Startups

UK fintech firm Revolut has joined the country’s ranks of so-called unicorns after being valued at more than $1 billion.

US ride-hailing app Uber has taken a fresh legal blow, losing a court case against France at the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

LGBTQ networking app Grindr has stopped sharing the HIV status of its users with third-parties, the company’s head of security has confirmed.

Social media research firm Fizziology is going to use artificial intelligence to detect sudden changes in social media conversation, using the tech to monitor topics, brands and projects.

Uber has announced its new policy that aims to improve the safety of its customers and its drivers in the UK.

Transport for London (TfL) — the UK capital’s transport regulator — has said it plans to get tough on ride-hailing app Uber and its competitors.

More than 1m Snapchat users have signed a petition calling for the image messaging app to revert back to an older version.

Mobile dating app Tinder expects to see a 20 percent increase in use today as searching singles make one last-ditch attempt to find themselves a Valentine.

Data is a powerful commodity in the fourth-industrial revolution, leading to publications and economists declaring it as “the new oil”.  Whilst that statement has been criticised, it doesn’t detract from the point that yes, data is much sought-after from companies and government institutions alike.

The Chinese ride-hailing service, Didi Chuxing, is going to be rolling into Japan later this year in a partnership backed by Japanese investor SoftBank.

US ride-hailing startup Uber has won a major employment case in France.

The artificial intelligence (AI) healthcare startup Medopad has announced over £100m in trade deals with Chinese companies, including Tencent.

Forced off of the dark web by the closures of notorious illegal goods marketplaces such as Silk Road and The Farmer’s Market, drug sellers are now operating in plain sight, using encrypted messaging app Wickr to hide their crimes.

The French taxi startup Heetch has revealed it has raised $20m to bring its brand of social ride-sharing across Europe.

The musician and tech entrepreneur Will.i.am has said more needs to be done to inspire children from underprivileged backgrounds to get into technology.

London’s technology sector is looking back on 2017 with fond memories as its revealed firms in the city attracted the most of any European city in funding last year.

Topping off ride-hailing app Uber’s terrible year, it has lost its spot as the world’s most valuable start to its arch rival, China’s Didi Chuxing.

Uber rival Didi Chuxing has recently hit a $50bn valuation, making it the most valuable startup in the world after Uber’s latest round knocked it down to a paltry $48bn.

China ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing — the world’s biggest rival to US-based Uber — has raised over $4bn in its latest round of funding, valuing the company at over $50bn and setting it on course of international expansion.

Virtual reality (VR) is everywhere.