Britain to offer visa refunds to woo tech scale-ups June 9, 2026 The government will reimburse visa fees for high-growth firms hiring overseas talent as ministers step up efforts to turn Britain’s most promising scale-ups into global tech champions. Business secretary Peter Kyle is set to unveil a package of measures aimed at helping fast-growing companies “start, scale and stay” in the UK, including a new concierge-style [...]
‘Nobody’s getting a free pass’: Starmer warns Big Tech as social media ban looms June 9, 2026 Keir Starmer has warned tech firms they face government intervention if they fail to protect children online, as pressure mounts for tougher restrictions on social media access for under-16s. Opening London Tech Week on Monday, the prime minister used a speech focused on artificial intelligence, economic growth and Britain’s tech ambitions to deliver a stark [...]
Britain’s first sovereign AI model secures blue-chip backing as Starmer unveils £400m plan June 8, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer’s push to build sovereign British AI capability has won backing from some of the country’s biggest companies, with BT, HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest and BAE Systems joining plans to develop Britain’s first sovereign frontier AI model. British AI startup Cosine unveiled a coalition of major banks, defence contractors and infrastructure firms who had [...]
S4 Capital cuts jobs as Sorrell predicts ‘fewer people’ in advertising June 4, 2026 S4 Capital has cut a further 150 jobs this year, amid warnings from Sir Martin Sorrell that AI will leave the advertising industry employing “fewer people” in the years ahead. The London-listed marketing group said its workforce has fallen to around 6,200, down from roughly 7,000 a year ago, as clients continue to rein in [...]
Google taps markets for $30bn AI cash call June 2, 2026 Alphabet will raise up to $80bn (£59bn) from investors to fund its AI expansion, marking one of the largest equity fundraisings in history and a major shift for a company that has traditionally relied on its vast cash generation to finance growth. The Google parent said on Monday it would use the proceeds to expand [...]
Samsung employees bag £310k bonuses as chip boom sends payouts soaring May 28, 2026 Samsung’s AI-fuelled chip boom has delivered eye-watering payouts for thousands of staff, after workers at the South Korean giant voted through a profit-sharing deal worth hundreds of thousands of pounds each. Employees in Samsung’s memory chip division are set to receive bonuses averaging roughly £310,000, mostly in stock, as soaring demand for AI data centre [...]
Salesforce tries to prove AI won’t kill software after brutal sector sell-off May 28, 2026 Salesforce beat Wall Street expectations on Wednesday evening, but the results did little to soothe investor fears that AI could reshape, and potentially undermine, the software industry. The Slack owner reported quarterly revenue of $11.1bn (£8.2bn) during the quarter, up 13 per cent from last year and ahead of analyst expectations, while earnings per share [...]
CMA urged to curb Big Tech app fees pushing up prices for users May 27, 2026 Apple and Google are facing mounting pressure from Britain’s competition watchdog over app store rules that developers say are driving up prices for consumers and making it harder for UK tech firms to compete. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expected to decide within weeks whether to crack down on so-called “anti-steering” rules, which [...]
‘Delighted to be wrong’ – Sam Altman changes tune on AI job apocalypse fears May 26, 2026 OpenAI boss Sam Altman has softened his warnings over AI wiping out white-collar work, saying the feared “jobs apocalypse” has so far failed to materialise despite the tech rapidly reshaping business decisions and operations. Speaking on Tuesday, Altman admitted he had expected AI to eliminate far more entry-level office jobs by now following the launch [...]
London AI jobs boom as Anthropic salaries hit £630k May 26, 2026 London’s AI hiring race is accelerating at dizzying rates, with Anthropic offering some engineers in the capital as much as £630,000 a year as Big Tech firms battle for AI talent. The US AI giant, backed by Amazon and best known for its chatbot Claude, is currently hiring for over 40 London roles as it [...]