The Latest from Paul Sawers
Bluu Seafood unveils its first lab-grown fish products and readies for regulators
Bluu Seafood, a German company developing “lab-grown” fish, is showcasing its first finished products as it prepares to begin the regulatory approval process for key markets in Asia, Europ
Gilead Sciences to acquire Oxford University biotech spinout MiroBio for $405M
U.S. pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences has announced plans to acquire Oxford University biotech spinout company MiroBio in an all-cash deal worth $405 million. MiroBio is a clinical-stage company f
Despite remote work and the economic downturn, some companies look to London for expansion
Barely a day goes by without news of layoffs emerging from the tech world — from cybersecurity to gaming, no industry is impervious. It’s not limited to any particular size of company, ei
UK provisionally approves $8.1B NortonLifeLock-Avast merger, citing competition from Microsoft
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally greenlighted the proposed $8.1 billion merger of cybersecurity companies NortonLifeLock and Avast, with Microsoft emerging as
Employee benefits platform Ben raises $16M to cut HR admin
Employee benefits platform Ben today announced it has raised $16 million in a Series A round of funding led by European VC giant Atomico. While salary is undoubtedly the main draw in a company’s
Amazon launches AWS Skill Builder training subscriptions starting at $29 per month
Amazon’s AWS is introducing premium paid subscriptions for individuals and teams looking to bolster their cloud computing skills. Amazon announced a bunch of free cloud skills training products
Sheryl Sandberg officially stepped down as Meta COO on August 1, filing shows
We knew it was happening, but Meta has confirmed that its long-standing chief operating officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg has departed from her role as of yesterday (August 1). News emerged on June 1 that
UiPath acquires London-based NLP startup Re:infer
Robotic process automation (RPA) company UiPath has acquired Re:infer, a London-based startup that’s developing natural language processing (NLP) tools for enterprises. Terms of the deal were no
Twitter and Elon Musk trial confirmed for October 17
Twitter’s bid to get Elon Musk to follow through with his multibillion-dollar bid to buy the social network will officially go to trial on October 17, a Delaware judge has confirmed. As Bloomber
Spotify forks out $295M for Findaway, Podsights, Chartable and Sonantic, filing reveals
Spotify has quietly announced how much it’s paying for four of its recent acquisitions, revealing that it’s doling out a combined €291 million ($295 million) for Findaway, Podsights, Cha
Data center electricity demands could curtail London housing development
Data centers might be the lifeblood of the modern digital economy but for housing developers in some parts of London they could curtail building plans for the next 13 years. According to a report in t
Human Security merges with PerimeterX to thwart bots and automated fraud
Human Security, a bot mitigation and fraud detection platform for enterprises, is merging with PerimeterX, a company focused on safeguarding web apps from account takeover and automated fraud. Terms o
UK antitrust authority sees no competition concerns in music-streaming industry
Some nine months after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed it was carrying out a market study into music-streaming services, the government department has revealed it bel
Eutelsat and OneWeb agree on merger to create European satellite juggernaut
Two major players in the European satellite space are merging in a $3.4 billion all-share transaction, a move that is widely seen as a challenge to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Rumors emerged earlier thi
Corporate travel tech platform Spotnana nabs $75M
Spotnana, a self-proclaimed “travel-as-a-service” platform that targets corporations, travel management firms and other technology companies with a cloud-based toolset for booking and mana
Amazon hikes Prime subscription prices in Europe by up to 43%
Amazon has announced that it’s increasing the prices for its Prime subscription service in Europe, with fees rising by as much as 43% in some markets. The announcement comes some six months afte
Big Tech’s push to self-regulate harmful content in New Zealand is ‘weak attempt to preempt regulation’, critics say
Big technology companies including Facebook’s parent Meta and Google have signed a pact to self-regulate themselves over harmful content shared across digital platforms in New Zealand. The move
Twitter posts quarterly sales drop and says it spent $33M on pending Musk acquisition
Twitter has published its Q2 2022 results, with the social networking giant’s numbers falling short of analysts’ estimates across user growth and revenues. Perhaps more interestingly, howe
Just Eat Takeaway scales back in France as market value drops 84% in 10 months
Just Eat Takeaway is cutting 390 jobs from its workforce in France, constituting part of a broader global restructuring effort as the food delivery giant looks to reverse its recent downturn. Just Eat
Fonoa raises $60M to automate tax compliance for global companies like Uber and Zoom
Fonoa, a tax automation platform used by companies such as Uber and Zoom, has raised $60 million in a series B round of funding. Founded out of Dublin, Ireland, in 2019, Fonoa targets digital services