Banks aren’t keeping up with the rise of the intangible economy August 30, 2019 Innovation is the key to growing the economy and creating prosperity. It creates new industries, transforms old ones, and often generates well-paid jobs. Today, innovation usually relies on the investment in and the growth of intangible assets, such as software, data, networks, and design. But the financial system has failed to keep pace with innovation. [...]
Meet Par Hedberg – the godfather of Sweden’s tech startups August 27, 2019 If you were asked where the most tech innovation comes from, you’d probably answer Silicon Valley – the home of Google, Amazon and Facebook. And you’d be right. But what you might not know is that Stockholm is a close second. The Swedish capital produces more billion-dollar companies per capita than any other region in [...]
Female founders, here’s my advice for starting a business July 30, 2019 To any female founders reading this: your existence is statistically remarkable. Female tech founders are, simply put, unlikely. A report from the venture capital firm Atomico found that 93 per cent of money invested in European tech startups in 2018 went to all-male founding teams. Only seven per cent went to startups with a single [...]
Fintech firm Revolut leads list of UK’s top 100 startups of 2019 July 1, 2019 Challenger bank Revolut has claimed first place in a list of the UK’s top 100 startups of 2019, it was revealed today. British fintech startup Revolut topped Startups.co.uk’s Startups 100 list for 2019, as it counts 5m customers around Europe and the UK. Energy startup Igloo placed second, while retail startup Trouva took third place. [...]
Beyond Meat shares surge a day after debut results June 7, 2019 Shares of plant-based burger startup Beyond Meat surged 27 per cent in pre-trading, a day after it debuted its earnings as a listed company. The company estimates that it will double its sales this year as consumer interest in plant-based meat alternatives peaked in the first three months of the year. Shares rose to $131.50 [...]
Twitter buys fake news-fighting startup Fabula AI June 4, 2019 Twitter has acquired London-based startup Fabula AI, which uses machine-learning to detect fake news online. Read more: Twitter suspends 170,000 accounts in hate speech battle Founded in 2018, Fabula has developed an AI system that can analyse and learn from large datasets from social media sites. The tool can analyse how fake news spreads across [...]
Softbank struggles to raise cash for its second $100bn Vision Fund June 3, 2019 Japanese technology giant Softbank has received a chilly reception from some of the world’s biggest investors as it seeks to raise cash for a second $100bn (£79bn) mega fund. The firm’s chief executive, Masayoshi Son, announced Softbank's Vision Fund II in May, saying that many existing investors had expressed interest in the new fund. Read more: Softbank gears [...]
As a global trading hub, the City is ready to face the challenges of a new digital era June 3, 2019 With changes afoot both domestically and when it comes to our relationship with Europe, it is a challenging and frustrating time for many parts of the City. What we must not lose sight of is that London – and specifically the City – has been at the centre of global trade for centuries, and has [...]
Bristol scaleup Ultrahaptics buys US augmented reality rival for $30m May 30, 2019 Bristol-based firm Ultrahaptics has acquired one of its main Silicon Valley rivals in a deal valued at $30m (£23.8m). Leap Motion, which specialises in hand-tracking technology, will join Ultrahaptics, bringing over its staff and technology to the combined group. The two companies had been partnered for almost six years before the tie-up. Ultrahaptics' technology projects [...]
City fintech Yapily scores $5.4m from Transferwise founders and Localglobe May 30, 2019 London fintech startup Yapily has closed $5.4m (£4.3m) in seed funding from King’s Cross-based venture capital firm Localglobe and HZ Holtzbrinck Ventures. Other investors included Transferwise co-founders Taavet Hinrikus and Ott Kaukver, and C-suite executives from Twilio and Unicredit. Read more: Transferwise is Europe's most valuable fintech at $3.5bn Yapily will use the funding to [...]