The GranTurismo MC is the last hurrah for Maserati’s ageing V8-engined coupe. Tim Pitt drives it June 12, 2018 When the Maserati GranTurismo was launched, Tony Blair was in 10 Downing Street, Jade Goody was in the Big Brother house and the iPhone remained a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye. Now, as this Italian stallion nears retirement age, Maserati has given it one last update to take on the ever-growing ranks of six-figure sports [...]
UK venture capital firm Ascension Ventures launches cross-border effort for the first state-backed UK-India tech fund June 12, 2018 London-based early stage venture capital firm Ascension Ventures has announced a joint venture with Unicorn India Ventures (UIV), launching the first UK-India Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) Fund. Known as the Unicorn Ascension EIS Fund (UAF), it will leverage the EIS tax relief wrapper to enable investment into UK-based technology scale-ups which hold a focus on [...]
AI-powered language learning startup Memrise raises $15.5m in series B funding June 11, 2018 Memrise, a language learning app powered by machine learning, has closed a $15.5m (£11.5m) series B funding round, led by Octopus Ventures and Korelya Capital. Additional participation came from existing investors Avalon Ventures and Balderton Capital, which was recently listed as one of the top 10 unicorn-making funds in Europe. Its valuation is still under [...]
Google is misusing GDPR to gain more control and may provoke a backlash from its clients June 11, 2018 The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has driven numerous privacy policy updates and shifts in the way many businesses operate, including Google. But there are increasing concerns that some of the changes made by the tech giant aren’t just to meet compliance requirements, but instead are anti-competitive actions that expand its monopolistic [...]
The UK has been crowned the tech unicorn capital of Europe, home to over a third of the continent’s billion dollar startups June 11, 2018 The UK has established itself as Europe's tech powerhouse, playing home to 37 per cent of Europe’s unicorn-status tech firms and topping the list of global destinations for tech talent. With London Tech Week kicking off today, new figures show the UK claims 13 of Europe’s 34 unicorns – referring to companies with a $1bn [...]
Premier League overseas TV rights: English top flight makes concessions to Big Six but still treads carefully June 7, 2018 You would be forgiven for missing it but, muffled somewhat by the noise surrounding Amazon’s purchase of a Premier League broadcast package and the news of chief executive Richard Scudamore’s imminent departure, today saw another significant announcement regarding English football’s top division. From the 2019-20 season, when the next set of broadcast contracts takes effect, [...]
Cyber warriors – the frontline defence against digital attacks June 7, 2018 COMPUTER hacking, ransomware, data breaches, fraud: cyber crime is a bigger problem than ever, and is a concern for everyone, from the humble consumer to the largest of corporations. Cyber warfare has even emerged as the latest military battleground – attacks on government agencies have increased, and both China and Russia have been accused of [...]
Cyber warriors and digital crime – chief information officers reveal what is keeping them awake at night in new survey June 7, 2018 Computer hacking, ransomware, data breaches, fraud: cyber crime is a bigger problem than ever, and is a concern for everyone, from the humble consumer to the largest of corporations. Cyber warfare has even emerged as the latest military battleground – attacks on government agencies have increased, and both China and Russia have been accused of [...]
Delivery Hero and Blue Apron investor Target Global launches $100m tech fund to find the next Uber June 6, 2018 German venture capital fund Target Global has launched a $100m (£74.7m) tech fund with a focus on innovation in mobility and transportation. With investments to be spread across startups in Europe and Israel, the fund is set to run indefinitely and can deploy up to $300m in capital, satisfying investor need for long-term interest in [...]
Hold tight when volatility strikes June 6, 2018 Ouch! At the end of March the FTSE 100 had its worst day since the end of 2016. The rally since then, however, demonstrates that you should fight the urge to sell during these short pullbacks. Bull markets die with a whimper, not a bang. Big bounces usually follow sudden selloffs. This was classic correction-type [...]