2025 is coming to a close, and what a year it has been! The end of year brings with it reflections on the year just passed, and what better way to wrap up the year than with a list of our top podcast episodes this year.
Yonda Tax, the global tax automation platform helping businesses stay compliant across borders, has announced its first institutional funding round, bringing total investment to $15 million. The round was led by Kennet Partners, with participation from NYO Capital and Portfolio Ventures. The funding will be used to enhance platform features and functionality, and to support its expansion into new industries and tax jurisdictions.
Small businesses across the UK will benefit from new Government funding and support to help them invest in sustainability, to cut their operating costs, and boost their business.
monday.com has released the UK findings from its latest World of Work report. Surveying 500 UK and US directors on what will shape AI adoption in 2026, the data reveals that 78% of UK directors do not expect AI to reduce headcount within their teams next year – and almost a third (32%) actually expect to hire more because of it.
Imposter Syndrome is rife, and startups can feel the impact more than most.
When people hear I went from founding Whisk.com (a recipe-tech startup that I sold to Samsung) to GitLaw (an AI legal startup founded recently with $3 million funding), they usually ask how those two things are related.
A 15-year Impact Study of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) UK programme reveals alumni have created approximately £2.7bn in additional revenue and 41,000 additional new jobs across the UK.
AttiFin AI, a UK legal-AI startup, has secured £5 million in seed funding ahead of its planned launch in early 2026. The funding marks a significant endorsement of the company’s ambition to build Britain’s first enterprise-grade AI platform trained specifically on UK and devolved law.
Half-time at Old Trafford is always loud, but inside our dressing room it felt strangely focused. We were catching our breath, a few of the lads grabbing jelly babies and Jaffa Cakes, when one of the coaches slipped in and whispered something to Steve Coppell. Coppell called the room to attention and delivered the news straight: Rooney had gone off injured.
International expansion is the ultimate growth lever but also one of the fastest routes to failure if mishandled. I’ve seen ambitious startups spend millions on new markets only to retreat within a year, and I’ve also watched careful, measured plays turn into rocket fuel for growth. The difference comes down to timing, planning, and leadership.
2026 is set to be a busy year for UK SMEs, bringing some of the most significant legal and regulatory shifts in recent times – including tighter payment rules, new transparency standards, and digital-first tax and reporting reforms.
Ignite Next has announced its launch as Europe’s new scale-up programme for deeptech innovation, designed to bridge the gap between early-stage founders and industrial-scale success.
Harley Street Health District and AlbionVC announce a strategic partnership designed to expand access to transformative healthcare technologies and accelerate the adoption of new models of care in the UK.
I can’t remember a Budget with as much doom-mongering and speculation in the build-up as the one Rachel Reeves delivered two weeks ago.
A team of experts with over 15 years of experience in funding businesses has launched Aneli Capital, a fund to support early-stage startups in the Baltics, Poland, and other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The €35 million fund will primarily focus on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as robotics, space, photonics, and energy startups, with the goal of helping them grow and become ready for follow-on investors.
The agentic vibe-coding platform, Emergent, has announced a strategic investment from Google’s AI Futures Fund. Launched in May 2025, the fund supports AI startups with capital, early access to cutting-edge AI models, and direct support from Google’s experts. Emergent will leverage this investment and support to further accelerate talent acquisition, product development, and expansion of its platform across the globe.
The Invest in Women Taskforce, which was established to support female entrepreneurs in the UK, has announced Nationwide and the British Business Bank as new partners in the UK’s first female-led Fund of Funds that targets first close of £130 million, subject to final terms, relevant approvals, and signing.
Quantum Dice has secured a €2 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator programme, with the project now officially underway following its October kick-off.
Orbital Marine Power, the Scotland-based operator of one of the world’s most powerful tidal turbines, has secured a multi-million pound investment to advance its international commercial projects and contribute to the wider decarbonisation of energy.
Most founders will tell you they are bringing AI into their business. Some talk about it with genuine excitement, others with a quiet sense of panic, and a few with the hope that automation might finally fix the chaos they’ve been ignoring for years. The truth is far less glossy. AI rarely fails because the tools are weak. It fails because the organisation behind them isn’t prepared for what the shift actually involves.
