Gett eyes 2020 flotation and profitability as it raises $200m at a $1.5bn valuation May 8, 2019 Taxi-hailing firm Gett said it has raised $200m (£153m) in additional funding yesterday, with a flotation on the cards “as soon as the first quarter of 2020”. It added it is on track to become operationally profitable globally by the fourth quarter of this year, including its US operation. Read more: Uber drivers to stage [...]
Government’s digital identification system Verify is ‘failing users’ May 8, 2019 The government’s flagship digital identification programme is failing users and has not delivered value for money, according to a damning new report. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has slammed the Verify programme, which it said has been hampered by a catalogue of problems and has failed to deliver the benefits originally promised. Read more: "Grave [...]
Facebook taps London talent for its global Whatsapp payments drive May 7, 2019 Facebook has chosen London as the global centre of a payments push for messaging platform Whatsapp, as the capital gains another boost in tech workers and post-Brexit confidence. Whatsapp, which is owned by Facebook, will hire around 100 people in an expansion of its workforce by about a quarter, the Financial Times first reported. Read [...]
Here’s a closer look at Google’s new budget Pixel phones, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL May 7, 2019 Google has just announced two new additions to its lineup of Pixel phones at its annual Google I/O event in California. The Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL will start at the relatively piddling sum of £399 (compared to £739 for the Pixel 3) and are positioned as a pair of wallet-friendly, value-for-money alternatives [...]
HP ‘not suing Autonomy US exec to go after Mike Lynch’ in fraud trial May 7, 2019 Hewlett Packard (HP) is not suing Autonomy’s former US chief executive in order to use his evidence against British businessman Mike Lynch in the biggest fraud trial in UK history, a court heard today. HP is suing Lynch, the former chief executive of software firm Autonomy, and ex-finance chief Sushovan Hussain for $5.1bn, alleging that [...]
DEBATE: Could Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook omnipotence be coming to an end? May 7, 2019 Could Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook omnipotence be coming to an end? Greg Consiglio, chief operating officer at Connectt, says YES. Facebook was originally set up to connect friends who share interests, primarily through a news feed that users controlled. Now, algorithms dictate the user experience, and with feeds more crammed than ever, what once was fun and informative [...]
Small businesses to be given artificial intelligence boost May 7, 2019 London may be the artificial intelligence (AI) capital of Europe, but City Hall believes the benefits of AI are failing to trickle down to small businesses. The mayor Sadiq Khan will give 200 small businesses in London a share of £200,000 to enhance their use of AI. “London is a leading hub for innovation in [...]
Huawei to build 400-person chip plant near Arm Holdings headquarters in Cambridge May 4, 2019 Huawei is planning to build a 400-person chip research and development factory in the centre of the UK's silicon chip industry, just outside of Cambridge. The Chinese telcoms group wants to develop the chips used in broadband networks at a base in Sawston, seven miles outside of Cambridge and just 15 minutes from Arm Holdings' headquarters, [...]
Time to ditch the tech bros? Women-led fintechs are better investments, says KPMG May 4, 2019 A new report from KPMG has found that fintechs founded by women are more likely to be successful when compared with the industry average. The study, which looked at 91 fintech companies across the UK, found those that were founded or co-founded by a female achieved 113 per cent higher returns for investors. Read more: Banking [...]
Days Gone review: Biker gangs and bounty hunting in Sony’s zombie infested apocalypse May 3, 2019 At times the plot of Days Gone can be difficult to track. You play as Deacon, a hardass biker navigating a zombie-infested open world. For the most part you’re on a quest to find your missing girlfriend Sarah. However, your motorcycle parts are nicked early on (Deacon’s bike functions as the game’s second lead character; [...]