No more dodging hard questions, we need a conversation about AI January 9, 2018 Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the hottest areas of technology in recent years. It’s in our phones, cars, and living rooms. It’s part of our banking decisions, love lives, and even our weekly grocery shop. By 2035, Accenture estimates that AI could add £654bn to the national economy. Given its rapid adoption [...]
London’s tech scene pulls in record £2.5bn in 2017 venture capital bonanza January 5, 2018 London’s tech venture capital investment reached another all-time high in 2017 as firms raked in four times more cash than Paris, the nearest European rival. Venture capital investment into the UK’s tech sector reached an all-time high of £2.99bn, almost double the total invested in 2016, according to figures compiled by data firm Pitchbook for [...]
London’s tech scene pulls in record £2.5bn in 2017 venture capital bonanza January 5, 2018 London’s tech venture capital investment reached another all-time high in 2017 as firms raked in four times more cash than Paris, the nearest European rival. Venture capital investment into the UK’s tech sector reached an all-time high of £2.99bn, almost double the total invested in 2017, according to figures compiled by data firm Pitchbook for [...]
What the advertising industry should watch out for in 2018 January 3, 2018 We ask advertising bosses what’s in store for the year ahead. Alex Hesz, chief strategy officer, Adam&eveDDB In the era of fake news, advertising has emerged as an unlikely standard-bearer for scrutiny. We have long embraced the necessity of third-party regulation to verify what is fact and what is fantasy. Our job is to tell [...]
Jose Mourinho claims Manchester United can’t compete with “no limits” Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in transfer market December 30, 2017 Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says Manchester United are finding it difficult to compete in the transfer market with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain who he claimed have “no limit” financially. United are the richest club in the world yet while Mourinho expects to spend big on new players next summer, he says the Premier [...]
City leaders recognised for services to business in New Year honours December 30, 2017 The Square Mile has weathered a turbulent year, and as 2017 comes to a close, business leaders have been recognised for their work to promote UK industry through a period of immense change. Business leader Ken Olisa, former Lord Mayor of London Andrew Parmley, and City grandee Anthony Habgood, have been given knighthoods. Vivian Hunt, [...]
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 [...]
MMC Ventures has just joined a $15m funding round for consumer services artificial intelligence company DigitalGenius December 19, 2017 The robots will soon be taking over call centres, as a company which develops consumer-focused artificial intelligence today nabbed almost $15m (£11.2m) of funding. San Francisco-based DigitalGenius, which works with companies including Unilever, KLM Airlines and Eurostar, has raised $14.75m of series A funding from a number of firms including London’s MMC Ventures. The business, [...]
JP Morgan and Barclays are exploring quantum computing technology with IBM December 14, 2017 JP Morgan will begin exploring the potential of quantum computing and how it might be applied to trading strategies, portfolio optimisation, asset pricing, and risk analysis in a new partnership with tech giant IBM. The investment bank is one of two financial institutions, along with Barclays, taking advantage of the commercialisation of quantum technology, which [...]