Terrible Thursday for Darktrace as shares nosedive by 25 per cent after private equity walks away Shares now well below IPO peaks Darktrace share price jumped sharply on reports last month that it is in talks with private equity fund Thoma Bravo, although no figure was attributed to the discussions. However, this morning it was confirmed that these talks had ended with no prospect of an offer being made in the near future, although the option was [...]
The over-hyped madness of the metaverse and the forgotten value of video long read The metaverse and Virtual Reality have had the weight of a number of large big technology companies behind it in the last year, spearheaded by the likes of Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. Not only did the industry see its proliferation increase substantially over the pandemic, but the hype has yet to deter, particularly with speculation [...]
UK startup firm Codebase to receive £42m in public money to launch network of tech hubs Mega contract A British tech company is being given up to £42m from the Scottish Government to create a network of tech industry hubs. Codebase is being given the contract, which is described as one of the government’s largest ever investments in entrepreneurship. The hubs are designed to allow start-up businesses to scale up and access advice [...]
Exclusive: Oxylabs CEO on why controversial web scraping is coming out from the shadows July 12, 2022 The world’s largest and most progressive companies depend on web scraping, a technology that allows large-scale public online data gathering. Web scraping allows them getting deep knowledge of the market they are operating in, it is behind the competitor analysis and even influences product assortment. However, the potential of web scraping remains untapped – many [...]
Exclusive: London fintech Revolut launches first card reader in venture into physical retail July 5, 2022 London fintech Revolut is making its first venture into physical devices with the launch of a card reader for shops and restaurants. Revolut, which now caters to a global customer base of 18m and garnered a $33bn valuation in its latest funding round, told City A.M. it was launching the device in UK and Ireland. [...]
Shoppers offered shares: WeShop races towards IPO as British tech star launches world’s first community-owned e-com platform July 4, 2022 The world’s first community-owned social ecommerce platform has gone live, offering shoppers shares in the group every time they make a purchase. The new platform, launched by British tech star WeShop is launching itself, plans to give away up to 90 per cent of its business to shoppers, and aims to list on the Nasdaq [...]
Tech week a chance to celebrate London and the City’s most powerful urge: competition June 13, 2022 It is more than a little tempting to think at the moment that nothing in Britain works very well. Anybody with tickets to the Rolling Stones or the cricket in Headingley next week will face a rail strike, families looking to get away for a well-deserved break will need to carry a week’s supplies just [...]
Govt buys UK’s first-ever quantum computer in ‘milestone moment’ for Ministry of Defence June 9, 2022 The Government’s first quantum computer has been acquired by the Ministry of Defence. The machines are able to rapidly make highly complex calculations that cannot be done by regular computers. The BBC said the ministry will work with London-based firm Orca Computing on applying the computers to defence applications. It marked a “milestone moment”, according [...]
Exclusive: London is the Silicon Valley of Europe, but ‘can not afford to sit on its tech laurels’ May 30, 2022 Forbes heralded London recently as the Silicon Valley of Europe as the capital proved to be “Brexit-proof” with around 18,500 new startups registering in 2021 alone. Although hybrid working has been adopted by many companies, London remains a place where giants such as Google, with its King’s Cross ‘landscraper’, nestle with newer companies such as fintech boomer Revolut, [...]
City exclusive: Cordiant Capital’s co-CEO on how to make money in the crowded world of digital infrastructure May 19, 2022 Amid an increased focus on digital infrastructure, data transfers and online storage in practically every market around the world, investment giant Cordiant Capital listed its Cordian Digital Infrastructure arm in London last year. Time for City A.M. to catch up with Benn Mikula, co-CEO and managing partner at Cordiant Capital, to see how things are [...]