News

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), owner and producer of CES, the world’s most powerful tech event, announces Jennifer Witz, CEO of SiriusXM, a leading audio entertainment company in North America, will keynote at CES 2025. During an event at McIntosh Group’s House of Sound this afternoon, CTA shared the news that Witz will take the stage alongside Ashley Flowers, the #1 female podcaster in the U.S., host of the hit podcast Crime Junkie, and Founder of audiochuck, a leading media company. Witz and Flowers will participate in a fireside chat on the evolution of audio and what they believe is next for the industry.

Black Friday 2024 is almost upon us, and new data from Criteo shows it promises to be a significant moment for retail. With UK consumer spend set to rise year-on-year, the insights demonstrate that tailored product recommendations, omnichannel experiences, and discounted offerings will be key to attracting high-intent shoppers.

A new framework designed to guide businesses to introduce and implement new ideas, processes, products, or services that improve an organisation’s overall efficiency, productivity, or culture has been published by UK national standards body BSI.

YouLend, the global embedded financing platform, has reported that a growing number of UK SMEs are turning to embedded financing to secure vital capital ahead of the most important sales period of the year – Black Friday and Christmas.

As an entrepreneur, life can be full of ups and downs, with founders facing all kinds of hurdles along the way. However, one thing that can always help you find your way is events. Hearing insights and advice from people who have been there can help you figure out the next steps on your journey. And what a range of events, conferences, summits, and expos there are out there for entrepreneurs to attend!

Donut Lab has developed an entirely new approach to building electric vehicles. The company’s development platform offers manufacturers a library of inter-compatible components that can be used to produce new electric vehicles such as supercars, buses, drones, or SUVs in record time. In addition, the company promises that vehicles built on the platform have significantly better performance and they are lighter and more affordable to manufacture.

Global research group, The Hurun Research Institute, has just released the Hurun UK Under30s 2024, showcasing outstanding young entrepreneurs in the UK who are driving growth and job creation.

iwoca has announced access to a £500,000 fund to help small businesses and employees build skills in AI and data analytics.

A majority of UK business leaders (85%) feel that their productivity efforts are being held back, according to research from Celonis. Citing economic headwinds, employee stress, and difficulty implementing new productivity tools as the three core issues, these insights come against a backdrop of 57% of UK companies reporting turnover challenges in early October 2024, according to the ONS, and upcoming changes to employer’s National Insurance rates.

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), are being given the chance to engage with their bigger counterparts, along with education and governments, in order to help drive policy reform, close the skills gap, and generate growth, it has been announced.

After the success of its latest edition, Digital Enterprise Show (DES) 2025 is gearing up for its ninth annual event in Málaga, strengthening the Costa del Sol capital as a European hub for technological innovation. The event is expected to host over 17,000 executives. This year’s edition will again highlight Artificial Intelligence (AI), not only for its transformative impact on digital transition but also for its crucial role in structuring and coordinating various business areas. AI acts as a “digital brain” capable of managing the complexities of today’s technological landscape and ensuring organisational success.

This international hub on cybersecurity, co-funded by Instituto Nacional de Ciberseguridad (INCIBE), an entity under Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública, through Secretaría de Estado de Digitalización e Inteligencia Artificial, and Universidad de Salamanca has connected Spanish companies with international investors by attending the Finnish event on 20-21 November.

Vegan meal kit startup Allplants has officially entered administration, with 65 members of its staff having been made redundant already.

Over three-quarters (76%) of UK software buyers expect their business to increase spending on software in 2025, according to Capterra’s 2025 Tech Trends survey. Of this group, 59% expect to spend between 5%-15% more on digital solutions next year compared to 2024.

South Summit Industry & Energy concludes a new edition at the B Accelerator Tower (BAT), the international entrepreneurship centre in Bilbao. Over the past two days, it has become the meeting point for some leading experts, leaders, and representatives from companies and startups in Industry 4.0, Energy Transition, and Mobility.

One of Europe’s freelancer platforms, Malt, has launched its new AI Search tool to help cut the process of selecting top freelance talent from days to seconds and make managing freelancers easy and scalable.

Red Bull Basement, the global event empowering a new generation of innovators to launch world-changing, AI-powered startups, has announced the teams set to compete in the 2024 final in Tokyo next month.

London Lab Live 2025 is set to debut on 14th –15th May 2025 at ExCeL London, bringing together professionals from across the lab sector to inspire collaboration and innovation. Representing industries such as chemical and material science, FMCG, food and beverage, agriculture, pharma, biotech, medical, real estate, academia, and beyond, the event promises to be the UK’s most dynamic gathering for the lab community.

A decade of transformation in European tech is in the spotlight with the release of the tenth anniversary edition of the State of European Tech report. Charting a journey of remarkable growth, the report also examines the sector’s potential to drive innovation amidst present-day challenges.

The European unicorn landscape, home to companies that are valued at €1 billion or more, has undergone rapid expansion over the past five years, and is now worth €447 billion. However, valuations of many of these companies, especially those that happened in 2021 and 2022, appear overdue for reassessment.