Uber loses $1bn in first quarterly results since stock market float May 30, 2019 Uber has reported a $1bn (£790m) loss in its first quarterly financial report as a public company, despite revenue rising by one-fifth. Read more: Uber partners with insurtech start-up to offer digital insurance The loss will not come as a surprise to investors in the ride-hailing giant, after it already predicted the figure in a [...]
Mark Zuckerberg survives shareholder revolt at annual Facebook meeting May 30, 2019 Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has survived a shareholder revolt which sought to strip him of his chairman title, and reduce his monopoly over the firm's controlling shares. Zuckerberg owns 60 per cent of Facebook's voting shares, and acts as both its chief executive and chairman. Other motions, which requested the breakup of Facebook as a [...]
Bristol scaleup Ultrahaptics buys US augmented reality rival for $30m May 30, 2019 Bristol-based firm Ultrahaptics has acquired one of its main Silicon Valley rivals in a deal valued at $30m (£23.8m). Leap Motion, which specialises in hand-tracking technology, will join Ultrahaptics, bringing over its staff and technology to the combined group. The two companies had been partnered for almost six years before the tie-up. Ultrahaptics' technology projects [...]
Not clear UK has reached final verdict on Huawei, states US national security adviser May 30, 2019 US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser has said it is not clear the UK has reached a final decision on its policy towards Huawei. “I’m not sure that this decision has reached the prime ministerial level in final form. I mean we are still talking… people are talking back and forth,” John Bolton told [...]
Apple, Google and Whatsapp slam GCHQ over ‘ghost’ eavesdropping plans May 30, 2019 Major tech giants including Apple, Google and Whatsapp have launched a searing criticism of government plans to spy on encrypted messages, warning of “serious threats” to cybersecurity and human rights. In an open letter published today almost 50 companies, civil society groups and policy experts urged GCHQ to drop proposals that would see law enforcement [...]
Welcome to the future: EE 5G lands in London and five other UK cities May 30, 2019 EE’s 5G network went live in six cities today, bringing the new technology to the UK for the first time. Read more: EE and Vodafone ditch Huawei devices from summer 5G rollout London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Belfast are the first locations to benefit from the new mobile network, which will offer users data speeds [...]
City fintech Yapily scores $5.4m from Transferwise founders and Localglobe May 30, 2019 London fintech startup Yapily has closed $5.4m (£4.3m) in seed funding from King’s Cross-based venture capital firm Localglobe and HZ Holtzbrinck Ventures. Other investors included Transferwise co-founders Taavet Hinrikus and Ott Kaukver, and C-suite executives from Twilio and Unicredit. Read more: Transferwise is Europe's most valuable fintech at $3.5bn Yapily will use the funding to [...]
Uber partners with insurtech startup to offer digital insurance May 30, 2019 Ride sharing giant Uber has struck a deal with a US insurtech startup to offer digital insurance for its drivers. Inshur uses information about average trips, locations and driver ratings in near real-time to calculate the price of the driver’s policy. Read more: Uber facing £1bn VAT tax bill after HMRC opens investigation The startup [...]
Microsoft to open first UK store in London, one minute away from Apple’s Oxford Circus store May 30, 2019 Microsoft has announced it will open a UK flagship store in London this summer. The tech giant’s first physical UK store will open in Regent Street on 11 July, just a one minute walk away from Apple’s London flagship branch. Read more: Stockwatch: When you should buy Amazon and Microsoft The branch near Oxford Circus [...]
Online harms proposals will damage UK tech sector, tech giants warn May 30, 2019 Government plans to crack down on social media firms over the growing problem of online harms are unclear and will damage the UK’s digital sector, tech giants have warned. A scathing new report, seen exclusively by City PM and authored by the Internet Association (IA), which represents online firms including Google, Facebook and Twitter, has outlined a string [...]
