m

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 […]




m

Longtime VC Todd Chaffee of IVP says late-stage scene is now ‘M&A world’

Todd Chaffee has long been one of the most senior members of the late-stage venture firm Institutional Venture Partners. Chaffee joined IVP in 2000 after logging six years at Visa, and went on to lead rounds in numerous prominent later-stage companies, many (but not all) of which have gone public, including Coinbase, Compass, Klarna, Kayak, […]




m

Could ESG trump oil for older investors?

Investing for good gains traction, but the yields on oil stocks remain compelling




m

Wealth management could soon cost less than you’d think

Costs are falling — but it still looks far more expensive than it should




m

How you structure your finances is just as important as what you hold

Could Retirement Interest Only mortgages be an option for many older people?




m

WeWork, Woodford and the modern ‘bezzle’

The route to success these days is not chasing profits but hoarding market share




m

Roadside recovery and an aggravating communications breakdown

In an overleveraged world headed for economic slowdown, don’t rely on the heavily indebted for rescue




m

Investing in IPOs is an easy way to lose money

The struggles of Uber provide a stark lesson of the dangers of buying new issues




m

In search of an investment to last a lifetime

Investment trusts pass the longevity test and could provide the answer 




m

My Christmas book choices: fuel for the post-lunch argument 

From social mobility to how tax policy has shaped our history — and future




m

The UK voted for capitalism — now go out and buy it

It’s time for unloved UK equities to take their place in investors’ portfolios




m

The many confusing shades of green for investors

All portfolios should at least nod to the idea that there’s more to life than short-term profits. But how?




m

UK Budget sides with small businesses, with a caveat

The chancellor need beware that policies introduced in a crisis are hard to end later




m

Are you brave enough to hunt for value in a bear market? 

We have no real sense of how to value stocks in this environment




m

Stock market crashes: lessons from history

The hum of the helicopters needs to start getting louder




m

Equities: buy for the long term, but buy carefully

We may have passed peak uncertainty and there is definitely a reason to start buying again — carefully




m

Dividends: from hero to zero

Cuts are painful for investors, but don’t write off investment trusts just yet 




m

The pandemic and the radical change in wealth distribution to come 

‘The old globalised order is fracturing. We are seeing wartime-style falls in GDP’




m

There is a way to solve the Covid-19 bailout problem

Might we all be better off if government loans were fast converted into equity?




m

The UK’s employment and productivity puzzle

Favourable trends in employment relative to population are not going to be repeated




m

Trump’s re-election would be dangerous for the world

The notion of the west as an alliance with moral foundations would evaporate if the president wins




m

Boris Johnson’s promise to ‘level up’ hard to keep

The UK’s dire productivity performance since the financial crisis needs to improve




m

UK economy: a Downing Street 'coup'

The FT's chief economics commentator says Boris Johnson's levelling-up mission will come at a cost




m

Last chance for the climate transition

Achieving zero emissions by 2050 would require unprecedented global co-operation




m

Martin Wolf: The virus is an economic emergency

As borrowers and spenders of last resort, governments must act now to avert a depression




m

This pandemic is an ethical challenge

To avert disaster, solidarity between countries must be as strong as within them




m

Martin Wolf on the pain of separation from his grandchildren

‘We are used to having the grandchildren regularly in our house. When will that happen again? We have no idea. That is painful’




m

We must focus attention on our next steps

The lockdowns are necessary to get the disease under control — but they must be brief




m

Monetary financing demands sober management

It is simply another policy tool, neither the royal road to hyperinflation nor a cure-all




m

The world economy is now collapsing

A microbe has overthrown our arrogance and sent global output into a tailspin




m

Martin Wolf: coronavirus could be worst economic crisis since Great Depression

Pandemic's economic impact compared with historic crises of 1930s and 2008




m

Maintaining the lockdown and saving the economy are mutually compatible

It is not a matter of protecting people ‘or’ the economy but of protecting people ‘and’ the economy




m

H1 Insights is giving the healthcare industry the ultimate professional database

“I want to build a business which profiles every single researcher and healthcare professional in the world and I want to sell it to industry,” says Ariel Katz, the co-founder and chief executive of H1 Insights.  With the healthcare industry on a mission to digitize and analyze every conceivable data point it can to wring […]




m

Greylock’s Reid Hoffman and Sarah Guo to talk fundraising at Early Stage SF 2020

Early Stage SF is around the corner, on April 28 in San Francisco, and we are more than excited for this brand new event. The intimate gathering of founders, VCs, operators and tech industry experts is all about giving founders the tools they need to find success, no matter the challenge ahead of them. Struggling […]




m

Russia’s push back against big tech has major consequences for Apple

Tech companies are getting so large that Russia is fast-tracking laws aimed at developing "digital sovereignty." How will these regulations affect tech companies looking to do business in the country?




m

Online learning marketplace Udemy raises $50M at a $2B valuation from Japanese publisher Benesse

