London is reaching breaking point when it comes to tech talent June 21, 2016 After the fanfare of yesterday’s launch, the second day of London Technology Week has taken a long, hard look at the challenges and strengths of the capital’s digital industries. The truth is that whilst celebration attracts investment, the long-term success of technology will only be secured by united action from the private sector to address [...]
These are the seven fintech startups being backed by Mastercard June 21, 2016 Mastercard is backing seven fintech startups hoping to change the way we use money and disrupt the finance world. London startups Revolut and Everledger are among the tech firms chosen for Mastercard's six month Start Path programme from among more than 500 applications from 60 countries. The startups, from as far afield as Israel and Argentina and announced at London [...]
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 [...]