MISSION raises £2 million with backing from F1’s Pierre Gasly

MISSION – a natural energy drink and performance tea company – has announced it has successfully extended its equity fundraising round to  £2 million, inclusive of investment from F1 driver Pierre Gasly.

Individual investors vs. VC: navigating the fintech funding dilemma 

In recent years, the global fintech revolution has not slowed down, especially in Europe and the UK. The advent of PSD3 (Payments Services Directive), other tenants of fintech regulation and innovation have almost guaranteed expansion in the sector, and we can trace more than $2.26 trillion of the cumulative value of fintechs across the world from Europe.

Startups against IT Giants: Deepseek, Canva, Notion, Holiverse

The emergence of DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has shocked the IT industry. With its extremely cheap AI solutions, DeepSeek has challenged the dominance of tech giants and exposed an inefficiency in the way large corporations approach product development. If DeepSeek’s model becomes the norm, the entire IT sector could see a dramatic reduction in costs, making technology more accessible. 

Companies lose millions to ‘ghost engineers’: HackerPulse raises $1.5M to solve it

HackerPulse, a platform that gives technical leaders advanced visibility into engineering team performance, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by AltaIR Capital, with participation from Antler, DVC Fund and angel investors including 15 engineering leaders from Uber, Cloudflare, Deel, SpaceX, Google. The company equips engineering leaders with ML-powered tools to identify inefficiencies, streamline workflows, and optimise team structures.

Female Founders Day: Event Empowers Women Entrepreneurs with Innovation, Partnership, and a £5K Cash Prize

Female Founders Day is back again. It’s a free event designed to celebrate women entrepreneurs and leaders through an investor panel, pitch competition, and networking opportunities. This is the second time London Venture Capital Network (LVCN) is running the event and this year LVCN is proud to partner with Microsoft for Startups (Headline Sponsor), Barclays Rise, and NEXUS. It’s a day packed with unparalleled opportunities to make connections and drive innovation in women’s entrepreneurship—plus a chance to win a £5K cash prize.

Whisper raises $1M to scale AI-powered behavioural sales tech for content creators

Whisper, an AI-driven sales and behavioural cloning technology for content creators, has raised $1 million in a recent funding round led by investors, including AngelList Early Stage Quant Fund and a consortium of high-net-worth content creators. Content creators make up the largest shareholder group, reinforcing Whisper’s mission to develop AI-powered sales tools designed specifically to serve their needs.

Beyond the status quo: reframing women’s progress with passion and purpose

For nearly 40 years, discussions about women in business, finance, and entrepreneurship have felt like they’re on a loop. We talk about diversity, increasing female hires, and closing the funding gap. Yet, we rely on the same data and measurements – and unsurprisingly, we see the same results. This narrative makes it seem like we’re constantly falling short when, in reality, we may not be looking at the numbers the right way.

Estonian funds increasingly confident in investing in innovative fields

The Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EstVCA) CEO Madis Lehtmets says that the private and venture capital funds operating in Estonia are actively seeking new investments locally and abroad. “Last year, funds expanded their teams, opened offices in other countries and attracted international talent so as to boost their presence on foreign markets and grow their expertise, including in order to invest in new sectors,” he explained.

4 proven strategies to get your startup in top tier publications

Are you making the assumption that high profile press coverage is only for those businesses who have reached a certain audience size?

Female entrepreneurs 31% less likely to get funding

A new report developed by National Women’s Enterprise Week (NWEW), launched ahead of International Women’s Day, reveals a staggering inequality in investments and the disproportionate success rates between male and female entrepreneurs’ funding applications.

Solvora.ai: the business co-pilot for founders who don’t have time for small print

Running a business means making critical decisions every day – about money, contracts, governance, and risk. But most founders aren’t legal experts, financial analysts, or compliance officers. Nor should they have to be. The alternative? Spend thousands on professionals just to tell you what you already half-know or waste time Googling answers that may not even be right for your business.

Epoch Biodesign raises $18.3M to turn plastic crisis into a circular revolution

Epoch Biodesign, a company using enzymes to make recycled plastics cheaper and higher performing than virgin materials, has announced it has raised $18.3 million in Series A capital in an oversubscribed round.

The policy changes that UK entrepreneurs urgently need

A​ few months on from the Labour Government’s first Autumn Statement and the employment market is in turmoil, business closures have hit a 20-year high and UK economic growth has all but stalled.

Gen Z fuels demand for lower-carbon business travel options

New research from Trainline Partner Solutions (TPS) highlights a significant shift in business travel attitudes amongst Gen Z professionals. The research shows a growing preference for ‘slower business travel’ – lower-carbon journeys that align career progression with environmental consciousness, even if they take longer.

Startup founders: are you experiencing a tax maze?

Growing a business in the UK is thrilling, until you hit the tax maze. With evolving regulations and financial hurdles, startups must be sharper than ever to keep their books in order and their cash flow intact. Compliance is not just about ticking boxes; it is about staying ahead of the game and avoiding unnecessary financial headaches.

Quantexa completes $175M series F funding round

Quantexa has announced that it has completed a $175 million Series F investment round, led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (“TVG”).

Reimagining AI automation with Maisa

AI-driven automation is transforming industries, but reliability, scalability, and transparency remain major obstacles. Maisa, an Agentic Process Automation (APA) platform, aims to overcome these challenges with its deterministic ‘Chain-of-Work’ approach, ensuring traceability and accountability in AI-driven processes.

Commercialisation of university research surges

UCL Business (UCLB), the commercialisation company for UCL which supports UCL’s researchers to turn breakthroughs into companies, has seen a surge in spin-out activity over the last financial year (August 2023-July 2024).

EU must invest €100Bn in entrepreneurship to secure global greentech leadership

The European Union must invest €100 billion to catalyse greentech entrepreneurship and innovation to secure its role as the world-leading exporter of greentech products, solution, and knowledge, says billionaire investor Dr. David von Rosen.

44% gender gap in UK tech funding enquiries

A new study from Grantify, a platform that assists businesses in securing funding, reveals a 44% funding gap in UK tech grant enquiries. These figures suggest that men are more than twice as likely to apply for tech funding in the UK compared to women.