The $13bn investment firm Varde Partners has just taken a stake in London proptech startup funder Pi Labs February 15, 2018 The London property tech, or proptech, scene is grabbing attention across the globe, as the $13bn (£9.4bn) US investment firm Varde Partners has today scooped a stake in venture capital firm Pi Labs, City A.M. can reveal. London-based Pi Labs, which closed its second $10m fund last year, focuses on scaling up early-stage proptech firms [...]
Digital Innovators: Q&A with BenevolentAI founder and chairman Ken Mulvany February 13, 2018 BenevolentAI is a tech company which applies AI to accelerate scientific discovery. Last year BenevolentAI was identified as one of 50 of the freshest and most inspiring digital companies using technology and innovation to shake up their sectors in our Digital Innovators Power List. Following a public vote and after careful consideration by supporting partners [...]
A new fintech bank led by a former hedge fund boss has just raised £70m through a float on the London Stock Exchange February 13, 2018 Trufin, a niche technology-enabled bank run by a former hedge fund boss, has just floated on the London Stock Exchange this morning to raise £70m. The fintech-focused business has three divisions including DFC, a short-term lender focusing on financing supply chains, Oxygen Finance, which helps provide early payments to the UK public sector, and Satago, [...]
Deliveroo IPO could be on menu with star tech startup said to be eyeing 2019 float February 11, 2018 An IPO could be on the menu for one of the UK's most high profile and fastest growing tech startups. Deliveroo has appointed PwC to evaluate is strategic options, the Sunday Times reports, with a float in either London or New York being considered for 2019. Founder Will Shu, formerly an investment banker, has previously [...]
Microsoft Surface Book 2 review: The 2-in-1 powerhouse gets 15-inch upgrade February 8, 2018 The Microsoft Surface Book 2 looks a lot like the original Surface Book, which is great news for those who fear change. It’s still got that vast 3:2 ratio screen, above a great slab of a base that looks like it could have been hewn from a single cuboid of brushed metal Microsoft discovered [...]
UK fintech VC investment hit a record in 2017 as China falls behind February 7, 2018 Investment into UK fintech by venture capitalists hit a record high in 2017 bucking a global downturn and grew at a faster pace than rivals, new figures reveal, shaking of concerns of a Brexit slowdown. The year saw $1.8bn (£1.3bn) of cash flow into startups working on innovative financial technology, a rise of more than [...]
Amazon overtakes Google as world’s most valuable brand February 1, 2018 Amazon has overtaken Google as the world's most valuable brand in the latest tussle of the tech giants. The retail and technology behemoth which just yesterday announced a move into healthcare, is valued at $150bn (£106bn), new research reveals, a rise of more than 40 per cent which helped it leapfrog Google. Apple maintained its [...]
The UK is leading the way in crowdfunding and P2P lending as the rest of Europe plays catch-up, says University of Cambridge data January 22, 2018 The UK has helped to prompt a boom in European crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, according to new research from the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School. While the UK remained the largest alternative finance market in Europe by far, at €5.6bn (£4.9bn), the rest of Europe began to play catch-up as it grew its [...]
London foodie startup Grub Club acquired by VizEat and rebranded EatWith in social dining startup deal January 22, 2018 An app for finding pop-ups and super clubs to eat at across London has been acquired by a larger rival. The UK's Grub Club, founded by food friends Olivia Sibony and Siddarth Vijayakumar in 2013, has been snapped up by VizEat for an undisclosed sum. VizEat operates in 130 countries and is backed by several [...]
Open Banking explained: Everything you need to know about the initiative but were afraid to ask January 12, 2018 You'll be hearing a lot of talk about Open Banking, which is set for take off this Saturday. Here's everything you need to know about it but were afraid to ask. What exactly is Open Banking? The markets watchdog told nine of the biggest banks that they must open up the information they hold so [...]