Twitter changes 140-character limit (giving investors more room to moan about stock falling to fresh lows ) May 24, 2016 Twitter has confirmed speculation that it will no longer count images, links and more within the 140-character limit on tweets, giving you plenty more room to share exactly what you're thinking. For Twitter and its investors, that may not be a good thing, as the troubled social network received another downgrade from a Wall Street analyst, sending shares to an [...]
New broadband entitlements “embarassing” to tech entrepreneurs says Lib Dem peer May 24, 2016 New plans to introduce a right to high-speed broadband service for citizens and businesses fall “embarrassingly” short, according to the Liberal Democrats. Last week's Queen's Speech saw the Government pledge to introduce a new Broadband Universal Service Obligation, giving citizens and businesses the legal right to a fast broadband connection of at least 10Mbps a [...]
Dubai opens the world’s first 3D-printed office building May 24, 2016 Dubai says it has opened the world's first 3D-printed office building – and the emirate wants 25 per cent of its buildings to be printed by 2030. The new, city-centre offices were created using a special mixture of cement, the Dubai government said, with reliability tests carried out in Britain and China. The arc-shaped construction was built in [...]
The Slovakian makers of the 700mph Hyperloop have invented their own super-safe material which is 10 times stronger than steel May 24, 2016 Remember Hyperloop, the 700mph mass transportation system invented by Tesla founder Elon Musk? The technology – which is still at prototype stage – has been seized on by a company in Slovakia, which today announced that it has come up with a new, super-safe material to ensure passenger safety. “Vibranium” may sound suspiciously close to Avatar’s Unobtainium, [...]
Google’s French offices raided over tax May 24, 2016 Google's offices in France have been raided as part of a probe into its taxes by authorities in the country. Tax officials and law enforcement began searching the premises in the heart of Paris early on Tuesday morning, renewing the attention on the corporate tax of large companies which has simmered in ongoing rows this year. The [...]
China just joined a major blockchain consortium May 24, 2016 A Chinese insurer is the latest business to join the major R3 blockchain consortium and the first financial institution in the country to become a member alongside the likes of Barclays, HSBC and Goldman Sachs. Ping An, the second largest insurance firm in China, has joined the group, which was formed late last year to work on [...]
Here’s how Uber wants to solve commuting May 24, 2016 Uber has already revolutionised our late night trips after a night out, but now Uber wants to do the same for your daily commute to work. The boss of the billion dollar startup Travis Kalanick has spoken about one of the bigger plans for the company and the future of commuting – carpooling. "Is there a way that someone could pick [...]
Are Apple’s glory days over? May 24, 2016 It has been among the most innovative companies in the world for decades, but Apple’s star has dimmed recently. It reported its first fall in sales since 2003 – before the iPhone even existed – and was overtaken as the world’s most valuable company again last week by Google’s parent Alphabet, after briefly surpassing it in [...]
Spotify out of tune as revenues soar but losses swell May 23, 2016 Spotify, the world’s biggest music subscription service, saw its revenues rise 80 per cent to €1.95bn (£1.5bn) in 2015. However, the company saw its net losses increase to €173m (£134m) from €162m in 2014. The streaming giant’s revenues soared thanks to a 78 per cent increase in subscriptions to €1.74bn (£113.8bn) while advertising revenues grew [...]
We’re fintech investors, but here’s why we’ll never be based in Silicon Valley May 23, 2016 In 1934, Willie Sutton was asked by FBI agents “why do you rob banks, Willie?”. Sutton replied dryly, “because that's where the money is”. We create rather than rob banks, so why did we set up outside of Silicon Valley, where the tech money is? Because that’s where the banks are. Anthemis is in London, New York and Geneva, [...]