Meet the five startups joining London’s newest corporate fintech lab September 29, 2016 Five up-and-coming startups have been chosen by a London investment firm to join its newly created fintech lab. The new cohort joining Octopus Labs' 12 week programme include companies working on artificial intelligence powered financial news and financial management platforms aimed at investors and financial advisors. The director of the accelerator run by Octopus Investments, the group behind the venture capital firm [...]
This is how Deutsche Bank is getting in on the fintech scene, with the launch of a digital factory in Frankfurt September 29, 2016 After a string of bad news stories for Deutsche Bank, the German giant has today announced a new initiative to boost its digital edge. The bank's digital factory in Frankfurt will act as a centre for creating digital products for the lender, currently housing 400 software developers, IT specialists and financial experts from around the world. [...]
Top tech firms have formed an AI supergroup to make sure robots are good September 29, 2016 The world's top tech firms, including Google's DeepMind, Facebook and Amazon, have formed the tech equivalent of a musical supergroup, joining forces to ensure the ethical development of artificial intelligence and "advance public understanding" of the technology which is increasingly working its way into our lives. The group, Partnership on AI, will connect academics, policy experts, and non-profits [...]
From server rooms to boardrooms: Cyber crime issues must become top priority for UK bosses September 29, 2016 Cyber crime is big business. Attacks can come from opportunists, commercial rivals, terrorist groups, bored teenagers, organised crime and nation states. The goal could be anything from online vandalism to data theft or destabilisation. Faced with such threats, a new industry has emerged promising an array of state-of-the-art systems to keep your data and commercial [...]
EU funds for 600 startups have been unfrozen after Brexit pause September 25, 2016 Millions of pounds in funding for startups from the European Union that were put on hold after the vote to leave Europe have been unfrozen. Cash from the EU Regional Development Fund was paused by the Treasury almost immediately following the vote for Brexit putting at risk a shot in the arm for the country's tech [...]
Return on equity for the top global investment banks is falling. Here’s how they’re dealing with it September 23, 2016 Delegates from firms making their way to Geneva next week for the 2016 financial services Sibos conference will undoubtedly have a lot on their minds. Over the past few years the industry has been facing challenges on many fronts: continued and increasing structural costs, fast-changing regulatory reform, conduct issues and capital requirements, to name but [...]
Barristers need to keep tabs on what tech means for their profession, warns chairman of the Bar September 22, 2016 Legal eagles need to think long and hard about what exactly technology means for the future of their profession, the chairman of the Bar has cautioned. Speaking yesterday at the International Bar Association conference in Washington, Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC warned certain aspects of the modern working world, including commercial pressures, red tape and political problems as well as technology, risked undermining [...]
This new proptech startup wants to help generation rent buy their first home September 22, 2016 Zoopla and top investor Robin Klein are backing a new property technology venture designed to help first time buyers hop on to the incredibly difficult first rung of the property ladder. Wannabe homeowners can invest in a property Isa with Bricklane.com which launches today. Cash will go into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which will invest in rental [...]
Picks of the day: The three stories to read today September 21, 2016 We’re officially halfway through the working week – to celebrate, we’ve put together the top three stories of the day in bite-sized form, just to make your life that bit easier. Time for a coffee break? Check out our three at three. Google has just launched a new IM app Google has just launched a [...]
Say ‘allo to Allo – Google’s WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger rival September 21, 2016 Google is jumping on the messaging bandwagon with a new cockney sounding app called Allo powered by artificial intelligence. The mashup between Apple Siri/iMessage/WhatsApp/Facebook Messenger/Snapchat might seem by some as a little late to the party – Facebook's Messenger and WhatsApp boast one billion users each and they dominate the world of messaging apps. Some suggest there can only be one chat [...]