Universally Challenged: Oxford University turns on under-fire Chinese tech giant Huawei January 17, 2019 Oxford University said last night it was suspending donations from Huawei following widespread concern over the Chinese tech firm’s practices. The university said it had decided on 8 January that it will “not pursue” new funding opportunities with the firm “at present". “Huawei has been notified of the decision, which the university will keep under review. [...]
Flawed cyber insurance policies could lead to years of litigation January 17, 2019 The majority of cyber insurance policies on the market are riddled with flaws and may not pay out in the event of a data breach or hack, according to new research. A review by insurance governance company Mactavish of dozens of off-the-shelf cyber policies identified a litany of flaws. Mactavish chief executive Bruce Hepburn said: [...]
Consultants ‘braver’ about challenging clients who treat women inappropriately, says PwC January 17, 2019 Advisers are “getting braver about…calling out our clients” who act inappropriately towards female consultants, a partner at PwC told a tech industry event in east London today. The partnership at PwC gets “incensed” when client chief executives shout at female partners, said Mads Thomson, who leads the the professional services firm’s technology consulting business in [...]
Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss: Snoop Dogg invests in Swedish fintech unicorn Klarna January 17, 2019 Rapper Snoop Dogg has invested in $2.5bn (£1.94bn) Swedish fintech company Klarna, it emerged today. The rapper, famed for hits such as Gin & Juice, From tha Chuuuch to da Palace and Ain't Nuthin but a G Thang, has more lately reinvented himself as an investor, playing a role in specialist cannabis venture capital firm [...]
Funding Circle beats revenue growth forecasts three months on from IPO January 17, 2019 Small business lender Funding Circle has beaten its forecasts for revenue growth and loans under management three months after a disappointing debut on the London Stock Exchange. The company hit revenue growth of 55 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018, exceeding the 50 per cent guidance which was estimated at the time of its [...]
Sage shares climb as accounting software firm makes progress on journey into the clouds January 17, 2019 Sage's share price climbed this morning as it released fresh evidence that its transition to the cloud is well underway. The accounting software firm saw group organic revenue grow by 7.6 per cent to £465m for the three months to the end of December, sending shares up 7.4 per cent to 636.8p in early morning trading. [...]
DEBATE: With Nike coming up with new self-lacing trainers, is this really a good use of tech talent? January 17, 2019 With Nike coming up with new self-lacing trainers, is this really a good use of tech talent? Rowan Kisby, strategy director at digital transformation agency MullenLowe Profero, says YES. This is a much more interesting story than simply the link to those Nike shoes worn in the 1989 Back To The Future sequel. Because this [...]
Don’t lose steam now, stay on top of your resolutions with the best health and fitness gadgets of 2019 January 16, 2019 Nike Adapt $350, nike.com Under immense pressure from fans of Back to the Future, Nike launched the first iteration of its prototype self-lacing shoes in 2016. Version two is more refined, allowing the wearer to adjust the fit using their phone. It’s pitched to basketball players, who change the fit of their shoe throughout a [...]
Facebook to toughen up rules on political ads in countries with major elections January 16, 2019 Social media giant Facebook has said it will toughen up existing rules on political advertising in all countries facing major elections this year, following scrutiny surrounding ads on its platform during previous events. The firm said today that it will also expand some of its tools for curbing election inference, with Nigeria, India, Ukraine and the [...]
Pokemon Go creator Niantic valued at $4bn after latest fundraise January 16, 2019 Niantic, the company behind the popular mobile game Pokemon Go, has been valued at nearly $4bn (£3.1bn) after raising $245m in a new round of financing. The series C funding round was led by IVP, which has previously backed the likes of Uber, Netflix, Dropbox and Slack. Additional investment came from Axiomatic Gaming, Battery Ventures, Causeway Media Partners, CRV [...]