Google parent Alphabet’s venture arm GV backs London fintech startup Currencycloud in £20m funding round March 9, 2017 Top London fintech startup Currencycloud has attracted Google as an investor in a fresh £20m funding round in a stamp of approval for the sector after Brexit. GV, Alphabet's high-profile venture arm formerly known as Google Ventures, which has backed the likes of Uber and Slack in the past, joins existing investors for the series D [...]
Shares in recently-listed tech star Snap finally stop slipping to close up for the day March 8, 2017 Shares in Snap finally snapped out of their losing streak today. The Snapchat owner's shares, which floated last week, closed up 6.4 percent at $22.81, having fallen sharply during trading on Monday and Tuesday. Part of the sudden drop was pinned on a group representing large institutional investors approaching index providers S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI late [...]
Samsung Galaxy A5 review: This surprisingly powerful mid-ranger swipes most of the S7’s best features March 8, 2017 Samsung will be announcing the new Galaxy S8 at the end of the month, with the phone expected to launch a couple of weeks after that. In the meantime, here’s how the Korean manufacturer intends to tide you over: by transplanting most of the Galaxy S7’s best features into the biggest of their mid-range handsets, [...]
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review – Nintendo’s latest is the greatest game they’ve made since 1990-something March 8, 2017 A very long time ago indeed, in the ancient year of 1986, there existed a NES game called The Legend of Zelda. It was like nothing else at the time, a sprawling and freeform fantasy adventure that thrust you into an open world with little guidance, and left you to figure out how everything worked. [...]
Budget 2017 UK: Nope, driverless cars are not in the Budget, Philip Hammond just used them for laughs about Corbyn’s Labour leadership March 8, 2017 You'd be forgiven for thinking that driverless cars are getting a major boost with plans announced in today's Budget to help the UK become a top player in automotive automation. For anyone listening to chancellor Philip Hammond's speech (or reading through the transcript), there was indeed mention of funding for disruptive technologies such as "biotech, robotics and driverless cars". [...]
Budget 2017 UK: Robotics, 5G, broadband and everything promised for “disruptive” tech by Philip Hammond March 8, 2017 Millions of pounds in fresh funding has been promised for disruptive new technologies such as robotics, electric cars and biotech by the government. Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged new cash for development of the technologies in the Spring Budget along with plans to get started on creating a 5G network in the UK and boost broadband. How [...]
Budget 2017 UK: “T-Levels” shake-up for young people’s technical training promised by Philip Hammond March 8, 2017 The government is promising to invest fresh cash in preparing young people for the new global economy with investment in technical training. Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed the new £500m plans he called "game-changing" in his Spring Budget on Wednesday. The radical overhaul of post-16 education will see a dizzying array of 13,000 different qualifications whittled down [...]
The worst or best job in tech? Uber boss Travis Kalanick’s hiring a COO after a terrible month of non-stop troubles March 8, 2017 It could be the best job in tech – working for one of the biggest and most disruptive startups ever, a dream job for any Silicon Valley (and beyond) executive – or the worst. Uber’s recent troubles have spurred under fire chief executive Travis Kalanick to hire a chief operating officer, a number two to [...]
Part of British chipmaker Arm to be sold to Saudi-backed Softbank Vision Fund March 8, 2017 Softbank is reportedly selling part of newly acquired British chipmaker Arm to its Saudi-backed investment fund. After snapping up the firm for £24bn in a shock mega-deal just weeks after the vote to leave the European Union last June, the Japanese conglomerate is now selling a 25 per cent stake to its Vision Fund, the Financial Times reports, [...]
International Women’s Day: Why tech VCs must reflect the diversity of the firms they fund March 8, 2017 Technology companies have an undeniable impact on the lives we lead. Every day, companies that didn’t exist five years ago influence the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the way we travel, and how we communicate with our colleagues and loved ones. Investors play a huge part in deciding whether these companies succeed or [...]