Driverless car startup Five raises $41m investment from Direct Line and Airbnb backer March 4, 2020 London tech firm Five has today closed $41m in funding from a slew of new investors, including Trustbridge Partners, Direct Line and Sistema VC. The series B fundraising was supported by existing backers Lakestar, Amadeus Capital Partners, Kindred Capital and Notion Capital — which between them have backed the likes of Airbnb, Klarna, Graphcore and [...]
Which VCTS and EIS I would buy today February 26, 2020 Tax pressure in Britain is at a 50-year high. Higher earners are feeling the squeeze as many traditional avenues of investing tax-efficiently have been blocked – from pension restrictions to the cuts to buy-to-let tax relief. What tax-efficient options are left? Two increasingly popular options for experienced investors are Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and the [...]
How to unleash the potential of the health data revolution February 26, 2020 Danny Boyle’s tribute to the NHS at the Olympic opening ceremony in 2012 didn’t feature doctors with filing cabinets or nurses with laptop computers. That’s understandable — at the time the data-driven healthcare boom was only just beginning. But today, there is growing interest in the data about the 55m patients for whom the NHS [...]
AI chipmaker Graphcore nears $2bn valuation after fresh funding round February 25, 2020 Chipmaker Graphcore today said it was closing in on a $2bn (£1.5bn) valuation after securing $150m in a fresh funding round. Graphcore, which specialises in processors for machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), secured the backing from new investors Baillie Gifford, Mayfair Equity Partners and M&G Investments. The cash boost, which was an extension of [...]
Don’t leave it up to the EU to decide how we regulate AI February 24, 2020 The war of words between Britain and the EU has begun ahead of next month’s trade talks. But as Britain sets its own course on everything from immigration to fishing, there is one area where the battle for influence is only just kicking off: the future regulation of artificial intelligence. As AI becomes a part [...]
Camden takes tech crown as it leads UK for new business creation February 24, 2020 Camden has topped the UK rankings for new business creations as London’s booming tech scene continues to drive growth in the capital. A total of 2,110 net new businesses were created in Camden in 2018, according to figures published today by private equity investment firm Growthdeck. This was closely followed by Westminster with 2,100, while [...]
Google users set to lose EU data protections after Brexit February 20, 2020 Google is planning to move its British users’ accounts out of the control of the European Union privacy regulators and place them under US jurisdiction. Ireland, where Google and other US tech firms have their headquarters, remains in the EU and its data is protected by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Reuters reported that [...]
Tech jobs advertised in the UK plunged by half in 2019 February 20, 2020 The number of tech jobs advertised in the UK fell 52 per cent from mid-2019 to the end of the year, analysis published today said. The research found there were 78,000 jobs listed on social network Linkedin that required skills in emerging technologies at the end of 2019, down from 162,000 in June. The decrease [...]
EU imposes tougher AI and data rules to curb tech giants’ power February 19, 2020 The EU has today proposed a raft of new artificial intelligence (AI) rules to curb the power of US tech firms, forcing them to share their data with smaller rivals. The white paper, which is part of a wider digital programme released today by the European Commission, set out ways to limit the perceived dangers [...]
Softbank set to invest $100m in AI startup Behavox February 19, 2020 Softbank is reportedly close to investing $100m (£77m) in a startup which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help financial firms monitor employees’ behaviour. Softbank’s second Vision Fund is on the verge of signing the deal with Behavox, Sky News reported, which could be finalised as soon as next week. Behavox, which was founded in the [...]