Shares in Kin and Carta slide as investment eats into profit August 20, 2019 Shares in Kin and Carta dropped roughly 13 per cent after the digital transformation company warned on profits for the full year. The London-headquartered firm said its pre-tax profit would be marginally lower than expectations after it upped its annual investment from £2m to £3m. Read more: AI software market posts huge growth amid digital [...]
Robot delivery service Starship Technologies targets students in $40m raise August 20, 2019 Starship Technologies, a US tech firm headed by former Airbnb exec Lex Bayer, has raised $40m (£33.1m) in a series A funding round. The investment was led by Morpheus Ventures with participation from Shasta Ventures, Matrix Partners, Metaplanet Holdings, TDK Ventures, Qu Ventures and others. Starship’s autonomous robot delivery fleet operates in cities across the [...]
Bureaucratic boroughs risk holding London back in the 5G race August 20, 2019 Despite the hype around the latest handsets and a commitment from the new cabinet to prioritise connectivity, London risks losing out on the 5G opportunity. Much has been made of the country’s struggles to keep up with international competitors in the race to deliver world-class connectivity, while our imminent departure from the EU places greater [...]
Twitter and Facebook shut down network of Hong Kong misinformation accounts linked to Chinese state August 19, 2019 Facebook and Twitter have taken down a wide-ranging network of social media accounts and profiles linked to a Chinese state operation to create division among and about the Hong Kong protests. Twitter said more than 900 accounts were discovered as part of a “significant state-backed information operation” to plant misinformation about the protests. A total [...]
Tech giants hit back at France’s digital tax August 19, 2019 Silicon Valley leaders have said plans for a French digital tax were discriminatory against US firms, but urged President Donald Trump to avoid retaliating with tariffs. In evidence submitted to a hearing by the US Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) today, representatives for Google, Facebook and Amazon said the levy would hurt revenues, harm local businesses [...]
Juul raises $325m to fund global expansion of e-cigarette range August 19, 2019 E-cigarette giant Juul has raised $325m (£268m) in an equity and debt offering as it looks to fast track its global expansion amid regulatory pressure in the US. Read more: British American Tobacco boosted by vaping sales Juul did not specify the ratio of equity to debt in the deal, but a source familiar with [...]
How useful are passwords for keeping our data secure? August 19, 2019 Every year, new research and new articles appear telling us that the most popular passwords are still things like “password1” and “qwerty123”. This “big” reveal is then followed up by a lecture on the importance of protecting yourself online. But we’ve been using passwords as digital identification tools for as long as we’ve had technology, [...]
US extends reprieve on Huawei ban by 90 days August 19, 2019 The US has delayed its trade ban on Huawei by a further 90 days, despite President Donald Trump’s insistence that American companies will be blocked from trading with the Chinese tech giant. Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross today said his department will extend a temporary measure that allows American companies to do business with Huawei. The [...]
Social media firms urged to crack down on measles misinformation August 19, 2019 Social media firms must do more to tackle online misinformation about vaccines amid a spike in measles cases in the UK, a health minister has warned. Jo Churchill said the government must work with tech companies such as Facebook and Google to ensure parents are not misled by false information spread by so-called anti-vaxxers. Read [...]
Trump says he doesn’t want to do business with Huawei over ‘national security threat’ August 19, 2019 President Donald Trump has said he doesn’t want the US to do business with Huawei, following reports that his administration is set to extend a licence allowing the Chinese company to purchase US goods. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said he did not want to do business with Huawei over national security concerns. “At [...]