Almost half UK firms cite AI skills shortage as barrier to growth April 22, 2026 Nearly half of UK businesses say a shortage of AI and digital skills is now the single biggest barrier to scaling AI, according to a new report, despite rapid growth in adoption across the economy. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) research found 49 per cent of UK organisations cite a lack of AI and digital [...]
Barclays and Lloyds picked for City watchdog’s AI live testing April 21, 2026 Barclays has joined the second cohort of firms selected by the UK’s financial watchdog to get a safe run at testing AI as banking giants battle to bulk up their tech capacity. The FTSE 100 constituent will join its peer Lloyds Banking Group – which will be represented by its subsidiary Scottish Widows – as [...]
Who is John Ternus? The man stepping into Tim Cook’s giant shoes at Apple April 21, 2026 Fifteen years ago, Tim Cook inherited a $350bn tech company that had just lost one of the most celebrated chief executives in corporate history. On Monday, he handed it on worth $4 trillion. Cook will step down as Apple’s chief executive on 1 September 2026, with John Ternus, the company’s hardware engineering chief and a [...]
Trojan tools: AI is professional services’ newest cyber liability April 21, 2026 As the UK government ramps up pressure on businesses to strengthen their cyber defences over Anthropic’s Mythos, professional services firms are already feeling increasingly anxious about cybersecurity. In the last month, a hacker gained access to one of Bain & Co’s internal AI tools, which followed another attack that exposed cybersecurity flaws in a system [...]
AI could be picking your coffee as startup takes £2m April 20, 2026 An AI-powered coffee vending machine which tells its users when and what it might like to drink is set to spring up in forecourts, gyms and campuses across the country. Unity Coffee, which uses AI to offer tailored discounts based on the time and user behaviour, has completed a £2m fundraising and aims to “disrupt” [...]
Forget Oasis, dynamic pricing could be coming for your weekly shop April 17, 2026 The rise of big data means dynamic pricing is easier to implement. Paul Ormerod asks what this could mean for consumers's everyday shopping.
UK chief executives scramble as Anthropic expands London AI hub April 16, 2026 Anthropic is expanding its London footprint with a new office for up to 800 staff, as UK bank bosses ramp up engagement with the firm over concerns about its latest AI models. The US-based company said it will scale up from its current base of more than 200 employees in the capital, with the new [...]
AI job cuts top 50,000 in 2026 as Snap, Oracle, Meta slash roles April 16, 2026 More than 50,000 tech jobs have been cut in 2026 as tech behemoths such as Snap, Oracle and Meta link layoffs to AI and a shift in spending towards AI infrastructure. Recent figures from Challenger, Gray & Christmas show over 52,000 roles were eliminated in the sector in the first quarter alone, with AI cited [...]
The Capitalist: Ian Mckellen goes off-script at Olivier Awards April 16, 2026 Dispatch from the Olivier Awards, Jeremy King and AI sermons; catch up on the latest gossip in this week's The Capitalist.
Starmer targets social media giants as Kendall faces AI legal threat April 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has called senior executives from Snap, Tiktok, Snap and Meta into Downing Street, as ministers double crack down on Big Tech’s effects on child safety. The meeting comes as tech secretary Liz Kendall faces mounting scrutiny over the government’s use of AI in the same consultation process. Starmer will tell the firms [...]