Drone racing: fast, furious and invisible to the human eye April 20, 2016 Last Wednesday, in front of an audience of literally dozens of tech journalists, Wembley Stadium played host to its inaugural drone race, organised by 4G telecoms giant EE and computer-chip wizards Qualcomm. Four tiny and remote controlled quadcopter drones zipped around the arena’s cavernous stands, piloted by an international squad of competing pilots, each deftly navigating [...]
The Silicon Valley slowdown comes to Europe: IPOs, M&A and investment fell at the start of the year April 20, 2016 The year started off with several high profile tech deals in the UK, however investment in venture-backed startups across the continent fell and M&A and IPOs fizzled out. Here are the six things you need to know about VC investment right now. 1. Investment falls Investment across Europe plummeted at the start of the year, the latest figures from [...]
EU referendum: Hundreds of tech startups and entrepreneurs have signed this Brexit open letter April 20, 2016 Hundreds of entrepreneurs and founders of tech startups in the UK have warned that Brexit risks undermining their businesses and would be “hugely damaging”. The founders of many of the Britain’s hottest startups such as Deliveroo, Digital Shadows, Transferwise and Blippar along with well known entrepreneurs including newly appointed Twitter board member Martha Lane Fox and Arnaud Massenet, founder of [...]
Powa unicorn remains bought by Israeli tech firm April 20, 2016 The final remains of failed so-called unicorn tech startup Powa Technologies has been sold off to an Israeli tech firm weeks after collapsing into administration. Nasdaq-listed Supercom has been revealed as the buyer of PowaPOS, the last remaining business of the three that made up Powa, for an undisclosed sum. It's understood, however, that PowaPOS went for around just [...]
Soccer stock market Football INDEX raises £500,000 in just two weeks April 20, 2016 The first "football stock exchange", Football INDEX, has raised £500,000 investment as part of a crowdfunding fundraise. Football INDEX, launched by Jersey-based gambling operator BetIndex Ltd, launched six months ago and currently boasts of 13,000 active traders who have deposited £800,000 in six months. The platform operates like a futures market in allowing fans to bet on [...]
Europe vs Google: EU accuses Google of breaking antitrust rules with Android April 20, 2016 Brussels has accused Google of violating antitrust rules in Europe via its Android operating system. The European Competition Commission has filed formal charges against the company, which it believes "implemented a strategy" on mobile that favoured its own search. Competition chief Margrethe Vestager said: "A competitive mobile internet sector is increasingly important for consumers and businesses in Europe. Based [...]
ARM Holdings share price surges as it shakes off smartphone struggles with profit rise April 20, 2016 UK chip maker ARM has shaken off that smartphone slowdown with expectation-busting first quarter results. The figures Pre-tax profit surged 14 per cent to £137.5m in the three months to the end of March on revenues of £276.4m, a rise of 22 per cent and slightly ahead of expectation. It shipped 4.1bn chips, up 10 [...]
Intel shares drop three per cent in after hours as tech company announces plans to cut 11 per cent of its global workforce April 19, 2016 Tech giant Intel has announced it plans to cut 12,000 jobs globally – equal to around 11 per cent of its workforce. Intel announced the job losses in its results for the first quarter of 2016, and said it had made the decision based on its plans to refocus on its data centre business as [...]
More proof Apple’s iPhone sales are stalling April 19, 2016 Have we reached peak Apple? The tech firm warned at the start of the year that its sales would slow, and now new research is out showing that has indeed come to pass. Shipments fell more than 43 per cent to 42m at the start of the year from 75m at the end of 2015, according to research [...]
Netflix share price tumbles on subscription slowdown, sparking takeover speculation April 19, 2016 Shares in Netflix have tumbled like a house of cards, down more than 10 per cent after subscriber numbers failed to hit estimates – indicating a slowdown in growth. The streaming service forecast half a million new additions to its service in the US by June, and two million around the rest of the world, below [...]
