Another corporate finance firm is launching a fintech venture arm June 21, 2016 German exchange owner Deutsche Boerse is wrapping up its investments in financial technology companies into a standalone venture capital fund and will ramp up its funding in fintech firms, joining the rush of corporates eyeing a slice of disruptive startups. DB1 Ventures will include a handful of existing investments, including a stake in Blythe Masters' blockchain startup Digital Asset Holdings, some [...]
The Queen has tweeted for the second time ever to say thank you for her 90th birthday wishes June 21, 2016 The British monarchy is tearing up the rule-book on thank you letters. Queen Elizabeth II may be 90, but she's a trailblazer when it comes to modernising the etiquette around birthday wishes. The Queen tweeted for the second time on Tuesday, thanking her subjects for their "messages of goodwill" as she celebrated her 90th birthday this year. [...]
Here’s one piece of EU red tape you won’t escape by voting for Brexit June 21, 2016 UK companies will be affected by an incoming piece of EU data protection legislation regardless of which way Thursday's vote goes, an international law firm has said today. Speaking ahead of a conference at the Institute of Directors headlined by specialist insurer Beazley, Hans Allnutt, head of the cyber risk and breach response team at DAC Beachcroft, pointed [...]
Whether you see this colour as blue or green depends on how your brain processes information June 21, 2016 It's a quandary which has left philosophers scratching their heads for centuries: do we perceive colours in the same way, or is one man's yellow really another's green? Last year's #thedress phenomenon, which divided the world as they tried to figure out whether a dress in a photograph was blue and black or white and [...]
London Tech Week: Much more than bearded coders working in coffee shops June 20, 2016 London Technology Week aims to turn the eyes of the world onto the UK capital’s thriving digital industry, celebrating the diversity of specialisms, expertise and talent in the city. At the first of 400 events, expected to be attended by 43,000 people over the next five days, the formal launch achieved just that. Fashion tech [...]
Facebook shareholders give green light for share issue to keep Zuckerberg in control June 20, 2016 Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg will maintain control of the tech titan after investors approved a proposal to issue $5.7bn (£3.9bn) non-voting shares. He's now able to give away the vast majority of his wealth without diluting his voting power in the social media giant. "I plan on being involved in and running Facebook for a very long time," he told an annual [...]
The UK is about to become a world leader in artificial intelligence June 20, 2016 With the news that Magic Pony has been acquired by Twitter, we are witnessing a crucial turning point – five of the world’s biggest technology companies have now purchased UK-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. See Magic Pony Technology and Twitter, SwiftKey and Microsoft, VocalIQ and Apple, DeepMind and Google, and Evi and Amazon. Over the coming days [...]
Apple shares could be about to fall further. Here’s why June 20, 2016 Apple's stock could be about to fall further and its market capitalisation shrink by more than the $200bn it already has this year. The annual reshuffle of the Russell Index is due to take place on Friday and Apple's movement means a bit of a change. The tech firm's weighting is expected to be 27 per cent smaller [...]
Twitter just acquired very cool London-based AI startup Magic Pony June 20, 2016 Twitter has acquired a London-based startup, Magic Pony, in a bid to ramp up its artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities, in a deal reportedly worth $150m (£102m). "Machine learning is increasingly at the core of everything we build at Twitter," said Twitter boss Jack Dorsey in a blog post today. "It’s powering much of the work [...]
From telecoms provider to tech innovator: Can the old guard make the leap? June 20, 2016 The global telecoms industry faces the most challenging risk environment in living memory. Profitability is being squeezed by disruptive competitors, regulatory change and unrelenting cyber attacks. The threats facing telecoms today are diversifying and multiplying. At BDO our recent industry report, 2016 Telecommunications Risk Factors Survey, highlights strategic and operational risks reported by sixty telecoms [...]