Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly shaping customer engagement, but a growing number of US mid-sized businesses are under mounting pressure of being left behind with small players being pushed out the market. Over three-quarters of business leaders are calling for the government to step in to help regulate the growing divide and prevent mid-sized businesses from being squeezed out of the market.
Digital Catapult, in partnership with Sony Music UK and Sony Music Publishing UK, and in collaboration with Channel 4, has announced the 12 Black-founded startups joining the 2025 cohort of its Black Founders Programme. Designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential creative-technology companies and enable them to scale, it connects entrepreneurs with mentorship, technical support, and targeted funding to prepare them for investment and successful commercialisation.
A new survey of UK startup founders by the Angel Investment Network (AIN) challenges the pervasive stereotype of the twenty-something entrepreneur working from their parents’ garage, revealing that the median founder is now middle aged, often relying on external employment to keep their ventures afloat.
Rift, a deeptech company specialising in on-demand aerial intelligence, has announced a €4.6 million funding round led by AlleyCorp with participation from OVNI Capital. The investment will accelerate the development of Rift’s technology and the deployment of the first on-demand aerial intelligence network, operated from a single remote command centre in France.
Trovr, a recycling technology startup transforming how the world manages single-use drink containers, has launched the QUBE in the UK – a smart recycling unit designed to offer independent retailers support with the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) without the cost, complexity, or footprint of supermarket-scale systems.
On 26th and 27th November 2025 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai will host the region’s most dynamic forum for technology, innovation, and digital transformation – DATE MENA. Organised by Trescon, DATE is a Digitisation, AI & Emerging Technology Summit. Over two days, the event will bring together 1,000+ pre-qualified business leaders, tech innovators, investors, enterprise buyers, and regulators to explore the technologies redefining industries and shaping the future of MENA.
This is the moment the MENA region has been waiting for. On 26th November 2025 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai will host the region’s most influential sustainability and clean energy event – CARE MENA, the Climate Action, Renewable Energy & Sustainability Forum, accredited by CPD and organised by Trescon.
Private equity makes founders uneasy, in startups and in professional services alike. The usual fears come up quickly: loss of control, outside pressure, and culture being reshaped by someone who wasn’t there when the company began. Those concerns don’t come out of nowhere, but they also aren’t the full picture. When investment is structured with intention, capital strengthens the parts of a company that determine its long-term stability.
I’d like to quickly tell you about a female founder I’ve always found really inspiring. Her name is Sara Blakely.
In 1998 she was making a living selling fax machines door-to-door when, one day, she cut the feet off her tights because nothing fit right under white trousers. She wasn’t dreaming of billions. She was frustrated, determined to fix a problem she had herself
As hybrid work matures and occupier expectations continue to evolve, 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the UK’s commercial property market. The pandemic-era shockwaves have settled, but their impact on how we work, meet, and use space has created a lasting shift and it’s just about to enter its next phase.









