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UK investors band together to survey Angels on their strategy during COVID-19

A number of UK entrepreneurs have banded together to survey Angels about their investment strategy. The initiative comes in the wake of the UK government’s “Future Fund” for startups, which has been criticized as being inadequate for the needs of Angel and Seed-stage startups. The group hopes the survey will give the UK early-stage investment […]




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Runa Capital closes Fund III at $157M, with an added focus on quantum computing

VC fund Runa Capital was launched with $135 million in 2010, and is perhaps best known for its investment into NGINX, which powers many web sites today. In more recent years it has participated or led investments into startups such as Zipdrug ($10.8 million); Rollbar this year ($11 million); and Monedo (for €20 million). HQ’d […]




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Deep Render raises £1.6M for image compression tech that mimics ‘neural processes of the human eye’

Deep Render, a London startup and spin-out of Imperial College that is applying machine learning to image compression, has raised £1.6 million in seed funding. Leading the round is Pentech, with participation from Speedinvest. Founded in mid-2017 by Arsalan Zafar and Chri Besenbruch, who met while studying Computer Science at Imperial College London, Deep Render […]




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Short sellers circle virus sinners; Amazon’s looming shareholder battle; Businesses fight for prisoner releases

Your guide to the investment and business revolution you can’t afford to ignore




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Big data shows Covid-19 reshaping ESG; UN PRI’s long-term crisis plan; sustainable funds stand tall

Your guide to the investment and business revolution you can’t afford to ignore




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A Covid-19 supply chain surprise? Exxon and Barclays face proxy battles; challenging data on ESG fund growth




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Exclusive: Shake Shack CEO talks bailout failings; climate chaos ahead for mortgage market; EU green plans charge forward




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Public trust in CEOs ‘evaporates’; building back better with UK social housing; EM green bonds take off

Your guide to the investment and business revolution you can’t afford to ignore




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Covid-19 shows why ESG matters; Barclays’ big climate vote; UK impact investors’ legal hurdle; your questions answered

Your guide to the investment and business revolution you can’t afford to ignore




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WhatsApp eyes lending feature in India as Amazon rolls out Pay Later to tens of thousands of customers

WhatsApp, which began testing its mobile payments feature in India two years ago, could offer at least one more financial service to people in its biggest market. In a filing with the local regulator in India, the Facebook -owned messaging platform has listed credit as one of the areas it will pursue in the country. […]




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Instagram ‘pods’ game the algorithm by coordinating likes and comments on millions of posts

Researchers at NYU have identified hundreds of groups of Instagram users, some with thousands of members, that systematically exchange likes and comments in order to game the service’s algorithms and boost visibility. In the process, they also trained machine learning agents to identify whether a post has been juiced in this way. “Pods,” as they’ve […]




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Indian education startup Byju’s is fundraising at a $10B valuation

Byju’s, an education learning startup in India that has seen a surge in its popularity in recent weeks amid the coronavirus outbreak, is in talks to raise as much as $400 million in fresh capital at a $10 billion valuation, said three people familiar with the matter. The additional capital would be part of the […]




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Silver Lake to invest $747M in India’s Jio Platforms

Weeks after Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, India’s top telecom operator, private equity firm Silver Lake is following suit — and is willing to pay a premium for it. Silver Lake announced on Monday it will be investing 56.56 billion Indian rupees (about $746.8 million) in Jio Platforms for about 1.15% stake in the Indian […]




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Poynter Institute launches WhatsApp chatbot to debunk coronavirus-related hoaxes

You can now debunk thousands of coronavirus-related hoaxes with a few texts on WhatsApp . Poynter Institute, a non-profit organization that supports journalism, today launched a bot on the Facebook -owned service that will allow people across the globe to debunk over 4,000 hoaxes surrounding the pandemic such as whether the infectious disease originated in […]




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Facebook to add gift cards, jobs and donation tools to its COVID-19 Community Help hub

Facebook is expanding its Community Help hub to better serve local communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The hub has already seen significant usage by those requesting food, supplies and information about local resources, as well as use by volunteers and groups willing to lend a hand. Now, Facebook is adding more features to the hub […]




