Google’s French offices raided over tax May 24, 2016 Google's offices in France have been raided as part of a probe into its taxes by authorities in the country. Tax officials and law enforcement began searching the premises in the heart of Paris early on Tuesday morning, renewing the attention on the corporate tax of large companies which has simmered in ongoing rows this year. The [...]
China just joined a major blockchain consortium May 24, 2016 A Chinese insurer is the latest business to join the major R3 blockchain consortium and the first financial institution in the country to become a member alongside the likes of Barclays, HSBC and Goldman Sachs. Ping An, the second largest insurance firm in China, has joined the group, which was formed late last year to work on [...]
Here’s how Uber wants to solve commuting May 24, 2016 Uber has already revolutionised our late night trips after a night out, but now Uber wants to do the same for your daily commute to work. The boss of the billion dollar startup Travis Kalanick has spoken about one of the bigger plans for the company and the future of commuting – carpooling. "Is there a way that someone could pick [...]
Are Apple’s glory days over? May 24, 2016 It has been among the most innovative companies in the world for decades, but Apple’s star has dimmed recently. It reported its first fall in sales since 2003 – before the iPhone even existed – and was overtaken as the world’s most valuable company again last week by Google’s parent Alphabet, after briefly surpassing it in [...]
Spotify out of tune as revenues soar but losses swell May 23, 2016 Spotify, the world’s biggest music subscription service, saw its revenues rise 80 per cent to €1.95bn (£1.5bn) in 2015. However, the company saw its net losses increase to €173m (£134m) from €162m in 2014. The streaming giant’s revenues soared thanks to a 78 per cent increase in subscriptions to €1.74bn (£113.8bn) while advertising revenues grew [...]
We’re fintech investors, but here’s why we’ll never be based in Silicon Valley May 23, 2016 In 1934, Willie Sutton was asked by FBI agents “why do you rob banks, Willie?”. Sutton replied dryly, “because that's where the money is”. We create rather than rob banks, so why did we set up outside of Silicon Valley, where the tech money is? Because that’s where the banks are. Anthemis is in London, New York and Geneva, [...]
Sainsbury’s is testing a smart fridge to stop you wasting money on food May 23, 2016 How much cash do you end up wasting on food because you can't remember what you already have (or don't have) sitting in the fridge at home? Sainsbury's thinks that it could be quite a lot and might just be one of the reasons for families wasting on average £235 each year – that'll be £1.5bn [...]
Phones 4U founder John Caudwell is backing this mobile startup May 23, 2016 Phones 4U founder John Caudwell has put his weight behind a new mobile startup launching today which aims to simplify buying a new mobile and do away with lengthy contracts. Unshackled.com will sell phones and sims separately and has partnered with peer-to-peer lender Zopa to offer financing for the upfront cost of the device. Founded by the former chief operating officer of Phones 4U [...]
Can AI be creative? Google wants to find out May 23, 2016 First they came for the manual tasks, now they're eyeing up the careers of musicians, art directors and other creative types – will robots and artificial intelligence leave any jobs for us humans? Google's latest project, Magenta, will explore the possibility of machines learning creativity, leaving anyone thinking the rise of the robots would give us all time [...]
This alcohol monitoring Skyn wristband from BACtrack might help you avoid hangovers May 23, 2016 It might feel like Friday is a long way away, but if you're still feeling the hangover pain from the weekend and don't want to overdo it in future, science may have just created the product for you. BACtrack, a medical device maker based in San Fransisco that also develops breathalyzers, has won a $200,000 US national contest [...]