Aledia, a French startup that is pioneering a disruptive technology for microLED displays, has closed an €80m first tranche of its €120m D round financing. The company will use the proceeds to complete its product development and create the first-of-its-kind, high-volume 3D microLED manufacturing facility in the Grenoble area for an estimated capex of €40m (excluding equipment).
The international outlook for R&D is remarkably promising despite strong headwinds, according to research released today by Ayming Group, the business performance consultancy specialising in innovation. Ayming’s second annual International Innovation Barometer (IIB) reveals that R&D departments are being empowered by the creation of innovation ecosystems, new funding methods, and the deployment of technology.
This week saw the national final of Santander’s Emerging Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship Awards 2020. Since May, 81 businesses from Santander’s network of 85 partner universities have been put through their paces during a series of expert-led online workshops and webinars, covering a range of topics under four key themes – money, management, marketing and motivation.
UK energy leaders are accelerating change to their employees’ working practices in response to the COVID-19 crisis and this can support the development of the talent and skills needed for the energy transition, a new report published today by POWERful Women reveals.
Challenger supplier and Which? Recommended Provider, So Energy, has today topped Citizens Advice’s latest domestic energy supplier rankings with a score of 4.6. The quarterly rankings table (covering Q2 2020) scores suppliers out of 5 for overall customer service and considers complaints data, call waiting times, bill accuracy, bill timeliness and switching timeliness.
Jason Brand, Regional Sales Manager for Mass Market customers in North East Europe and South Africa, at Texas Instruments, discusses why startups are critical to future innovation, and what the semiconductor company is doing to maximise their potential.
Aberdeenshire startup company, Legasea, has now been nominated for three business awards in quick succession.
The sporting legend and seasoned business advisor, Sir Clive Woodward, will teach a new live and interactive course on team growth and development, to help combat the 95% failure rate for tech startup businesses in the UK. He will be working with an up-and-coming online-learning platform, which aims to flip this staggering stat by addressing the critical knowledge crisis affecting marketing and sales professionals in tech companies worldwide.
Tech Nation, the growth platform for tech companies and leaders, has launched its Unlocking Global Tech report, assessing the value of UK digital tech exports and exploring the opportunities and challenges for digital tech companies to expand and scale in different regions around the world post COVID-19.
ATI Boeing Accelerator has opened applications for its second cohort, to invest into sustainability-enabling startups that will benefit the UK aerospace industry across three key areas of focus: Industry 4.0, Lifecycle and Resilience, and Energy. Launched last year, the accelerator was created in partnership by the Aerospace Technology Institute and Boeing, and is delivered by European accelerator Ignite. GKN Aerospace is a corporate sponsor and more partners will be announced in the upcoming months.
British startups Jiva Materials (featured recently on Startups Magazine) and SoluBlue have been awarded a place in the final for the 2020 Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge. The two startups, working to tackle some of the most challenging types of waste pollution, have won at least €100,000 each and are now in the running for the €500,000 grand prize.
A German-Dutch startup is testing a unique business model in Mbita, a small fishing town in Kenya. Torqeedo electric motors are hired out to the local fishermen for a monthly fee that includes training, maintenance, and a solar powered battery charging service.
When you consider just how much of our daily lives is now dominated by electronics, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that globally, e-waste is now the fastest growing waste stream – a problem exacerbated by the fact that we are living in an increasingly ‘smarter’ world where electronics are now integral and essential to daily life, while at the same time, are infinitely more disposable.
Even with the help of price comparison sites, finding the insurance that is right for you can prove to be the proverbial needle and haystack conundrum. However, Startups Magazine speaks to Johnny Stubbs, Head of UK Insurance and Business Development at digital insurer Getsafe, who are using technology and AI to enable customers to learn about, buy, and manage insurance conveniently from their smartphone, all without any paperwork, and within just a few clicks.
When it comes to tapping into the entrepreneurial mindset to mine some golden nuggets of inspiration for business growth, who better to speak to than a winner of the BBC’s Apprentice. Therefore, when we had the opportunity to speak to 2014 champion Mark Wright, founder of Climb Online and the CLIMBCON business event, we jumped at the chance.
I’m sad to say that I have reached a certain age where I’ve started to make noises when sitting down and standing up (the ravages of time catches up to us all I’m afraid to say). However, I can at least take solace from the fact that I’m most certainly not alone.
Semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies has always been keen to work with startups and entrepreneurs and has done for many years. However, a year ago the company took the decision to make this collaboration more structured and more visible to the outside world, and so introduced its startup cooperation programme, Inno.Wafer. We spoke to the man heading up that programme in EMEA, Lamin Ben Hamdane, to find out more.
The UK Government needs to do more to encourage startup businesses in the wake of COVID-19, according to Dr Keith Arundale at Henley Business School.
The Founder and CEO of a UK-based EV charging port provider has been awarded a prime position on the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 (Europe) list for the Manufacturing and Industry sectors.
International business performance consultancy Ayming, has launched its new Sprint Claims service, which completes R&D tax credit incentive applications for SMEs in less than one week.
