A new gender and diversity index assessing the state of play for the European deeptech scene has been released, developed by the GENDEX project and funded by the EIC. The index is intended to identify gender diversity and inclusion gaps across the ecosystem and to offer actionable insights and recommendations for stakeholders to consider moving forward.
The field of finance has long been known to have a predominantly male presence, and when fintech came along, it hadn’t done much to change this state of things. Despite being built on the idea of innovation, gender diversity remained something that fintech struggled with.
The latest insight from The Global Payroll Association (GPA), reveals that the world’s 100 richest billionaires have a combined fortune of over $5 trillion, and that women account for just 15% of the list.
For those navigating an increasingly digital world, it can be nice to go back to the basics of putting pen to paper, discarding your tablet for the therapeutic experience of writing on a pad, or in a notebook. However, carrying a notebook wherever you go is not always convenient, as you may have a lot of notes to juggle, and having an in-between point between digital technology and physical paper provides a perfect medium.
As many as 70% of UK leaders are optimistic about their business performance in 2025. However, fiscal challenges – including inflation (42%), high energy bills (36%), and high business taxes (35%) – threaten to derail this. This results in 76% of UK financial decision-makers saying they are experiencing unprecedented levels of pressure as they attempt to navigate macroeconomic uncertainties.
You may be familiar with this scenario: faced with rising housing costs, you downsize and move into a smaller house. The problem being, you now have less storage space and you can’t surrender the essentials, like having a kitchen and a bathroom.
A sharp rise in AI-generated content is prompting global consumers to call for greater transparency from businesses, according to RWS’s global research. Over 80% of consumers believe that AI-created material – including text, images and video – should be clearly labelled, while 62% say that such transparency would increase their trust in a brand, according to research involving 5,000 consumers.
Leadership is changing, and it’s a shift I find truly inspiring. A recent Deloitte report found that 87% of executives believe we’ll face a strong focus on gender diversity in the next five years. That’s not just a trend, but a necessity now, which only makes me proud, especially now, as we approach International Women’s Day.
Nisien.AI a Welsh artificial intelligence (AI) startup based in Cardiff, has received investment from the British Business Bank’s £130 million Investment Fund for Wales via Foresight Group and the Development Bank of Wales, in a joint investment.
While starting your business can be very exciting, your journey may be riddled with potential legal pitfalls. Navigating and understanding the legal landscape for early-stage companies will provide you with a strong foundation for your startup’s growth and avoid future disputes and potential costs.
Moonwatt – the energy storage startup founded by seasoned professionals with a track record at global leaders like Tesla, EDF, Siemens, Scatec, and Freyr Battery – has raised €8 million to unlock the true, 24/7 power of solar with its disruptive sodium-ion battery system. Co-led by daphni and LEA Partners, Founders Future, AFI Ventures (by Ventech) and Kima Ventures also participated alongside strategic business angels and customers. The funding will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of Moonwatt’s hardware and software technology, expand the team and drive the shift toward a cleaner, more resilient global energy ecosystem.
For decades, the boardroom has been a space of power, influence, and decision-making at the highest levels. But despite progress in leadership representation, women still hold just 23.3% of board seats globally. We talk about gender equity in the C-suite, in venture capital, in entrepreneurship – but what about at the top of corporate governance?
Trying to secure investment in your company from venture capitalists can be very daunting for leaders of SMEs or startups. It could have taken you years of hard work to realise your business goals, and now you find yourself negotiating the complex and cutthroat world of finance with experienced, shrewd professionals who might want a significant share of your operation.
Heidi, the healthcare AI company whose AI scribe is transforming how clinicians work, has raised $16.6 million in its latest funding round. The Series A follow-on investment is led by Headline, with participation from Local Globe, Anthology (Menlo Ventures and Anthropic), and existing investors Blackbird, HESTA, Possible Ventures, and Archangel Ventures.
With International Women’s Day approaching, the internet will soon be flooded with posts about its significance. But in many countries, this global celebration of women has only fairly recently become a major calendar date. For many of us, therefore, it’s not entirely clear how best to celebrate it.
DeepL, a global Language AI company, has announced the launch of Clarify, a new feature bringing interactivity to AI translations, powered by its large language model (LLM). Clarify transforms the user experience by actively engaging throughout the translation process, serving as an interactive AI companion and language expert that resolves ambiguities and provides greater control over translations. This results in a more personalised, engaging experience that yields higher quality, nuanced translations – driving seamless cross-border communication for DeepL’s rapidly expanding network of over 200,000 business customers worldwide.
On May 27-28, Gdańsk will welcome over 6,000 participants, 150 speakers and hundreds of startups ready for networking and innovation. This year’s edition is held under the honorary patronage of the Ministry of Digital Affairs. A special highlight of the event will be the SpaceTech guest stage. Tickets are now available.
On the 3rd March 2025, Female Foundry officially launched its Female Innovation Index 2025, at an event hosted at Google. The event saw insightful panels, discussions around the stats that were uncovered in the report, and plenty of female founders in the room discussing what innovation meant to them.
When I look back on my journey as an innovator, what strikes me most is not the “eureka” moments of invention but the quiet, persistent work of transforming ideas into tangible, industrialised solutions. It’s one thing to dream up a new technology in the lab, but it’s another to see it deployed at scale, solving real-world problems and making a measurable impact.
Fiverr announces the launch of Fiverr Go, an AI platform that fundamentally redefines the relationship between human creativity and artificial intelligence, enabling freelancers and creators to grow their business exponentially while retaining full creative rights.
