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☆ Prince Harry Now Officially Resident in U.S., Documents Show
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Megan Specia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The document filed on Wednesday at Britain’s corporate registrar, Companies House, was just a few lines long. But its purpose was to formally update the country of residency for one “Prince Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex” — otherwise known as Prince Harry. For years, Harry and his American wife, Meghan, have considered California home. The document updated the residency of the British royal to the United States for official paperwork for his business Travalyst Limited, a nonprofit sustainable travel initiative. Harry and Meghan moved to Montecito, Calif., after stepping back from royal duties in 2020, amid a rift with the royal family.

Persons: Prince Henry Charles Albert David Duke, Sussex, Prince Harry, Harry, Meghan, Windsor Organizations: Companies, Sussex ” Locations: California, United States, Montecito, Calif

☆ Salt Bae's London restaurant, which charges $850 for steak, cuts heating during peak hours to save money
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Salt Bae's restaurant in London said it cuts heating during peak hours. AdvertisementThe Nusr-Et Steakhouse in London said it cuts heating during peak hours to save money despite posting a profit, The Guardian reported. The group said in its accounts that to improve energy efficiency, its London steakhouse had turned "off central heating after closing or during peak hours when heating demand is lower," The Guardian reported. D.Ream International, the parent company of the Nusr-Et group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Despite the financial success of Gökçe's London steakhouse, his brand has taken a hit in recent years.

Persons: —, Nusret, Bae —, it's Organizations: Service, Guardian, London steakhouse, Companies House, D.Ream, Business Locations: London, Turkish, Knightsbridge, Manhattan

☆ Wheely, Uber's luxury competitor, launches in Dubai to take on the UAE's dominant player
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The company, founded by Russian-Swiss entrepreneur Anton Chirkunov, told CNBC it will offer rides in the United Arab Emirates city starting Wednesday, catering mainly to wealthy clients. "European families and entrepreneurs have been moving to Dubai in the last five years," Chirkunov told CNBC in an interview ahead of the launch. Wheely's platform is tailored more toward mass market usage, however, and Chirkunov thinks his platform has an opportunity to stand out. He compares the Wheely brand to the American Express Centurion and Platinum membership credit cards in terms of brand status. Wheely plans to expand its Middle East team and chauffeur network to over 1,000 in the next three to five years, the company told CNBC exclusively.

Persons: Shariff, Covid, Anton Chirkunov, Wheely, That's, Mercedes, Chirkunov, it's, chauffeurs, Duke of Northumberland, Covid lockdowns Organizations: Russian, CNBC, United Arab Emirates, BMW, Benz, Tesla, American Express, Mercedes, East, Companies Locations: Dubai, Swiss, Europe, London, Mayfair, City of London, Wheely, Paris

☆ Invite-only Lapse wants to rival Instagram. It's about to raise a lot of cash to do just that.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Lapse, a buzzy social media app that wants to rival Instagram, is set to raise fresh funding, Business Insider understands. Based on the number of shares allocated, the company has raised approximately £24.48 million, $31 million. One London-based source familiar with the deal said Lapse was set to secure around $30 million. A look at the Lapse app. It aims to help satisfy the demand for more authenticity on social media.

Persons: Instagram, Jacob Andreou, Ben, Dan Silvertown, Plural's Ian Hogarth, Dmitry Tokarev Organizations: Business, Meta, Greylock Ventures, Facebook, Companies, Octopus Ventures, Redbus Ventures Locations: London

☆ Advent to buy UK payments firm myPOS valued at over $500 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Amy-Jo Crowley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Advent International has signed a deal to buy payments firm myPOS as part of the London-based buyout group's latest push into digital payments, director Fabio Cali told Reuters. The acquisition is expected to value myPOS at around 500 million euros ($542.15 million), two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The payments sector has had a run of transactions recently. SumUp said last year it had raised 590 million euros in a funding round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities. The company is targeting a revenue run rate of 100 million euros this year, one of the people said.

