In 2024, Black Friday was forecasted to boost the UK economy with £7.1 billion in sales. And with three in five adults predicted to be heading to the shops for the Black Friday weekend in 2025 – that’s 31.9 million potential customers for UK SMBs.
Europe stands at a crossroads. There’s never been a better time to be a tech founder here: the continent has the talent, ambition, and ideas to lead. Yet Europe still hasn’t realised its full potential on the global stage. That’s why Atomico’s eleventh State of European Tech report sets out a bold roadmap for action, and a rallying call to power Europe’s first trillion-euro tech company.
Emm, the UK-based pioneer in biowearable technology, has raised £6.8 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round, to bring the world’s first smart menstrual cup and connected app to market. Creating a new category of “smart menstrual care”, Emm will equip users to understand their individual menstrual baseline and track key metrics for personalised, actionable insights into their menstrual health.
Irish advertising technology innovator, Buymedia, has officially launched its UK operations in Manchester with the backing of Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham. The announcement marks a significant milestone in Buymedia’s international expansion and underscores Manchester’s growing reputation as a hub for digital innovation.
Kilo Health, the global health and wellness company, has rebranded to Kilo, to reflect the company’s expansion into new business opportunities in longevity, anti-ageing, beauty, and personal development. This change also demonstrates Kilo’s growing focus on co-founding, venture building, and early-stage startup investments.
Planet Smart, a London-based biomaterials startup, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to launch its first product. The company is developing PlanetSorb, a naturally biodegradable superabsorbent polymer (SAP) designed to replace the fossil-based plastics used inside nappies and sanitary products.
A new report from reputation management consultancy Infinite reveals that UK media are up to five times more likely to frame tech unicorns through the lens of failure compared to their US counterparts – a trend that reflects, and may be contributing to, the UK’s struggle to support startups in scaling.
Voltrac has announced it has secured a €7 million seed round. The round was led by Extantia, with participation from FoodLabs, Antler, PUSH, and Prototype Capital. This new round quickly follows its €2 million pre-seed, and enables Voltrac to scale production to 100 units per year in 2026.
UNiDAYS has teamed up with Student Venture and Canopy Community, to launch a nationwide Student Startup Accelerator programme, designed to discover and accelerate the next generation of entrepreneurs.
New research from Avilio has found that 36% of respondents experienced burnout in the last year which – when applied to the UK working population – means that 11.9 million UK workers would fall into this category.
Cellbyte, the AI-native platform that helps pharmaceutical companies accelerate drug launches, has announced that it has raised $2.75 million in seed funding. The round was led by Frontline Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, Pace Ventures, Saras Capital, and Springboard Health Angels.
TMT ID, the mobile data and identity intelligence company, has secured a £30 million investment from BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active growth capital investor, to support its expansion and help global firms combat cybercrime, prevent fraud and build digital trust.
Condukt, the next-generation compliance platform for financial services, has announced $10 million in funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and MMC Ventures, with participation from Cocoa Ventures.
A new study by Markel Direct has revealed which UK universities are producing the most business founders and where student-led startups are booming.
Despite being home to some of the world’s most innovative startups, empowered by early-stage R&D, Europe’s startup ecosystem still trails behind its US counterpart in valuation and scale. Valued between 29% and 52% isn’t solely down to capital availability or investor appetite. European founders face critical barriers in the support they receive.
Alibaba.com has named 15-year-old Harrison Nott as its Grand Winner of CoCreate Pitch – the product-driven startup competition – for his small business, CoolTowel.
1nhaler, a Scotland-based drug delivery device developer, has secured £1.5 million in seed funding to drive development of its novel pop-up cardboard dry powder inhaler (DPI).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is significantly changing the way small and medium-sized businesses manage their finances. In the UK, the number of SMEs adopting AI tools has increased 32-fold between 2022 and 2024, while average spending on AI tools has risen nearly sixfold over the same period. Once seen purely as a tool for automation, AI now plays a much more proactive role, helping businesses anticipate cash-flow gaps, prevent fraud, and deliver more personalised customer experiences.
A few weeks ago, I was speaking at a conference about Gen Z (we discussed how to hire them). At the end of the session, a woman raised her hand and asked: “I agree with you about Gen Z. But we’re far away from them yet. So, can you help me, how do I convince my boss that it is okay to start hiring MILLENNIALS?”
There’s been a huge amount shared about the EU AI Act in recent weeks, so much so that you’d be forgiven for being pretty confused as to what is happening and when, and whether you need to worry about it at all.
