The future looks bright for university graduates May 21, 2019 This month, university students across the country are being tested on their chosen field of study. As if the exam season weren’t stressful enough, final-year students also have to deal with acute cases of so-called employability anxiety. This generation is already described as the “most anxious in history”, so adding extra stress makes for a [...]
Mobility software firm raises $4.6m from Amadeus and Global Brain May 21, 2019 Artificial intelligence mobility startup Immense Simulations has closed its series A funding round at $4.6m (£3.6m), after spinning out from the government’s Catapult tech programme in 2016. The round was co-led by Amadeus Capital Partners, previously named one of Europe’s most active AI investors, and Japanese venture capital giant Global Brain. Additional investment was provided [...]
Tencent backs top AI startup in $24m injection May 20, 2019 A host of major businesses and venture capital firms have joined in a $24m (£18.9m) funding round for a Prowler.io, valuing the Cambridge artificial intelligence (AI) startup at $100m. Chinese media giant Tencent led the round, with publishing house Pearson and Monzo-backer Passion Capital also joining. Other investors included Amadeus Capital Partners, Atlantic Bridge, Cambridge [...]
Nigel Vaz shares his agenda as the new president of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising May 20, 2019 When Nigel Vaz was offered the role of president of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), it took him almost a week to decide whether or not it was a responsibility that he wanted to take on. The IPA represents and supports the marketing sector. It’s the industry’s professional body, incorporated by Royal Charter, [...]
Fintech startup Wagestream picks up £15m from Balderton and Northzone May 20, 2019 London fintech startup Wagestream has today closed a £15m series A funding round, co-led by venture capital investors Balderton Capital and Northzone. The round was raised in addition to a credit facility of up to £25m Shawbrook Bank. At £40m, Wagestream chief executive Peter Briffett said the total amount raised marks the largest single social impact [...]
Monzo hits 2m customer milestone as fintech race heats up May 20, 2019 Digital banking darling Monzo's current account is set to surpass 2m customers today, as it races to catch up with London rival Revolut. The two fintech startups have been locked in an intense race to command market share in the nascent mobile banking sector, as well as to expand overseas. Read more: Monzo to roll [...]
Amazon leads £450m Deliveroo funding round as startup expands London tech team May 17, 2019 Deliveroo today confirmed Amazon is leading a $575m (£450m) funding round in the food delivery business as it plans to expand its London engineering team with some of the cash. Read more: Amazon in talks to invest millions in Deliveroo The round, including money from existing investors T Rowe Price, Fidelity Management and Greenoaks, takes [...]
Monzo backer Accel raises $575m fund for European and Israeli startups May 16, 2019 London venture capital stalwart Accel has today announced its sixth fund for Europe's early-stage startups, closed at a final raise of $575m (£440m). The fund will be managed by a core investment team based in its London office, seeking out entrepreneurs across the continent and in Israel in both consumer and enterprise sectors at series A stage. Accel [...]
DEBATE: Is the term ‘fintech’ becoming redundant? May 13, 2019 Is the term ‘fintech’ becoming redundant? Rhys Powell, UK managing director at EBO.ai, says YES. It’s true that the fintech revolution has brought about positive business change, but to stay relevant in today’s modern business world, all financial organisations have had to harness the power of technology. As such, it’s now almost impossible to define where general [...]
When women ruled the coding world: Female programmers have been written out of history – it’s time to turn back the clock May 9, 2019 Coding was once a field dominated by women. From the 1940s to the 1960s, about 90 per cent of computer programmers and systems analysts in the US were female. Hardware was largely run by men, but software was treated as clerical work and offered to women who were good at maths and logical thinking. In [...]