News
Technology startups
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March 18, 2024
18
Mar'24
Spring Budget risks funding legally questionable police tech
Open legal questions around how UK police are using facial recognition and cloud technology could undermine the £230m investment committed in the Spring Budget to “time and money-saving technology” for police
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March 12, 2024
12
Mar'24
Industry partnerships and data key to better public services
Using public-private partnerships and improving the use of data are key to improving public services and the government’s ‘science and technology superpower’ ambitions, says digital secretary Michelle Donelan
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March 04, 2024
04
Mar'24
Jeremy Hunt to deliver tech-laden Spring Budget
The chancellor’s 2024 Budget will cover a £800m funding package to boost public sector productivity through technology, with cash for police tech, the justice system transformation programme and the NHS
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March 01, 2024
01
Mar'24
Scottish government opens Techscaler hub in Silicon Valley
The Scottish Techscaler programme is piloting its first overseas hub, which will have space for 12 startups wanting to grow their businesses
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February 21, 2024
21
Feb'24
Co-op signs TCS deal for cloud-first push
The Co-operative Group has contracted IT service provider Tata Consultancy Services to support its move to a cloud-first IT environment
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February 07, 2024
07
Feb'24
Government reaffirms commitment to hold off on AI laws
The UK government reaffirming its commitment hold off on artificial intelligence legislation has been received positively by industry for balancing innovation and safety
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February 06, 2024
06
Feb'24
UK government responds to AI whitepaper consultation
The UK government is considering introducing binding legal requirements for companies developing the most powerful AI systems, and has outlined a range of funding to realise the ambitions of its ‘pro-innovation’ framework for artificial intelligence
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January 29, 2024
29
Jan'24
Proposed changes to investment thresholds highlights lack of funding diversity
The government is introducing a law to raise the income threshold for potential angel investors, potentially making it harder for people from underrepresented groups to fund startups
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January 26, 2024
26
Jan'24
GenAI tools ‘could not exist’ if firms are made to pay copyright
AI firm Anthropic hits out at copyright lawsuit filed by music publishers, claiming the content ingested into its models falls under ‘fair use’ and that any licensing regime would be too complex and costly
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January 26, 2024
26
Jan'24
UK government consults on age verification tech in alcohol sales
The government has said it wants to allow the use of digital identities and various age-verification technologies in alcohol sales
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January 17, 2024
17
Jan'24
Michelle Donelan aims high on tech innovation growth
The science, innovation and technology secretary wants the UK to match US VC investment as a proportion of GDP
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December 19, 2023
19
Dec'23
Digital Ethics Summit 2023: The year in AI
At trade association TechUK’s seventh annual Digital Ethics Summit, public officials, industry figures and civil society groups met to discuss the state of AI regulation and the direction of travel set for 2024
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December 19, 2023
19
Dec'23
Top 10 Nordic stories of 2023
Known for its advances in digital technology, the Nordic region continues to pioneer the startup sector while making serious waves in Quantum computing and artificial intelligence
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December 01, 2023
01
Dec'23
Lords committee urges caution on UK use of autonomous weapons
UK government must ensure proper democratic oversight of its development and use of AI-powered weapon systems, says Lords committee
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November 22, 2023
22
Nov'23
Chancellor offers spending boost for IT buyers alongside AI and quantum investments
In his Autumn Statement, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a range of measures intended to boost investment in innovation and technology
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November 22, 2023
22
Nov'23
World Wide Fund for Nature signs IT deal with Atos
Global conservation organisation will harness latest technologies to improve ability to predict risks to natural environment
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November 09, 2023
09
Nov'23
UK government does not see need for specific AI legislation
The UK government does not currently see the need for new artificial intelligence legislation, as many regulators are already dealing effectively with AI-related harms
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November 08, 2023
08
Nov'23
AI Summit not the place for human rights, says French finance minister
Despite commitments at the UK’s AI Safety Summit to respect and protect human rights, the French finance minister said it was not the right forum to discuss signatories' human rights records
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November 07, 2023
07
Nov'23
AI Safety Summit review
Computer Weekly takes stock of the UK government’s AI Safety Summit and the differing perspectives around its success
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November 02, 2023
02
Nov'23
AI Safety Summit: Day one review
Computer Weekly breaks down what happened during the first day of the UK government’s AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park
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November 02, 2023
02
Nov'23
Pension changes set to boost UK tech
UK technology and science startups could benefit from changes to UK pension funds
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November 01, 2023
01
Nov'23
AI Summit: 28 governments and EU agree to safe AI development
In a joint communique at the UK government’s AI Safety Summit, all participating governments agreed to deepen their cooperation around the risks associated with artificial intelligence
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October 31, 2023
31
Oct'23
Over a quarter of UK adults use buy now, pay later fintechs
Latest research from UK financial services regulator shows BNPL more likely to be used by people experiencing financial difficulty
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October 27, 2023
27
Oct'23
‘Egregious’ to link passport data with facial recognition systems
The Scottish biometrics watchdog has spoken out against the UK policing minister’s plans to integrate passport data with police facial recognition systems
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October 26, 2023
26
Oct'23
Sunak sets scene for upcoming AI Safety Summit
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has outlined how the UK will approach making AI safe, but experts say there is still too big a focus on catastrophic but speculative risks over real harms the technology is already causing
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October 17, 2023
