News

Technology startups

• October 02, 2024 02 Oct'24

  ‘Shocked’ MoneyGram hits back at Post Office

  Money transfer fintech wrote to subpostmasters expressing its disappointment with the Post Office over end of contract

• September 26, 2024 26 Sep'24

  Government plans reverse pitch events to drive digital change

  The government will hold three events for startups to showcase and collaborate with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Justice to solve key problems faced by the departments

• September 23, 2024 23 Sep'24

  Metro Bank outsources IT to Infosys to cut costs and digitally transform

  Indian IT services giant taken on to support Metro Bank’s digital transformation in multi-year deal

• September 17, 2024 17 Sep'24

  First CyberBoost Catalyse startup cohort named

  The first group of companies named to a cyber incubator programme run by Plexal and the National University of Singapore includes two growing UK businesses

• September 11, 2024 11 Sep'24

  Fujitsu cuts annual staff pay rise as Post Office scandal bites

  UK staff morale is at an all-time low as Japanese IT giant deals with the backlash from its involvement in the Post Office Horizon scandal

• September 04, 2024 04 Sep'24

  Lloyds Bank uses artificial intelligence to check trade finance documents

  Bank is automating checks of digital and paper-based documentation in trade financing with the help of artificial intelligence

• September 02, 2024 02 Sep'24

  UK and Ukraine digital trade deal comes into force

  The UK eases access to the deep tech startup community in Ukraine through digital-only agreement

• August 08, 2024 08 Aug'24

  UK competition regulator looks into Amazon’s Anthropic funding

  The Competition and Markets Authority is continuing to look at big tech’s interconnected web of artificial intelligence partnerships

• August 02, 2024 02 Aug'24

  Second round of ChipStart sees 11 more companies receive support

  Government-backed ChipStart initiative aims to support UK startups developing semiconductor technology

• July 31, 2024 31 Jul'24

  Mayor launches London Privacy Register for smart city information

  To increase transparency around and trust in London’s smart city technology deployments, the London Privacy Register aims to provide the public with more information about the systems they encounter in their day-to-day lives

• July 29, 2024 29 Jul'24

  WTO digital trade agreement aims to modernise global commerce

  A digital trade deal negotiated over five years at the World Trade Organization has been signed by 91 countries, laying the groundwork for a new global digital trade regime

• July 16, 2024 16 Jul'24

  Incubator Plexal heads to Singapore for CyberBoost

  Cyber startup hub Plexal expands its presence to Singapore through a new initiative, and sets its sights on helping new UK businesses break into the booming Asia-Pacific market

• July 16, 2024 16 Jul'24

  Finnish tech sector opposes government’s immigration reforms

  The tech sector in Finland fears talent shortage as government introduces stricter immigration policy

• July 01, 2024 01 Jul'24

  Diana project provides Nato tech dividend to Finland

  Finnish tech sector to receive a boost following the country’s decision to join Nato

• June 18, 2024 18 Jun'24

  Benelux specialised venture capital fund finds global deep tech investments

  A venture capital fund in Belgium partners with tech research organisation in its search for investments

• June 17, 2024 17 Jun'24

  Artificial intelligence to make Olympic Games more inclusive

  The International Olympic Committee is working with Intel to use AI at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games

• June 12, 2024 12 Jun'24

  Nordic innovators look to revive the zombie subscriber population

  Zombie subscriptions where customers buy a service and forget about it are harming the subscription economy, but software is being developed to support the subscription economy

• June 10, 2024 10 Jun'24

  AI firms can’t be trusted to voluntarily share risk information

  Workers at frontier AI firms have warned that their employers – including OpenAI, DeepMind and Anthropic – can’t be trusted to voluntarily share information about their systems capabilities and risks with governments or civil society

• June 03, 2024 03 Jun'24

  AI Seoul Summit review

  Dozens of governments and tech companies attending the second global AI Safety Summit have committed themselves to the safe and inclusive development of the technology, but questions remain around whether the commitments made go far enough

