Exclusive: Pandemic has exposed lack of data literacy amid growing digital skills gap October 5, 2021 Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, key decisions have been made hastily and without the use of data, according to a new survey among thousands of key decision makers across the UK. which was shared exclusively with City A.M. The study shows widespread concerns about data skills despite the vast majority of C-suite executives (75 per cent) [...]
Exclusive: Startups and finserv firms push for more rules to keep bots under control September 21, 2021 Bots are changing the way we work, saving businesses thousands of hours and significant sums per year as they increasingly play a key role in automating key corporate functions, including customer service and data collections. Despite this, due to the actions of a small number of irresponsible bot users, myths and misconceptions, many business leaders [...]
Chancellor hails London tech success as capital beats European competitors again September 20, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today hailed London’s bounce back from the pandemic as new figures show the capital is sprinting ahead of rival European tech hubs. London has attracted more venture capital investment to its startups than anywhere else in Europe and now boasts more unicorns – firms valued at more than $1bn – than France [...]
UK tech: Record raise of £13.5bn pushes number of British unicorns to 105 September 20, 2021 The UK tech sector raised £13.5bn in the first six months of this year, almost three times more than the same period a year ago, according to new data. As a result, the number of British unicorns has jumped to 105. Companies including fintech giant Revolut, online video conference business Hopin and online car sales [...]
Golden year for startups: London may be heading for a post-pandemic unicorn boom September 15, 2021 The last 15 months has provided every aspect of society with an unprecedented challenge, not least to small firms and founders. The response of this section of business, however, has been nothing short of inspiring, with nearly 800,000 new firms incorporated in 2020. The response of the investors who back them has been equally stirring, [...]
Exclusive: ‘I felt sorry for the people of Belgium,’ says Estonia’s Prime Minister September 14, 2021 An artificial intelligence assistant for every citizen? AI to help unemployed people back into work or to suggest a career change? Bots telling you when to visit your GP? All this may sound a tad futuristic, but not for the government of the tiny Baltic state of Estonia. In fact, the country has grand ambitions [...]
Chinese billionaire Larry Chen takes a hit as Beijing cracks down on private education July 26, 2021 Larry Chen, the founder, chairman and chief executive of Gaotu Techedu, has lost his billionaire status as China imposed a regulatory overhaul on the country’s $100bn private education sector. The Chinese authorities released new regulations banning companies to teach school curriculums in order to make profits, raise capital, or go public, Bloomberg reported today. Chen, [...]
Exclusive: Rising fintech star and former PayPal tech lead on his new payments venture July 8, 2021 Wise £8bn launch on the London Stock Exchange yesterday underpins how the capital’s fintech scene is booming, with a clear investor appetite for payment platforms such as Wise. Another fintech company in this space that has flourished in the last twelve months is Osu, an instant payments app that was created specifically for the self-employed [...]
£700bn market: UK’s digital trade talks with Singapore underpin Britain’s role as a global tech exporter July 1, 2021 The UK and Singapore launched negotiations this week on a new ambitious digital trade agreement that could remove barriers and provide access to digital trade. Government statistics show this digital trading relationship was worth £3.2bn in 2019, out of Britain’s total tech exports of nearly £63bn globally. As the value of the entire digital global [...]
Unicorn nest: UK hits milestone of 100 $1bn tech companies, more than rest of Europe combined June 20, 2021 The UK tech sector has now 100 UK tech companies valued at $1bn or more, according to new data from Dealroom and Tech Nation, shared with City A.M. this weekend. The UK’s 100th tech unicorn, Tractable, an AI startup building computer vision tools, announced a $60m Series D raise, which takes the company’s valuation to [...]