Top startups in call to keep London #1 European tech hub September 2, 2014 London's top startups and venture capital firms will today urge the UK government to relax rules and taxes in order to maintain the capital’s status as the top European tech hub. The so-called Startup Manifesto – written by policy group Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) led by former government adviser Guy Levin – [...]
Former government adviser Guy Levin leads the startup charge September 2, 2014 When Guy Levin left his job as a government adviser last year – where he’d worked since 2010, jumping from the Conservative Campaign Headquarters to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and finally the Department for International Development – he was passionate about bridging the gap between startups and government. “I’d always been interested [...]
The Honest Co: How is this organic baby product startup worth almost $1bn? August 27, 2014 It turns out not even Wall Street is immune to celebrity culture. The Honest Co., an organic baby product company co-founded by Sin City star Jessica Alba, has just raised $70m (£42m), valuing it at close to $1bn. The series C round came from investors including Wellington Management Company, Institutional Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital, Lightspeed [...]
Saxo boss Lars Seier Christensen opens Pandora’s box with jewellery startup investment August 12, 2014 Saxo Bank’s chief exec Lars Seier Christensen has got chins wagging in the Danish press. The banking boss has made a personal investment into jewellery startup Endless Jewelry – a company run by well-known Danish entrepreneur Jesper Nielsen. Nielsen made his name as a reseller of jewellery brand Pandora. He sold his Pandora distributorship for [...]
BSkyB invests in virtual reality video startup Jaunt July 28, 2014 BSkyB is investing nearly half a million dollars in Jaunt, an immersive video startup which is developing ways to bring the cinema experience to virtual reality devices. The $400,000 funding is the second round of investment in the California-based company for Sky, previously investing $350,000 in the early stage startup at the end of last [...]
Google to open $100m startup fund in London July 10, 2014 GOOGLE’S startup investment fund has picked London to base its new $100m (£58.4m) European investment arm. Google Ventures has more than $1.5bn invested in 250 startups, which until now have mainly been based in the US. “Google, alongside many other global investors, recognises the incredible skills and opportunities to be found here,” London mayor Boris [...]
London startup Osper wants to make kids better at managing money June 30, 2014 Osper, a London-based startup that teaches kids to manage their money online, has launched with £6m backing from Index and Horizons Ventures. The mobile app lets kids aged between eight and 18 years old take responsibility for their money and make purchases online using a prepaid card, but allows parents to oversee spending at the same time. [...]
Twitter founder’s startup Square moves into small business loans May 28, 2014 TWITTER founder Jack Dorsey is expanding his mobile payments startup, Square, to help small businesses with personalised lending with repayments that adjust based on a firm’s cashflow. Square’s hope is that by using the vast volumes of data it already has on the merchants who use it, Square will be able to offer unique loans [...]
Three tech start-ups hoping to win over John Lewis May 19, 2014 John Lewis will kick-off its search tomorrow for the next big idea to help its stores stay ahead in the digital age, with 30 technology start-ups battling out for a place in the retailer’s technology incubator JLAB. Each firm will deliver a five minute pitch to a panel of John Lewis directors and mentors [...]
Why Balderton Capital’s new $305m European Fund is a great sign for London’s startups April 1, 2014 Balderton Capital – the tech VC fund whose investment record includes breakout success from the likes of Lovefilm and Betfair – announced a new European $305m early stage investment fund this morning. That the fund is specifically targeting the early Series A round of investment is a great sign for London’s fledgling tech community, which [...]