British startups hit by funding drop last year as fintech bucks the trend February 5, 2019 The amount of money pumped into Britain’s startups slipped in 2018, but fintech and blockchain investment provided a silver lining. Funding into the UK’s young companies dropped from 2017’s record high of £8.6bn to £7bn last year, according to data published today by Beauhurst. Deals at seed stage fell 15 per cent to almost the [...]
Every day, we vote with our clicks that we value Facebook February 5, 2019 With front-page headlines including “Facebook paid kids and spied on them”, “Generation of web addicts”, “Wild West Web firms facing ban”, and “Stop online giants who help kill our kids”, it’s fair to say that it has not been the best UK press week for social media firms. Poor old Nick Clegg must have thought that [...]
Business banking startup Anna Money raises £8.5m from Kinetik February 5, 2019 Financial admin startup Anna Money has landed £8.5m in funding from Kinetik, as the banking app aims to take on the big leagues. Anna, which offers a digital admin assistant, current account and banking debit card for small businesses, said it is preparing to launch several new tools in anticipation of HM Revenue & Customs' [...]
Google beats estimates on revenue and profit, but shares fall on rising costs February 4, 2019 Google's parent firm Alphabet topped consensus estimates in its fourth quarter results tonight, surpassing expectations for revenue and profit. The tech giant reported net income of $8.9bn (£6.8bn), marking a turnaround from a $3bn loss in 2017 when it recorded a one-off tax charge of $9.9bn. This outperformed the average analyst prediction of $7.7bn, as collated by [...]
Crypto exchange Kraken buys London trading firm in nine-figure deal February 4, 2019 San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has finalised a deal to buy London trading firm Crypto Facilities. Kraken said it was one of the industry’s largest deals to date, valued at nine-figures. Though Crypto’s 25-strong team will remain in London, they will all become Kraken employees and expand the US firm's commitment to expanding its European [...]
Slack confidentially files for New York listing February 4, 2019 Workplace messaging app Slack has confidentially filed to go public in New York today, following months of speculation on the nature of its listing. No further details were given as to the timing or pricing of its initial public offering (IPO), however the app was said in January to be considering a direct listing instead. This is [...]
Tesla to buy battery firm Maxwell Technologies for $218m February 4, 2019 Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has agreed to buy energy storage firm Maxwell Technologies for $218m, as part of an all-stock deal to help Tesla build better batteries. Maxwell has developed tech that can help increase the driving range of electric cars while reducing the battery cost. Existing customers of the firm include General Motors and [...]
Facebook must face the same regulation as other media outlets, says former Tory digital minister February 4, 2019 Facebook is not capable of regulating itself and should be subjected to strict government oversight, the former minister for digital and culture has said. Tory MP Ed Vaizey today waded into the debate around regulation of big tech companies, saying Facebook must take responsibility for the content published on its platform. Read more: Social media sites should [...]
More than a quarter of Brits believe Facebook will launch a banking service by 2023 February 4, 2019 More than a quarter of Brits believe that Facebook will offer a banking service within the next five years. The research, published on the 15th anniversary of the social media giant’s launch, revealed that 29 per cent of UK consumers believe technology companies such as Facebook and Amazon will offer high street banking services by [...]
Elon Musk test fires new Space X Raptor rocket engine for Starship space craft February 4, 2019 Eccentric tech billionaire Elon Musk’s space exploration company Space X has test fired the Raptor engine for its Starship space craft. Musk tweeted videos of the tests today from Space X’s Texas base. Read more: Elon Musk wants you to work 100 hours a week First firing of Starship Raptor flight engine! So proud of [...]