Persons: Fabio Cali, SumUp, JP Morgan, PayPal Zettle, Christo Georgiev, Georgiev, Amy, Jo Crowley, Jane Merriman Organizations: Reuters, Bain Capital Tech, PayPal, House, Thomson Locations: London, Cali, Athens, Europe

☆ Fact Check: UK government page does not show Israel is a British company
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Writing a caption to accompany the screenshot, the X user said: “Yet another proof that Israel is owned by British elites. There is no listing for “The State of Israel” as a company on Companies House. Companies House told Reuters in an email that this includes foreign governments. The State of Israel is identifiable as an overseas entity on the Companies House registry by its unique ID, beginning with “OE”, Companies House told Reuters. The screenshot shows Israel registered as an overseas entity owning property in the UK, not a registered UK company.

Persons: Israel ”, ROE, Israel, Read Organizations: Social, Twitter, Facebook, Companies House, OF ISRAEL, House, Overseas, Companies, THE, Overseas Entities, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Israel, British, The State, ., London, Ukraine, State

☆ Voice cloning AI startup ElevenLabs was worth $100 million five months ago. Now, sources say it's about to hit $1 billion.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ElevenLabs, a generative AI startup focused on voice, is in talks to raise capital in a deal that would catapult its valuation to $1 billion. It is unclear as yet whether Sequoia would invest alongside Andreessen Horowitz or if they are competing with one another. Five months on, the prospective new round will increase that valuation 10 times over to $1 billion, three sources said. ElevenLabs and Andreessen Horowitz did not respond to a request for comment. Bruce Reed, President Biden's AI chief, said that voice cloning "keeps me up at night," in an interview with Politico.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Joe Rogan, Emma Watson, Gizmodo, ElevenLabs, Sequoia, OpenAI's ChatGPT, FOMO, Mati Staniszewski, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Eric Adams, Adams, Bruce Reed, Biden's, Meta Organizations: Google, VC, Sequoia, Meta, Britain's Companies, Concept Ventures, New York City, White, Politico Locations: London, New York

☆ SoftBank-backed Improbable slashes losses by 85%, says pivot to the metaverse has paid off
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Herman Narula, co-founder and CEO at Improbable, speaks during a session at the Web Summit in Lisbon. Virtual reality startup Improbable said Wednesday that it reduced losses by 85% in 2022, a year that saw the company pivot its focus to powering new "metaverse" experiences. Improbable CEO Herman Narula said the company had reported its "best financial year" on record which reflected how its bet on the metaverse had paid off. Improbable said that part of the reason behind the company's reduction in losses was a dramatic reduction in the cost of running mass-scale virtual events. The year also saw Improbable divest two of its games studios, Inflexion Games and Midwinter Entertainment, and sell off a business unit focused on servicing defense clients.

Persons: Herman Narula, Critics, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Inflexion, Midwinter Entertainment, Companies House Locations: Lisbon, British

The new market-based pricing system will also encourage distributors like ENN and China Gas that are expanding into global gas trading to look at importing LNG. "The policy will help the whole (gas) distribution sector and restore utilities' profitability," said Tan Yuwei, general manager of capital management at China Gas Holdings. Shares for listed gas utility companies briefly reversed this year's trend downwards after the policy was announced, but they remain under pressure from lacklustre industrial demand and China's struggling economy. China in recent years has liberalized natural gas prices by allowing distributors to pass costs on to industrial and commercial customers, although Beijing maintained tight control over household prices to avoid a consumer backlash. "This policy reform will result in more reasonable downstream gas prices in China, which will encourage city gas utilities to increase purchases from upstream importers," said Yi Cui, an analyst with consultancy Rystad Energy, referring to Chinese national oil companies.

Persons: COVID, Tan Yuwei, Tan, Yi Cui, Chen Aizhu, Emily Chow, Andrew Hayley, Tom Hogue Organizations: ENN Energy Holdings, HK, China Gas Holdings, China Resources Gas, Shanghai Gas, Chongqing Gas, Changchun Gas, China Gas, National Development, Reform Commission, China Gas Association, Rystad Energy, Beijing, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, BEIJING, China, Changchun, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shijiangzhuang, Lanzhou, Hubei, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Beijing, Hebei, Singapore

☆ Jump Trading's top executive in Europe is leaving the systematic trading firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Alex Morrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jump Trading exec Peter Deaner is leaving the systematic trading firm, people familiar with the matter said. Senior executive departures are relatively uncommon at the press-shy trading firm. Jump Trading Group's top executive in Europe is leaving the systematic trading firm after more than a decade. "Pete will be retiring from the industry in 2024, moving on from Jump Trading roughly at the end of Q1," the spokesperson told Insider in an email. Jump Trading International, the London-based subsidiary of the Chicago trading firm, has grown substantially since Deaner joined in the summer of 2012.

