Mike Lynch blames HP for ‘botched’ Autonomy deal in $5bn fraud trial March 27, 2019 Autonomy was treated like Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) “unwanted stepchild” following the US tech giant’s “botched” £8.4bn acquisition of the software firm, a court heard today. HP is suing Autonomy’s founder Mike Lynch and former chief financial officer (CFO) Sushovan Hussain for $5.1bn, alleging that they falsely inflated Autonomy’s revenue figures ahead of the 2011 acquisition. Read [...]
10 London fintechs prepare to scale up as they join Tech Nation startup programme March 27, 2019 London fintechs dominate the latest entries to a government-backed startup programme as the capital's fintech sector continues to boom. Monzo, Starling Bank, Revolut and Salary Finance were among the companies selected for this year’s Future 50 programme. Read more: Fintech unicorn Oaknorth more than trebles profits The scheme, which is run by government-backed Tech Nation, [...]
Thames Water unveils £1bn tech investment in bid to boost efficiency March 26, 2019 Thames Water has unveiled plans to invest £1bn in new technology for its water and waste operations in a bid to boost efficiency by 20 per cent. The investment, which will be rolled out over the next six years, will help boost the utility company’s data management for a range of issues such as fixing [...]
Spotify makes latest podcast acquisition as it looks to cash in on true crime March 26, 2019 Spotify has snapped up its third podcast company of the year as it looks to double down on the format amid a boom in on-demand listening. The Swedish streaming service today said it had acquired Parcast, a podcast studio specialising in true crime series. Read more: Apple hits back at Spotify in App Store war [...]
Wirecard shares soar as head office cleared of wrongdoing following fraud allegations March 26, 2019 Shares in payment firm Wirecard soared today after a law firm cleared the company’s head office of wrongdoing following allegations of fraud and false accounting. An independent investigation by law firm Rajah & Tann found that local staff at the company’s Singapore office may have committed crimes but these were not material to the German [...]
Adobe and Microsoft team up to take on Salesforce’s marketing software March 26, 2019 Adobe and Microsoft are teaming up to strengthen their sales and marketing software offerings in a bid to take on rival Salesforce. The firms will partner to help users of Adobe’s marketing software identify potential customers on Linkedin, which is owned by Microsoft, the companies said today. Read more: Adobe invests £63.5m in UK as [...]
Tech firms slam ‘simplistic’ copyright reforms passed by European Parliament March 26, 2019 Tech firms have launched an attack on new copyright rules voted through by the European Parliament today, saying they could damage both competition and freedom of expression. Tech UK, which represents more than 900 tech companies across the country, slammed the new regulations, describing them as “simplistic solutions to complex problems”. Read more: European Parliament [...]
Huawei’s latest handset, the P30 Pro brings true telephoto photography to smartphones March 26, 2019 Following months of speculation and a number of leaks, Huawei has announced its new P30 and P30 Pro Android smartphones at a launch event in Paris today. The latest flagship in the Chinese firm’s photography-focused phone series sports a slew of cutting-edge new camera features. The P30 Pro includes an improved 40MP sensor as part of [...]
European Parliament passes controversial EU Copyright Directive March 26, 2019 The European Parliament has voted for a controversial copyright directive that critics claim could harm the future of the internet. Read more: EU agrees draft copyright reform in blow to tech giants The Copyright Directive passed today with 348 MEP votes, compared to 278 voting against it. The law includes ill-received elements such as making [...]
Samsung issues profit warning amid collapse in memory chip prices March 26, 2019 Samsung issued a surprise warning to its shareholders this morning that its first-quarter results would be worse than expected due to collapsing memory chip prices and lower demand for its display panels business. In a regulatory filing issued to the London Stock Exchange before its earnings guidance next week, the South Korean tech giant said: [...]