UK artificial intelligence startup FiveAI lands £14m series B from Lakestar Capital, an early Facebook and Spotify backer September 6, 2017 The venture fund set up by an early backer of Facebook, Spotify and Skype has invested millions in a UK artificial intelligence startup that is planning on getting driverless cars on the road. Lakestar Capital has led the £14m series B round into FiveAI, the company working with Mclaren technologies and Transport for London on [...]
Seedrs fundraising: Neil Woodford invests another £4m into crowdfunding startup Seedrs September 5, 2017 Star fund manager Neil Woodford has increased his stake in crowdfunding startup Seedrs with a fresh £4m investment, taking his total to £10m. Woodford Investment Management kicked off a fundraising round today, making its investment through two of its managed funds: Woodford Patient Capital Trust and Omnis Income and Growth Fund. A crowdfunding campaign give [...]
Could robots reduce the state pension age? The TUC union thinks artificial intelligence will help us retire early September 4, 2017 Fancy retiring early than expected? The nation could get a helping hand to kick back and relax ahead of time thanks to robots and artificial intelligence. There may be fears around the technology taking jobs, but in fact, one of the benefits could be a reduction in the state pension age, which has steadily risen [...]
UK drone firm wins the backing of Japanese industrial giant Mitsui August 31, 2017 A UK-based drone company is set to receive a $4m (£3m) investment from Japanese conglomerate Mitsui. Sky Futures provides drone-based industrial inspection technology. With drones, companies can more safely inspect industrial equipment like oil rigs. The strategic partnership, to be announced today, is launched in tandem with Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to Japan. It [...]
Unilever, Walmart and Nestle are starting a major blockchain project with IBM August 22, 2017 Unilever, Nestle, Walmart and a handful of the world’s top retail and food brands are joining forces to tackle food safety with the help of blockchain technology. The 10 companies will work with IBM on a new project that will look at how the distributed ledger technology (DLT) behind bitcoin could be used to track [...]
Fintech startup Prodigy Finance lands $240m funding led by Index Ventures to expand post-graduate loans August 21, 2017 Prodigy Finance, a fintech startup that provides online funding for students embarking on postgraduate courses at top institutions such as Cambridge and Harvard, has landed multi-millions of pounds in fresh funding from leading investors. Index Ventures has led a series C equity round of $40m, with previous investor Balderton Capital also participating and AlphaCode also [...]
Those who fear automation will be its only casualties August 11, 2017 Whatever can be automated, should be. And regardless of whether it should, it will be. Automation has been a persistent economic force since the first industrial revolution, and an essential feature of any competitive business. The use of machines and other forms of automation to boost productivity is a major factor behind the rapid global [...]
UK startup BenevolentAI is embarking on major expansion in the US, opening a New York office August 9, 2017 One of the UK’s most promising artificial intelligence startups is expanding its business into the US as part of ambitious expansion plans. BenevolentAI, whose technology helped researchers find a drug treatment which could delay the onset of motor neuron disease, is opening a new office in New York and has hired a former Google scientist [...]
Machine learning, artificial intelligence and robo-advisers: The future of finance? August 4, 2017 The topic of machine learning-enabled artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining increasing visibility in the world of investment management. Of particular interest is the application of AI to the development of smarter robo-advisers that some hope, while others fear, will yield 'intelligent' and cost-effective investment management advice. This topic was raised by investment professionals during the [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond launches consultation into funding the next UK unicorn startups August 1, 2017 Philip Hammond has proposed a new investment fund for innovative UK companies to help them become “unicorns” valued at more than $1bn (£760m). The chancellor today launched a consultation on financing growth in innovative firms in response to an identified £4bn funding gap between American and British firms. Read more: Chancellor lays out four-pronged approach [...]