US tech leaders still ❤ London, even after Brexit September 19, 2016 Entrepreneurs and tech leaders in the US still have an eye for London as the transatlantic special relationship continues to flourish despite the looming prospect of Brexit. The capital still tops their list as the top tech hub in Europe and the best place from which to build business across the continent, a new survey of more than [...]
Skyscanner acquired by Chinese travel giant Ctrip in a £1.4 billion deal September 19, 2016 | City Talk Edinburgh-based travel search company Skyscanner has been acquired by Chinese travel giant Ctrip in a £1.4 billion deal. Ctrip, a Chinese online travel agent, claims two thirds share of the market in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, it was founded in 1999 and began life as a review site, then branched to hotel business and across [...]
Cars will go the way of DVDs in a decade and more predictions for the future of transport according to Lyft founder John Zimmer September 19, 2016 A transport revolution is coming thanks to technology – that's according to the founder of ride sharing startup Lyft, a rival to Uber, John Zimmer. In an ambitious manifesto, the entrepreneur has predicted the third transport revolution will arrive with the development of driverless cars, one of the hottest, most talked about and potentially disruptive developments in [...]
Takeaway.com IPO: Is Europe about to get its next tech unicorn? September 19, 2016 Dutch dot-com startup Takeaway.com could be on the verge of becoming Europe's latest tech unicorn. The firm issued more details this morning about its long-awaited float on Amsterdam's Euronext exchange, with the company set to flirt with a €1bn price tag. Takeaway.com, founded in 1999, said its shares will go public on 30 September – Euronext's first IPO [...]
What3Words co-founder Chris Sheldrick explains how his company is creating Mongolian addresses and helping the UN in disaster zones September 19, 2016 Back in November 2014, advertising executive Rory Sutherland called What3Words “the best navigation idea [he’d] seen since the tube map”. The idea is simple: take the globe, divide it into 57 trillion 3m by 3m squares and ascribe three common words to each square. To cover the globe, What3Words needs to use 40,000 words – [...]
Getting VC funding right: Why you need to think about pre-built networks, IP and evolving the whole team September 19, 2016 So you've built the next tech unicorn. The platform is solid, your product fits the market and all you need now is scale. However, someone needs to help pay for all the free sugary drinks, table tennis tables and office space that the army of growth hackers, developers and sales people are going to need. [...]
London’s black cab drivers are considering a legal challenge against accepting card payments September 18, 2016 Cab drivers are considering whether to launch a legal challenge over the mandatory introduction of card payments in black taxis across London, as they put on hold plans for protests on the capital's roads this week. Passengers will be able to pay for journeys by credit or debit card under rules due to come into force by the end of [...]
Knock to UK tech as Microsoft to close Skype’s London office September 17, 2016 Microsoft is set to shut its Skype office in London, putting 400 jobs at risk, the Financial Times reports. Skype counts among one of Europe's most valuable unicorns – tech firms valued over $1bn (£768m) – and the closure will come as a blow to the UK tech industry just as it comes to terms [...]
Everyone’s going crazy for the new Apple iPhone – apart from Londoners, who were wet and stuck on trains September 16, 2016 The newest iPhone has been released and, predictably, everyone is going crazy for it. Well, almost. Apple outlets throughout the world have been swamped by eager customers – with some saying they have queued since yesterday to get their hands on Apple's newest smartphone. But London's response has been rather limp, by comparison. This morning Reporters gathered [...]
Samsung Galaxy Note 7: US authorities launch formal recall of fire-catching and exploding smartphones September 16, 2016 US safety authorities have launched a formal recall of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones after reports that faulty batteries led to fires and explosions in the devices. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it was recalling the phones "because this product presents such a serious fire hazard" and urged consumers to take advantage of the [...]