AI and job automation: would you replace your CEO with AI?
AI and job automation: would you replace your CEO with AI?

“The companies that thrive in this new era will not be the ones that hand over the keys to an algorithm. They will be the ones where leaders treat AI as a force multiplier,” writes Alexander Walsh, Co-Founder and CEO of Oraion

Meet the innovator mapping safer bike routes through cities

French entrepreneur Garance Locatelli is making city cycle networks easier to navigate with a subway-inspired wayfinding system, developed through a programme delivered by Connected Places Catapult.

Working ourselves sick: employers need to do more to battle presenteeism
Working ourselves sick: employers need to do more to battle presenteeism

As the seasons change, many Brits will be experiencing colds, coughs, and flus over the next few weeks. Working while sick, otherwise known as presenteeism, costs employers around £24 billion annually, according to Deloitte, due to reduced productivity, prolonged illnesses and leaving employees to work through a reduced capacity.

UK investors shaping startup innovation

UK investors are no longer just backing innovation, they’re actively directing it. That’s according to new research from EmpowerRD, which revealed the vast majority (97%) of investors are now directly shaping the R&D strategies of the businesses they fund, cementing their role as key architects of the UK’s innovation economy.

British Defence SMEs driving economic growth across the country

Survey results show that 75% of Make UK Defence members exhibiting at DSEI have increased their headcount in the last twelve months. Three in eight respondents noted an increase in at least 10% headcount, 18% of respondents grew by a quarter or more, while a handful of respondents even noted doubling their headcounts.

Tipple raises €4M seed to power future of global alcohol industry

When Eoin Bara was trying to distribute his award-winning Mór Irish Gin internationally, he discovered something shocking: the $1.6 trillion alcohol industry still runs on emails, phone calls, and spreadsheets.

One Carbon World joins Carbon Markets Africa Summit as official climate impact partner

One Carbon World (OCW) will be the official climate impact partner of the upcoming Carbon Markets Africa Summit (CMAS) taking place in Johannesburg from 22 to 23 October.

Forget DIY: why winning SMEs partner for fintech success

When you run a small or medium-sized business, it’s tempting to believe that building your own technology is the best way to stay in control. After all, nobody knows your customers like you do. Surely the smartest move is to develop the tools you need, tailor-made for your market.

Sony Music Group and Channel 4 team up with Digital Catapult

Digital Catapult has announced that its Black Founders Programme has returned for a third year in partnership with Sony Music UK and Sony Music Publishing UK and, in a first for the programme, in collaboration with broadcaster Channel 4.

One in 10 children already doubt they’ll build a career

Confidence has become one of the most important currency markers in the workplace. Yet recent research – conducted by social research agency Hark – reveals that one in 10 children already feel a complete lack of confidence by the age of 13 in their ability to build a future career.

Start Up Loans celebrates record demand for finance

Start Up Loans reports that this summer has seen the highest number of loans taken out by founders over the past four summers. This growth comes despite reports indicating low levels of business confidence, highlighting that UK small business founders accessing the programme remain undeterred and keen to start up new ventures.

Food deeptech startup to address health issues of unhealthy fats

Perfat Technologies, a food deeptech company pioneering healthy and functional fat alternatives and a member of EIT Food Rising Food Stars, has raised €2.5 million in Series A financing to scale production, grow its team, and launch innovative healthy lipid-based solutions, to address the problem of harmful saturated and tropical fats without compromising taste or texture.

BT grants first-ever access to flagship test facility

BT has opened its test and integration facility, the largest in Europe, to cybersecurity innovator Sitehop to test its quantum-resistant encryption technology on the replica BT network, in a first of its kind proof-of-concept.

The founder’s journey: from day zero to exit without losing your edge

The startup dream is sold as a sprint to success, a flash of inspiration, a flurry of funding rounds, and an eventual big exit. But the reality? It is a long game that will stretch your resilience, test your decision-making, and reshape who you are as a leader.

This article is part 1 of 9 in the series Founder Forward
Are wellness retreats the new business seminar?

With more than half of founders experiencing burnout last year, the rise in corporate wellness is less of a surprise, and more of a relief. 

Messium scores £3.3M to revolutionise how the world feeds itself

Messium, a UK agritech innovator using hyperspectral satellites and AI-driven crop growth models to solve the challenge of nitrogen efficiency in farming, has secured a £3.3 million seed investment.

Job hugging: a new workplace reality we must address

Another season, another HR buzzword, welcome to the age of ‘Job Hugging’. Between mass redundancies, a tough job market, and low pay growth, employee behaviour has fundamentally shifted away from the apathy of quiet quitting and into fear mode. Today’s workforce is holding tight to their current roles out of a desire for stability amid uncertainty.

Age ain’t nothing but a number … or is it?

When we talk about workplace discrimination, most people immediately jump to gender, race, or disability. While those are urgent, undeniable issues, there’s one bias that every single one of us, no matter who you are, will face if we’re lucky enough to live long enough. It’s ageism.

This article is part 1 of 6 in the series Diversity Disrupted: challenging outdated narratives
The personal touch: how creativity wins attention today

Advertising is getting more and more invisible with 86% of internet users ignoring display ads because of “banner blindness”. People see between 1,700 and 2,000 online banners every month, but most of them go unnoticed. On top of that, 63% of millennials actively use ad blockers. No wonder so many ads can not break through: 54% of users never click on banners at all.

New alliance to put AI SMEs at the centre of national strategy

The Business AI Alliance, spearheaded by 4most, was launched on the 9th September at a Parliamentary Reception. The new alliance brings together sector-based organisations committed to shaping national AI policy with a focus on growth and influence, providing much needed SME representation in the face of big tech dominance and aspiring to a clear, positive narrative around AI’s economic potential for the UK.