Anna Wood

Anna Wood is the Editor of Startups Magazine. She joined the team in June 2023 as Deputy Editor, and has since been promoted to Editor of the publication. When it comes to the startup sector, Anna has a keen interest in spacetech, biotech, medtech, anything that flies, and shining a light on the gender and diversity funding gap. Outside of work hours, you can find Anna tucking into a book, a nice meal, and playing her Switch!

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Omnea raises $50M to make procurement every CFO’s competitive advantage

Omnea, an AI-native procurement intake and orchestration platform, has raised a $50 million Series B funding round to accelerate its shift to a new era of AI-powered supplier relationship management. The round was led by Insight Partners and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Accel, Point Nine, First Round Capital, and Prosus, bringing total funding to over $75 million.

Female founders get 25% less than men at business exit

Women exit from their businesses for 25% less than their male peers on average, wealth management firm Evelyn Partners has revealed.

Humanoid Global strategically invests in Agility Robotics

Humanoid Global, a publicly traded investment issuer focused on building and accelerating a portfolio of pioneering companies in the humanoid robotics and embodied AI sector, is pleased to announce that it has closed its indirect strategic investment in Agility Robotics via a single-asset special purpose vehicle.

Shayp launches 4IMPACT with Microsoft to deliver verified water savings

Belgian water technology company Shayp has launched Shayp 4IMPACT, a corporate water conservation and efficiency platform that delivers quantifiable, verified benefits through precision monitoring.

UK secures £150Bn in US investment during state visit

The UK Government has announced a landmark £150 billion investment package from US-based private sector firms during the US state visit, marking a major milestone for UK–US economic ties and reinforcing the UK’s position as a global hub for innovation and technology

Aquark’s Dr Florence Concepcion awarded £1.9M Innovate UK Future Leaders Fellowship

Dr Florence Concepcion, Senior Quantum Engineer at Aquark Technologies has been awarded Innovate UK funding as part of the Future Leader Fellowship. The four-year fellowship will provide £1.9 million to support Dr Concepcion’s £2.7 million project to advance research in the miniaturisation and scalability of vacuum systems for scalable quantum technologies.

Employees call for skills and flexibility as HR faces rising costs

There is a growing disconnect between employee expectations and what organisations are delivering, putting pressure on HR leaders to rethink hiring, leadership development, and retention strategies. Research from Personio, Europe’s leading HR software provider for small and mid-sized businesses, reveals that more than half (54%) of employees in the UK are considering a job change within the next year as the gap between expectation and reality contributes to attrition.

Anthemis and Cambridge AI Venture Partners launch CommonAI to supercharge AI market

Anthemis, an early-stage investment firm, and Cambridge AI Venture Partners (CAIVP), a team comprised of industry experts Sir Andy Hopper, Prof. Rob Mullins, Dr Gavin Ferris, and Mike Halsall, have announced the launch of CommonAI, a collaborative engineering and computing platform for AI-enabled startups, enterprises, engineers, academics, and investors. 

Time-strapped small business owners prioritise AI to help focus on growth

Time pressures are limiting the ability of small businesses to focus on growth, according to new American Express research, with over two-fifths (43%) of small businesses looking to AI to help tackle this challenge.

MicroFactory raises $1.5M to scale general-purpose robot for manufacturing

MicroFactory has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding from a set of visionary backers, including Clement Delangue, the founder of Hugging Face, and Naval Ravikant, early investor in Uber and Twitter, giving the company a post-money cap of $30 million.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scintil Photonics raises $58M to scale integrated photonics for AI factories

Scintil Photonics has completed a $58 million (€50 million) Series B funding round led by Yotta Capital Partners and NGP Capital, with participation from NVIDIA. The round includes new participation from BNP Paribas Développement, alongside existing investors including Supernova Invest, Bpifrance Digital Venture, Innovacom, Bosch Ventures, Applied Ventures ITIC Innovation Fund (AVITIC), underscoring continued confidence in the company’s technology platform and market opportunity.

One in three Gen Z professionals now ask AI before their manager

AI is increasingly becoming the workplace’s first line of support, with a third (33%) of Gen Z professionals now using AI tools for work-related questions before asking their manager or colleagues, according to new findings from global talent solutions partner Robert Walters.

Workplace absence levels soar to two working weeks per employee

UK employees were off sick for nearly two full working weeks (9.4 days) on average in the last 12 months. This is a significant jump compared to pre-pandemic levels (5.8 days), and 7.8 days in 2023 when this survey was last carried out.

Fyxer AI secures $30M to expand AI executive assistant platform

Fyxer AI, creator of the AI-powered executive assistant designed for everyday professionals, today announced a $30 million Series B funding round led by Madrona, with participation from Lakestar Capital.