• May 22, 2024 22 May'24

  UK government announces £8.5m in grants for AI safety research

  The funding programme will be directed by the UK’s AI Safety Institute, with grants being used to understand and mitigate the impacts of artificial intelligence, including any systemic risks it presents at the societal level

• May 21, 2024 21 May'24

  AI Seoul Summit: 10 nations and EU recommit to safe inclusive AI

  During the latest AI Summit in South Korea, the participating governments reaffirmed their prior commitments to deepening international cooperation on AI safety, and have agreed to launch an international network of ‘safety institutes’

• May 20, 2024 20 May'24

  UK AI Safety Institute to open San Francisco branch

  News of the AI Safety Institute’s expansion to the US follows the first public release of its AI safety testing results

• May 13, 2024 13 May'24

  Maria 01 rolls out ambitious pan-Europe startup plan

  Ten-year plan will see pan-Nordic tech startup ecosystem based in Finnish capital

• May 09, 2024 09 May'24

  Ofcom publishes draft online child safety rules for tech firms

  In the draft codes, Ofcom calls on technology firms to use ‘robust’ age-checking and content moderation systems to keep harmful material away from children online

• May 07, 2024 07 May'24

  Government jumps on Wayve self-drive funding boost

  DSIT says the $1bn of funding announced by UK startup Wayve shows that a pro-innovation approach to regulation works

• April 22, 2024 22 Apr'24

  Fujitsu to cut UK jobs as Post Office scandal fallout hits sales

  Japanese supplier’s role in the Post Office Horizon scandal is beginning to hurt its UK business, with job cuts announced

• April 22, 2024 22 Apr'24

  NCSC announces PwC’s Richard Horne as CEO

  Former PwC and Barclays cyber chief Richard Horne set to join UK’s National Cyber Security Centre as CEO

• April 22, 2024 22 Apr'24

  Interview: IoT enables Dutch-French company to provide bicycle and scooter rental

  Dott’s connected system and mobile app allow users to hire vehicles and ensure safe and compliant rides in 40 cities across Europe and Israel

• April 19, 2024 19 Apr'24

  Tech companies operating with opacity in Israel-Palestine

  Tech firms operating in Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel are falling “woefully short” of their human rights responsibilities amid escalating devastation in Gaza, says Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• April 12, 2024 12 Apr'24

  Government could still replace Fujitsu in key nuclear contract

  Fujitsu’s first government contract of the year could be just a stay of execution as department says that all replacement options are still being considered

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  How GenAI use is evolving for Google Cloud customers

  With more than one million developers now using Google Cloud’s generative AI systems to power their tools, Google customers have gone beyond experimentation and are now building their own agents

• April 11, 2024 11 Apr'24

  Fujitsu public sector contracts dry up in Post Office scandal aftermath

  Disgraced IT supplier has won just one public sector contract following public anger over Post Office scandal

• April 08, 2024 08 Apr'24

  MPs will grill Cabinet Office over Fujitsu contract bidding pause

  Parliamentary select committees have their eyes trained on Fujitsu’s response to the Post Office Horizon scandal, with its pause on bidding for contracts under scrutiny

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  UKtech50 2024 – help us find the most influential people in UK IT

  Computer Weekly’s annual search for the 50 most influential people in UK IT is on – let us know who you would like to nominate for this year's list

• April 05, 2024 05 Apr'24

  Environment Agency dumps Fujitsu as Post Office scandal takes its toll

  Troubled supplier loses flood warnings contract with government department after almost a decade

• March 27, 2024 27 Mar'24

  UK regional science and tech startups grew in 2023

  Globally there is still a post-pandemic funding slump, but UK startups in regions such as Wales and Yorkshire grew private sector investment in 2023

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Fujitsu won’t sign any new business in Ireland

  Fujitsu is closing down its Irish business after a review of the operation’s current performance and market outlook

• March 22, 2024 22 Mar'24

  Open Data Institute launches digital policy manifesto

  The Open Data Institute has launched a policy manifesto ahead of the UK general election that outlines policies and issues it believes must be part of the political discussion around digital and data

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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