France hits Google with €500m fine in news copyright row July 13, 2021 The French competition watchdog has hit Google with a €500m (£427m) fine for failing to comply fully with temporary orders handed down in a copyright row with news publishers. News outlets including Agence France-Presse (AFP) accused the tech giant of failing to open talks “in good faith” to reach an agreement on remuneration for online [...]
British anti-fraud startup Quantexa nears unicorn status after $153m funding round July 13, 2021 Quantexa, a British tech startup specialising in anti-fraud software, is closing in on unicorn status after raising $153m (£110m) in fresh funding. The Series D funding round, led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, values Quantexa at more than $900m. Existing investors including Dawn Capital, Albion VC, HSBC, and ABN AMRO Ventures also contributed to [...]
Forward Partners confirms £36.5m AIM listing July 13, 2021 Tech-focused venture capital firm Forward Partners will list on London’s AIM market later this month with a market capitalisation of £134.6m. The firm said that its listing was oversubscribed, and would raise proceeds of £36.5m, which it will use to fund future investments. Blackrock and Draper Espirit are both backing the listing, having committed to [...]
Cybersecurity firm ECSC grows revenue as pandemic boost continues July 13, 2021 Cybersecurity group ECSC today reported a double-digit rise in revenue for the first half of the year as it continues to cash in on higher demand during the pandemic. The Aim-listed firm said revenue from its managed detection and response division rose 17 per cent to £1.45m in the six months to the end of [...]
Billionaire blues: Tesla’s Elon Musk says he hates his job July 13, 2021 He is one of the richest people in the world and has a vast following on social media, but Tesla boss Elon Musk has revealed he does not like his job. Appearing in a US court the Tesla tycoon said: “I rather hate it and I would much prefer to spend my time on design [...]
US semiconductor firm Achronix scraps $2bn Spac listing July 12, 2021 US semiconductor company Achronix has scrapped its planned $2.1bn (£1.5bn) blank-cheque listing after the deal was held up by regulators. The California-based company inked an agreement in January to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) named Ace Convergence Acquisition Corp. The deal was subject to meeting certain closing conditions, including gaining regulatory approval. [...]
Apple’s two UK divisions pay just £9m in UK corporation tax as sales top £1.1bn July 12, 2021 Apple paid just £9m in tax in the UK last year even as the tech giant weathered the pandemic to pull in sales of more than £1.1bn. In recently filed accounts the iPhone maker’s two UK subsidiaries — Apple Retail UK and Apple UK — posted revenue of £1.1bn and £372m respectively in 2020. Pre-tax [...]
Exclusive: UK fintech firms raise $5.7bn in record-breaking year July 12, 2021 UK fintech firms raised $5.7bn (£4.1bn) in the first six months of the year alone, smashing investment records for the booming sector. The bumper figure outstrips the total investment secured in the whole of 2020 and is more than a quarter higher than the previous annual record of $4.6bn set in 2019. The record-breaking cash [...]
Klarna snaps up London ecommerce tech startup Hero July 11, 2021 Klarna has acquired London-based ecommerce tech startup Hero in a deal worth a reported $160m (£115m). Hero, which was founded in 2015, offers virtual shopping services to retailers and counts Harvey Nichols, Levi, Nike and JD Sports among its clients. Klarna said it will introduce Hero to its 250,000 retail partners, allowing them to access [...]
Huawei chief suffers extradition setback after HSBC documents blocked July 11, 2021 Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou has been dealt a major blow in her extradition case after a judge denied her application to use a trove of HSBC documents as evidence. Meng is facing extradition from Canada to the US on charges of bank fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei’s dealings in Iran, potentially [...]
