Meet the 33 tech startups set for stardom January 26, 2017 More than 30 companies have been identified as the most promising tech startups in the country and will be mentored by top entrepreneurs to help create the next wave of top British tech stars. Challenger bank Monzo, online shopping site Trouva and digital mortgage adviser Trussle are among the startups who will be mentored by Lastminute.com [...]
Alibaba reports bumper revenues as Singles’ Day sales steal hearts January 24, 2017 China's biggest e-commerce company Alibaba had a bumper 2016 with a better-than-expected 54 percent rise in third-quarter revenue. The figures Alibaba's revenue hit 53.25bn yuan (£6.16bn) for the three months ended 31 December, compared with analysts' average estimate of 50.10bn yuan. The tech giant's e-commerce business boomed 45 per cent, up from the 41 per cent jump in the previous [...]
Here’s what UK tech thinks of Theresa May’s modern industrial strategy January 23, 2017 The UK's tech industry has tentatively welcomed promises by Theresa May to put the sector at the heart of Britain's modern industrial strategy, with funding promised for top artificial intelligence, robotics, 5G and smart energy technologies. “In today’s economy, the tech sector is driving innovation and boosting productivity across all industries. In tomorrow’s economy, every sector [...]
How the new industrial strategy leaves the past behind and will benefit London and the south east January 23, 2017 Last week, the Prime Minister outlined how the UK can make a success of Brexit and how the strength of our economy will be crucial to that success. Leaving the EU can be a catalyst to drive both improvements in productivity and to spread wealth and opportunity more evenly and fairly across the country. Throughout London [...]
Davos Diary: Prime Minister May’s reception as cold as the weather January 20, 2017 At the very least, this week’s Davos agenda had a weary air of familiarity about it: sustainability, artificial intelligence and income inequality all competing to be hailed the zeitgeistian focus of the world’s power-brokers’ power breakfasts. In that respect, little has changed. But if the Trump presidential machine rolls into town this time next year, I [...]
Britain’s investors have a responsibility to help close society’s divides January 20, 2017 I feel a touch fortunate that my Davos debut has come during such a fascinating period of change. The World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Switzerland, which ends today, has long opined on the state of political, social and economic affairs. Discussions this week have seemed to possess an elevated sense of urgency. At the [...]
Theresa May is expected to launch a consultation on her flagship industrial strategy next week January 18, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to launch a consultation on her much heralded industrial strategy early next week. City A.M. can exclusively reveal that Downing Street has pencilled in Tuesday to launch a long-awaited green paper on the topic, with May expected outline the plans personally. It comes after the Prime Minister has made two [...]
MEPs vote to put robots on the agenda to tackle safety and legal concerns January 17, 2017 MEPs have started on a European health and safety standard for robots – before the fracking toasters short circuit and become our overlords. Or before other countries like Japan and the US establish their standards first. A “kill” switch and creating a status for “electronic persons” that would bear legal responsibility are among recommendations that MEPs on [...]
Davos 2017: This is what’s happening at the World Economic Forum today January 17, 2017 The 2017 World Economic Forum kicked off at Davos today, with a star line up of speakers ready to air their views on subjects ranging from the future of the digital economy to safe water. The first panel discussion on today's agenda, which began at 7.15am, was the Size Matters talk on the future of [...]
China’s Baidu targets artificial intelligence with appointment of former Microsoft executive January 17, 2017 Chinese search giant Baidu has named a former Microsoft executive as its chief operating officer in an effort to push towards artificial intelligence. Baidu's core search engine business hasn't been performing well – new advertising regulations caused Baidu to lose 16 per cent of its ad customers in the quarter ending September 2016 – so the company is refocusing its [...]