News

Technology startups

January 11, 2019 11 Jan'19
Artificial intelligence qualification helps law firm implement AI-powered business systems

International law firm Taylor Wessing wants to train staff in artificial intelligence so they can develop AI-powered business systems
January 11, 2019 11 Jan'19
Venture capital funding for UK tech startups drops 28% in 2018

Despite remaining ahead of other European countries, venture capital investment in UK tech startups has suffered in 2018 due to political uncertainty
January 08, 2019 08 Jan'19
Second Lorca cohort to focus on supply chain security

The second cohort of companies to benefit from the new London cyber innovation centre will focus on user-centric security and securing supply chains
January 02, 2019 02 Jan'19
Guide dogs not fazed by self-driving robots

Robotics startup Starship Technologies and charity Guide Dogs are collaborating on a series of tests exploring how service animals interact with robots

December 21, 2018 21 Dec'18
Top 10 startup stories of 2018

From public sector collaboration to innovating for social good, here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 tech startup stories of 2018
December 21, 2018 21 Dec'18
Machine learning-based mobile app helps UK haulage firms cut fuel costs

Madrid-based startup Ontruck has developed a new machine learning-driven app that helps UK haulage firms to increase their efficiency by cutting both 'empty miles' and fuel costs
December 20, 2018 20 Dec'18
Top 10 financial services stories of 2018

Here are Computer Weekly's top 10 financial services stories of 2018
December 19, 2018 19 Dec'18
Capita fails to meet British Army's annual recruitment targets for five years running

For five years in a row, Capita has failed to meet the British Army's annual recruitment targets, with the online recruitment system taking four years longer than expected to go live
December 17, 2018 17 Dec'18
Financial services giant transforms application delivery through HCL

Dutch financial services firm Aegon is outsourcing the management of its fintech supplier network
December 14, 2018 14 Dec'18
Paris latest city to join Tech Global Advocates

The city of Paris is the latest to join the Tech Global Advocates network, offering a life raft to fintechs in the UK that want to retain customers across Europe

December 13, 2018 13 Dec'18
Sberbank partners US accelerator for startup programme

Russian state-run bank links up with San Francisco-based accelerator 500 Startups to provide expert advice to startups in a variety of tech fields
December 12, 2018 12 Dec'18
Finland’s IT sector recovers after break-up of Nokia

Finnish government plays vital role in helping IT sector recover from the shock of Microsoft taking over the country’s biggest company
December 06, 2018 06 Dec'18
Interview: Mickey Steiner, managing director, Innogy Innovation Hub Israel

Mickey Steiner, managing director of the Innogy Innovation Hub accelerator, talks about why the UK is becoming more attractive to internationally focused startups than the US
December 04, 2018 04 Dec'18
Abbey Road Studios holds inaugural hackathon event to push musictech innovation

Abbey Road Studios and its musictech incubation programme held their first hackathon event in November to foster innovation at a more grassroots level
December 04, 2018 04 Dec'18
GovTech Catalyst Fund awards contracts to five SMEs to tackle rural isolation and loneliness

Five small tech companies have been awarded contracts through the GovTech Catalyst Fund to come up with innovative solutions to rural isolation and loneliness
December 04, 2018 04 Dec'18
Zopa gains banking licence and prepares launch

Peer-to-peer lending pioneer Zopa is turning its attention to retail banking in the UK, with plans to offer savings, credit and money management products
December 04, 2018 04 Dec'18
Lloyds to use core banking technology from Google-inspired UK fintech

Banking group explores cloud-based core banking technology as part of a major transformation programme
December 03, 2018 03 Dec'18
UK government commits to opening up data in bid to push adoption of AI

Opening up data is vital to government plans to push adoption of artificial intelligence across all sectors of the UK economy
November 30, 2018 30 Nov'18
New forms of governance needed to safely and ethically unlock value of data

Despite today’s abundance of data, most of it remains locked in silos, meaning new governance structures are needed to open it up and unlock its potential value to society
November 29, 2018 29 Nov'18
Interview: Sam Lowe, chief technology officer, Streetbees

Streetbees’ first IT chief brings artificial intelligence expertise to help the tech startup deliver a hive of data for its customers
November 28, 2018 28 Nov'18
Challenger bank signs up Google-inspired platform

