Three London-based startups have won funding after pitching their ventures to a panel of business leaders in Deliveroo’s annual Big Pitch event.
Forest, one of Europe’s most innovative shared bike operators, that last year submitted a tender to operate e-bikes in Paris, has secured £13 million in the first close of its Series B round, including a facility of up to £10 million in Asset-Backed Finance from Fintex Capital.
BOW, the universal robotics software company, has announced closing a £4 million seed round. The round was led by Northern Gritstone, the investment business focused on science and technology businesses in the North of England, with co-investors Finance Yorkshire and Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.
The UK healthcare sector is at risk of falling behind its European counterparts in adopting AI, according to a major new pan-European study.
TravelPerk, the business travel platform, has announced a new Series E fundraise of $200 million. The investment is led by European venture capital firm Atomico, alongside EQT Growth, with significant participation from Noteus Partners and existing investors, including Kinnevik and General Catalyst. The oversubscribed round nearly doubles TravelPerk’s valuation to $2.7 billion.
Atelerix, a Newcastle University spinout that is transforming the way that biosamples essential for drug discovery and pharmaceutical research are stored and transported, has raised £750,000, with participation from ACF Investors and biotech specialist investors o2h Ventures, bringing the year’s total funding to £1.25 million.
A new analysis by iwoca reveals that among major economies, SMEs believe that the UK offers the least support for businesses and performs the worst at creating wealth.
Unreasonable, a new growth marketing agency co-founded by Brad Mac, has launched from cocreatd, the venture studio founded by Oliver Yonchev.
Lupa, the AI-native veterinary practice management platform, has closed a $4 million seed from top investors including firstminute capital, 2100 Ventures, and Vento by Exor Ventures. Other investors include top McKinsey, BCG, JP Morgan, Nexi, and NovaCapital angels. Lupa will use the new funding to accelerate product development and commercial expansion.
ESG initiatives remain out of reach for the majority of UK businesses, according to ‘The Finance and Business Synergy Report’ by expense management platform, Pleo.
Global carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon has announced a $32 million Series C investment round to enable carbon markets through ratings.
Workwize, a platform for global IT hardware asset management, has announced that it closed $13 million in Series A funding led by Klass Capital, with continued support from early-stage investors Peak and Graduate Entrepreneur Fund.
The Department for Business & Trade, Challenge Works, the Open Data Institute, and Smart Data Foundry are calling on innovators to enter the new Smart Data Challenge Prize.
Emitwise and Equipoise have partnered with the SME Climate Hub to provide emissions measurement tools to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The free tools help businesses measure both operational and supply chain emissions to inform their reduction strategies.
The Hustle Awards offer a golden opportunity for startups, and those within the startup ecosystem, to celebrate their achievements, gain industry recognition, and showcase the fantastic work they’re doing. As the entry portal is open already, here is why you should enter the Hustle Awards 2025!
AI venture capital investment in London has hit an all-time high, making up 32% of overall VC investment in the city according to the latest data from Dealroom and London & Partners. London-headquartered AI startups raised a record $3.5 billion in VC in 2024. This reflects a 52% increase to the levels raised in 2023 ($2.3 billion) and is 21% higher than the previous record set in 2022 ($2.9 billion).
The construction industry is known for its high overhead costs. It is one of the major challenges for startups in the sector. The project demands change which further modifies the labour costs, equipment needs, and several other things.
Synthesia, the enterprise AI-powered video communications platform, has announced the successful close of its $180 million Series D funding round. The round was led by NEA, with participation from existing investors including GV, MMC Ventures and FirstMark, and new backers including WiL (World Innovation Lab), Atlassian Ventures, and PSP Growth.
Tech Nation (part of Founders Forum Group), Europe’s AI group Merantix, and Onfido Founder Husayn Kassai, have announced the launch of the London AI Hub, in partnership with Techspace.
LetsData, the real-time security radar protecting corporations and governments from the threats of information operations and synthetic identities, has raised a $1.6 million pre-seed round from SMOK Ventures, Wayra, the innovation hub of Telefónica, Tilia Impact Ventures (supported by InvestEU Fund), 1991 Ventures, Google’s Ukraine Support Fund, and Startup Wise Guys.
