News
Technology startups
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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
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June 19, 2023
19
Jun'23
Visa takeover means economic turmoil won’t slow Tink’s progress
Tink is one of the pioneers of the open banking sector, and under Visa’s light-touch ownership is continuing to think like a startup
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June 14, 2023
14
Jun'23
Banks still investing heavily in legacy payments systems
Banks are missing out on additional revenues through payment services because they are stuck with inflexible legacy payments systems.
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June 13, 2023
13
Jun'23
GoCardless cuts jobs and wants its ‘startup spirit’ back
Payments fintech unicorn GoCardless will cut its workforce in the UK as part of a 15% reduction in its global workforce
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June 12, 2023
12
Jun'23
Annual spend on regtech to reach more than £200bn by 2028
Global corporates will spend over $200bn in 2028 as the technology is used to help organisations in more industries comply with complex regulations.
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June 08, 2023
08
Jun'23
CDEI publishes portfolio of AI assurance techniques
The UK’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation has published a variety of case studies to show how different assurance techniques can build and maintain trust in artificial intelligence systems
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June 08, 2023
08
Jun'23
Government and industry figures meet to discuss AI regulation
Tech industry figures are broadly supportive of the need for artificial intelligence to be regulated, but despite growing consensus, there is still disagreement over what effective AI regulation looks like
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June 07, 2023
07
Jun'23
Open banking regulator sets out next steps
Plans for ongoing evolution of the UK open banking sector have been set out by regulator in bid to grow the open banking sector in a ‘safe, scalable and economically sustainable way’
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June 06, 2023
06
Jun'23
TechUK publishes ‘UK tech plan’ for next government
Technology businesses are calling on UK politicians to devise a ‘comprehensive, forward-thinking strategy’ to realise the benefits of technology ahead of the next general election
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June 05, 2023
05
Jun'23
UK has time limit on ensuring cryptocurrency regulatory leadership, says Parliamentary report
Parliamentary report makes 53 recommendations to the government's plans to regulate cryptocurrency
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June 01, 2023
01
Jun'23
HSBC explores quantum computing for finance sector
UK banking giant works with quantum computing specialist to explore the technology’s potential in the finance sector
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May 24, 2023
24
May'23
Two-thirds of all 2022 breaches resulted from spear phishing
Research by Barracuda Networks has found that, despite the low volume of spear-phishing attempts, the attacks are highly successful and have major consequences
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May 24, 2023
24
May'23
JPMorgan’s UK digital retail bank adds more than a million customers in a year
The app-based bank launched in the UK by US giant JPMorgan has added one million customers in the past 12 months
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May 22, 2023
22
May'23
Worker-focused AI Bill introduced by backbench MP Mick Whitley
Using the 10-minute motion rule, backbench Labour MP Mick Whitley has introduced a worker-focused artificial intelligence (AI) bill to Parliament, which outlines a similar approach to AI being advocated by unions in the UK
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May 17, 2023
17
May'23
Home Office pushes for more police facial-recognition deployments
An independent report commissioned by the biometrics commissioner of England and Wales reveals that the UK policing minister is pushing for wider adoption of facial-recognition technology by police, and further criticises the government’s proposed ...
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May 16, 2023
16
May'23
Plexal launches Cyber Runway 3.0 accelerator programme
The latest iteration of Plexal’s government-backed cyber security startup accelerator will run four work streams to boost startups at various stages of maturity and growth
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May 12, 2023
12
May'23
MEPs vote in raft of amendments to EU AI Act
The proposed amendments to the EU’s AI Act have garnered a mixed reception from both industry and civil society, with the former seeing it as too stringent and the latter as not stringent enough in many areas, despite positive progress in others
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May 03, 2023
03
May'23
Cyber Action Plan for Wales launched
The devolved Welsh government has set out four priorities in an action plan designed to foster cyber resilience, talent and innovation across the country
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May 03, 2023
03
May'23
US competition watchdog issues generative AI warning
Generative AI can be used to manipulate people into making harmful decisions, says US Federal Trade Commission in warning to firms building and using AI-powered tools
