Skype billionaire Niklas Zennstrom and LocalGlobe back UK fintech startup Cleo and its Facebook AI chatbot for finance July 26, 2017 The billionaire co-founder of Skype and one of the UK’s top startup venture capital investors are backing a UK fintech behind a chatbot helping people with their finances that could kill off banking apps. Niklas Zennström along with Robin and Saul Klein’s LocalGlobe have invested £2m in a seed stage funding round of Cleo. Cleo’s [...]
Aviva and Founders Factory are betting on these five fintech startups for artificial intelligence, blockchain and virtual reality expertise July 24, 2017 Aviva is betting on virtual reality, artificial intelligence and blockchain when it comes to technology. The insurer has unveiled the first five startups to benefit from a multi-million pound investment into new technology with startup accelerator and incubator Founders Factory. And the two have also created their own startup together, OnCare, aiming to take the [...]
The pension pitfalls of the gig economy July 19, 2017 Our work lives are becoming increasingly malleable as millions of us turn our backs on steady nine-to-five jobs and choose to go freelance instead. Yes, we can now mould our job into a shape that fits neatly into our personal or financial lives, but this workplace revolution is by no means perfect, and has [...]
Why divesting from tobacco stocks is pointless virtue signalling June 26, 2017 This week marks the 10 year anniversary of the smoking ban in England, and tobacco is once again making headlines. Not content with the government prohibiting smoking in public places, various funds and companies have bought into the ludicrous divestment movement which seeks to bring down industries by trading their shares. The Guardian started the [...]
These are the 100 most disruptive startups in the world (and a third are from the UK): Roman Abramovich-backed Storedot, AI chip maker Graphcore and cancer detection scientists at Grail top list June 1, 2017 A Bristol-based startup developing computer chips for artificial intelligence, an app for helping kids manage money, and a fintech just backed by Aviva, are among the UK startups to be named the most disruptive in the world. AI chip firm Graphcore was ranked second in the annual list identifying companies with the potential to “influence, [...]
Aviva just backed insurance focused fintech startup Neos and will probably acquire one soon, says CEO Mark Wilson May 25, 2017 Aviva is splashing cash on a startup focusing on insurance for connected homes in the latest signal of the insurers intent when it comes to technology – and it may even stretch to buying a small tech firm in future, it has revealed. The venture arm of Aviva has led a £5m series A funding [...]
Canadian pension fund PSP boss Andre Bourbonnais: We’ve picked London as our base as it’ll be Europe’s financial heartland after Brexit May 10, 2017 One of Canada’s largest pension fund managers has picked London as its new European headquarters, insisting the UK capital “is and will remain the financial centre of Europe”. The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), which serves the Royal Canadian Mounted Police alongside other civil servants and boasts C$125.8bn (£70.7bn) of assets under management, will [...]
Responsible Business Week 2017: Business must use technology responsibly or risk exacerbating society’s divides April 25, 2017 Some people might think that Responsible Business is a contradiction in terms; that this week’s Business in the Community Responsible Business Week will leave companies free to act as selfishly as possible on the other 358 days of the year. I certainly don’t believe that’s how it works. And yet we are living in a [...]
Six Nations 2017: Why Ireland vs England is “massive” for sponsors Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day weekend March 18, 2017 As far as weekends go, they don’t come much bigger for Guinness. St. Patrick’s Day, of course, means pint pullers around the world will have spent an evening with one hand permanently affixed to the Guinness pump — it is estimated that the annual celebration can double the average day sales of the Diageo-owned brand. [...]
Who owns London? The capital’s biggest landowners: Qataris own as much land as the Queen and TfL put together March 17, 2017 A company part-owned by the Qataris own almost as much land in the capital as Transport for London and the Queen put together, a new ranking has suggested, while the City of London was ranked second. Figures compiled by Datscha for property trade bible Property Week showed Canary Wharf Group, which is joint-owned by Qatari [...]