Minicab drivers are staging an anti-Uber protest in Westminster November 22, 2016 A fresh anti-Uber protest has hit the capital, aimed at piling more pressure on the Mayor of London to "take action" against the startup. Minicab drivers are staging a protest from Edgware Road, past Transport for London's offices in Victoria and which arrives at Westminster at 2.30pm. Members of drivers union United Private Hire Drivers (UPHD) are calling on Sadiq [...]
Goldman Sachs and Santander have left a major blockchain group November 22, 2016 Goldman Sachs and Santander have both exited one of tech's top blockchain consortiums which is backed by some of the world's biggest financial institutions. Both institutions have quit membership of the R3 group and will not be investing in its latest reported funding round. Santander did not comment on its decision to depart R3, however, it's understood it will [...]
Cloud nine: IBM announces major UK expansion, following Facebook and Google commitments November 22, 2016 IBM has joined fellow US tech giants Facebook and Google in announcing a major multi-million dollar investment into the UK. The company is today announcing plans for four new cloud data centres – where corporate and consumer information is stored remotely – in the UK “to keep pace with growing client demand”. The commitment marks IBM [...]
Google’s Matt Brittin says nobody can afford to ignore the rise of digital November 21, 2016 Nobody can afford to put their head in the sand when it comes to the rise of digital, one of Google's key executives has said today. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference, Matt Brittin, president of EMEA business & operations for Google UK, said: "This is about every business. Every business is a digital [...]
Virtual reality is the future – but it turns my stomach November 21, 2016 I was lucky enough to try out Sony’s new virtual reality (VR) headset this month for its Playstation 4 video game console. It was the first time I had experienced VR since the mid-1990s, in the days of the mega-arcades in London’s Trocadero (now sadly defunct). This new generation of an old concept managed to [...]
Why space still has a reputation problem November 21, 2016 Space is the final frontier when it comes to people's knowledge, a panel of industry experts at the Confederation of British Industry annual conference has said today. The speakers admitted, although personalities like astronaut Tim Peake had helped to make the industry more popular, many people were still unaware of how wide the industry actually was. [...]
That’s far out: UK investment firm launches £80m space tech fund November 21, 2016 A UK investment firm has today launched an £80m space-tech venture fund. Seraphim Capital said the fund, which will focus on early-stage, space-related technology businesses, is the largest of its kind. The company expects to have raised the £80m over the next two quarters, and today announced a £30m investment from the British Business Bank alongside [...]
London needs to stay a welcoming hub for tech, says Facebook exec November 21, 2016 London needs to continue to open its arms to the tech sector, a Facebook exec has said today. Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Facebook, told the audience at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference that it was important to keep looking "outwards and not inwards", adding: "We need to [...]
Ofcom outlines rules for its mobile 4G spectrum auction November 21, 2016 Communications watchdog Ofcom has ruled that BT/EE will not be allowed to participate in one of its upcoming auctions for mobile broadband airwaves. The regulator has set out its rules for next year's auction of 190 MHz of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands – representing more than three-quarters of the 4G [...]
Facebook to create 500 jobs in the UK November 21, 2016 Facebook has said that it will be hiring an additional 500 employees next year when it opens its new base in London. The tech giant will be creating jobs in engineering, marketing, and sales at its new Fitzrovia headquarters. Nicola Mendelson, Facebook's European boss, said: "The UK remains one of the best places to be a tech [...]