The UK’s ‘Brexit-proof’ tech startups land Christmas number one for European funding December 20, 2018 British tech firms brought in more funding from venture capital firms than any other country in Europe in 2018, as well as achieving the highest amount of exits. Startups in the UK attracted £6.3bn in venture backing this year, according to new figures released today by Tech Nation and Dealroom. In the same period, the [...]
Immigration after Brexit: Here’s how the City reacted to Sajid Javid’s white paper December 19, 2018 The government has outlined proposals for rules on immigration after the UK leaves the European Union next year, prompting a flurry of responses from business leaders across the City. Unveiled by home secretary Sajid Javid this afternoon, the document said low-skilled workers entering the UK from EU countries will no longer receive automatic approval to work in [...]
Time for a migration policy based on sense December 19, 2018 Throughout the Brexit process, as the government’s core objectives and red lines have one by one been compromised away, a single aim has remained front, centre, and non-negotiable: end freedom of movement and give Britain control over its future immigration policy. The question, then, is how it will use this power. The long-awaited government white [...]
Food waste will be next year’s moral crisis, just as single-use plastic was this year December 18, 2018 In these turbulent times, there was one villain who stood out in 2018. Plastered all over our TV screens, phones, and newspapers, this particular offender was everywhere. It is destructive, toxic, and impossible to get rid of. I am of course talking about single-use plastic. That said, the response to this growing threat has been [...]
UK chipmaker Graphcore gains unicorn status with $200m funding from BMW and Microsoft December 18, 2018 UK artificial intelligence chipmaker Graphcore has raised a $200m (£158.1m) series D funding round from BMW and Microsoft, valuing the firm at $1.7bn. The round brings Graphcore's total amount raised to date to over $300m, with its new investors joining existing backers such as electronics founder Robert Bosch, Dell and Samsung Electronics. The round was led by London venture [...]
Egress Software promises more London jobs with $40m series C fundraise December 18, 2018 Egress Software, a London-headquartered provider of data privacy and compliance software, will today reveal the close of a $40m (£31.7m) series C fundraising round led by US investor FTV Capital. Existing backer Albion Capital also participated in the round. The funding comes as a significant leap from Egress’ last raise, which saw the startup take [...]
Augmented reality startup Blippar enters administration after dispute over funding December 17, 2018 Augmented reality company Blippar has gone into administration today following a dispute over funding. The company, which had once claimed to be a unicorn – surpassing a $1bn valuation – has collapsed after an “alleged dispute over continued funding”, administrators at David Rubin and Partners said. Last week Blippar warned shareholders that Malaysian sovereign wealth [...]
Uber to hire team for Jump electric bikes launch in the UK December 17, 2018 Ride-hailing giant Uber is exploring plans to launch operations of its electric bicycle arm in the UK, entering an already-crowded space from the likes of Chinese startups Ofo and Mobike. Uber bought electric bike startup Jump in April, and has since been trialling the use of its bikes in the US and Germany. It is now [...]
Halo Top ice cream defrosted from the startup doldrums to become a retail success December 17, 2018 Junk food is, rightly, under assault. This year, we’ve seen the introduction of a sugar tax on soft drinks, and last month London mayor Sadiq Khan announced a ban on junk food advertising on the capital’s public transportation network. This comes after tougher TV advertising rules introduced last year, which meant that ads for food [...]
As the warning signals flash red, now is the time to back business December 14, 2018 When thinking of the great moments of British enterprise, you would be forgiven for being consumed by nostalgia. The golden age of manufacturing, Victorian industrialists, Alan Turing, the internet, Concorde, the discovery of DNA – what then of today, the Brexit Blues? Think again. This is the age of the entrepreneur – 99 per cent [...]