IAG kickstarts search for best budding aviation start-ups June 6, 2019 British Airways owner IAG has launched its latest global accelerator programme for budding aviation startups. The Hangar 51 programme, launched in collaboration with IAG brands Iberia and Vueling, will be based in Spain this year. It will seek out start ups from around the world who will work with mentors and experts from IAG to [...]
Microsoft and Oracle team up to take on Amazon Web Services June 5, 2019 Microsoft and Oracle will connect their cloud services in an effort to woo big businesses and take on market leader Amazon Web Services (AWS). The combined service will enable users to connect Oracle’s autonomous databases with Microsoft services, such as Azure analytics and artificial intelligence. The new high-speed link between the two company’s data centres [...]
Financial services firms should treat operational resilience as ‘commercial imperative’, report says June 5, 2019 Financial services firms need to treat operational resilience as a “commercial imperative”, according to a report published today. The industry has to face threats ranging from climate change, cybercrime and complex supply chains to technological innovation and ageing legacy systems, the report said. The report from lobby group City UK and audit firm PwC said [...]
David Cameron takes up role with US artificial intelligence firm June 1, 2019 Former Prime Minister David Cameron has been appointed by US artificial intelligence company Afiniti to chair its advisory board. Cameron has kept a low profile since resigning as Prime Minister following the 2016 EU referendum in which the UK voted to leave, and is one of his most prominent appointments since. Read more: Donald Trump's [...]
DEBATE: Should we really be that excited about the launch of 5G? May 31, 2019 Should we really be that excited about the launch of 5G? Leon Emirali, an entrepreneur and investor, says YES. 5G is well worth the wait. While there is no doubt that extra-fast internet speeds will be welcomed by consumers, we must look beyond our own mobile devices to see the real benefits of the 5G revolution. [...]
The future eminence of our legal sector rests on more than Brexit May 23, 2019 Ever since the referendum, we have seen dire warnings that London risks losing its place as a global business hub. We have read countless stories of other European cities pitching for our international financial services sector, and there are now concerns that the continental courts are gearing up for an assault on its preeminent status [...]
Salesforce’s venture capital arm raises second European tech fund at $125m May 23, 2019 The venture capital arm of Salesforce has closed its second fund for European tech startups at $125m (£98.7m), with a renewed focus on enterprise cloud. Salesforce Ventures said it was the most active corporate VC in Europe last year, making investments across the spectrum in digital payments, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. It follows the software giant's [...]
Malevolent superintelligence? That’s science fiction, not reality May 22, 2019 In Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL 9000 was an all-knowing robot that decided to destroy a spacecraft and its crew. Naturally enough, the crew didn’t care for this. The film was an important crossover moment from science fiction to science fact. Many who saw HAL came to believe that there are indeed such computers [...]
The robots are coming – and they’re (potentially) after your job May 22, 2019 By Ian Hall (City AM, for the CFA Institute) ‘You want your robot to be smarter than the other team’s robot’: advice that sounds like it belongs to a participant in combat competition TV show Robot Wars. But, actually, it’s the increasingly competitive and technology-affected situation that many investment professionals will face in the workplace [...]
Ministers must resist a bailout of British Steel May 21, 2019 Timing is everything, whether in business or politics. British Steel’s cap-in-hand plea to the government for an emergency, job-saving bailout just 48 hours before the country goes to the polls is either an extraordinary coincidence or an audacious political ambush. Either way, there’s never an easy time for a government to face such a decision. [...]