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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
UK and Netherlands-based cybersecurity and compliance company Naq has successfully closed a €6 million Series A funding round to accelerate its mission to help health technology companies meet essential NHS standards amid rising cyber threats and regulatory delays.
New research from Kore.ai reveals that a shortage of specialised AI talent is slowing UK enterprises’ ability to scale and realise return on investment on AI pilots. Despite overall optimism into AI implementation across enterprises, over a third of UK businesses (36%) are faced with a lack of AI expertise when implementing a new AI solution, acting as a handbrake on progress.
ASML has invested €1.3 billion in Mistral’s Series C funding round as the lead investor. This has resulted in ASML holding an approximate 11% share on a fully diluted basis in Mistral AI. The total funding for the Series C round totals €1.7 billion, at a €11.7 billion post-money valuation.
Plum, the smart money app trusted by millions, has unveiled its AI-powered tool built on Google Cloud and enabled by Google’s Gemini models.
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, 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.
A new survey from The Open University reveals a growing dilemma for UK businesses: almost all leaders (96%) see growth as central to their strategy, particularly in the context of the UK Government’s priority mission in achieving strong, secure, and sustainable economic growth by 2035. Yet nearly three in four admit it often comes at the expense of workforce diversity and inclusion goals (72%) and sustainability and net zero efforts (71%).
BoobyBiome, a London-based biotechnology company advancing the science of breast milk and the microbiome, has raised £2.5 million in seed funding for its infant feeding solutions. Founded in 2019 by a team of female scientists-turned-entrepreneurs – Dr. Lydia Mapstone, Dr. Sioned Jones, and Dr. Tara O’Driscoll – BoobyBiome plans to tackle the rising rates of infant health issues by harnessing the power of the breast milk microbiome.
Runna, the running coaching app, has launched the start of internationalisation on the platform. The app is now available in seven new languages, unlocking access to personalised running training plans for millions of new runners worldwide.
Skylark Lasers, a diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser specialist, has appointed international business development consultancy Intralink to accelerate its growth in China.
