Travel startup Duffel picks up $30m to revitalise outdated airline technology October 28, 2019 Duffel, a London-based startup seeking to provide airlines with a fresh software update, has today closed a $30m (£27.1m) funding round led by Dropbox and Slack investor Index Ventures. Existing investors Benchmark Capital, which has backed the likes of Snap and Uber, and Blossom Capital also participated. Duffel helps travel agencies to connect to airline [...]
Beware the chilling consequences of facial recognition technology on society October 28, 2019 Since the 1950s, researchers have been working towards the holy grail of artificial intelligence (AI). Now, as last week’s Morning Wire feature outlined, recent advances are moving out of the lab and into our daily lives – with disturbing implications. Facial recognition systems, powered by these developments in AI, are spreading into society. This is [...]
The UK has a vital role to play in leading the global fourth industrial revolution October 28, 2019 For nearly a year, my mayoral programme – Shaping Tomorrow’s City Today – has promoted UK innovation and technology, addressed social and digital exclusion, and championed digital skills. And during my recent business delegation visit to Kenya, I saw the great potential that technological innovation offers to individuals and communities seeking financial empowerment. Over the [...]
Zamna raises $5m as it secures deal with IAG for airport security tech October 28, 2019 UK startup Zamna, which develops software to automate airport security checks, has bagged $5m (£3.9m) in funding and confirmed International Airlines Group (IAG) as its first client. The seed funding round was led by venture capital firms Localglobe and Oxford Capital, alongside Seedcamp, the London Co-Investment Fund and O2 parent company Telefonica. Read more: Tory [...]
Virgin Galactic brings space tourism to public markets as New York float beckons October 27, 2019 Investors will get their first chance to buy into a space tourism firm tomorrow, when shares in Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic start trading in New York. The company tied the knot on a merger with a US investment vehicle late on Friday, meaning it will go public when markets open tomorrow, in what its [...]
Microsoft beats Amazon to Pentagon’s $10bn cloud computing contract October 26, 2019 Microsoft has won a cloud-computing contract from the Pentagon worth $10bn (£8bn). The contract is for the Joint Enterprise Defence Infrastructure, dubbed Jedi, is for a 10-year period. Read more: Cloud computing drives Microsoft revenue up The project is aimed at making the US defence department more technologically agile. Amazon had been favourites for the [...]
Facebook announces launch of Facebook News October 25, 2019 Facebook has announced the launch of Facebook News, a new platform that will highlight news based on how relevant it is to individual users. In a blog post, Facebook’s vice president for global news partnerships said “Facebook News was built to bring people closer to the stories that affect their lives. We’ll continue to learn, [...]
Amazon share price slips after first profit drop in two years October 25, 2019 Investors have punished Amazon for a sharp fall in profits, targeting its shares as US markets opened this afternoon. Amazon’s share price fell 2.4 per cent to $1738.2 on the Nasdaq after billionaire Jeff Bezos’ company’s profits fell for the first time in two years yesterday. Read more: Amazon posts first profit drop for two [...]
Tory donor acquires stake in former Virgin Money chief’s fintech startup Snoop October 25, 2019 A Conservative Party donor has acquired a stake in the technology business of former Virgin Money chief executive Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia. Lord Brownlow’s investment vehicle, Havisham assets, has bought a £5m share in Snoop according to Sky News, alongside Salesforce Ventures, which Jayne-Anne recently joined as UK and Ireland chief. Read more: Self-driving startup Fiveai [...]
UK mobile network operators reveal plan to end rural ‘not-spots’ October 25, 2019 The UK’s four mobile network operators have reached an agreement with the government to banish “not-spots” in the countryside where network coverage is poor. Vodafone, O2, EE and Three will spend £532m between them over 20 years, according to plans announced on Friday, with the aim of giving 95 per cent of the UK 4G [...]