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Several major iOS apps crashing at launch due to Facebook SDK issues

A number of popular apps including Spotify, GroupMe, Pinterest and TikTok were fielding user iOS crash reports Wednesday evening, the result of an apparent issues with Facebook’s SDK according to a lengthy GitHub thread on the topic. Downdetector logged tens of thousands of user crash reports on Spotify between 3:30 and 5:30 pm PT, the […]




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This early Facebook investor wants to find smart students a job at the next Facebook

For many college seniors, school is a time for self-exploration, considering options, leisurely contemplating the future. Yet that’s rarely the case for computer engineering students who either attend the world’s best universities or rise to the very top of their classes. Almost immediately after choosing their courses during the first week of school, they typically […]




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Vista Equity Partners to invest $1.5B in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms

Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners said on Friday it will invest $1.5 billion in Reliance Jio Platforms, joining social conglomerate Facebook and Silver Lake that have also made bets on the Indian telecom giant in recent weeks. The planned announcement, which would give the U.S.-headquartered software-focused buyout firm Vista Equity Partners a 2.32% stake in […]




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Facebook’s redesign goes live with simplified navigation and dark mode

After months of testing, Facebook’s redesign is finally official. Announced last year at F8, the more minimalist approach to its desktop design has been rolled out in waves. In March, the company added an option to try out the new version. Users could switch back and leave feedback for why they had done so. This […]




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Lagarde must resist pressure on inflation target

The new president should ensure governments grasp the interaction of fiscal and monetary policy




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Complacency could yet threaten the eurozone

If the populists gain power in France and Italy, the future of the euro will be in their hands




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Statistical comfort distorts our politics

The problem with bad data is that it lures us into believing false truths




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The ECB should ditch its inflation target

Research shows that the policy has had an adverse effect on economic growth




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Britain and EU are negotiating at cross purposes

Once the UK accepted trade friction, everything changed




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The UK’s threat to walk out of EU trade talks is real

London and Brussels have both turned these negotiations into a zero-sum game




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The eurozone is too complacent about the coronavirus threat

Ideally governments would co-ordinate fiscal policy but there is no sense of urgency




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Eurozone stability is under threat again

Without a co-ordinated response, national stimulus policies will end up increasing imbalances




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: ‘I’m too busy to watch it’

Trump impeachment hearings go public




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Ingram Pinn’s illustration of the week: In the frame

TV debate vacates centre ground




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Safe hands

UK election campaign fights for national health




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Ingram Pinn’s illustration of the week: Emergency emissions

COP25 attempts to confront climate change




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Ingram Pinn’s illustration of the week: Rule of law

Democrats gear up for US impeachment




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Transition

Boris Johnson rules out trade deal extension




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Thin ice

The world faces increasing temperatures




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Ingram Pinn’s illustration of the week: Happy New Year

Tensions in Iraq and North Korea greet Trump’s re-election plans




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Appearing act

Carlos Ghosn takes the stage




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Tariff truce

‘Phase one’ deal provides only limited relief in US-China trade war




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: One-click delivery

Saudis alleged to have hacked Jeff Bezos’s phone




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Leap of faith

Boris Johnson dives into the transition period




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: State of the nation

The US Republican party rallies behind Donald Trump




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Donkey Derby

Democratic presidential contenders cling on over early hurdles




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Supply and demand

Tech companies caught in coronavirus disruption




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Brothers in arms

Donald Trump visits India as sectarian violence erupts




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Ingram Pinn’s illustration of the week: Your move

Refugee crisis looms as ‘gates open’ on the Turkish border




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Balancing the Budget

UK government spending faces increasing pressures




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Pinn’s Illustration of the week: Lockdown

Turning the key on the coronavirus crisis




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: ‘A beautiful timeline’

Donald Trump plans to reopen US for business despite coronavirus




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Testing times

Governments scramble for coronavirus tests




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Hitting the peak?

Countries look for evidence that Covid-19 infections have passed their pinnacle




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: America First

Donald Trump pulls support from the World Health Organization