UK businesses face regulatory minefield as EU votes in new Artificial Intelligence Act June 18, 2023 UK businesses must brace themselves to adhere to new EU artificial intelligence (AI) standards if they plan to trade in the bloc, lawyers and industry experts have said. It comes as members of the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly last week to adopt the Artificial Intelligence Act, which aims to encourage “human-centric and trustworthy” AI. Tamara [...]
Sunak defence deal takes off as UK and US launch space rocket June 15, 2023 A new space rocket is catalysing a defence deal struck by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and president Joe Biden between the UK and the US last week. Oxford-based startup Pulsar Fusion and aerospace company Princeton Satellite Systems are joining forces to build a “hyper-fast” rocket which can travel from Earth to Saturn’s moons in under [...]
UK safety tech sector to grow to £1bn by mid-2020s June 15, 2023 Safety tech – technology designed to promote a safer online environment – is experiencing rapid growth in the UK. The UK’s safety tech sector has achieved an annual revenue of £456m, shooting up 20 per cent from this time last year, a new government analysis reveals today. It bottles this success down to greater investment, [...]
Vodafone and Three UK ‘transformative’ merger sparks speculation over CMA approval June 15, 2023 Britain’s competition regulator is set to scrutinise the long-awaited tie-up of Vodafone and Three, announced yesterday. The deal will create the largest mobile network in the UK. Vodafone boss Margherita Della Valle said the merger is “great for customers, great for the country and great for competition”, but commentators warned last night the CMA was [...]
TSB calls on Meta to make ‘urgent’ interventions on fraud or consumers risk losing up to £250m June 14, 2023 TSB Bank has called on Meta to make urgent interventions to protect consumers from spiralling levels of fraud with customers at risk of losing hundreds of millions of pounds. According to current industry projects, consumers could lose up to £250m from Meta platforms in 2023 without action from the tech giant. Earlier this year, TSB [...]
Why British investors are pouring into US tech funds this year June 14, 2023 British do-it-yourself investors are pouring back into tech funds this year in a bid to cash in on a tech-fuelled market rally in the US and Asia.
Britcoin: Digital pound will not be introduced without a Parliamentary vote June 14, 2023 Lawmakers agreed that the digital pound, or ‘Britcoin’, should not be introduced without proper parliamentary scrutiny. Speaking in the House of Lords, Lord Forsyth said the notion that the Treasury and the Bank of England could introduce the digital pound “without having proper parliamentary scrutiny… is utterly ridiculous.” The Bank of England and Treasury are [...]
Vodafone and Three announce long-awaited £15bn UK mega merger June 14, 2023 Vodafone and CK Hutchinson, owner of Three, have announced their long-awaited UK merger today. The new group ‘MergeCo’, now the UK’s biggest mobile operator, was revealed this morning and is valued at £15bn, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. MergeCo is 51 per cent Vodafone owned and 49 per cent CK Hutchinson owned. Vodafone chief [...]
Tech Week Day Two: Lack of diversity remains a black mark on UK tech’s track record of success June 13, 2023 In the last decade, London’s tech ecosystem has grown to encompass a diverse set of verticals: from AI, to fintech, climate tech and crypto. However, when it comes to improving the diversity of the people who make up the capital’s tech industry, progress has been slower. While many UK tech companies publicly say diversity is [...]
Tech experts support UN calls for global AI watchdog June 13, 2023 Tech experts have voiced their share in concerns over the safety of artificial intelligence (AI) this week, following world leaders’ calls for a global regulator. Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), declared on Monday that he “would be favourable to the idea that we could have an artificial intelligence agency”, suggesting it could [...]