Cloud-based platform offers functionality around smart contracts and a workflow engine for bank processes
November 28, 2018 28 Nov'18
UK competition watchdog concerned with PayPal’s fintech acquisition

Competition and Markets Authority fears $2.2bn deal could reduce competition for payment services in the UK
November 27, 2018 27 Nov'18
Nordic IT network attracting big brands as well as startups

Tech Nordic Advocates is now seen as the go-to place for access to the Nordic tech startup sector
November 23, 2018 23 Nov'18
Interview: Roger Taylor, chair, Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation

Chair of the new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation says collaboration is vital for developing effective frameworks to manage the proliferation of AI and data-driven technologies
November 22, 2018 22 Nov'18
ICO finds Metropolitan Police's Gangs Matrix seriously breaches data protection laws

A year-long ICO investigation has highlighted major problems with how the Metropolitan Police handles and shares the personal data of individuals on its Gangs Matrix
November 21, 2018 21 Nov'18
ODI’s OpenActive accelerator ends after getting startups up and running

Startups have been using the accelerator’s open data to develop fitness-related products in an effort to encourage people to be more active
November 20, 2018 20 Nov'18
Police challenged over refusal to disclose files on WikiLeaks staff

Lawyers will challenge the Metropolitan Police Service today to confirm or deny whether it holds correspondence with US law enforcement about three WikiLeaks staff – including two UK citizens – in a freedom of information tribunal
November 14, 2018 14 Nov'18
Non-invasive, AI-powered cardiac test spreads through NHS with help of government funding

A cardiac test powered by artificial intelligence has the potential to save the UK’s health service hundreds of pounds per heart patient
November 09, 2018 09 Nov'18
Businesses can no longer neglect IT if they want to remain competitive

Businesses lack IT leaders with the skills and resources needed to promote innovation and change in the context of technological upheaval
November 08, 2018 08 Nov'18
Dominic Raab: UK AI sector will get boost from EU exit ‘done right’

Brexit secretary tells Tech Nation audience that leaving the EU could create opportunities for the UK technology sector
November 05, 2018 05 Nov'18
Accelerator for female-led ‘social tech’ startups opens in London

We in Social Tech will support the growth of 60 businesses over the next 18 months through bespoke business consultancy packages
November 02, 2018 02 Nov'18
PoliceTech report looks at how startups can work with UK police

A new report looking at how startups can penetrate the policing market has been released, but there are still a number of practical and ethical challenges facing SMEs moving into the space
November 02, 2018 02 Nov'18
Jlab 2019 to focus on experiential shopping

Each year, John Lewis hosts a number of retail startups intent on using technology to transform the industry. Next year they will be aiming to change the customer experience in-store
November 01, 2018 01 Nov'18
Robotic delivery service hits the streets of Milton Keynes

Following extensive testing and a limited commercial roll-out in campus enterprise environments, Estonian robotics firm Starship Technologies is launching a direct-to-consumer robot delivery service in Milton Keynes
November 01, 2018 01 Nov'18
How Bahrain plans to become a regional fintech hub

Bahrain is a small island with big plans for its financial technology industry
October 31, 2018 31 Oct'18
IoT R&D projects missed out on £10m of government funding

A series of delays and disruption caused chiefly by changes in project ownership meant the government’s IoT UK Research and Innovation Programme failed to use a quarter of its allocated budget between 2015 and 2018
October 30, 2018 30 Oct'18
Traditional financial services firms face extinction within 12 years

A large number of large banks could disappear within 12 years unless they change business models and economics
October 25, 2018 25 Oct'18
Nordic banks target SME customers with fintech services

Traditional Nordic banks are slimming down workforces as they turn increasingly to technology-based service delivery, and some are linking up with small fintech companies to deliver online products.
October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18
UK unicorn creation goes unrivalled in Europe

The UK's regional cities are creating more billion-dollar tech startups than many European capitals, with the UK as a whole creating more unicorns since 2016 than France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands
October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18
SMEs use fintech in fight against online giants, but fears remain

Online SMEs are turning to financial technology to help them make payment processes easy for customers as they try to compete with online giants
October 22, 2018 22 Oct'18
Government to invest an extra £215m in UK innovation centres

