Plus500 share price rises as Playtech buys trading platform for £460m June 1, 2015 Playtech has snapped up trading platform Plus500 for £460m, adding the spreadbetting platform to its online betting and gaming software business. Unperturbed by Plus500's recent headaches, which have seen UK customers' accounts frozen and its market value fall, Playtech chief Mor Weizer said the acquisition will help his company expand its wider offering. Plus500's share [...]
UK tech startups will create 20,000 jobs this year as VC investment rockets June 1, 2015 Rocketing venture capital investment is set to boost hiring at tech startups in Britain, with the creation of 20,000 jobs expected this year. Tech startups across the country are currently advertising 12,000 positions, 40 per cent growth in the last six months and 80 per cent on last year. London and the south east, home [...]
Police request people’s emails, texts and other communications data every two minutes June 1, 2015 Police forces across the UK are requesting access to people's private emails, texts, web searches and phone data every two minutes new research reveals. More than 700,000 requests were made over the last three years, with the Metropolitan Police making the most – 177,287 – under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa). Of those requests, [...]
Umotif Digital Health looks for more investors: Startup firm that helps Parkinson’s sufferers seeks to fuel growth May 31, 2015 A Digital health startup firm that helps patients connect with their doctors is looking to raise up to £2m from investors to help spur growth. Umotif Digital Health, which offers an app for people who suffer from Parkinson’s Disease and other illnesses, launched about three years ago in London and helps patients with their condition, [...]
Mobile devices to drive growth in British media consumption May 31, 2015 Brits will consume media for nearly 10 hours a day this year, an increase of six minutes from 2014. A report by Zenith Optimedia found that Brits will spend 583 minutes a day consuming media, from newspapers to web media, a 12 per cent rise form 2014. The rise has been prompted by a boost [...]
Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee warns of government “snooper’s charter” after Queen’s Speech May 30, 2015 Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, has warned of encroaching government powers after plans for new legislation to monitor communications was revealed in the Queen's Speech. "There's never been so much at stake" Berners-Lee told an audience at the Southbank's Web We Want Festival, where he urged support for a Magna [...]
Inside Uber’s huge new San Francisco HQ: Concept design pictures reveal plans for 420,000 sq ft Mission Bay office May 30, 2015 When you're one of the most highly valued startups in the world with millions of dollars of venture capital backing, there's a few things you could splash some of that cash on. For Uber, as well as expanding its global empire, that means building a huge new headquarters from which to mastermind that world domination. Plans [...]
The Apple iPhone “effective power” text crash bug hits Twitter and Snapchat messaging May 29, 2015 A mystery text message which can crash iPhones due to a bug with Apple's operating system is also having the same effect when the message is sent via Twitter and Snapchat. The message, which contains characters and words in different languages, causes iPhones, iPads, Apple watches and Macs to shut down if it's sent via [...]
Apple quietly snapped up Metaio, a German company specialising in augmented reality May 29, 2015 Apple has quietly acquired a German company that specialises in augmented reality, it's been revealed, pointing towards a burgeoning area of development for the tech company. It acquired Metaio, a software developer headquartered in Munich and founded in 2003, in an all-share deal on 21 May, TechCrunch reports. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time [...]
London falls way behind Liverpool and even Dorset when it comes to innovation May 29, 2015 When it comes to creating new technologies, London is a long way behind other cities in the UK, new research has shown. In fact, the capital comes a mere 25th in the rankings of the UK's most innovative places – behind Liverpool, Tees Valley and Dorset. The index, by Enterprise Research Centre, ranks Local [...]