These top entrepreneurs will mentor the UK’s most ambitious startups November 3, 2016 Lady Martha Lane Fox and the man behind the hit game Candy Crush, Riccardo Zacconi, are among the top entrepreneurs who will mentor another new group of startups springing up in the UK. Tech City UK's Upscale programme, designed to support up-and-coming startups wanting to scale their business, has added a string of top mentors who will [...]
Mobile pay is still waiting for its “Uber moment” (even among millennials) November 3, 2016 Despite our addiction to smartphones, using them to pay for a new winter coat or that morning coffee has yet to become commonplace – even among tech obsessed digital natives, aka millennials. Just a quarter of those aged between 18 and 35 are using mobile pay and only two per cent are using Apple Pay, the [...]
Here’s why Facebook shares are down despite an impressive revenue rise November 3, 2016 Facebook’s shares fell as much as six per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, despite the social media giant beating expectations with its latest results for the third quarter. Total revenue came in at $7bn (£5.7bn) – up 56 per cent year-on-year and ahead of Wall Street expectations of $6.9bn – with advertising making up [...]
Fitbit’s not looking so healthy as shares slump 30 per cent November 3, 2016 How time flies. It was only a year ago that Fitbit's share price leapt 52 per cent on its market debut in New York, valuing the firm at more than $4.1bn (£2.6bn at the time). Now the wearable device maker's fate doesn't look so healthy. Its revenue forecast for the holiday shopping quarter – a key period [...]
Meet the hottest 50 UK tech startups which are now “scale-ups” November 3, 2016 50 of the hottest startups from across the UK have now been named the country's top "scale-ups" – the fastest growing businesses boasting average growth of 47 per cent over the past year. Jobs website Adzuna and smart city technology firm Pavegen are among the new cohort of businesses chosen to join the scale-up club of [...]
Recipe box startup Gousto gobbles up millions more in funding November 3, 2016 Food delivery startup Gousto is hungry for growth, landing millions more cash from investors. Unilever and Barclays are among the corporate investors ploughing a further £10m into the company which delivers fresh ingredients and recipes via subscription direct to people's doors. Read more: Antony Jenkins' fintech startup has revealed its first banking client LoveFilm entrepreneur Simon Calver's BGF Ventures, [...]
How much did Twitter acquire Magic Pony for? November 2, 2016 Twitter caused a stir last year, buying up a nearly unknown startup from London working on artificial intelligence technology, in a surprise deal that signalled the status of the UK as a leader in AI. Magic Pony was snapped up for a reported $150m, back in June. Twitter reported spending $85.2m on two acquisitions since the start of the year, [...]
Uber’s app is about to get a serious makeover November 2, 2016 The Uber app is about to get a serious makeover, integrating with other apps such as Snapchat and your calendar to better fit into your life. It will add a shortcut button to rides that you take often, and integrating with your calendar, will suggest a ride to scheduled meetings automatically without having to find the address [...]
Facebook data and privacy rules sink Admiral’s insurtech plans November 2, 2016 Facebook has sunk plans by Admiral to offer a reduced car insurance premium based on users posts on the social network. It turns out the insurance firm has fallen foul of Facebook's terms of use, which stipulate that data from Facebook can't be used for assessing eligibility. That's exactly what Admiral wanted to do, using posts [...]
Your Facebook profile can’t make your car insurance cheaper, It turns out November 2, 2016 Update: Facebook has blocked plans by Admiral to reduce premiums based on profile data – find out more. Beware what you share – your Facebook status could be giving away more than you think. Insurance firm Admiral is plundering the social network for information that could indicate how safe you are as a driver, resulting in a [...]