The extra funding will be given to the Catapult network of innovation centres, focusing on digital, medicines discovery, future cities and transport systems
October 22, 2018 22 Oct'18
Identity and access management is becoming a vital business concern

Many companies are struggling to provide secure access to the high number of applications and systems in use by their employees
October 18, 2018 18 Oct'18
Dubai Health Authority unveils virtual health app for GP consultations

Health authority adopts new technology as part of the Dubai Future Accelerators initiative
October 16, 2018 16 Oct'18
There is more to fintech than meets the eye

Financial technology goes way beyond the flashy apps facing consumers and into the depths of the back office
October 12, 2018 12 Oct'18
Research and innovation unit for healthtech opens at Great Ormond Street Hospital

Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Drive research unit is dedicated to bringing the latest technological developments into healthcare
October 10, 2018 10 Oct'18
IT departments struggle to balance innovation with everyday IT operations

IT departments are struggling to adapt to an expanding role that includes both adopting innovation initiatives while keeping core systems running effectively, according to the 2018 Insight Intelligent Technology Index
October 10, 2018 10 Oct'18
Wood Wharf set to become the capital's largest home for scaleups

Canary Wharf Group has unveiled plans to turn two million square feet of its five million square feet Wood Wharf development into office space for fast-growth scaleup businesses
October 09, 2018 09 Oct'18
Access to full-fibre broadband continues to expand under Vodafone-CityFibre partnership

Customers in three more towns and cities will soon be able to access ultrafast fibre-to-the-premises broadband service
October 09, 2018 09 Oct'18
Grab signs up for Azure, nabs investment from Microsoft

Ride-hailing, delivery and mobile payments firm will use slew of Azure services to improve operations and customer experience
October 08, 2018 08 Oct'18
Geospatial Commission pumps £5m into unlocking value of location data

Commission wants to unlock the value of location data held by its partners through the use of emerging technologies
October 05, 2018 05 Oct'18
EE switches on 5G test network at Canary Wharf

MNO explores high-capacity zone testing for its 5G network roll-out, with the first phase expected to target hotspots such as London’s Canary Wharf
October 04, 2018 04 Oct'18
Digital Catapult launches Ethics Framework for AI and machine learning

Innovation centre hopes to foster responsible and ethical development of artificial intelligence and machine learning systems
October 03, 2018 03 Oct'18
London tech startups awarded £15,000 as part of Mayor's 'smart city' initiative

Eight London tech startups have been awarded £15,000 each to help Mayor of London realise vision of the capital as a world-leading smart city
October 01, 2018 01 Oct'18
Berners-Lee’s startup promises more control over web data

Startup will support open source platform that allows users to choose how and where their data is stored
September 28, 2018 28 Sep'18
Brighton’s 5G experiment enters new test phase with focus on virtual reality

The latest phase of the Digital Catapult’s 5G mobile network testbed in Brighton has begun, with digital businesses from across Sussex taking part in trials of augmented, mixed and virtual reality technology
September 26, 2018 26 Sep'18
Indian IT giant TCS sees IBM and Accenture as nearest rivals

Rapidly-growing Tata Consultancy Services has its eyes on the US IT giants, with customer service key if it is to overtake them
September 19, 2018 19 Sep'18
Waitrose to launch same-day delivery trial

High-end supermarket Waitrose is partnering with retail delivery startup On the Dot to trial same-day delivery for its food and wine goods
September 13, 2018 13 Sep'18
John Lewis blames profit drops on high IT costs

Department store John Lewis has pinned the blame on high IT costs and the rising price of store real-estate for a drop in profit
September 03, 2018 03 Sep'18
Zurich begins startup competition to improve its strategy for digital-savvy customers

The insurance company has begun a competition across 20 countries in a bid to find the latest innovative products from startups.
September 03, 2018 03 Sep'18
Regulations might prove make-or-break aspect for Dutch scooter startups

If new startups get their way, the classical Dutch bicycles might soon be replaced by a new mode of transportation: a scooter. New companies see a huge potential market, but regulations might become a barrier
August 23, 2018 23 Aug'18
No Deal Brexit papers warn of stark future for UK tech

