Bring on the robots: We should welcome the demise of the human machine February 22, 2017 In decades to come, people will reflect on the present day with bewilderment and say: “they had humans doing what?” In the blizzard of noise around a looming acceleration in technological unemployment we need to balance our fears of the rise of the robots with excitement around the impending demise of the human machine. The [...]
Toshiba’s shares are finally making gains as its chip business reels in suitors February 22, 2017 Toshiba's shares closed more than 22 per cent higher after Japanese trading today on news rivals are interested in its chip business. A Nikkei Business Daily report suggested the troubled Japanese conglomerate has asked potential bidders to value its prized memory chip business at 2 trillion yen (£14.1bn) in a bid to maximise income from the sale. [...]
Meet 26 of the hottest UK startups about to become household names as part of Tech City UK’s Future Fifty February 22, 2017 An innovative flower delivery startup, an online money transfer service and a recipe subscription service are among 26 of the hottest startups in the UK which have been identified as having the potential to become household names and globally recognised companies. Bloom & Wild, Azimo and Gousto are among the up-and-coming names joining the likes of fintech unicorn [...]
Step inside: Visa opens doors to its biggest ever innovation centre in London February 21, 2017 Visa has launched a fresh bid to boost its reputation for innovation with the launch of a new centre in London to "build the future of payments" – from banking via voice assistant to shopping in virtual reality. The 1,000 sq ft centre at its headquarters in Paddington will foster collaboration between Visa and its clients, partners and [...]
Transferwise now lets you transfer money just by talking to a Facebook Messenger chatbot February 21, 2017 Forget simply messaging friends, now you can use Facebook Messenger to transfer money with the latest chatbot wanting to take care of your finances. London fintech unicorn Transferwise is bringing its online money transfer service to the messaging app, allowing users in the UK to send money to friends or family in the rest of Europe, [...]
The sky is the limit! EE reveals drone air masts that will save the day when disaster strikes February 21, 2017 Drones. While they've got a bit of a bad name for themselves among sectors of society, mobile firm EE said they are the answer to helping the emergency services step up to the plate when disasters strike. EE has revealed plans to use drones to keep rural parts of the UK connected by so-called "air masts". Read [...]
WATCH: The world’s first actual real hoverbike has been tested in a warehouse and it’s insane February 21, 2017 Admit it: you've been waiting for this. A San Francisco-based company has said it's tested out the first-ever fully-manned hoverbike – and it has the footage to prove it. Hoversurf, which has experimented with technology including a hover-taxi and a drone-powered jetpack, said its Scorpion single-seat aircraft can be flown "with the same simplicity as riding [...]
Toshiba is looking to raise £7bn from the sale of its memory chip business February 21, 2017 Toshiba's shares dipped again today as it prepares to raise at least 1 trillion yen (£7.1bn) from the sale of its flash memory chip business, a source told Reuters. The embattled Japanese firm is working to fill a multi-billion pound hole in its US nuclear business by selling a majority stake or even all of its prized memory chip [...]
Drones will transform our cities – and we’re totally unprepared for the consequences February 21, 2017 Drones are everywhere – whether that’s delivering Domino’s pizzas in New Zealand or dancing behind Lady Gaga at the US Super Bowl. With the news that Amazon’s new drone delivery plan includes “package parachutes”, considering how drones will impact our cities in the future is an issue that London must address now. No longer limited [...]
Wellcome Trust set for $100m windfall from Snap IPO as tech firm woos City investors February 20, 2017 The Wellcome Trust is set for a huge windfall from the hottest tech IPO of the year. Snap's public offering, expected next week, will return around $100m (£80.3m) to the science institution following on from successful early bets on Facebook and Alibaba, among others. It comes as the Los Angeles-based startup sought to woo European investors, bringing its IPO [...]