Would libra have more success if it wasn’t launched by Facebook? November 11, 2019 At the World Blockchain Forum in September, one of the speakers asked who in the audience thought that libra was likely to succeed in taking cryptocurrencies mainstream. About half the room raised their hands. He then continued: “Who wants it to be Facebook that achieves this?” All hands were hastily lowered. It comes as no [...]
London startup founded by NHS manager secures £9.1m injection November 11, 2019 Visionable, a healthtech startup co-founded by a former NHS manager and independent peer Lord Victor Adebowale, has today revealed its series A funding round at £9.1m. The raise was led by West Hill Capital, which valued the business at £47.6m. Visionable provides doctors, paramedics and others in the NHS with video conferencing software specifically designed [...]
The legacy of the Berlin Wall is the city’s thriving tech scene November 8, 2019 Tomorrow marks the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, arguably the most symbolic political moment of the post-war twentieth century. On 9 November 1989, tens of thousands of people flooded across a barrier that had divided ideologies for 28 years. The German capital was transformed. Anniversaries like this are important because they [...]
Revealed: The 50 fastest growing tech companies in the UK November 8, 2019 Firms based in London dominate a new ranking of the 50 fastest growing tech companies in the UK. Fintech bank Revolut took poll position as the technology firm with the quickest revenue expansion in the index, compiled by audit firm Deloitte. Read more: Gocardless and Transferwise join forces for global recurring payments service Revolut racked [...]
Update UK electoral law on political ads, says Facebook November 7, 2019 Facebook has called for UK politicians to regulate online political adverts, and said Britain’s electoral law “needs to be brought into the 21st century” as they defended the social media giant’s controversial decision to allow political adverts on its platform. Head of UK public policy Rebecca Stimson said Facebook was “better prepared than ever before” [...]
Dirty data deals on the dark web are a risk to business November 7, 2019 Five years ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who had even heard of the dark web. Now this realm of mystery is the topic of books and films – not to mention daily headlines alongside news on the latest cyber breach. It’s got a reputation as the “go to” place for buying anything illegal, [...]
Printer maker Xerox ‘in $33bn bid for HP’ November 6, 2019 US printer maker Xerox has made a roughly $33bn (£25.7bn) cash-and-stock offer for personal computer maker HP, a move on a company more than three times its size, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Five days ago Enrique Lores, previously the president of HP’s imaging and printing business, officially took over as its [...]
Qualcomm’s upbeat profit forecast, results send shares higher November 6, 2019 Qualcomm has forecast current-quarter profit above Wall Street expectations and beaten estimates for fourth-quarter revenue from its closely watched licensing business, sending its shares up five per cent in extended trading. The world’s biggest supplier of mobile phone chips expects between 1.75bn and 1.85bn smart devices with modem chips, including 175m to 225m 5G handsets, [...]
Airbnb has promised to verify all of its properties – 11 years after it was founded November 6, 2019 Airbnb has said it will verify all properties on its website, after an investigation uncovered a series of scam listings. Last month, Vice News revealed a string of false or misleading rental properties posted on the platform. The tech company said it would review every property by December next year. It also said it would [...]
California demands Facebook hand over documents in state investigation November 6, 2019 California is investigating Facebook’s disclosure of user data to Cambridge Analytica, it emerged in a court filing demanding the firm respond to a subpoena. Facebook is already being investigated by 47 states in the US. Some have raised concerns that Facebook and other tech giants engage in anti-competitive practices, expose consumer data to thieves and [...]