The second edition of the CultTech Summit has officially concluded, bringing together global leaders at the crossroads of art, technology, and business for an extraordinary gathering that set the tone for the future of creative innovation. With participants from over 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North America, and South America – along with 100+ top-tier speakers and 100+ investors – the Summit has firmly established itself as the global meeting point for those shaping the future of culture and technology.
Spain has transformed one of Europe’s least modernised real estate markets into a rapidly growing proptech hub, driven by government reforms and digital regulations. Nearly 700 startups now lead advances in AI, automation, and property management, although challenges remain, including those around funding and legacy systems.
Across the UK, 86% of small businesses fear the possibility of Autumn Budget announcements that, in their view, would adversely impact their plans for growth – with rises to taxation and fuel duty topping the list of concerns – according to new research from Novuna Business Finance.
In an age where AI can generate business plans in seconds, draft marketing copy at the click of a button, and even stimulate human conversation, it’s easy to overlook the importance of human interactions when it comes to growing a business.
The Zubr Capital Young Hackathon brought together university students from all over Cyprus for a one-day startup competition. The event, organised by investment firm Zubr Capital, allowed young professionals to work with actual startups while fostering the development of Cyprus’s growing innovation ecosystem.
Nearly a quarter of UK startups say a single wrong hire has set their growth back by up to a year, according to new research released from ScaleWise. The new report revealed that startup founders are being impeded by their GTM strategy, as a result of poor hiring decisions, inflated Product-Market Fit (PMF), and a lack of adequate structure.
The impact of the AWS outage has reminded many businesses of the risk for businesses that rely heavily on centralised Cloud infrastructure, especially when so many essential services are concentrated in a single region.
Sustainability is everywhere. From investor decks to packaging labels, every business seems to have a ‘green strategy’. But it’s also true that sustainability has suffered setbacks in recent years. Some large corporations have quietly rolled back their climate commitments or deprioritised their ESG targets in response to political pressure.
The joy of the festive season is all about connection – spending traditions together, creating special moments, finding that perfect something that lights up a loved one’s face. Yet, for e-commerce, this time is also the biggest commercial battleground of the year, and it usually starts much earlier than December: 65% of shoppers start their gift search before November.
Forget the usual choice – big tech capitals are no longer the only places to build a thriving startup. Emerging European cities are carving out their own innovation hotspots, offering founders advantages that the biggest hubs can’t match.
Victoria Beckham’s recent Netflix documentary offered an unexpectedly candid look at the financial realities of building her luxury fashion brand. The documentary revealed that Victoria Beckham Limited had been operating “millions of pounds in the red” despite significant investment from David Beckham.
Watching the Victoria Beckham documentary felt less like guilty pleasure celebrity binge-watching and more like a mirror for some of the conversations that I have been having with CEOs around the world on females in leadership positions.
Imagine two companies. Both proudly report £20 million in annual recurring revenue. To the outside world, they look identical. But look a little closer, and the story changes.
Starting and sustaining a business in the UK can be challenging. Each year, thousands of new ventures are launched, yet the majority struggle to survive. According to the Enterprise Research Centre’s latest report, of the startups founded in 2020, fewer than half (47%) were still operating three years later, and only one in ten will reach their 10th anniversary.
Chainguard, the trusted source for open source, announced $280 million in growth financing from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund (CVF). This investment, which will help Chainguard meet growing demand and accelerate its mission to make open source software trustworthy by default, follows the company’s Series D fundraise in April and marks $636 million total secured in the past six months and $892 million in total.
In July 2025, MIT revealed that 95% of organisations are getting zero return on their generative AI investments. Generative AI has undoubtedly changed the state of play – providing detailed answers, fast research and surface-level insights – but it was never the endgame. It was the opening move.
Branded Realities, the creative technology company at the intersection of sports, fan engagement, and immersive experiences, has closed its $1.6 million seed funding round.
Astut, an Oxford University AI spin-out, has announced £1.6 million in seed funding to commercialise its breakthrough technology that helps organisations navigate unprecedented crises where traditional AI systems fail due to lack of historical data.
London-based entrepreneur, Reedah El-Saie, has successfully secured £30,000 funding from A-list Dragons’ Den stars, Sara Davies, Deborah Meaden, and Touker Suleyman for her educational gaming startup, Brainspark Games.
SheMed, the female-founded health technology company changing how women access personalised healthcare, has announced it has raised $50 million to further develop its innovative health platform and advance new breakthroughs for pre-emptive healthcare.
