The three biggest post-Brexit risks to the UK digital economy January 24, 2017 The UK's digital industries are at risk after Brexit if access to markets, talent and the free flow of data across borders are not secured in government negotiations, a leading trade body has warned. The digital industries accounts for 16 per cent of domestic output, produces nearly a quarter of all exports and generates 10 per [...]
Alibaba reports bumper revenues as Singles’ Day sales steal hearts January 24, 2017 China's biggest e-commerce company Alibaba had a bumper 2016 with a better-than-expected 54 percent rise in third-quarter revenue. The figures Alibaba's revenue hit 53.25bn yuan (£6.16bn) for the three months ended 31 December, compared with analysts' average estimate of 50.10bn yuan. The tech giant's e-commerce business boomed 45 per cent, up from the 41 per cent jump in the previous [...]
Hungry House is partnering with a startup to help takeaways deliver more January 24, 2017 Takeaway firm Hungry House is helping restaurants deliver more food to customers when they experience high demand at peak times. The firm, gobbled up by Just Eat in a £200m deal in December, has partnered with logistics startup Quiqup to offer additional delivery drivers to restaurants when they experience high demand. Read more: Just Eat snaps [...]
Boohoo for Yahoo as SEC begins probe into cyber breach January 23, 2017 Tech giant Yahoo is being scrutinised in an investigation by the the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over whether it should have reported data breaches sooner to investors. In December, Yahoo admitted it was a target of a cyber attack in August 2013 in which data of more than one billion users was compromised. In September, the [...]
Softbank-owned Sprint is buying a stake in Jay Z’s Tidal January 23, 2017 Jay Z's music streaming service Tidal, a smaller rival to Spotify and Apple Music, has a new investor. Softbank-owned US telecoms firm Sprint has snapped up a 33 per cent stake in the company which the rapper acquired two years ago. That means 45m Sprint customers will now have "unlimited access" to the platform's exclusive music. Read more: The [...]
Here’s what UK tech thinks of Theresa May’s modern industrial strategy January 23, 2017 The UK's tech industry has tentatively welcomed promises by Theresa May to put the sector at the heart of Britain's modern industrial strategy, with funding promised for top artificial intelligence, robotics, 5G and smart energy technologies. “In today’s economy, the tech sector is driving innovation and boosting productivity across all industries. In tomorrow’s economy, every sector [...]
A new app has launched to solve that ever awkward question: “Should I give up my seat on the Tube?” January 23, 2017 Many of us have had the awkward moment of hovering awkwardly out of a Tube seat. To offer or not to offer? Does that person need a seat? Well, fear not, hesitant commuters. For a new app launches today aimed at helping pregnant women specifically get seats on public transport. It's called Babee on Board. [...]
Blame it on the batteries: Samsung says battery faults caused Galaxy Note 7 fires January 23, 2017 After some intense investigation, Samsung has announced the reason behind its exploding Galaxy Note 7 phones. It was lithium-ion batteries that caused the problems, causing the mobiles to overheat and catch fire – leading to the global recall of millions of devices and scrapping production of the model altogether. The incident was a costly one, [...]
Startup taking the hassle out of mortgages, Habito, has landed millions in new funding January 23, 2017 A property technology startup which helps find homebuyers the best deal on their mortgage online via a chatbot has raised a new multi-million pound round of funding to support its growth, City A.M can exclusively reveal. Habito, already backed by seed capital from the entrepreneurs behind Transferwise and Funding Circle, has landed a further £5.5m of cash led by [...]
David Harrison, co-founder of Positive Solutions and True Potential, talks tin baths, skinny men with beards, Boris and why we need a Super Isa January 23, 2017 An article was doing the rounds on Twitter last week: Don’t let Boris Wooster bugger up Brexit. This is how David Harrison, founder of two multi-million pound financial services firms and former builder, feels about our irrepressible foreign secretary. “He’s not helping Theresa, is he? A loose cannon who walks on sounding like he’s just [...]
