Coronavirus: Healthtech needs a route to market April 23, 2020 In just a few weeks the healthtech sector has made 10 years of progress, underlining why this week’s decision by the Chancellor to create a fund to support our innovative tech startups is necessary. Most entrepreneurs position themselves as problem solvers but in healthtech we are seeing hundreds of tiny companies, often working with world-leading [...]
Coronavirus: Could crisis be a tipping point for compliance and ‘RegTech’? April 17, 2020 We are living in unprecedented times. Due to the human disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a financial downturn is upon us. Against this difficult backdrop, it is my belief that ‘Regtech’, regulatory technology, is very well positioned to weather the storm. Regtech does what it says on the tin: it uses new technology, often [...]
British AI startup Onfido in talks to provide coronavirus immunity passports April 15, 2020 British AI startup Onfido revealed a $100m (£80m) funding round today and confirmed it is in talks to provide so-called coronavirus immunity passports when lockdowns begin to ease. The entirety of Onfido’s new stake comes from US investor TPG Growth’s $45bn fund, and brings the digital identity startup’s total funding to $200m. Founder Husayn Kassai [...]
Coronavirus: The crisis could be the turning point for LawTech April 9, 2020 When we look back on the current coronavirus pandemic, we will see it as a major turning point in history. The scale of this crisis will dramatically reshape society and the entire global economy forever, for better and for worse. Our main focus should be on ensuring that the better outweighs the worse, for moments [...]
Coronavirus: UK tech sector ‘at risk’ as firms miss out on loans April 8, 2020 The thriving UK tech sector is under threat as firms are missing out on a £330bn coronavirus support plan, Deliveroo, Citymapper and more have warned. In a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak, 12 of the UK’s most prominent tech chiefs today called for an urgent meeting with officials to find a way for tech firms [...]
Airlines set to save millions as air traffic control payments deferred April 8, 2020 The UK’s airlines could save tens of millions of pounds a month after European governments took steps to allow them to defer payments for using UK and European airspace for 14 months. The new measures, which were agreed by air traffic body Eurocontrol’s member states, will cover the period between February and May 2020. In [...]
Coronavirus: An economic evolution, not revolution April 8, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining event for a generation and though its long-term effects remain uncertain, it is fair to say the ‘new normal’ we will return to will be significantly different to that we left. However, change was afoot long before the pandemic altered the way companies think, assess risk and manage their [...]
Why the future of Britain’s startups hangs in the balance March 30, 2020 Britain is blessed with one of the healthiest technology industries in the world. We are creating more tech unicorns – companies valued at over $1bn – than anywhere else in Europe. Globally, we are only behind giants America and China. Over the past decade, Britain created a veritable paddock of 63 unicorns. Our tech scene [...]
More than half London’s tech firms planning for ‘survival’ amid coronavirus impact March 27, 2020 More than half the tech businesses in London have admitted that “survival” is the only plan over the next three months, according to a new survey. The impact of the coronavirus outbreak has left 53 per cent of London-based tech firms just trying to survive in the short term, while 32 per cent of respondents [...]