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.
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.
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.
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.
AKA Foods has announced the completion of a $17.2 million seed funding round led by renowned AI experts and entrepreneurs Alex and Michael Bronstein. The funding marks the official launch of AKA Studio, a secure AI system and proprietary platform that enables food companies to create, optimise, and launch products much faster, smarter, and more affordably than ever before.
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.
Danish fintech Flatplay has become the latest company to reach unicorn status, after it secured $170 million in fresh capital. Co-founder Rasmus Busk said Flatpay became the fastest firm in Denmark to reach the milestone, achieving it within three years.
Female business owners across the UK are working longer hours and taking on second jobs, with 39% saying 2025 has been tougher than last year, a groundbreaking report from Tide, the business management platform, and everywoman, the global organisation dedicated to advancing women’s careers, has revealed.
Exwayz, pioneer in 3D positioning and navigation software, has announced a €1 million fundraising round led by CentraleSupélec Venture. This includes a grant awarded by the prestigious i-Lab Innovation Competition under the France 2030 plan.
The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) startup portfolio has successfully raised over $1 billion in investments, co-investing with a diverse network of local and global venture capital firms. This significant milestone underscores KAUST’s growing impact on the global deeptech landscape.
Female-founded businesses are a vital and dynamic force within the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape. As of October 2024, there are 7,696 high-growth companies in the UK with at least one female founder, representing 13.7% of the country’s high-growth ecosystem.
Digital workplace solutions and managed services company Espria returns in December with another Optimise IT exhibition, leading the discussion on how IT solutions can best work together to provide the ultimate support for businesses and end-user experience.
Hydrohertz launches a battery cooling technology which not only delivers a step change in EV fast-charging times, but also significant improvements in battery range, life, and safety.
Zilch announces it has raised over $175 million ($176.7 million) in debt and equity. Led by KKCG, the round includes participation from BNF Capital, and several other strategic investors. The raise also includes the expansion of its securitisation led by Deutsche Bank.
Michael Page has released its ‘2026 Salary Guides’, offering insight into key trends in the UK technology hiring market, highlighting the most in-demand roles and skills, and examining the priorities technology professionals are seeking in their next positions.
The UK can build great startups. But unless our venture ecosystem learns to move faster and back conviction earlier, we’ll keep losing the companies that could define Britain’s next industrial era.
A movement is transforming the way Britain does business, with the “1% mindset” taking root in small to medium business enterprises throughout the UK. New research from Adobe, in collaboration with Steven Bartlett, found that more than 90% of UK SMB owners and directors who know the term, say the “1% mindset” can make a positive impact on both business output (91%) and business profits (91%).