The government has published the first of its No Deal Brexit contingency planning notices, containing sobering messages for the UK technology industry
August 17, 2018 17 Aug'18
Alan Turing Institute provides AI startups with opportunity to collaborate with researchers

Alan Turing Institute and Digital Catapult will enable science and AI startups to work with researchers in the Data Study Groups
August 13, 2018 13 Aug'18
Government pumps £51m into Welsh tech hub

Chancellor Philip Hammond promises £51m in additional investment for researchers and entrepreneurs to drive tech innovation in Wales
August 07, 2018 07 Aug'18
How Indonesia’s Go-Jek scales the heights with cloud

The unicorn’s microservices-based application architecture on the cloud has been key in supporting its growth in Indonesia – and now Southeast Asia
August 06, 2018 06 Aug'18
DfT pledges to spend one-third of its procurement budget on SMEs by 2022

Department for Transport’s SME action plan promises to increase its spend with small and medium-sized enterprises to 33% by the end of this parliament
August 03, 2018 03 Aug'18
CIO interview: Alex von Schirmeister, CDTIO, RS Components

The electronics distributor’s chief digital, technology and innovation officer (CDTIO) on putting in place a new IT infrastructure, creating a digital business and accepting risk
July 23, 2018 23 Jul'18
Marks and Spencer to invest in startups as part of retail partnership with Founders Factory

Marks and Spencer is continuing its efforts to digitally transform its business by starting an investment partnership for startups
July 20, 2018 20 Jul'18
Cambridge students offered chance to win £10,000 to develop innovative tech ideas at Trinity College

Cambridge University under and postgraduates are now able to apply for a competition to win £10,000 and the chance to develop their tech ideas at the Bradfield Centre
July 20, 2018 20 Jul'18
Cisco and UCL to open AI research unit in $100m digital economy boost

Cisco has extended its ongoing Country Digital Acceleration programme in the UK with a further $100m investment, part of which will go towards a new AI research centre
July 05, 2018 05 Jul'18
UK leads Europe’s tech startup scene over five years, research shows

Tech leads the way as UK shows 5% growth in startups across all industries
July 05, 2018 05 Jul'18
UK joins forces with France on artificial intelligence and data

The UK and France will share expertise on AI and research, work together to improve digital services and collaborate to develop tech talent
July 04, 2018 04 Jul'18
Alibaba Cloud looks to drive its technology ecosystem with startup innovation contest

Alibaba Cloud is hosting its next Create@Alibaba contest as it looks for innovative products from startups
July 03, 2018 03 Jul'18
New thinking from tech startups could help solve construction project issues

Three startups shortlisted to join ConstrucTech accelerator to work on innovative technologies to reduce project delays and overspend
June 28, 2018 28 Jun'18
First Lorca cohort to focus on security orchestration

The first companies to benefit from the new London cyber innovation centre will focus on cyber security orchestration and automation
June 26, 2018 26 Jun'18
Volkswagen Financial Services UK aims to accelerate innovation with tech startup programme

Automobile manufacturer Volkswagen is running its next Startup Battlefield programme, building on the success of its 2017 Portuguese accelerator
June 18, 2018 18 Jun'18
London Tech Week experts advise startups to research investors’ background before pitching

Experts have used the TechXLR8 conference at London Tech Week to offer advice to startup workers about pitching to investors, joining accelerators and building teams
June 13, 2018 13 Jun'18
Prime minister announces new visa for startups

The government promises new “startup” visa for entrepreneurs, a £2.5bn British Patient Capital fund to support UK companies going global, and plans for two international tech hubs
June 12, 2018 12 Jun'18
Mayor Khan bids to make London the world’s smartest city

At London Tech Week, mayor Sadiq Khan launched a city-wide initiative to harness the capital’s technology talent to address London’s most pressing problems
June 08, 2018 08 Jun'18
Thriving fintech, AI sectors give boost to UK tech funding

British technology businesses have received £5bn worth of venture capital funding since June 2016 – more than France, Germany and Sweden put together – with fintech and AI startups standing out
June 06, 2018 06 Jun'18
Digital Catapult partners with Cray to give AI startups supercomputing power

Innovation centre says partnership will bring down some of the barriers to entry that startups often face in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning
June 06, 2018 06 Jun'18
UK tech firms increase exports by more than 20%

