Five important things fintech was handed in the Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 The UK's fintech powerhouse was not forgotten in the chancellor's Autumn Statement with several measures aimed at boosting the sector unveiled. Fintech census The government will carry out what's being called a fintech census, designed to identify the key figures driving the industry for investors. "An accurate measurement of this evolving space will help policymakers, investors [...]
Here’s what UK tech thinks of the £400m promised for VC startup investment November 23, 2016 Startups are set for a boost from the chancellor's Autumn Statement, as Philip Hammond announced plans to plough £400m into venture capital. The funds will come via the British Business Bank and it's expected to unlock as much as £1bn for startups itching to scale up as it will encourage private investment. Of particular focus will [...]
Here’s exactly what the £2bn boost for UK R&D entails November 23, 2016 More cash will be ploughed into research and development, as a major part of the government's industrial strategy. R&D spend will increase by an extra £2bn by 2020/21 to boost the UK's homegrown innovative businesses and spur productivity. The injection of cash was first trailed by Prime Minister Theresa May during a speech at the CBI conference [...]
#awks: Jack Dorsey’s Twitter account was accidently suspended November 23, 2016 Twitter last week took action to crackdown on trolling on the social network, but now it appears to have accidently taken things a little too far. The account of Twitter co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey was suspended in error early on Wednesday morning Was someone trying to make a point? It seems not, with just an [...]
Deliveroo denies data hack November 23, 2016 Deliveroo has been forced to deny that it has been targeted by hackers after an investigation found some customers were charged for food they had not ordered. A probe by the BBC's Watchdog show due to be shown tonight, found several examples of customers who were billed hundreds of pounds for food deliveries they did not [...]
Google’s DeepMind wants to make doctor’s paperwork obsolete in new NHS deal November 22, 2016 DeepMind, the UK company leading the way in artificial intelligence research, is doubling down on applying its technology to healthcare which could save the NHS millions of pounds as well as time spent on paperwork. It has signed a five-year deal with a London NHS Trust to put into practice a prototype app designed to [...]
Minicab drivers are staging an anti-Uber protest in Westminster November 22, 2016 A fresh anti-Uber protest has hit the capital, aimed at piling more pressure on the Mayor of London to "take action" against the startup. Minicab drivers are staging a protest from Edgware Road, past Transport for London's offices in Victoria and which arrives at Westminster at 2.30pm. Members of drivers union United Private Hire Drivers (UPHD) are calling on Sadiq [...]
Goldman Sachs and Santander have left a major blockchain group November 22, 2016 Goldman Sachs and Santander have both exited one of tech's top blockchain consortiums which is backed by some of the world's biggest financial institutions. Both institutions have quit membership of the R3 group and will not be investing in its latest reported funding round. Santander did not comment on its decision to depart R3, however, it's understood it will [...]
Cloud nine: IBM announces major UK expansion, following Facebook and Google commitments November 22, 2016 IBM has joined fellow US tech giants Facebook and Google in announcing a major multi-million dollar investment into the UK. The company is today announcing plans for four new cloud data centres – where corporate and consumer information is stored remotely – in the UK “to keep pace with growing client demand”. The commitment marks IBM [...]
Google’s Matt Brittin says nobody can afford to ignore the rise of digital November 21, 2016 Nobody can afford to put their head in the sand when it comes to the rise of digital, one of Google's key executives has said today. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference, Matt Brittin, president of EMEA business & operations for Google UK, said: "This is about every business. Every business is a digital [...]