London AI startup InstaDeep bought by BionTech in half-a-billion deal January 11, 2023 London based AI startup InstaDeep has been bought out by biotechnology giant BioNTech in a half-a-billion pound deal. InstaDeep focuses on machine learning and artificial intelligence, and has raised nearly £100m across four seed rounds. The deal will allow BioNTech to use InstaDeep’s machine learning to “improve its drug discovery process, including developing personalised treatments tailored [...]
Now that you’re asking where your supplies come from, we should talk. January 11, 2023 As the world faces a shortfall of both energy supplies and critical metals, difficult decisions are being made to meet the growing supply gaps without risking new dependencies on unsustainable producers or compromised geopolitical actors. Quite a problem for some; particularly for a range of European countries and firms in light of the Russian invasion [...]
To ESG or not to ESG, why bother? January 11, 2023 There’s no denying the bombshell declaration of $9.5bn of “socially conscious funds” from ESG investments being tied up in Russian oil companies has come as a predictable shock. Or when ESG ratings company Truvalue Labs gave Sam Bank-Friedman’s FTX crypto enterprise a higher score on ‘leadership and governance’ than Exxon/Mobil. Being neither environmentally nor socially responsible, [...]
Darktrace shares down over 10 per cent after firm cuts revenue forecast January 11, 2023 British cyber-security company Darktrace cut its full-year revenue forecast on Wednesday after prospective customers turned more reluctant to run product trials due to the worsening economic environment. The company, which listed in April 2021, said it now expected its constant currency annual recurring revenue (ARR) to increase by between 29.0 per cent and 31.5 per [...]
City law firms may be forced to make layoffs as UK downturn hits, recruiters say January 11, 2023 The City’s top law firms could soon be set to follow their US counterparts in laying off staff, recruiters have said. The UK’s corporate law firms may be forced to make lawyers redundant due to the wider economic downturn and a lull in M&A activity, recruiters told City A.M. Scot Gibson, director of legal sector [...]
Stop blaming lazy landlords for empty shops and look for the cause not the symptom January 11, 2023 We're blaming landlords for empty high streets because we're too scared to look at the real problem underneath, the falling incomes across the country putting retail in a binds, writes Dominic Curran.
Andrew Bailey and Jerome Powell play down central banks’ climate change role January 10, 2023 Andrew Bailey and Jerome Powell, two of globe’s top rate setters, have today said central banks should only have a limited role in tackling climate change. The chiefs of the Bank of England and US Federal Reserve, speaking at a summit hosted by the Swedish central bank, the first in the world, played down their [...]
Pinsent Masons ramps up its ESG presence with latest acquisition January 10, 2023 Pinsent Masons today acquired sustainable finance consultancy Morgan Green Advisory (MGA) as the London law firm seeks to capitalise on surging demand for ESG advice. The law firm’s acquisition for an undisclosed sum will see MGA’s 25 expert consultants join Pinsent Masons’ 2,500-strong international team. The London firm’s decision to snap up MGA comes as [...]
Pantheon: Investment slump on Bank of England’s rate hikes will deepen UK recession January 10, 2023 The UK recession is set to be powered by businesses slashing investment due to higher interest rates squeezing their finances, City economists have warned. Finance chiefs are “despondent” amid a rapid acceleration in borrowing costs caused by the Bank of England scrambling to tame sky high inflation, Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, [...]
The M3gan dance – what is it and does it live up to the hype? January 10, 2023 New horror-comedy M3gan is out this week, and while it’s an excellent cautionary tale in its own right about the dangers of technology, the thing that has driven the internet into meltdown is a five second dance routine by the film’s robotic psychopath M3gan. The titular robot is an AI housed in the body of [...]