This is the huge amount of money Apple is spending on R&D right now July 27, 2016 Did someone say iCar? The tech giant might remain coy about exactly what its plans are, but the numbers are clear – Apple is splashing some serious cash on developing new technology despite experiencing its second consecutive decline in revenues. Spending on research and development has rocketed, more than doubling in the last four years and Apple has spent a record amount on innovation [...]
Four things Jack Dorsey’s done to try and turnaround Twitter… so far July 26, 2016 Nine months after re-joining the flock, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is under mounting pressure to revive its fortunes. While Wall Street awaits the latest numbers, here’s a reminder of what Dorsey’s been up to… 1. Wielded the axe Dorsey wasn’t afraid to wield the axe when it came to staff numbers, cutting up to eight [...]
Why marketers need humans behind the programmatic steering wheel July 25, 2016 Automation has transformed the marketing industry. Last year, programmatic trading reached an all-time high, making up 60 per cent of the £3bn of transactions around UK display advertising, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau. Programmatic can be a more efficient and cost-effective method for both buyers and sellers of online advertising. But as with any [...]
Ed Cooke talks octogenarians, Paradise Lost, why Citymapper will be the biggest company in the world and girls on bikes July 25, 2016 I consider learning and memory to be exactly the same thing. "Think about artificial intelligence: that’s really artificial memory. It’s funny that most people privately doubt their intellect, but they’ll often volunteer that they have a bad memory, not low intelligence. It’s something to do with memory being seen as a selective mental skill, I [...]
America’s Cup World Series: How Sir Ben Ainslie’s Land Rover team uses artificial intelligence technology to seek an edge July 23, 2016 Sir Ben Ainslie and his Land Rover team set sail off the coast of Portsmouth this weekend for the America’s Cup World Series’ sixth leg, aiming for a repeat of their triumph on Southsea Common. But it won’t just be the five-time Olympic medallist and his crew’s grappling to steer control of their 44ft foiling [...]
There is now a beer brewed by artificial intelligence… and it takes feedback via Facebook’s Messenger app July 22, 2016 Forget craft beer, this is what the real future of lager looks like… and it looks surprisingly open to constructive criticism. A London-based brewing startup, IntelligentX, has created a premium beer brewed by artificial intelligence (AI) using a "complex machine learning algorithms" to make four versions of its beer. But that's not the only innovation. [...]
VCs held off on startup investments because of Brexit July 20, 2016 The figures are in: and they show that in the build up to the EU referendum, venture capital investors held off on putting their cash into startups. VC investment "plummeted" 40 per cent according to the latest report from CB Insights and KPMG. Some $2.8bn went into VC-backed firms in Europe, of which the UK grabs the biggest share, dipping below [...]
Britain hasn’t lost Arm: Its acquisition is the start of a new Great British tech story July 19, 2016 A week ago, many were wondering whether the UK’s tech sector would become less relevant in a post-Brexit world. The news of Arm’s acquisition by SoftBank for £24bn means many things for UK tech – but irrelevance is not one of them. This acquisition is positive and timely news. Following the referendum, it’s an immediate vote [...]
Santander’s added $100m to its fintech venture fund July 18, 2016 Santander is ploughing a further $100m (£75.3m) into its venture fund to invest in fintech startups around the world. The cash doubles the bank's UK-based venture investment fund, Santander InnoVentures, which has already invested in blockchain startups Ripple and Digital Asset Holdings. “A deeper investment in our fintech fund represents Santander's success in investing in disruptive new technologies that will help [...]
How artificial intelligence, peer-to-peer technology and blockchain are changing the insurance industry forever July 14, 2016 Just as fintech is transforming the banking world, “insurtech” has set its sights on the insurance industry. There are firms like Trov, which provides insurance on-demand and enables consumers to catalogue insured belongings. Buzzmove uses home removals data to create a new distribution model for insurance – people are more likely to renew or buy [...]