTF-006? [...]
Google and Youtube accused of sharing personal data with advertisers September 4, 2019 Google has been accused of secretly sharing its users’ personal data with advertisers in a potential breach of EU privacy laws. In new evidence submitted to the Irish data regulator, a rival is said to have accused Google of using hidden web pages to feed data to third-party companies without user consent. Read more: Google [...]
Digital sector salaries outstrip UK average but gender pay gap remains September 4, 2019 Salaries for employees in the UK’s digital sector are more than 50 per cent higher than the national average, according to government figures published today. Staff in digital-based roles earned on average £36,300 in 2018, which is 51.3 per cent higher than the UK average of £24,000. Read more: Surge in demand for UK tech [...]
Court throws out privacy challenge to facial recognition technology in landmark ruling September 4, 2019 The High Court today rejected a privacy challenge to the use of facial recognition technology in a landmark ruling. The High Court found that the use of automatic facial recognition technology (AFR) by South Wales police was lawful after a challenge by privacy campaigner Ed Bridges who was represented by advocacy group Liberty. AFR technology [...]
Former Softbank spinoff plugs $23m into crypto startup Elliptic September 4, 2019 Elliptic, which provides crypto-asset risk management solutions for crypto businesses and financial institutions, has today secured $23m in investment from Tokyo giant SBI Group. Albion VC also joined the round, alongside existing investors Signalfire, Octopus Ventures and Santander’s venture capital arm. SBI Group was formerly part of Japanese mega investor Softbank, before fully separating from [...]
London design startup Papier picks up $11m from top UK venture funds September 4, 2019 Personalised stationery firm Papier today closed an $11m (£9.1m) funding round, led by Monica Vinader backer Beringea. Other investors such as Felix Capital, Innocent Drinks’ founders fund Jamjar Investments and Downing Ventures also participated, taking Papier’s total raised to date to $15m. The design company said it will use the funding to accelerate its growth [...]