Italy’s largest investment bank pledges to back UK fintech startups

Jul24
by on July 24, 2023 at 10:51 am
Posted In: UK


London-based startup accelerator Founders Factory has gained a new partner in the form of Mediobanca. The Milan-based investment bank is looking to increase its presence in the UK, and has pledged €12mn to the joint venture.  Specifically, Mediobanca will be looking to back as many as 35 fintech startups that focus on technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence over the coming five years. However, it will also include early stage fintech startups in other parts of Europe.  Founders Factory, co-founded by Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox, and George Northcott in 2015, has thus far supported over 300 companies globally…

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New UK law could spark ‘default surveillance of everyone’s devices’

Jul21
by on July 21, 2023 at 3:38 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


New laws proposed in the UK could normalise surveillance of personal devices, experts have warned. The concerns stem from a planned update to the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA). When the original rules passed in 2016, critics described them as the “most extreme spying powers ever seen.” They’re now set to become even more intrusive. Under the new proposals, messaging services would have to clear security features with the government before releasing them. The Home Office could also demand that features are disabled —without telling the public. Apple has threatened to remove FaceTime and iMessage from the UK if the plans are…

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Fibre optics could be the answer to water loss from leaky pipes

Jul21
by on July 21, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Approximately 48.6 billion cubic meters of water are lost around the world every day. According to the International Water Association (IWA), the main culprits for this loss are underground leaks on water mains and service pipes. To monitor leaks in water pipeline networks, researchers at the Polytechnic University of Milan have experimented with a novel method using fibre optics — the inexpensive and commonly- used technology that allows us to have fast internet at home. The scientists developed a distributed fibre optic sensing (DFOS) cable based on the so-called Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) technology, which enables the processing and storage…

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AI in healthcare could exacerbate ethnic and income inequalities, scientists warn

Jul21
by on July 21, 2023 at 9:42 am
Posted In: Insider


Scientists fear using AI models such as ChatGPT in healthcare will exacerbate inequalities. The epidemiologists, from the universities of Cambridge and Leicester, warn that large language models (LLMs) could entrench inequities for ethnic minorities and lower-income countries. Their concern stems from systemic data biases. AI models used in healthcare are trained on information from websites and scientific literature. But evidence shows that ethnicity data is often missing from these sources.  As a result, AI tools can be less accurate for underrepresented groups. This can lead to ineffective drug recommendations or racist medical advice. “It is widely accepted that a differential…

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European VC deal value down 61% in first half of 2023, report finds

Jul20
by on July 20, 2023 at 8:16 am
Posted In: Uncategorized


Venture capital funding in Europe is plummeting as investors shift focus from growth to cutting costs. In the first half of 2023, European VC deal value was 61% lower than at the same time last year according to a new report by Pitchbook, a financial data firm. The total capital raised in the continent was €8.9 billion. At the current rate, the full year is on track to pace 37% below 2022 levels. Analysts blame the decline on surging interest rates, high inflation, fundraising hurdles, and a subdued IPO market. These economic headwinds have prompted new investment strategies. Instead of prioritising…

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