The tech revolution could be a catastrophic setback for civilisation November 8, 2018 Social earthquakes are looming fast from the emerging wave of automation and the tech revolution. We’ve all seen the headlines about artificial intelligence (AI), the rise of the robots, self-driving cars, and leaps forward in machine learning. But does society realise what is coming? Will it prepare itself? Can the scale and speed of change [...]
Former Vitality boss picks up £3m from Zoopla backer Localglobe November 8, 2018 Transferwise, Citymapper and Zoopla backer Localglobe will today reveal its latest investment into Yulife, a lifestyle insurance and rewards startup founded by Sammy Rubin, the former chief executive of insurance giant Vitality Life. Fintech investor Anthemis and Ourcrowd also joined the round, with AIG coming on board to underwrite all policies. Launching today in the UK, [...]
Peer-to-peer lender Zopa rakes in £60m fundraising round November 8, 2018 British peer-to-peer lender Zopa will today reveal the final close of its fundraising round at £60m, tacking on an additional £16m in investment to the £44m it raised earlier this year. Though no investor names have been disclosed, Zopa said both new and existing investors participated in the round. Some of its backers to date include [...]
Samsung unveils foldable smartphone, but a startup beat them to it November 7, 2018 Electronics giant Samsung gave developers a first look at its foldable smartphone at a conference in San Francisco tonight, as it urged Android users to begin creating products and apps for the hardware. It also launched a flexible screen for its foldable phones, called Infinity Flex Display, which it said will be developed in association [...]
Facebook founder Zuckerberg rejects invitation to appear before UK MPs November 7, 2018 Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was today revealed to have refused an invite to appear before an “international grand committee” by Digital, Culture and Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee chairman Damian Collins The 27 November hearing would have debated the social media giant’s role in perpetuating so-called fake news. Collins had joined forces with his [...]
iPhone XR review: Apple’s ‘affordable’ handset is the best pound-for-pound phone on the market right now November 7, 2018 Last month Apple released the best phone money can buy, the iPhone XS, which also happens to be a phone that costs more than any other. Prices start at an overdraft-worrying £999 for the 64GB XS and go up to a nosebleed-inducing £1,449 for the 512GB XS Max. In a tacit acknowledgement that a grand [...]
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite review: The most popular e-reader in the Kindle range can now survive a dunking November 7, 2018 Last year Amazon updated the most expensive member of the Kindle family, the £230 Kindle Oasis, to introduce waterproofing. At long last careless readers could take their Kindle into the bath, or stand really close to the edge of a lake, without fear of dropping their device into a watery grave. Now, Amazon has brought [...]
Amazon Echo Show review: Amazon’s smart speaker now has a screen, but how does it measure up to the competition? November 7, 2018 When Amazon’s hardware team first stuck a screen on their smart speaker, it felt like a backslide for voice-assistant technology, which had promised a future in which we would converse naturally with omniscient objects in our house about the population of Angola, or where we know that guy in the TV show from, all without [...]
Crowdcube raises £8.5m from Revolut backer Draper Esprit and Channel 4 November 7, 2018 Equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube has today announced the close of a £8.5m fundraise, led by venture capital firm Draper Esprit and supported by Balderton Capital and Channel 4's commercial growth arm. Draper disclosed a £6m stake in the company as part of its investment, with the full round to be complemented by a crowdfunding campaign later [...]
EE’s first 5G trials go live in new locations across these east London hotspots November 7, 2018 Mobile network provider EE, has today switched on nine trial sites for 5G technology across east London, in addition to an existing test site in Canary Wharf. These include spots such as Provost Street, City Road, Central Street, Old Street, Cheapside, St Paul's, Finsbury Circus, Clerkenwell Street and Bartholomew Square. EE, which is owned by [...]