Seven locations that show just how crazy the Pokemon Go craze is July 13, 2016 It's been less than a week, but we're all now living in a Pokemon World. At a time of deep political uncertainty, many are no doubt welcoming a little light distraction, but the obsession might well have some influence on the next round of productivity figures as everyone attempts to catch 'em all. The craze has certainly unearthed some insights into human nature, [...]
The Pokemon Go effect? This startup powering AR and VR has landed millions July 13, 2016 Unity Technologies, a developer engine behind the hugely popular Pokemon Go mobile game, has landed millions of pounds in new funding from top venture capital investors. Unity is popular for traditional games development and is increasingly used by creators of virtual and augmented reality content, including the majority made for Facebook's Oculus and Samsung's Gear VR. Read more: [...]
Prime Day was the biggest day ever for Amazon July 13, 2016 Here's how crazy Prime Day was for Amazon. Sales on the shopping day that's now bigger than Black Friday for the retailer rocketed 60 per cent on last year, when it's estimated sales hit around the $400m, according to analysts. Now in its second year, Amazon Prime vice president Greg Greeley said: “We want to thank our [...]
Jaguar Land Rover will put driverless cars on Britain’s roads this year July 13, 2016 Jaguar Land Rover is the latest car maker to reveal its plans for driverless cars – and it aims to put them on Britain's roads incredibly soon. The car maker will begin introducing a fleet of driverless cars this year and by 2020, more than 100 of the vehicles will have hit Britain's roads on test routes [...]
These are the results of the first post-Brexit survey of tech startups July 13, 2016 Tech startups in the UK are worried that the environment for doing business will worsen after Britain's vote to leave Europe. However, they are largely ploughing ahead with plans for growing their business despite the uncertain climate. Nearly three quarters of tech businesses believe the environment could get worse, according to the first snap survey of startups post-Brexit. However, [...]
Privacy Shield is up and running, but will the US-EU data agreement stand up to scrutiny? July 13, 2016 After months of uncertainty, companies in the EU and the US finally have a legal framework for transferring data about their citizens, like social media profiles and payroll information, across the Atlantic. Yesterday, Brussels formally approved Privacy Shield, a regulatory regime which will govern more than $250bn a year in trade between digital service providers, [...]
Here’s how the UK tech industry feels about Theresa May as PM July 12, 2016 The UK’s tech industry has welcomed the eventual arrival of a new Prime Minister in Theresa May, who effectively became David Cameron’s successor and the woman to lead Britain out of Europe after her only other rival dropped out of the running in the leadership race. The surprise result after one of the most tumultuous [...]
Why companies like Twitter are paying top dollar for AI startups July 12, 2016 Big tech firms acquiring artificial intelligence startups are paying top dollar for them and are increasingly looking for those yet to bring in revenue, bucking the trend of wider tech M&A. “A good AI engineer is worth more than many company chief executives right now,” said Victor Basta of advisory firm Magister Advisors which identified the pursuit of talent in AI as one [...]
Blockchain guru Blythe Masters named Santander adviser July 12, 2016 Santander has put blockchain guru Blythe Masters in charge of advising the bank on the fledgling technology. The former JP Morgan executive has sprung to fame in the world of blockchain with her startup Digital Asset Holdings, which has raised $60m (£46m) from the likes of Santander, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, among others. Read more: The government has quietly [...]
These are the next areas that will get Virgin Media’s speedy fibre-to-the-premises broadband July 12, 2016 Virgin Media has named the next 30 rural communities which will gain access to its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network. The areas are expected to be connectable via full fibre by spring 2017 and is the next stage of Virgin Media's Supercharging Local Communities initiative, part of its £3bn Project Lightning network. It's aiming to bring 300 mega-bits-per-second broadband to small businesses located outside major towns and cities. Virgin [...]