The country’s tech sector continues to blossom and has significantly increased the export of both services and goods in recent years
June 05, 2018 05 Jun'18
Interview: How a tech apprenticeship changed one man’s life

Past Microsoft apprentice Joshua Uwadiae explains how in hindsight, he realises his apprenticeship was a life-defining moment in the lead-up to his tech career
May 29, 2018 29 May'18
Firms step up spending on digital tech, but struggle with strategy

Businesses and the public sector are stepping up their spending on digital technology, but many business leaders are struggling to keep pace with what it means for their business
May 17, 2018 17 May'18
UK tech sector growing 2.6 times faster than overall economy

The latest Tech Nation report on the UK’s IT sector reveals strong growth and positivity, but fears around Brexit in London’s tech engine
May 14, 2018 14 May'18
Steadily declining retail footfall confirms shifting consumer behaviour

Footfall in the UK highstreet is on the decline, according to figures by the British Retail Consortium, confirming the consumer shift towards more digital behaviour
May 14, 2018 14 May'18
Wise conference 2018: Tackling the female patent problem

Research by Wise found fewer than 10% of patents filed in the UK have involvement from women. At its annual conference in 2018, Wise set out to discuss why this is the case and how we can address it
May 10, 2018 10 May'18
Government must support SMEs, says Oliver Dowden

The minister for implementation, Oliver Dowden, provides further details on the GovTech competition and talks about GDS’s role as an “innovation incubator”, losing data policy to DCMS and the importance of SMEs
May 01, 2018 01 May'18
ODI and Sport England launch project using data to break down exercise barriers

Ten startups have been chosen as part of the OpenActive accelerator programme to develop fitness products and encourage people to be active
April 30, 2018 30 Apr'18
Starship’s autonomous delivery robots get commercial roll-out

Having successfully trialled its autonomous delivery robots in the UK and US, Estonian startup Starship Technologies is embarking on a full commercial roll-out
April 26, 2018 26 Apr'18
Barclays aims to drive entrepreneur startup development with law incubator

Barclays is opening its Eagle Lab incubator in London to help entrepreneurs create successful law businesses.
April 26, 2018 26 Apr'18
British banks target Israeli security technology

British banks are turning to Israel’s high-tech sector to protect against cyber attacks
April 26, 2018 26 Apr'18
SuiteWorld 2018: Hiring people is about more than just ability, says Rachel Zoe

NetSuite customer, fashion designer and CEO of Rachel Zoe explains that part of entrepreneurship is hiring people who fill the gaps you leave behind, and that in doing so passion can be more important than ability
April 26, 2018 26 Apr'18
Malaysia’s Supahands finds agility with the cloud

Regional workforce crowdsourcing startup relies on the cloud to keep its infrastructure agile enough to scale up and down, according to customer demand
April 24, 2018 24 Apr'18
Digital Catapult aims to accelerate AR and VR startups to long-term success

Ten augmented reality and virtual reality startups can join 10-week Augmentor accelerator, with access to classes, facilities and mentorship
April 24, 2018 24 Apr'18
SuperNova growth programme offers European tech scale-ups chance to pitch for investment

Scale-Up.eu says initiative will enable scale-up companies to grow their business without relying on overseas investment
April 24, 2018 24 Apr'18
Telcos see multiple paths to internet of things revenue

A report from Ericsson has revealed that telecoms operators are testing out multiple routes to monetising the IoT
April 24, 2018 24 Apr'18
How application container technology is helping YMCA open up access to education

Youth charity YMCA is in the midst of a push to reduce its reliance on paper-based education aids, with the help of Droplet Computing’s application container technology
April 23, 2018 23 Apr'18
The dawn of open banking in Australia

Financial services firms will need to embrace DevOps and modernise their IT infrastructure to compete with more nimble fintech companies in an open banking regime
April 19, 2018 19 Apr'18
CyLon continues to drive cyber security innovation with next accelerator cohort

CyLon has selected the next group of innovative cyber security startups for its seventh London accelerator programme
April 19, 2018 19 Apr'18
UK and Indian governments agree tech partnership

Agreement aims to identify organisations in the two countries that can work together and open up opportunities for tech entrepreneurs