Persons: Peter Deaner, Deaner, Pete, Damien Couture, Verition, lockups Organizations: Companies, Couture, Bloomberg Locations: Europe, London, Chicago

☆ Moderna posts surprise quarterly profit despite waning demand for Covid vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Moderna on Thursday blew past estimates for first-quarter earnings and revenue, posting a surprise quarterly profit, despite lower demand for Covid vaccines, its only marketable product. The biotech company generated first-quarter sales of $1.9 billion, driven by Covid shot revenue deferred from 2022. Moderna maintained its full-year guidance of around $5 billion in revenue from its Covid vaccine, which will come from signed government contracts for the shot. But Covid shot demand is still falling as the pandemic eases and the U.S. shifts to an annual vaccination schedule rather than repeated booster doses. Moderna in April said it hopes to offer a new set of life-saving vaccines targeting cancer, heart disease and other conditions by 2030.

☆ See the pitch deck these 2 best friends made on Canva to raise $675,000 for their tequila brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Lauren Crosmedlicott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

They registered their tequila brand, Pimantae, while working full-time jobs in 2021. They decided to pursue angel investors and used a pitch deck they made on Canva. They considered crowdfunding and venture capital as financing options, but settled on approaching angel investors. With their first investor locked in, other investors started expressing interest. They closed their pre-seed round in September 2022 having raised £545,000, or around $675,000, between 13 angel investors and Distill Ventures — far exceeding their original £250,000 goal.

☆ AI is so hot that top-tier funds are fighting to back tiny seed-stage startup ElevenLabs at valuation of around $100 million, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A16z is among a raft of top-tier funds battling to invest in a tiny British AI startup, sources say. London-based ElevenLabs closed a $2 million pre-seed round two months ago but is set to raise again. The deal is testament to the hype that surrounds AI startups following the release of ChatGPT last year. Andreessen Horowitz is among a raft of top-tier investors fighting to lead a round into a tiny AI startup that will value it at around $100 million as investor hype around the technology intensifies, sources say. Now, the startup is set to raise new funds again, in part due to its rapid growth in revenue, three London-based investors said.

☆ Blackface, booze, and blurred lines at the $2 billion tech firm Rokt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jack Newsham | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

A cropped version of an image shared with Rokt employees at the 2020 meeting. Buchanan told Insider. "We think it's important that we stand up and fight it," he told Insider when asked about that message. In an email, Viles told Insider that he hasn't had any day-to-day involvement with Rokt since 2020, when he did some contract work. Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesOne employee told Insider they were encouraged to post the photos and proclaim 2023 to be Rokt's "best year yet."

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio's Regeneration VC fills $1.6 million funding gap in AI recycling startup Greyparrot after key investor falls short on commitment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Leonardo DiCaprio's Regeneration VC has plugged a $1.6 million funding gap in Greyparrot. But Una Terra, one of its key backers, was unable the fulfill the entirety of its promised investment. Leonardo DiCaprio-backed fund Regeneration VC has plugged a $1.6. million funding gap in recycling analytics startup Greyparrot after one of its key backers fell short on a promised investment. The founder expects continued growth in waste data, analytics, and reporting as industries are forced to green up.

Downing Street referred requests for comment to the business ministry, which oversees Companies House, Britain’s public registry of companies. And, in most cases, if foreign companies purchased the property before 1999 or hold UK property in a trust they don’t need to publicly disclose the beneficial owners. The Cyprus-based company, A. Corp Trustee Limited, wasn’t listed on Britain’s new property register as of Tuesday morning. A listing on the UK’s new property register for Hanley Limited identifies the beneficial owner as a Swiss company called Pomerol Capital Sa. Ravellot also wasn’t on the new property register.

