On the 3rd March 2025, Female Foundry officially launched its Female Innovation Index 2025, at an event hosted at Google. The event saw insightful panels, discussions around the stats that were uncovered in the report, and plenty of female founders in the room discussing what innovation meant to them.
DeepL, a global Language AI company, has announced the launch of Clarify, a new feature bringing interactivity to AI translations, powered by its large language model (LLM). Clarify transforms the user experience by actively engaging throughout the translation process, serving as an interactive AI companion and language expert that resolves ambiguities and provides greater control over translations. This results in a more personalised, engaging experience that yields higher quality, nuanced translations – driving seamless cross-border communication for DeepL’s rapidly expanding network of over 200,000 business customers worldwide.
Howie Systems, founded in Vienna in the mid of last year by industry veteran Ewa Lenart, has successfully secured €420,000 in funding from leading London-based Venture Capital firm Pi Labs. The startup is pioneering in building a single source of truth for construction and real estate data.
Moonwatt – the energy storage startup founded by seasoned professionals with a track record at global leaders like Tesla, EDF, Siemens, Scatec, and Freyr Battery – has raised €8 million to unlock the true, 24/7 power of solar with its disruptive sodium-ion battery system. Co-led by daphni and LEA Partners, Founders Future, AFI Ventures (by Ventech) and Kima Ventures also participated alongside strategic business angels and customers. The funding will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of Moonwatt’s hardware and software technology, expand the team and drive the shift toward a cleaner, more resilient global energy ecosystem.
Heidi, the healthcare AI company whose AI scribe is transforming how clinicians work, has raised $16.6 million in its latest funding round. The Series A follow-on investment is led by Headline, with participation from Local Globe, Anthology (Menlo Ventures and Anthropic), and existing investors Blackbird, HESTA, Possible Ventures, and Archangel Ventures.
Cino – the only real-time shared payment app that finally lets people pay together in a seamless, single transaction – has raised €3.5 million in Seed funding led by Balderton Capital. Connect Ventures also participated alongside leading angels, including Barney Hussey-Yeo (founder of Cleo). The funding will support Cino’s launch in the UK, where it already has a growing waitlist, and continued growth across Europe.
A new gender and diversity index assessing the state of play for the European deeptech scene has been released, developed by the GENDEX project and funded by the EIC. The index is intended to identify gender diversity and inclusion gaps across the ecosystem and to offer actionable insights and recommendations for stakeholders to consider moving forward.
Nisien.AI a Welsh artificial intelligence (AI) startup based in Cardiff, has received investment from the British Business Bank’s £130 million Investment Fund for Wales via Foresight Group and the Development Bank of Wales, in a joint investment.
A sharp rise in AI-generated content is prompting global consumers to call for greater transparency from businesses, according to RWS’s global research. Over 80% of consumers believe that AI-created material – including text, images and video – should be clearly labelled, while 62% say that such transparency would increase their trust in a brand, according to research involving 5,000 consumers.
Needle, an AI-powered search and agent development platform, has raised $2.2 million seed funding in a round led by 468 Capital and Presight Capital. The funding will expand Needle’s engineering team, strengthen its core technology, and accelerate its go-to-market initiatives.
Quantum Industries (QI), a startup in quantum secure communications for critical infrastructure, has announced the successful completion of its seed financing round, raising a total of $10 million in fresh capital.
The UK has dropped to 18th place in PwC’s Women in Work Index, marking its worst ranking for workplace gender equality in ten years. A ‘sluggish’ pace in closing the gender pay gap and declining female workforce participation have pushed the UK further behind its peers, now ranking second-worst among G7 nations, behind Canada.
Generation Z business leaders are pioneering a new approach with purpose, profit, and personal wellbeing at the forefront of their business, according to new research by American Express and The Conduit, a collaborative impact community and members club.
Less than six months after securing €9.3 million in funding, Constellation Technologies & Operations (CTO) is delivering on its ambitions. The startup is developing a constellation of VLEO satellites to enable telecom operators to provide high-speed, low-latency internet access from space – just as they do today with terrestrial networks. CTO has unveiled its first regenerative operational payload, the Early Test.
HiBob has released its fourth annual Women in the Workplace report, revealing men’s perceptions of workplace equality are out-of-touch with reality.
The Aurora Tech Award has unveiled its 2025 finalists. The annual award spotlights outstanding female founders in emerging markets, celebrating visionary women entrepreneurs who are redefining the technology landscape.
As companies navigate an increasingly turbulent external environment, communications and HR leaders have identified ‘change fatigue’ as one of the top five barriers to success, according to Gallagher’s 2025 Employee Communications Report. The report, which drew insights from more than 2,000 communication and HR leaders across 55 countries, found that 44% of HR leaders view change fatigue as a key battleground for success in 2025.
Helsinki Metropolitan Area is raising its profile as a noteworthy deeptech hub. Now, the city of Helsinki invites business leaders to discover opportunities in the field with a deeptech-focused edition of the famous 90 Day Finn programme.
The Worshipful Company of Entrepreneurs, the City of London’s newest livery company, and the Company of Entrepreneurs Trust were delighted to showcase the progress and early impact of their annual Entrepreneurs’ Award in Social Innovation (EASI) and announce an exciting collaboration with the Worshipful Company of Needlemakers, to an invited audience at Drapers’ Hall in the City of London.
The Venture Capital Trust Association (VCTA) celebrated the 30th anniversary of the UK’s Venture Capital Trust (VCT) scheme at a landmark event held at the House of Lords, reflecting on three decades of investment, innovation, and economic growth.
