News

NovaQuest Capital Management, an investor in life sciences and healthcare, has announced a $20m product financing agreement with Mileutis, an Israeli biopharmaceutical company, to help mitigate the use of antibiotics in animals. NovaQuest’s investment will drive the continued development and commercialisation of Mileutis’ novel, biologically sourced, and residue-free therapies for animal health. NovaQuest’s investment is its first ever in the animal health care field and in an Israeli company.

Aberdeenshire startup company, Legasea, have won the award for Best Energy Industry Environmental Service Provider 2020, making this the company’s second award since establishing the company 18 months ago.

Last month (September) was the highest month for Tech Nation visa applications since records began in 2014. August 2020 was the third highest month for visa applications on record, and applications in Q3 (calendar year) were up 42% on the previous quarter, and up 8% on Q3 of last year. It is clear that applicants have predominantly come from India, Russia and the US, and applicants come from backgrounds in software development, cloud computing and AI.

Rising Stars 3.0 is the UK’s most exciting competition for innovative, early-stage tech companies. Designed to showcase the best the country has to offer, we provide the platform for businesses from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to shine bright. Startups will benefit from significant profile raising on both a national and international level, as well as the opportunity to put their business in front of leading investors, influencers and corporates.

This month is off to a positive start after the successful run of the Good Mental Health festival, co-hosted by Calmer and Psychreg last Friday 9th October. People from all walks of life came together to join the virtual festival, in a bid to raise awareness around mental health while also exploring how to promote positive mental health in the workplace, and other aspects of our lives.

Investors are continuing to pump money into London’s fintech companies despite the pandemic, according to latest data from London & Partners and Dealroom.co today.

The UK government is starting to draw up a plan to create a ‘world-leading’ hydrogen market that can help meet its goal to zero out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  As a consequence, the renewables sector is urging the government to support the rapid development of commercial green hydrogen.

With new guidelines enforcing a ‘rule of six’, 10pm curfews and continued working from home for up to six months, it seems highly unlikely the office Christmas party (as we know it) will be happening this year. But – fear not – COVID hasn’t cancelled Christmas entirely! Instead, employers will have to get creative and think of alternative ways to celebrate. So wave goodbye to seeing your boss hit the dance floor, and say hello to the not so new virtual party!

Vivalys is the first school in the world to automatically measure the level of hand hygiene of its students through connected water sensors. Developed by the startup, Droople, this first of its kind solution will contribute to the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

Brighteye Ventures, Europe’s first and largest education technology (edtech) venture capital fund, has announced the $54m first close of its second fund, bringing assets under management to over $112m. Funding for first close comes from a mix of existing and new investors, primarily international Family Offices, with a second close expected in 2021 to accommodate institutional investors.

Despite the on-going impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, global early-stage venture capital firm, Antler invested in seven startups during its second UK cohort, taking its global investment total to over $30m.

OurCrowd and Emirates Angels Investors Association held an online event which gave Israeli investors and entrepreneurs their first glimpse of the tech opportunities available in the United Arab Emirates. UAE Tech Investment Landscape: Introduction for the Israeli Ecosystem, broke records with over 2,000 registrants who were able to hear from some of the Emirates’ top business leaders and officials talking directly to Israelis for the first time.

A third of UK customers would ditch companies after just one poor experience, according to research conducted by SAS. Meanwhile, 90% of customers would abandon companies after just two-to-five poor examples of customer service, before moving to competing brands. The research shows that, despite disruption caused by COVID-19, customers’ patience with companies offering a poor customer experience is running thin.

When the term unicorn emerged back in 2013, there were only 40 private companies with a valuation of $1bn in the world. Since then, the number of these financial giants jumped 12.5 times, reaching around 500 in September.

A new executive education course for the venture capital industry, aimed at getting more under-represented groups, especially women, Black, Asian and other minority candidates into the sector, has launched with a mission to find the investment professionals who will shape Europe’s next generation of tech unicorns.

The Techwuman STEM Ambassador programme is designed to train those from the STEM industry to ‘give back’ by being role models allowing them to share their career pathways and knowledge.

Early-stage companies based in the Edinburgh Business School (EBS) Incubator at Heriot-Watt University have created 48 jobs and generated a combined turnover during their incubation period of £1,051,464, a new report reveals this month.

A new global study has revealed the extent to which the UK values its small businesses, highlighting the depth of goodwill and the strength of society’s dependence on them since COVID-19.

Over 1,000 British tech startups have filed for administration, liquidation or dissolution since lockdown began, according to new research released today by Plexal and Beauhurst.