☆ Ex-Google comms chief D-J Collins founds biotech startup Early with designer Thomas Heatherwick
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ex-Google comms chief D-J Collins has founded a biotech startup with designer Thomas Heatherwick. The startup, named Early, will focus on the early detection of serious illnesses. D-J Collins and the designer Thomas Heatherwick established a startup called Early on December 20 2022, according to documents filed with Companies House. Early will focus on the early detection of serious illnesses. "Early's mission is to provide early detection of serious illnesses to as many people as possible," Collins told Insider.

☆ A Twitter angel investor appeared to mock Elon Musk by offering to buy the company and threatening to withdraw his investment if Musk says no
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An early Twitter investor appeared to mock Elon Musk in a letter posted on the site on Tuesday. Leonidas Raisini said he'd sell his shares if Musk turns down his offer to buy the company for $14.3 billion. The letter includes a lot of the phrasing used by Musk when he offered to buy Twitter in April. However, since you acquired Twitter, you have not kept your promise of free speech and Twitter has become a breeding ground for online hate and terrorism. Together with my partners, my fund has secured the funding to buy Twitter.

☆ Behind a Wall Street headhunter's rapid ascent lie accusations of harassment and abuse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alex Morrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +38 min

"It was a complete whirlwind, and it felt too good to be true," Morrison told Insider. "Everyone is given a calendar reminder of when they have to submit a review," one former employee told Insider. Durlston told Insider she wasn't a credible source given the acrimonious nature of her departure from Durlston. "Everyone gets pretty loose at these events," a former employee told Insider, noting the availability of alcohol throughout the day. Bahram told Insider this was not a prohibition but merely a suggestion that it would not be an appropriate arrangement.

☆ Akshata Murty: Rishi Sunak’s wife is a software heiress who’s richer than royalty
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And thanks largely to his wife Murty, Sunak will be one of the richest people to reach the top of the political establishment. Murty has a 0.93% stake in her father’s Indian software company, Infosys, worth approximately $715 million. Even Queen Elizabeth wasn’t as rich – the Sunday Times put the late monarch’s net worth at £370 million (about $420 million) before she died. In April, it was reported that Murty enjoyed a tax status in the UK that meant she could legally avoid to pay taxes on her foreign earnings. “I understand and appreciate the British sense of fairness and I do not wish my tax status to be a distraction for my husband or to affect my family.

☆ This man says he lost all his savings gambling online in China, where players visit 'mirror' websites that change URLs daily and fake 'friends' recruit gamblers in chat groups
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Gambling is illegal in most parts of China, apart from the state-owned national lotteries, and recognised gambling sites are blocked from Chinese users. It is one of many gambling companies that have mirror sites. Experts told Insider mirror websites are a "common" practice by betting companies in countries that don't allow gambling. A virtual armyHuang said it was easy to find a link to a new mirror gambling site once an old one has been blocked: his friends sent him the URL. They make friends with people and claim that they have won money gambling, and encourage other users to visit mirror sites.

Ben Stansall/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoLONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Britain is moving ahead with plans for a sweeping overhaul of its public registry of companies in a bid to transform it into an active gatekeeper of corporate information and crack down harder on "dirty money", a government source said. Companies House is Britain's public registry of companies, their directors, significant shareholders who control the business and their financial filings. Anti-corruption groups have long called for reforms to the registry to improve transparency and tackle corruption through shell firms. At the moment, companies can be owned by nominees and many do not file full financial statements. ($1 = 0.8825 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWriting by Kirstin Ridley, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Big business likes to trumpet ESG credentials. But a 'greenwashing' reckoning could be on the horizon
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Many of these claims are now viewed through the prism of ESG, or environmental, social and governance. But here's the rub: Definitions of ESG often vary and are hard to pin down. Over in the United States, scrutiny of claims about sustainability and ESG is also taking place. When contacted by CNBC, Vale — which has an "ESG Portal" on its website — referred to a statement issued on April 28. The debate surrounding greenwashing is becoming increasingly fierce, with the charge often leveled at multinational companies with vast resources and significant carbon footprints.

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