TECH BYTES
TIME CALLED FOR AUTOMATON GAMES Development of an ambitious new online game capable of hosting 1,000 players at once has been shelved after Automaton Games called in the administrators. The Cambridge company, with headquarters on Cowley Road, was working on the title, Mavericks: Proving Grounds, but ran into financial difficulties. Paul Cooper and Paul Appleton of David Rubin and Partners have been appointed as administrators of Automaton. They said: “Please be
advised that due to insufficient funding, the development of Mavericks: Proving Grounds has now ceased.” Founded in 2015, Automaton raised $10m two years ago to fund the development of Mavericks, a shooter that was due to use the SpatialOS cloud gaming technology developed by Cambridge University spin-out Improbable. The two companies had been working closely on the project. It is not known how many staff have been affected by the news,
but Improbable said it would try and find roles for any members of the Automaton team who had lost their jobs. Automaton’s only published game, Deceit, an online multiplayer horror game, will remain live on Steam, with the administrators hopeful of finding a new company to take on the franchise. “The joint administrators are in the process of licensing the Deceit game so there will be no change in the live operation and provision of this game,” the statement added.
Agile Analog, a new chip design firm founded by a team of Arm veterans, has been awarded funding from the government innovation agency Innovate UK. It has given the firm a £450,000 grant to part fund a two-year project that will help the company design more complex analogue IP. Analogue circuits are needed on microchips to make the connection between the physical and digital worlds. Founded earlier this year, Agile Analog’s team includes many familiar faces formerly employed by the Cambridge semiconductor giant Arm. This company could be one to watch.
Medical imaging company Feedback is set to raise
£2m to fund development of a new clinical messaging product. Work on the product, Bleepa, is already underway, and the funding would allow Feedback to refine the Bleepa app and hire a new sales and marketing to support its launch, as well as providing additional working capital. If approved by the company’s existing shareholders, the cash will be provided by the Peterhouse Capital and Stanford Capital Partners funds.
Mobile payment specialist Bango has teamed up with another big-name client in the form of Spotify. The new partnership means that subscriptions to Spotify’s music streaming service can be bundled in as part of mobile contracts using Bango Resale technology. “Bango is delighted that Spotify, the global leader in audio streaming subscription services, is now benefiting from intelligent Bango Resale technology to attract new customers,” said Bango CEO, Ray Anderson. He added: “Bango is excited to support its goal to unlock the potential of human creativity by reaching out to more customers across the world.”
A new academy to train the next generation of tech stars has been launched in Cambridge. The Digital Academy has been launched by Code Nation, a Manchester-based provider of intensive coding courses. Based at Cambridge Regional College, it will offer 12-week bootcamps to equip students – young and old – with the skills needed to get a job in tech. Founder Andy Lord said: “We’re keen to show businesses how a successful
programme like ours can quickly create coding and
cybersecurity experts. We can’t wait to get started as we train the tech stars of the future.”
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