The Amazon Echo is an artificially intelligent speaker and virtual assistant that can play music, order curries and hail an Uber September 14, 2016 The Amazon Echo is a hands-free speaker that you operate using voice commands. Inside it (well, somewhere in the cloud to be precise) lives Alexa, an artificial intelligence and essentially Amazon’s version of Siri. Alexa’s machine-learning algorithms and rapidly expanding skillset make her smarter as time goes on: so while today she can play music, [...]
Uber is merging its China business with arch rival Didi Chuxing August 1, 2016 Ride-hailing app Uber is merging its Chinese operations with its biggest rival in the region, Didi Chuxing, signalling an end to a long-standing and expensive rivalry. Didi has confirmed earlier reports of a deal between the two, saying it will acquire Uber's China assets. In return, Uber will take a 17.7 per cent stake in Didi, while Uber China's shareholders [...]
Consumers want regulation – and Uber shows why markets regulate better than the state August 15, 2016 Waiting in the sweltering heat of Washington, DC for 10 minutes for an Uber, I was desperate to get into an air conditioned car. So when one pulled up right in front of me bearing the Uber sticker, my immediate reaction was relief. It was five minutes into the journey, when I glanced at the [...]
From Xero to Hero: Gary Turner has his head in the cloud December 4, 2017 It is the dream of every startup to overtake the incumbent, dominant player in its field. Facebook swallowed Myspace; Uber is usurping taxis; Spotifykilled the CD. London’s fintechs are chipping away at just about every area of financial services. We are witnessing an era of great technological change. Some of the present disruption is quite [...]
Uber commissioned research says Uber is not the source of London congestion May 18, 2016 Uber is often blamed for London's congestion, as the city grinds slower and slower to a standstill. But it's not Uber's fault… according to research commissioned by Uber. The research has looked into why London is now the most congested city in Europe, and found the problem is due to e-commerce. How? The research shows that demand [...]
UberEats has arrived in London June 16, 2016 Not only is Uber disrupting the way we travel, it's eyeing up the way we eat too. Now Londoners will be able to get food delivered from top restaurants straight to their door via an app in exactly the same way they now order a car. The separate UberEats app will let users order from a [...]
UberEats drivers to protest against pay cuts after Deliveroo takes action on pay structure August 26, 2016 UberEats drivers are to protest today against cuts to their pay, just after staff at rival business Deliveroo took action over changes to their own pay structure. UberEats, Uber's fast food delivery service, was launched in a bid to challenge Deliveroo's newly established dominance of parts of the UK's takeaway market, with both firms offering to deliver food from restaurants that [...]
Five things you need to know about the Uber Didi Chuxing deal August 1, 2016 Uber and Didi have thrown in the towel on their costly rivalry with a deal to merge in China, worth a reported $35bn. Here's what you need to know. 1. Profits matter Uber was burning more than $1bn a year on its Chinese operations, becoming its largest market, but not making any profit from it. That's what boss Travis Kalanick [...]
Taxi drivers to protest outside the Evening Standard’s offices over George Osborne’s appointment as editor May 2, 2017 London cabbies are planning to demonstrate outside the Evening Standard’s offices this morning, on George Osborne’s first day as the newspaper’s editor. Taxi drivers will protest from 10am over “fears that the paper could lose its independence and status as the ‘voice of London’ under his leadership”, the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) said today. [...]
Let’s show the world that sexism has no place in the UK’s thriving tech industry September 5, 2017 Silicon Valley has reached a turning point. Companies in the world’s predominant technology hub pride themselves on purpose: changing the world for the better. But the wave of recent scandals, from accusations of sexual harassment at Uber to a Google memo which appeared to promote sexist stereotypes, have showcased a dark underbelly to the world [...]