Sky just invested $45m in Netflix rival iflix in Asia March 9, 2016 Sky is flexing its tech investment muscles again, splashing millions for a stake in a movie and TV streaming service in south east Asia which rivals Netflix. The broadcaster has invested $45m (£31.6m) in iflix which boasts one million users in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines since launching under a year ago and has plans to expand [...]
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos wants to blast you into space as soon as 2018 as he reveals plans for his secretive space tourism company Blue Origin March 9, 2016 Amazon's Jeff Bezos has opened up about his ambitious plans to blast people into space on commercial flights above earth within the next two years. Blue Origin, the Amazon founder's commercial space flight company which is a rival to the likes of Elon Musk's Space X and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, will conduct its first test [...]
Global fintech investment in 2015 hit $13.8bn as end of year slowdown fails to derail best year yet March 9, 2016 A slowdown at the end of 2015 failed to derail a bumper year for fintech as investors ploughed $13.8bn into startups in the sector across the globe – more than double the amount of the previous year. Investors made greater bets on disruptive technology in the finance sector than ever before, committing more money to each deal. The number of mega-deals – those worth [...]
Here’s how your height might be costing you money: Scientists find shorter men and larger women earn less March 9, 2016 It's not something you have control over, but it could be costing you money, as new research reveals how your height can affect how much you earn. It certainly hasn't stopped many a successful men from reaching the top (many a world leader has been accused of having a Napoleon complex), but shorter men earn less and it's [...]
Car sharing, science and brewing: The UK’s fastest-growing industries revealed March 9, 2016 Thinking of starting a business? You could do a lot worse than going into car rental , a new report suggests. Figures by O2 Business and the Centre of Economic and Business Research suggests the UK's "leasing and rental" sector is one of the fastest-growing industries – driven in part by sharing economy businesses, such as [...]
Deep Mind’s AlphaGo beats Go champion Lee Sedol in artificial intelligence milestone March 9, 2016 Google's Deepmind has triumphed over the champion player of the ancient Chinese game Go in a nail biting match, signalling a major milestone in the development of artificial intelligence. Google's AlphaGo was put to the test in the first of a series of games against one of the world's best players, Lee Sedol, in Seoul early this morning. The [...]
Tom Watson challenges George Osborne to review rise of robot workforce and impact on Britain’s economy March 8, 2016 Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson has accused the government of being unprepared for the rise of a robot workforce, suggesting a royal commission should be set up to investigate the impact of increasing automation ahead of the chancellor's budget next week. A new industrial strategy should be at the heart of the response to the increasing [...]
Aldi ramps up online ordering and home delivery after wine ecommerce success with “special buy” electricals and more March 8, 2016 After kicking off the year by dipping its toe in the water with wine, Aldi is now expanding its range of products available to order online for home delivery for the as the supermarket hailed its success. The German discounter which is challenging the big four bricks and mortar supermarkets revealed plans to challenge them in the online world [...]
Challenger bank Atom acqui-hires northern games developer Grasp ahead of launch to boost digital March 8, 2016 Challenger Atom Bank which plans to give the big four banks a run for their money, has bought a northern software developer which specialises in games and virtual reality development in an effort to boost its digital products ahead of its launch. Atom snapped up Grasp for an undisclosed sum after working with the Gateshead-based developer since 2014 to [...]
Here’s how Facebook is making the most detailed maps of the world’s population with artificial intelligence and solar-powered planes March 8, 2016 Facebook has revealed new images of its ambitious project to map the world's population using artificial intelligence and solar-powered planes. The video, published by Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, shows the incredibly detailed images of areas around the world where AI technology has enhanced even the most state of the art pictures we have had previously. State [...]