Revolut becomes UK’s most valuable fintech after bumper funding round July 15, 2021 Challenger bank Revolut has become the UK’s most valuable fintech company after seeing its valuation surge to $33bn (£24bn) following a fresh funding round. The British fintech favourite has secured $800m in new funding in a round led by Softbank’s Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management. It makes Revolut one of the most valuable fintechs [...]
Exclusive: ‘The recovery is going to be rocky and uneven’, warns fraud fighter Martin Sweeney July 14, 2021 Londoner Martin Sweeney started off at taxi app Hailo as a founding engineer. While there, he worked on a project to predict which orders were likely to be fraudulent. Finding nothing suitable on the market to solve this problem, or at least with the speed or accuracy he and his team wanted, Sweeney and some colleagues decided to [...]
How Fintech can harness the power of big data to redefine market forecasting July 13, 2021 | Sponsored Advances in predictive analytics using machine learning (ML) algorithms and blockchain technology demonstrate how innovations in financial services are challenging traditional systems to inform decisions, improve forecasting accuracy and bring better value to customers. As businesses seek to tap hidden intelligence within huge volumes of raw structured, semi-structured and unstructured data to support financial decision-making, [...]
Alibaba to launch £186m venture fund for startups in Southern China July 13, 2021 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced said today it will launch a HK$2bn (£186m) venture fund to support startups in the Greater Bay Area of southern China. Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) will be an anchor investor for the new fund, which will target startups in the region focusing on sustainability, deep tech, health tech, [...]
Tech professionals urge social media to verify user IDs after Euro 2020 racist abuse July 13, 2021 Social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter should require users to verify their identities following the racist abuse of England players after their Euro 2020 final defeat, according to a group of tech professionals. Despite boycotts and some technical changes from big tech companies, many people still see social media as “a consequence-free playground [...]
UK tech on track for second record-breaking year of Asian investment July 13, 2021 The booming UK tech sector received almost twice the amount of Asian capital in the first six months of 2021 as it did during the whole of 2020, paving the way for a second record year of regional investment. By the end of June, Asian and Middle Eastern investors funnelled over £1.7bn into UK tech [...]
Forward Partners confirms £36.5m AIM listing July 13, 2021 Tech-focused venture capital firm Forward Partners will list on London’s AIM market later this month with a market capitalisation of £134.6m. The firm said that its listing was oversubscribed, and would raise proceeds of £36.5m, which it will use to fund future investments. Blackrock and Draper Espirit are both backing the listing, having committed to [...]
Exclusive: UK fintech firms raise $5.7bn in record-breaking year July 12, 2021 UK fintech firms raised $5.7bn (£4.1bn) in the first six months of the year alone, smashing investment records for the booming sector. The bumper figure outstrips the total investment secured in the whole of 2020 and is more than a quarter higher than the previous annual record of $4.6bn set in 2019. The record-breaking cash [...]
Klarna snaps up London ecommerce tech startup Hero July 11, 2021 Klarna has acquired London-based ecommerce tech startup Hero in a deal worth a reported $160m (£115m). Hero, which was founded in 2015, offers virtual shopping services to retailers and counts Harvey Nichols, Levi, Nike and JD Sports among its clients. Klarna said it will introduce Hero to its 250,000 retail partners, allowing them to access [...]
Exclusive: Rising fintech star and former PayPal tech lead on his new payments venture July 8, 2021 Wise £8bn launch on the London Stock Exchange yesterday underpins how the capital’s fintech scene is booming, with a clear investor appetite for payment platforms such as Wise. Another fintech company in this space that has flourished in the last twelve months is Osu, an instant payments app that was created specifically for the self-employed [...]