The French Touch Abounds in Tech January 18, 2017 The French tech scene has the most active sovereign wealth funds in the world, according to research firm, CB Insights. Two French funds make the top half of the top-ten, which also includes state funds from Singapore, Malaysia, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and China. France’s Banque Publique d’Investissement (Bpifrance) sits atop the list as the [...]
This patent is a major hint Amazon’s entering the self-driving vehicle race January 18, 2017 Amazon appears to be the latest tech giant jumping into the driverless car race, as a new patent for the technology made by the retailer-turned-transport innovator has been uncovered. The designs, first reported by ReCode, are for a "roadway management system" which "can determine the direction of travel for lanes in a roadway and direct autonomous automobiles [...]
Tech unicorn Deliveroo is planning to create hundreds of new jobs January 18, 2017 UK tech unicorn Deliveroo is planning to create hundreds of new jobs in London as it grows its business globally. The food delivery company will create more than 300 new positions, many of which it said will be in highly-skilled senior technical roles in areas such as software and hardware engineering, behavioural economics and algorithm development. The additions [...]
Juventus unveil new club logo to embrace wider audience of “children, women and millennials” January 17, 2017 Juventus say their new logo "shouldn't be seen as a logo, but as a brand". (Source: Getty) Italian champions Juventus have unveiled a new minimalist club crest which they claim will help attract new followers amongst "children, women and millennials". Club president Andrea Agnelli described the logo, which has received a mixed reaction amongst fans on social media, as [...]
Want to skip congestion? Airbus is working on it with its flying car prototype January 17, 2017 Gridlocked roads and congestion might be a signature of busy cities, but Airbus hopes it'll have a way to circumvent that – sooner rather than later. The aerospace giant has said it's got plans to test a prototype of a self-piloted flying car by the end of the year. It got the wheels – or wings [...]
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 [...]
Donald Trump’s business meddling: Crony capitalism to a Tea January 17, 2017 To understand why many large businesses and pro-market US policy wonks are anxious about a Donald Trump presidency, one has to understand the lessons of the Tea Party. No, not the recent grassroots phenomenon caricatured in the UK media. I’m talking about the Boston Tea Party of 1773 – in which American colonists, belonging to [...]
Why Elon Musk’s next SpaceX rocket launch is the most important yet January 13, 2017 For investors in the next generation of energy and in the emerging next-gen aerospace field, SpaceX’s story is a useful lesson. It has been a tough three months for SpaceX. The company has tremendous pressure after the failure of their launch last September. The orbital launch business is brutally competitive and with SpaceX trying to [...]
Manchester United and Uber strike multi-year deal to provide Old Trafford taxi stop for fans January 12, 2017 Manchester United have become Uber’s first ever global sports partner, after the Silicon Valley firm struck a multi-year deal providing it with designated travel routes to Old Trafford. The taxi-hailing app will “enhance fans’ match-day experience at Old Trafford” according to United, who will set up an Uber-dedicated pick-up and drop off zone outside their stadium [...]