The US is looking to formalise policy around blockchain technology September 26, 2016 The UK faces competition from across the pond in positioning itself as a world leader in blockchain technology. The fledgling technology that underpins bitcoin, but has far wider implications beyond digital currencies, is hitting the agenda of the US government with the creation of a cross-party working group to look at policies surrounding the technology as well as digital currencies such [...]
Forget Brexit, this startup is eyeing “Brentry” with London expansion plans September 26, 2016 An innovative crowdfunding startup which helps people invest in up-and-coming tech startups alongside venture capitalists has unveiled plans to break into the UK, dismissing any concerns around the uncertainty of Brexit. OurCrowd, a three-year-old Israeli startup which last week landed $£72m (£56m) in funding, plans to open an office in London early next year where it will look to [...]
Flying cars? Uber’s working on it September 26, 2016 And you thought driverless cars were the future? Not content with being one of the first companies to get the autonomous technology on to real-life roads, Uber's not stopping there and is already planning ahead for what the next big thing might be after that. The billion-dollar startup has revealed it's looking at technology which could produce [...]
We are entering the age of peak smartphone. What happens next? September 26, 2016 A decade ago few of us imagined we would have a compact, sleek device that we could and would use for email, ordering groceries, taking and sharing photos and videos, tracking children, paying for the bus, catching Pokemon and occasionally making calls. Yet, nine years on from the launch of the first full touch-screen smartphone, [...]
Revealed: The nocturnal habits of 15m smartphone users September 26, 2016 We may now be living in a world of peak smartphone but that doesn't mean we're still not totally obsessed by our devices – as this one chart shows. Astonishingly, a third of us check our phones if we wake up in the middle of the night according to new research doing everything from looking at emails and social media [...]
Netflix, Spotify and Instagram chase Apple’s coolest brand title September 26, 2016 Apple's troubled year has failed to topple it from the top spot among the world's coolest brands, retaining its reputation as a must-have for the fifth year in a row. A half decade holding the title in the CoolBrands Index which is based on authenticity, desirability, innovation and originality comes as its tries to prove it can [...]
Meet the Pikes: The brothers who gave up corporate jobs and first-home deposits to launch SuperCarers September 26, 2016 For brothers Adam and Daniel Pike, business is about personal passion as well as profit. Two years ago, they launched SuperCarers, an online solution to placing carers for the elderly in the home. “Our grandma needed care. The quality wasn’t good enough and it was too expensive. So our mum ended up being the primary [...]
Banks warned over fintech payment firms September 26, 2016 The world's biggest banks risk losing control of digital payments to small fintech startups and global tech giants, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has warned. Banks have been told they have to “maximize security, minimise complexity, and add value beyond pure payments” if they want to survive in transactional banking. The BCG has slammed banks’ poor [...]
Deliveroo launches corporate service in fight against Uber and Amazon September 26, 2016 Deliveroo is ramping up its fight against rivals such as Uber and Amazon with a new corporate service squarely aimed at business workers. The food delivery startup will launch the new dedicated "Deliveroo for Business" service this week with British Land, Innocent Drinks, Survey Monkey and Eventbrite already on board. Read more: Cheers! Now Deliveroo's delivering [...]
Funding Circle: Global expansion almost doubles losses at fintech unicorn and peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle September 25, 2016 Losses have almost doubled at fintech unicorn and lending platform Funding Circle, City A.M. understands. The peer-to-peer lending group is set to post a full-year loss of £36m when it publishes its accounts on Tuesday, after expanding into Europe and the US ate into profits. However, revenues at the firm, which was founded in 2010 [...]