News

Oxford medtech startup closes £1.2m for weight loss technology

Oxford Medical Products (OMP) has raised £1.2m in seed investment to develop a safe and affordable weight loss capsule, which uses the same mechanism of action as a gastric balloon, but can be taken at home. The funding will be used to complete pre-clinical testing, upscale and outsource manufacturing and grow the team.

Chelsea FC offers free advertising space to small London businesses

Chelsea Football Club has launched a unique offering to help support local businesses get back on their feet, by inviting small companies with a London postcode to apply for free advertising space on matchdays.

Celebrating the pioneering healthtech startups

The next Mayor of London’s TechInvest, taking place 27th April, will celebrate 10 of London’s pioneering HealthTech startups. This upcoming TechInvest instalment will seek to identify industry leaders that are converging technologies with medicine and healthcare to improve the efficiency and delivery of prediction, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

Future Leaders scholarships up for grabs from LMF Network, Jolt and Balderton

Like Minded Females (LMF) Network joined efforts with online business school Jolt and technology venture firm, Balderton Capital to grant five Future Leaders scholarships to rising female tech talent from LMF’s community. The full bursaries will allow them to attend Jolt’s Switch course, a programme designed to create pathways for those who want to begin a career in tech. 

New community-led media platform launched by serial entrepreneur

Beautystack Founder and CEO, Sharmadean Reid has launched her latest venture, a new media platform called The Stack World that will bring together content, community and commerce and put intelligence at the core of the women’s media landscape. 

New mental health app launches to help return to school

New data shows fears for pupils’ well-being, increased workloads and concerns about the toll on their own health have all contributed to a massive increase in stress for teachers during the pandemic.

Next steps for first Lawtech Sandbox as pilot draws to a close

LawtechUK, the government-backed initiative within Tech Nation, to help transform the UK legal sector through technology, today brings to a close the Pilot stage of the first Lawtech Sandbox – a research and development initiative for lawtech scaleups – following a successful three month trial period.

Not long left to join cohort 3 with Transport for Wales

There is not long left to appy for the opportunity to up-skill and up-scale your business, refine, develop and launch your product to market and secure a contract of work with Transport for Wales. 

Payment app raises £2.25m in its mission to support the UK’s self-employed

Osu, the payment app for the UK’s self-employed, has announced the close of a £2.25m seed round, led by early-stage experts Creandum, to fund further growth to reach 10,000 customers this year.

Social impact fund delivers compound annual growth of 16.1% over five years

Social impact fund Valloop, created to help employees and management buy the companies they work for, delivered compound annual growth of 16.1% over a five-year period between September 2015 and September 2020.

37% of workers said their employers took social distancing rules seriously

The past 12 months have placed many obstacles and challenges in the path of businesses, as the pandemic took grip of the nation and workplace processes were forced to change to stay within government guidelines.

Half of Brits dream of going it alone but financial fears block them from starting their business

Sage has unveiled research showing that 1 in 2 (52%) UK adults dream about starting their own business.  However, over half (53%) of those feel that money worries are stopping them from turning the idea into a reality – a fear that has been exacerbated by the stresses of COVID-19.

VR mindfulness training launched to support employee mental health

A pioneering new mindfulness training programme, powered by Virtual Reality (VR) training specialists Virti, has launched this month to help employees cope with the demands of their jobs during the pandemic.

New YEO Messaging app offers the privacy WhatsApp lacks

As WhatsApp users are forced to share personal data with Facebook, a new competitor – YEO (Your Eyes Only) Messaging – has launched today, offering an alternative ultra-secure private messaging platform.

Search and social giants dominate new university startups league

New research by money.co.uk has crowned Google as the most successful company to be started at university. The search engine sits at the top of the university startup league table with a current market capitalisation of $1.27 trillion (£926 billion). This is 12.7 million times greater than the $100,000 initial funding the company received in 1998.

Workspace accelerator puts startup members in spotlight of latest ads

Launching one year after the first lockdown, creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree has launched a new campaign with Otherway to address the year that’s been, celebrating the founders persevering and innovating despite the pandemic, whilst inspiring the companies of the future to be brave in the face of adversity.

Dealing with the strain: how we coped with COVID

A new report has revealed the devastating impact a year of lockdown has had on the mental health of those running business. According to a study by Harper James Solicitors the strain of the past 12 months has led to one counselling platform recording an 84% rise in demand.

ICE Campus helps social enterprises launch and secure funding

An after-work programme designed to support people in starting social enterprises has enabled 18 businesses to launch, as well as helping some secure almost £20,000 in funding.

AI startup raises $2m to empower enterprises to scale resilient edge AI

UK startup, LGN has secured $2m in funding to help businesses outpace their competition by building better and more resilient AI models, faster and at scale. With backing from the likes of Trucks Venture Capital, Luminous Ventures and Jaguar Land Rover, LGN supports enterprises to scale out their use of edge AI and accelerate learning in the real world, rather than in labs and test environments. The company will use the investment to continue its mission of getting AI into the real world.

Inclusive female-led lender approves £4m to UK SMEs in 12 months of CBILS

A year since it was awarded CBILS lender status, responsible lender, AskIf, can now reveal it has approved close to £4m to deserving SMEs and micro businesses, playing an essential role in the national push to help businesses survive and thrive. AskIf has delivered on its mission to be an inclusive lender with 17% of CBILS loans distributed to BAME-owned businesses, and 22% to female-led businesses.