logo
Allegra Stratton: The UK's Next Power Play is Electricity

Allegra Stratton: The UK's Next Power Play is Electricity

Bloomberg4 hours ago

I'm just back from another work trip to Shetland, where over the years I've watched the onshore Viking windfarm get built. These days I often see those 103 turbines in action. However, on some days I also see — even when it's gusty — many of those 103 turbines not in action. Of course, that does not go down well with my Shetland friends.
It's hard not to think of Viking, one of the UK's largest onshore windfarms, when reading briefing today that the industrial strategy due to be announced next week by the government will include commitments to support Britain's key industries by lowering their energy bills.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

LME Imposes Rule Forcing Traders to Reduce Big Front-Month Bets
LME Imposes Rule Forcing Traders to Reduce Big Front-Month Bets

Bloomberg

timean hour ago

  • Bloomberg

LME Imposes Rule Forcing Traders to Reduce Big Front-Month Bets

The London Metal Exchange set a new rule on Friday to force traders to reduce large positions, after the market was rocked in recent months by the arrival of some of the world's largest energy traders. The exchange said that, starting Monday, any trader with a position in the nearby month's contract larger than the total available stock would be forced to reduce its position by offering to lend it to other traders.

BBC Threatens to Sue Perplexity, Alleging 'Verbatim' Reproduction of Its Content
BBC Threatens to Sue Perplexity, Alleging 'Verbatim' Reproduction of Its Content

CNET

timean hour ago

  • CNET

BBC Threatens to Sue Perplexity, Alleging 'Verbatim' Reproduction of Its Content

The BBC is threatening to sue AI search engine Perplexity for unauthorized use of its content, alleging the artificial intelligence company generates BBC's material "verbatim." In a letter to Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, as published by The Financial Times on Friday, the BBC alleges that Perplexity's default AI model was "trained using BBC content." The BBC said it would seek an injunction unless Perplexity stopped scraping BBC content, deleted all BBC material and submitted a "a proposal for financial compensation." The BBC declined to comment but said reporting by the FT was accurate. In a statement to the FT, Perplexity said the BBC's claims are "manipulative and opportunistic" and that the broadcasting giant fundamentally doesn't understand how the technology, internet or IP law work. Perplexity also alleged that the threat of litigation shows "how far the BBC is willing to go to preserve Google's illegal monopoly for its own self-interest." A US judge ruled last year that Google violated antitrust law to bolster its search dominance. Since Perplexity is an online search engine built on top of a large language model, it can answer pretty much any question asked. This means that it needs good quality information to give users satisfying answers. The BBC alleges that since Perplexity generates answers built on BBC content, that lessens the need for readers to go to the BBC directly. There's also concern that AI companies aren't using its journalism correctly and impartially, which could damage its reputation. The BBC alleges that 17% of Perplexity search responses had major issues, and "the most common problems were factual inaccuracies, sourcing and missing context." Perplexity didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. While this is the first time the BBC has gone after an AI company, it isn't the first time Perplexity has run into issues with publishers. Outlets currently suing or threatening to sue Perplexity for copyright infringement include The Wall Street Journal along with the New York Post, Forbes and The New York Times. An investigation by Wired last year alleged that Perplexity found ways to get around blocks and scrape its content. In the midst of these complaints, Perplexity launched a revenue sharing program with publishers last year, which includes Fortune, Time, The Texas Tribute and Der Spiegel. Publishers are becoming highly defensive of their content, with AI companies seeing valuations sore on the backdrop of increasingly narrow margins in media. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, currently has a valuation of $300 billion and Perplexity's valuation has also soared to $14 billion. Perplexity investors include SoftBank, Nvidia and Amazon and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos. This is while journalism has struggled in the online age, with ad dollars being siphoned by Google and attention shifting towards social media apps. Since 2005, 2,900 local newspapers have closed in the US, according to a study from Northwestern University. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

New wave of Tech IPOs should find their home in London, says Head of Tech Sector at the London Stock Exchange
New wave of Tech IPOs should find their home in London, says Head of Tech Sector at the London Stock Exchange

Entrepreneur

timean hour ago

  • Entrepreneur

New wave of Tech IPOs should find their home in London, says Head of Tech Sector at the London Stock Exchange

"Nvidia had $29 million of revenue at IPO, and Amazon had revenues of $16 million at the time they went public. London has all the potential to provide companies with this growth opportunity" says Neil Shah, Head of Tech Primary Markets at the London Stock Exchange. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Despite comprising only 1.4% of the 503 companies in the S&P 500 index of the largest US-listed businesses, the 'Magnificent 7' (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla) were responsible for over 50% of the index's total gains - and over 75% of its earnings growth - in 2024. It's sometimes hard to believe how small some of those companies were when they first went public, especially when high profile US IPOs are now reserved for companies with revenues in the billions, not millions. "When I started out in investment banking at Thomas Weisel Partners in 2009," continues Shah, "there were software companies going public in the US with about $40 million in revenue. It is a very different picture today, that would just be impossible. It would probably still be impossible at $400 million in revenue. $400m of revenue a quarter, maybe, but not annually." But it is still possible in London. This may come as a surprise to the average Brit who may only come across the London Stock Exchange in the evening news summary of the FTSE 100 with its big banks, big pharma and miners. The London Stock Exchange team gets as excited about early stage growth companies as they do about unicorns. Most stock exchanges have left the messy business of young, growing scale ups to VCs or Private Equity. Not so in London. "AIM turns 30 this year. It is the world's most successful growth market and is run by the London Stock Exchange. Nominated advisers closely support companies not only through the IPO process, but thereafter. And some of the work required by a company to go public could potentially be done at a tenth of the cost of a US listing." "When companies choose to list in London, they can benefit from a full-time fundraising team in the form of the house broker retained by the company, meaning there is less of a burden on a company founder. And as public companies, they can also attract and incentivise talent in a liquid, transparent way that private companies cannot." Shah also believes that (along with a range of high-quality small cap funds and investors) Venture Capital Trusts, or VCTs - a unique British invention that combines the best of a Silicon Valley VC and a traditional small cap fund - offer an attractive alternative to more fashionable venture funding sources. The traditional venture capital model has fueled household name successes like Uber, Facebook and Zoom. But it has also given the world high profile failures like WeWork, Theranos and 23andMe. London's approach, where sensible valuations, supportive institutional investors and quality growth companies mingle, could be having its moment. AIM has supported some fantastic founder-led companies such as Craneware which went public with $15m of revenue in 2007 ($200m today) and Cerillion, which went public in 2016 with £14m of revenue and a £22m market cap. Today, it's worth over £450m. Nvidia founder Jensen Huang took to the stage at London Tech Week in mid June, saying "The UK has one of the richest AI communities anywhere on the planet... and the third largest AI capital investment of anywhere in the world." If Huang or Bezos were taking Nvidia or Amazon public today, they may be looking to the City, not Wall Street, for support. "British investors are really well-travelled. More than a third of our [London-listed] companies are international," says Shah. "It doesn't matter where you're from, you can be successful here."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store