Fintech star Monzo joins unicorn ranks with £85m funding round October 30, 2018 Digital banking startup Monzo will today announce the close of a fresh fundraising round at £85m, led by new US investors General Catalyst and Accel as the fintech firm prepares to leap across the pond. Existing investors Passion Capital, Thrive Capital, Goodwater, Orange Digital Ventures and Stripe also participated in the round. The news takes [...]
UK wireless charging tech firm Aircharge makes its debut on London bus routes October 30, 2018 The UK tech firm behind the wireless charging pads found in Starbucks, McDonalds and Costa is going mobile, with its latest expansion to debut on London bus routes. Partnering up with British bus manufacturer Optare, Aircharge charging points will be initially be available on Green Line routes operating between London and various airports, including Luton and [...]
Apple October event: Updates to the Macbook Air, Mac Mini and iPad ranges October 30, 2018 Today, Apple is launching some updates to some of its most popular hardware lines. Here's our roundup of what made its way across the stage in New York. Macbook Air The updated Macbook Air is now available with a 13.3in retina display, which Apple said is more than four times the resolution of its predecessor. It [...]
‘The Nothing of Tesla’: Elon Musk deletes his Tesla job titles after being stripped of chairmanship October 30, 2018 Tesla founder Elon Musk had deleted his job titles at the car giant just to “see what would happen”. The stunt, announced on Twitter, comes after Musk recently agreed to step down as chairman of the electric car manufacturer to prevent further action from a US regulator. He announced: “Deleted my Tesla titles last week to see what [...]
DEBATE: As we head towards a cashless society, is there any point to a commemorative Brexit coin? October 30, 2018 As we head towards a cashless society, is there any point to a commemorative Brexit coin? Callum Price, events manager at the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. There is no doubt that we are heading towards an increasingly cashless society, but we are far away from the point at which we will no longer [...]
Innovation game: £1.6bn promised for the UK’s modern industrial strategy as entrepreneurs get a boost October 29, 2018 The chancellor today promised £1.6bn of new investment into the government's modern industrial strategy, in a bid to ramp up the UK's digital infrastructure and power the country's startups. It will also be followed by an additional £150m in funding for fellowships to foster the UK's burgeoning skills pool with both homegrown and international talent, and £115m for [...]
Going it alone: Tech giants to be hit by UK digital services tax October 29, 2018 Technology giants operating in the UK will be served with a narrowly-targeted digital services tax, chancellor Philip Hammond announced today. With consultations to occur before the tax goes live in April 2020, the chancellor said the move is to ensure "the UK continues to be the best place in the world to start and scale [...]
Amazon breaks past $100m in charitable donations from sales October 29, 2018 Amazon's charitable donation programme, Amazonsmile, this month surpassed a milestone of $100m (£78m) in donations since it began in 2013. Shoppers can opt in to Amazonsmile for free when using Amazon in the UK, US and Germany, whereby the tech giant adds to their purchase with a 0.5 per cent donation to a charity of [...]
Ride-hailing app Mytaxi to pilot e-scooters in European cities October 29, 2018 Ride-hailing app Mytaxi is to join the swathes of European and US startups jostling for a slice of the electronic scooter market, with a pilot to be launched in European cities later this year. The branding of the scheme and the location of the first pilot have not been disclosed, however the firm said it will [...]
Cyclists are swapping their helmets for Hovding airbags – would you do the same? October 29, 2018 Imagine a London where no one wears a cycle helmet – and not because vanity has hit the roof, or because the roads have been made so safe that helmets are redundant (though that would also be nice). It’s because of a new invention: an airbag for cyclists. Created in Sweden in 2005 by Anna [...]