Uber suspends UberPop taxi app service in Spain after court injunction December 31, 2014 Taxi app company Uber has suspended its UberPop service in Spain after a court ruling banning the ride-sharing app was confirmed. UberPop is a ridesharing service and platform connecting private car owners with passengers who also have the option to split the fare. UberPop mirrors UberX in the US. Uber has been operating in Spain [...]
Uber rival Lyft valued over £1.5bn after £353m funding round March 12, 2015 Taxi app Lyft has raised $530m (£353.6m) from a new funding round, softening the blow dealt by a US judges’ ruling against the ride-sharing service. Lyft is now valued at more than $2.5bn (£1.67bn) after a funding round led by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten closed this week. Rakuten now owns an 11.9 [...]
EU migrant crisis: Visa Europe donates £1m to child refugee crisis appeal as Save the Children thanks business donations September 17, 2015 Visa Europe has donated £1m to the appeal which is raising money to help child refugees in Europe as the situation reaches crisis point. The financial services company has dug deep to donate to Save the Children's Child Refugee Crisis Appeal, saying the situation needed an exceptional response. “Visa Europe has a longstanding track record of [...]
Tech #Crunchies 2014: Uber named best overall startup of the year February 6, 2015 Uber's success drove it into first place at the tech Crunchie awards in San Francisco this morning. The taxi-app company picked up the prize for “Best Overall Startup in 2014” at the event, beating runners up GoPro and SnapChat to the title. Uber was founded six years ago and has grown over [...]
Uber and Google rivalry heating up as both target driverless cars February 3, 2015 Controversial ride-hire app Uber is planning to research self-driving cars by partnering with a leading US university, a move that could put it in competition with its shareholder Google. Google has been exploring driverless cars since 2010 and now has a fully functioning prototype that it plans to begin testing on San Francisco roads this [...]
Sophia Genetics’ co-founder Jurgi Camblong talks about how to build a global genetic medicine firm March 14, 2016 I was asked recently to present to a group of entrepreneurs about my experience. And I ended up saying to them ‘it’s just like Rocky – you take your chance, you focus and you go’. The mistake as an entrepreneur is thinking too much.” Jurgi Camblong co-founded data-driven medical startup Sophia Genetics in 2011. “I’m [...]
London office rents make record recovery since the crash October 25, 2015 The City office market is in record health, according to research from Knight Frank that shows rents have made a speedier recovery since the 2007 crisis than following previous financial downturns. In its latest report, the upmarket estate agent has tracked how rents in the Square Mile have fared since their pre-crisis peak in the fourth [...]
Quick! Free black cab journeys from Victoria Station, Charing Cross Station and Waterloo Station today – but only for one hour October 14, 2015 Black cabbies are on a PR drive, with free black cab rides from Victoria Station, Charing Cross Station and Waterloo Station. There's only one catch: it's between 11am and midday today. Meanwhile, taxi app Gett will offer free journeys in Zone One. The free rides – which were announced at 11am – are part of the #StayFareMayor campaign, which [...]
Fintech challengers like Square, ApplePay and Funding Circle could undermine banks’ credit ratings in 2016 according to Standard & Poor’s December 16, 2015 The rise of fintech is challenging traditional banks, and could even undermine their credit rating, according to Standard & Poor's. The ratings agency expects global investment in 'non bank' financial service to be worth $24bn (£16bn) this year, double the figure in 2014. Traditional banks are still trying to adapt to the low interest rate, and [...]
Legal sales of cannabis net Oregon shopkeepers $11m October 13, 2015 Money may not grow on trees, but it seems to be growing on cannabis plants on Oregon in the US. In the first five days since the sale of marijuana was legalised in the state, sales have reached an estimated $11m (£7.2m). The Oregon Retailers of Cannabis Association reported that $3.5m was taken in the [...]