Security minister Ben Wallace: “Ruthless profiteer” internet giants face tax raid unless they help in fight against terror December 31, 2017 Google, Facebook and YouTube and other internet giants have been blasted by the UK’s security minister for making life too easy for terrorists and extremists. Calling them “ruthless profiteers”, Ben Wallace said the firms face a multi-million pound tax raid if they continued to refuse to take down extremist content as well as failing to [...]
Deliveroo is going green: Riders will start using electric scooters and bikes early in 2018 December 23, 2017 Deliveroo has announced an early Christmas present to residents of London, as it has said it will begin to trial electric scooters to cut down on noise and air pollution next year. The meal delivery company has said its riders in the capital will be able to rent electric-powered scooters and bikes early in 2018 [...]
Looking for a new year’s resolution? Invest in ethical finance December 22, 2017 As a society, we have never been more aware of the impact of our actions. From the food we eat to the cars we drive, our sense of social conscience has never been stronger. In 2016, data from The Vegan Society showed there has been a 360 per cent increase in the number of vegans [...]
AI and experiments – let’s make 2018 Britain’s year of innovation December 21, 2017 It has been a rather frustrating year for those interested in hearing from the government on a long-term vision for the British economy. With most of the year dominated by Brexit negotiations – plus a mid-year pause for a surprise election – it took 11 months for a roadmap for UK growth to be set [...]
Could a robot replace Jose Mourinho? The growing presence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in football December 19, 2017 If you pay attention to the countless academic studies devoted to the subject or the dire prophecies from Elon Musk or Stephen Hawking, an artificial intelligence (AI) age is rapidly approaching that promises to make most of our jobs redundant. A McKinsey and Company report published earlier this year estimated that more than half of [...]
UK mattress startup Simba Sleep raises £40m and is heading for profit in some markets December 17, 2017 Simba Sleep, one of several startups hoping to disrupt the world of sleep, has bedded fresh cash to fuel global expansion as it nears profitability in some markets. The £40m series B round of investment comes from previous backers Nigel Wray, a City heavywight and chairman of Saracens rugby club, Wharton Asset Management and Swiss [...]
UK mattress startup Simba Sleep raises £40m and is heading for profit in some markets December 17, 2017 Simba Sleep, one of several startups hoping to disrupt the world of sleep, has bedded fresh cash to fuel global expansion as it nears profitability in some markets. The £40m series B round of investment comes from previous backers Nigel Wray, a City heavywight and chairman of Saracens rugby club, Wharton Asset Management and Swiss [...]
Open Banking: Meet 10 startups that just won cash for innovative ideas December 13, 2017 Nearly a dozen startups have been chosen for a cash prize totalling £5m for their innovative ideas for making banking easier for small businesses. A firm that is a current account for freelancers that can help them manage tax and expenses, called Coconut, and another, Funding options, a marketplace for financial products for small firms, [...]
11 tech startups to watch according to top insurers in Startupbootcamp’s insurtech accelerator December 11, 2017 Nearly a dozen startups looking to disrupt the insurance industry with technology such as artificial intelligence have been chosen for the latest cohort of a London programme, backed by Lloyds Banking Group, Allianz, Scottish Widows and Confused.com among several high-profile financial firms. The 11 early stage startups from nine countries around the world will join [...]
Google DeepMind’s “superhuman” artificial intelligence won top-level chess within four hours of learning game December 7, 2017 DeepMind’s artificial intelligence programme has beaten a top-level chess computer programme after learning the game in just four hours without human help. The Google owned tech company’s machine learning algorithm, which last year won a landmark game of Go against a human player in what has been described as a “superhuman performance”, was applied to [...]