Sweden bids to prise financial services power from UK after Brexit as minister visits Citigroup and fintech firms in London March 12, 2017 Sweden is the latest European country making a push to win financial services power after Brexit, having sent a minister to London to woo fintech firms and a major Wall Street bank. Per Bolund, the country’s financial markets minister, visited fintech incubator Level 39 in Canary Wharf on Friday before hosting more than a dozen more [...]
Google’s DeepMind is in talks with National Grid to apply artificial intelligence to energy use March 12, 2017 The Google-owned star British artificial intelligence company DeepMind is in talks with the National Grid about a potential partnership, with the possibility of using the technology to make the supply of energy across the UK more efficient. “There's huge potential for predictive machine learning technology to help energy systems reduce their environmental impact," said a spokesperson for the [...]
Three major problems with the modern internet keeping Tim Berners-Lee up at night March 12, 2017 Personal data, misinformation (or as it's now been dubbed, fake news) and online political advertising: these are the three major problems of the modern internet that keep the inventor of the World Wide Web up at night. Sir Tim Berners-Lee has shared his thoughts on the 28th anniversary of the day he submitted his proposal for [...]
Airbnb valued at $30bn after China’s sovereign wealth fund invests $100m March 11, 2017 China's sovereign wealth fund has invested $100m (£82m) in hipster room-sharing app Airbnb. The investment by the China Investment Corporation (CIC) values the tech company at $30bn, Sky News has reported, and accounts for around 10 per cent of a $1bn funding round from Airbnb. The valuation puts Airbnb ahead of Twitter, which is valued at around [...]
How are these five influential women revolutionising the UK tech sector? March 10, 2017 | City Talk Digital tech: it’s a man’s world right? Lei Jun, Mark Zurkerberg and Bill Gates – all tech testosterone flowing through the veins of the global digital revolution. But what about in the UK? In solidarity with International Women’s Day on March 8th, more females than ever are becoming the beating heart and soul of the sector. So [...]
There’s huge demand for apprenticeships defending the country’s most important assets against cyber attacks March 10, 2017 A fresh apprenticeship scheme training a new generation of security experts to defend the country's most important assets against cyber attacks has been subject to unprecedented demand. More than 1,000 youngsters applied for just 23 cyber security apprentice roles – more than 50 for each place – in businesses which are in charge of some of the UK's most critical [...]
London Assembly members have sided with Uber over English language tests and want the mayor Sadiq Khan to drop written plans March 9, 2017 London Assembly members have sided with Uber in the battle over English language tests, despite Transport for London triumphing in court last week. The majority of members have backed a motion calling on the mayor Sadiq Khan to ditch the requirements for written tests for Uber and other minicab drivers due to the disproportionate and unfair [...]
The UK’s City regulator will work with Japan on fintech startup collaboration March 9, 2017 The City watchdog is searching beyond Europe for fintech ties after Brexit and has its sights set on Japan for its latest bridge. The Financial Conduct Authority and it counterpart in Japan, the Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA), will work together on promoting fintech innovation and collaboration. But the agreement also means that UK fintechs [...]
London’s tech firms are starting to tackle the industry’s diversity problem by changing up their hiring approach March 9, 2017 The capital’s tech businesses are taking steps to address the industry’s diversity problem, according to a new survey by Tech London Advocates (TLA). This month, the independent network of over 4,300 tech experts and leaders in London carried out a study into how the industry is approaching gender diversity. Of the 210 senior leaders from TLA [...]
Cyber Security in a Transport Revolution March 9, 2017 The transport industry is undergoing a technological revolution driven by connectivity, Big Data, autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Driverless cars are on the horizon and the Internet of Things is being developed throughout our current transport infrastructure. However, these technologies pose some significant issues, particularly in the area of cyber security. To address some of [...]