Could AI halt blindness? DeepMind and this London hospital are finding out July 5, 2016 DeepMind, the pioneering British artificial intelligence company owned by Google, is researching how the technology may help save people's sight in a new partnership with leading London eye hospital Moorfields. The firm's machine learning technology, which has already demonstrated its ability to beat humans at the chess-like game Go, will be used to analyse two [...]
More people are searching for Irish family ties after Brexit July 5, 2016 If you've considered trying to track down some long lost family from the Emerald Isle in the past week or so, you're certainly not the only one. In the wake of the Brexit vote, one website specialising in tracking down your roots has experienced a spike in searches for Irish heritage since 23 June. Membership of Ancestry.com [...]
Apple supplier Imagination Technologies swings to biggest ever loss July 5, 2016 The shine has worn off Imagination Technologies after swinging to its biggest ever loss in a tough market just months after being courted by tech giant Apple. The figures The chip maker swung to an pre-tax loss of £61.5m for the year to the end of April, down from a £5.7m loss the previous year. Revenue slipped 23 per cent to £120m [...]
Multinationals warned over risk of cyber attacks July 5, 2016 Large multinationals are being warned over their preparations against cyber attacks. Companies have admitted to feeling constrained by regulation, resources, and dependence on third parties, with only a fifth of IT decision makers confident they are able to deal with the growing threat of cyber-criminals. Research from KPMG and BT found that almost half (47 [...]
Crowdcube is eyeing a massive new round of investment via crowdfunding July 4, 2016 Crowdcube is defying the Brexit jitters raising its own new round of funding via, where else, but its own round of crowdfunding. One of the early pioneers of the equity crowdfunding concept, the site has revealed ambitious new plans to raise more than £5m from investors. “In just five short years we have firmly established our position as [...]
Peter Thiel-backed “Airbnb for work space” eyes London July 4, 2016 Move over co-working spaces, there's a new way of working in town. A US startup similar to Airbnb but for renting office space and meeting rooms in the short-term that's backed by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures has expanded to London. Targeting startups which often want to keep costs low, as well as those looking for a more professional alternative [...]
Brace yourself… the biggest tech IPO of the year is coming – and it’s increased its pricing July 4, 2016 The Japanese messaging app Line has priced its initial public offering higher than expected in what's expected to be the biggest tech IPO so far this year, due to high demand. The WhatsApp-like app has set its target price offering at between 2,900 (£21.30) yen and 3,300 yen, higher than its previous target of between 2,700 yen and 3,200 yen ahead of [...]
Tech overtakes finance among top global companies July 4, 2016 Technology has stolen a march on finance, with the success of companies such as Alphabet and Microsoft helping the innovative sector surpass the traditional world of financial services among the world's top 100 companies over the past year. Technology firms in the list notched up a combined value of $3bn compared to financial firms' $2.7bn and the $2.6bn [...]
Imagination Technologies set to post biggest ever loss as costs soar July 3, 2016 Investors are braced for UK chip maker Imagination Technologies to report a slump in earnings this week. The Hertfordshire-based tech firm will post its full year results tomorrow and analysts have pencilled in a £20m loss, the worst in its 30-year history. Imagination is heavily exposed to its main customer iPhone maker Apple, and has [...]
US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launches investigation after Tesla driverless car death July 1, 2016 A preliminary investigation has been launched after the death of a man in Florida who was driving a Tesla Model S car on autopilot mode. The crash with a tractor occurred on 7 May and is the first known fatality in more than 130m miles where Tesla's autopilot setting has been activated, the electric car maker said [...]