17
Oct'23
Five Eyes issues five tips on thwarting nation state threats
Intelligence chiefs from the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US have published guidance on building resilience against nation state cyber threats
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October 13, 2023
13
Oct'23
UK startups pilot semiconductor funding
ChipStart is a new initiative from the UK government to help build out the National Semiconductor Strategy by supporting startups
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October 04, 2023
04
Oct'23
Visa to invest $100m in generative AI startups
Payments giant investing in startups that focus on applying generative AI to commerce and payments
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October 03, 2023
03
Oct'23
Public sector needs systemic reform of capacity to innovate
Improving the public sector’s capacity to innovate requires a culture of innovation underpinned by people, skills and new ways of working with the private sector
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September 28, 2023
28
Sep'23
US lawmakers write to AI firms about ‘gruelling’ work conditions
Lawmakers have written to nine tech companies – including Amazon, Google and Microsoft – about the working conditions of those they employ to train and maintain their artificial intelligence systems, giving them until 11 October 2023 to respond
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September 22, 2023
22
Sep'23
Lords begin inquiry into large language models
Lords will examine the risks and opportunities of large language models and look at how government can effectively manage them in the coming years
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September 15, 2023
15
Sep'23
Number of UK contactless payments rose by 30% last year
UK consumers are increasingly making contactless payments, with the number of payments using the technology up 30% last year
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September 12, 2023
12
Sep'23
European fintech investment plummets, but more sustainable future lies ahead
Investment in European fintechs has seen a dramatic drop, but a more sustainable sector will result from investment discipline
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September 07, 2023
07
Sep'23
Government AI taskforce appoints new advisory board members
An initial progress report published by the Taskforce provides detail on new appointments to its external advisory board as well as rebrand to focus on “frontier” artificial intelligence
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September 06, 2023
06
Sep'23
Saudi Arabian fintech gets Mastercard boost
Saudi-based fintechs could soon benefit from Mastercard's extensive payments network
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August 31, 2023
31
Aug'23
Home Office and MoD seeking new facial-recognition tech
The UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator is running a ‘market exploration’ exercise on behalf of the Home Office to identify new facial-recognition capabilities for security and policing bodies in the UK
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August 31, 2023
31
Aug'23
MPs say UK at real risk of falling behind on AI regulation
MPs in charge of scrutinising the UK government’s proposals for regulating artificial intelligence have warned that time is running out for the introduction of new AI legislation before 2025
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August 18, 2023
18
Aug'23
Europe’s fastest supercomputer trains large language models in Finland
Much of the innovation in natural language processing comes from large enterprises in the US, resulting in proprietary technology with a bias towards English. One consortium in Finland decided to change the game
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August 18, 2023
18
Aug'23
BSI launches sustainability-focused startup accelerator
Startups selected to participate in the BSI and Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership’s joint sustainability startup accelerator are working in a diverse range of areas and using a variety of technologies to positively affect society
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August 16, 2023
16
Aug'23
Accenture’s Brussels AI lab to focus on European public sector and health
Accenture will use its Brussels AI lab to test AI and generative AI's application in the European public sector
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August 15, 2023
15
Aug'23
TSB and Fintech Scotland lab open for applications
High street bank opens applications to its latest fintech programme in partnership with Fintech Scotland
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August 03, 2023
03
Aug'23
Plexal takes on new cohort for cyber security leadership scheme
Six more cyber security startup founders have been selected to take part in Plexal’s latest Cyber Runway Ignite programme, which is designed to help them develop their leadership skills
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July 25, 2023
25
Jul'23
Mayor of London announces startup funding
Seven technology startups working on the Mayor of London’s Poverty Prevention Challenge will receive up to £50,000 each to further develop their proposals, designed to help alleviate the cost-of-living crisis for the capital’s most vulnerable
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July 18, 2023
18
Jul'23
Traditional IT outsourcing rockets as Europe’s businesses cut costs
Overall spending on IT services is up in European countries despite continued reduction in investments in cloud-based contracts
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July 13, 2023
13
Jul'23
Civil society groups call on EU to put human rights at centre of AI Act
Dozens of civil society groups are calling on EU institutions to prioritise people and human rights in AI legislation as secretive negotiations begin
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July 12, 2023
12
Jul'23
Ofcom’s online safety preparedness efforts hobbled by government
Despite Ofcom’s progress so far, UK government changes to the scope and timetable of the Online Safety Bill are hobbling the ability of the regulator to successfully prepare for the new regime
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July 11, 2023
11
Jul'23
EU formally grants data adequacy to US
The European Commission has formally granted the US data adequacy, allowing companies and organisations to freely transfer personal data across the Atlantic via the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. But privacy activist Max Schrems has already committed...
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July 04, 2023
04
Jul'23
Scotland’s Techscaler programme joins forces with CivTech
The partnership between the scaler programme and the innovation accelerator means CivTech alumni companies will be offered Techscaler membership and gain access to its technology hubs, education initiatives and support
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June 28, 2023
28
Jun'23
Scottish government tech accelerator opens latest funding round
The Scottish government’s CivTech accelerator is seeking technology businesses to help develop new tools to improve public services, as well as to address pressing social and environmental issues
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June 22, 2023
22
Jun'23
Lloyds Bank to open tech centre in India
UK bank taps into Hyderabad tech ecosystem by opening a tech centre focused on improving digital experiences for customers