The internet has, for better or worse, become the default platform for people seeking information, and today one of the companies leveraging that to deliver educational content has raised some funding to fuel its next stage of growth. Udemy, which provides a marketplace offering some 150,000 different online learning courses from business analytics to ukulele […]




m

Lack of big tech GDPR decisions looms large in EU watchdog’s annual report

The lead European Union privacy regulator for most of big tech has put out its annual report which shows another major bump in complaints filed under the bloc’s updated data protection framework, underlining the ongoing appetite EU citizens have for applying their rights. But what the report doesn’t show is any firm enforcement of EU […]




m

The Org nabs $8.5M led by Founders Fund to build a global database of company org charts

LinkedIn has cornered the market when it comes to putting your own professional profile online and using it to network for jobs, industry connections and professional development. But when it comes to looking at a chart of the people, and specifically the leadership teams, who make up organizations more holistically, the Microsoft-owned network comes up […]




m

Box is now letting all staff work from home to reduce coronavirus risk

Box has joined a number of tech companies supporting employees to work remotely from home in response  the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. It’s applying the policy to all staff, regardless of location. Late yesterday Box co-founder Aaron Levie tweeted a statement detailing the cloud computing company’s response to COVID-19, the name of the disease caused […]




m

HireSweet helps employers find candidates that aren’t actively looking to change jobs

The right candidate to fill your job may not actually be looking for a job right now. HireSweet, which is part of Y Combinator’s current class of startups, is trying to help companies find exactly these candidates that are perfect for a job but not actively looking. Like so many other recruiting platforms, the HireSweet […]




m

Facebook, Reddit, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube issue joint statement on misinformation

In an unprecedented move to reassure customers and flag the potential for misinformation about COVID-19 on their platforms, all of the major social media companies and their parent corporations issued a joint statement on their efforts. “We invite other companies to join us as we work to keep our communities healthy and safe,” the statement […]




m

Virtual dates and video speed dating: Dating.com Group launches a $50 million corporate venture fund 

The dating startup world is notorious for few exits, and a similarly slim number of buyers. There’s Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, and there’s Spark Networks, which owns Christian Mingle, JSwipe, Jdate and Zoosk. Dating.com Group also owns a slew of dating brands, like Dil Mil, a dating app for South Asians. […]




m

Amazon, Apple and Microsoft CEOs detail their companies’ efforts to combat coronavirus pandemic

The tech industry is mobilizing its considerable resources to attempt to support efforts against the growing global coronavirus pandemic. Over the weekend, the CEOs of Amazon, Apple and Microsoft all shared updates regarding some aspects of their company’s ongoing contributions, which range from donations of medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare […]




m

LinkedIn’s making its recruitment tools free to those fighting the coronavirus pandemic

Like many other websites at the moment, the career-oriented networking platform LinkedIn has seen a big boost in traffic as a result of people being asked to work from home and stay indoors overall to slow the spread of the coronavirus, with a bump of 55% more conversational activity between existing connections in recent weeks. […]




m

LinkedIn has no plans to make COVID-19 related layoffs from now until end of fiscal year

LinkedIn has no plans to make COVID-related layoffs until at least the end of June 2020, the professional network has confirmed to TechCrunch. This announcements comes after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s pledge last month to have no significant layoffs for the next 90 days. Other business leaders such as Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan […]




m

Confluent lands another big round with $250M Series E on $4.5B valuation

The pandemic may feel all-encompassing at the moment, but Confluent announced a $250 million Series E today, showing that major investment continues in spite of the dire economic situation at the moment. The company is now valued at $4.5 billion. Today’s round follows last year’s $125 million Series D. At that point the company was […]




m

Y Combinator graduate H1 closes on $12.9 million for its professional healthcare database

Just months after graduating from Y Combinator, H1 Insights, the LinkedIn for the healthcare industry, has raised $12.9 million in a new round of funding. “It’s a better way to connect the ecosystem,” says co-founder Ariel Katz. The company already has more than 8 million profiles for healthcare professionals in its database and is generating […]




m

Apple said to be working on modular, high-end, noise-cancelling over-ear headphones

Apple is said to be developing its own competitors to popular over-ear noise-cancelling headphones like those made by Bose and Sony, Bloomberg reports, but with similar technology on board to that used in the AirPod and AirPod Pro lines. These headphones would also include a design with interchangeable parts that would allow some modification with […]




m

GoPro lays off 200 employees representing 20% of the company

Action camera manufacturer GoPro has announced some massive organizational changes at the company. In particular, the company is laying off more than 200 employees — which represents a 20% staff reduction. GoPro plans “office space reductions in five geographies” as well as a reduction in operating expenses. The company expects a “$100 million reduction in […]




m

The $99 Mendel Air Sensor uses data to help you grow better veggies (or weed)

The Mendel Air Sensor app is the first app I open every morning. Before Reddit, before Gmail, before NYT. I roll over, grab my phone and check my plants. I don’t know if there’s a higher honor I can bestow on an app. The Mendel Air Sensor is a game-changer for indoor growers. It offers […]