China’s Baidu targets artificial intelligence with appointment of former Microsoft executive January 17, 2017 Chinese search giant Baidu has named a former Microsoft executive as its chief operating officer in an effort to push towards artificial intelligence. Baidu's core search engine business hasn't been performing well – new advertising regulations caused Baidu to lose 16 per cent of its ad customers in the quarter ending September 2016 – so the company is refocusing its [...]
Davos elites should look to UK fintech to see responsive leadership in action January 17, 2017 With the rise of digital, information networks, robotics, and the smartphone, the pace of technological change is accelerating. This has coincided with increasing populism, creating political and market volatility that some analysts are forecasting as the new normal. Across the political, business and academic landscape, leaders must be more in tune with their communities, and [...]
UK tech urges Theresa May to clarify skilled immigration in hard Brexit speech January 16, 2017 The UK tech industry is calling on Theresa May to consider the need for skilled migrants in her plans for Brexit, which are due to be revealed in a highly-anticipated speech on Tuesday. The Prime Minster is expected to lay out her most detailed plans yet for a so-called hard Brexit that would mean an exit from the Single Market, customs union [...]
This fintech startup is crowdfunding fresh investment January 16, 2017 A fintech startup whose app helps people better manage their money is seeking fresh funding via crowdfunding. Squirrel is seeking to raise £400,000 on equity crowdfunding platform SyndicateRoom, with £100,000 of that already promised by angel investor Jos Evans. The two-year-old startup offers users a bank account and budgeting features and already has more than [...]
Angry Birds makes post-Brexit London happy as Rovio opens games studio January 16, 2017 Rovio, the maker of hit game Angry Birds, has landed in London and will set up a new games studio in the capital bringing with it at least 20 new jobs. Hot on the heels of Snap, which last week unveiled plans for its growth in London, it's another stamp of approval for UK tech after the [...]
Forget Blue Monday, Trump’s election was the most depressing day of the last six years January 16, 2017 Blue Monday, the third Monday in January, may have become the unofficial day of the year labelled the most miserable (mostly by PRs trying to flog a story), but now we have some official debunking from data scientists on the matter which indicates just when we have felt the most depressed. The day Donald Trump won [...]
The company behind the Airlander “flying bum” is planning to IPO in London January 16, 2017 The British company behind the world's biggest airship is planning to list on London's junior market. Hybrid Air Vehicles, the maker of the Airlander hybrid aircraft nicknamed the flying bum for its appearance, will seek to raise £50m with a float pencilled in for the end of 2017 or early 2018 on London's Alternative Investment Market. HAV [...]
South Korea’s prosecutors are seeking a warrant to arrest Samsung’s chief executive January 16, 2017 The chief executive of Samsung has been accused of bribing a friend of President Park Geun-hye, and today South Korea's special prosecutor's office said it is seeking a warrant to his arrest. Jay Y. Lee was questioned for 22 hours last week as prosecutors looked into a corruption scandal that revolved around Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the [...]
Facebook steps up fake news fight in Germany as UK MPs consider inquiry January 15, 2017 Facebook is stepping up its efforts in the fight against fake news, expanding a recently introduced fact-checking feature to Germany as UK MPs are said to be mulling a full-blown inquiry into the issue. Users in Germany will be able to flag articles they believe to be false news for fact checking with a third party. [...]
WhatsApp security flaw could allow government to read supposedly secure messages January 13, 2017 A security loophole in the WhatsApp messaging app could allow the UK government to legally read supposedly secure encrypted messages, according to a law firm. Researchers testing the app found Facebook employees would be theoretically able to access messages sent from the service, according to reports in the Guardian. The back door through WhatsApp’s security [...]