Let’s empower London’s fintech innovators to banish rip-off remittance fees December 18, 2014 HUNDREDS of thousands of Londoners will work extra hours this Christmas in difficult and low paid jobs so they can send money to relatives living abroad. Remittances like these now outstrip the amount sent in donor aid to sub-Saharan Africa. But these remittances will be reduced in value by money transfer charges as high as [...]
Alibaba moves London tech headquarters to Canary Wharf December 14, 2014 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has moved its London headquarters from Mayfair to Canary Wharf as the Docklands continues to develop as a rival tech hub to Old Street. Alibaba, which raised a record $25bn (£15.9bn) when it went public in September, is now based on Level 28 of the iconic One Canada Square, just below [...]
London FinTech stars join Tech City UK’s Future Fifty scheme as booming digital finance sector steals the spotlight December 10, 2014 The capital's crown as the financial technology epicentre of the world will be reaffirmed today as seven of London’s rising FinTech stars will join the government-backed Future Fifty scheme. TransferWise, Go Cardless and Algomi are among the group of 12 companies joining Future Fifty – run by Tech City UK, part of UK Trade & [...]
London is a global hotspot for “tech for good” and these 19 startups are going to change the world December 4, 2014 London is the leading city in the world for creating technology for social good, with 19 of the top 100 so-called “tech for good” startups, products and inventions, coming from the capital. A teddy that can read childrens vital signs to help make a diagnosis, a device that means your iPhone can detect malaria and [...]
Boris Johnson leads London FinTech delegation to Singapore in push to expose City startups and entrepreneurs November 27, 2014 London’s financial technology (FinTech) sector has received more than half of all European FinTech venture capital (VC) investments made so far this year, a record $539m (£342.6m) and triple the amount raised in 2013. The new figures from London & Partners come as London Mayor Boris Johnson leads a FinTech trade delegation in Singapore today [...]
How we can turn London’s thriving tech startups into billion dollar digital giants November 16, 2014 Just four years after the Prime Minister and the mayor of London launched the Tech City initiative, London now has one of the fastest growing technology sectors in the world. Visitors to any of its tech hubs will be struck by the industry and dynamism of the capital’s entrepreneurs and startups, driving innovation and change. [...]
Quotas on immigration would be a disaster for London’s tech startups November 12, 2014 Political debates over the benefits and drawbacks of immigration will no doubt rage on for years to come. But while the opposing sides pick apart the evidence over the impact of migrants on the public purse, one thing is clear: London’s tech ecosystem faces a very significant skills shortage. Government should be doing all it [...]
London tech startups attract $200m Singapore venture capital fund Infocomm October 21, 2014 Singapore venture capital fund Infocomm is setting up shop in the capital, bringing its $200m (£124m) fund to startups in London and the rest of Europe for the first time. The move was spurred by the momentum in the capital's tech sector and the new outpost makes permanent an 18 month “commuter relationship” with the city, [...]
Techcrunch Disrupt: Let the (tech startup) battle commence October 20, 2014 European tech startups, including two teams from London, went head-to-head yesterday in the first round of a battle at Disrupt, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest annual tech conferences, which is currently in London for the first time. London startups Lobster – an online marketplace for regular people to licence their photos and videos – [...]
Interview: Editor-at-large of Techcrunch Mike Butcher October 20, 2014 Mike Butcher believes that London’s tech scene has the ability not only to compete with the likes of Berlin and Stockholm, but to rival Silicon Valley. As editor-at-large of technology blog Techcrunch, Butcher has seen the capital’s tech hub around the so-called Silicon Roundabout at Old Street mature into a developed community, large enough to [...]