Discovery Park has successfully concluded its latest Discovery Spark programme, an intensive business growth catalyst supporting early-stage startups. Designed to assist innovators refine their commercial strategies, build investor readiness, and connect with likeminded peers and industry specialists, the programme culminated in pitches from 10 pioneering companies dedicated to improving cancer treatment and patient outcomes.
CADDi announces the closing of a $38 million Series C Extension led by Atomico. The round saw further doubling down of existing growth investors like Global Brain and Minerva Growth.
Burbank has announced its £5 million Series Seed financing to support the launch of its payments platform, Card Present over Internet (CPoI). The funding round was led by Mouro Capital with participation from Anthemis (supported by Foxe Capital), Portfolio Ventures, and others. These funds will accelerate the global roll out of Burbank’s platform.
Early-stage B2B SaaS venture capital firm Notion Capital has launched ‘Upstarts’, an intensive 10-week remote programme for the top 1% of up-and-coming operators, led by world class executives, mentorship from seasoned investors, and a global network of industry pioneers.
The UK’s medium-sized businesses drove job growth in the last 10 years compared to their small and large counterparts, according to new analysis.
Alloyed has announced the completion of a £37m Series B funding round. The fundraise will be used to expand Alloyed’s manufacturing facilities in Abingdon, UK, and Seattle, USA, as well as accelerating the development of its digital platforms for the design and processing of improved alloys and alloy components.
Music technology company Audoo, has partnered with GEMA, the German performing rights society, to launch a world-first ‘Music Impact Study ’ to quantify the commercial value of background music in gastronomy and retail spaces using accurately tracked data.
Blackwall has announced that it has raised a €45 million Series B round led by B2B investor, Dawn Capital. Already deployed across more than 2.3 million websites and applications, Blackwall defends web ecosystems from malicious automated threats.
More women are founding businesses than ever before, according to data from Gender Index. But founding is just the first step – YFM Equity Partners says that far more support is needed to enable female entrepreneurs to reach their full potential and to achieve entrepreneurial equality.
The potential of AI to level up entrepreneurship was showcased in London last week, as fresh research finds over half of the UK’s Disabled entrepreneurs are embracing AI and many believe the technology could be a game-changer for their business.
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day, Accelerate Action, emphasises the significance of moving beyond the surface and committing to the long-term inclusion of women in the workplace. While the gender gap is narrowing globally, it will likely take another five generations – over 134 years – to fully close this gap. The call to #AccelerateAction is urgent.
Fiverr announces the launch of Fiverr Go, an AI platform that fundamentally redefines the relationship between human creativity and artificial intelligence, enabling freelancers and creators to grow their business exponentially while retaining full creative rights.
New research from YuLife’s ‘Getting Workplace Wellbeing Right in 2025’ report highlights a gender gap in employee wellbeing, with financial uncertainty and job stability influencing career decisions in the coming year.
Augmetec, the legaltech startup founded and led by Kritin Sundaram, announces that it has raised over £2 million in seed funding to turbo charge its growth. The round is led by UK-based early-stage investors Fuel Ventures, with participation from Swiss fund 14Peaks Capital, and three industry angel investors, including the Founding Partner of one of the world’s largest law firms, the family office of a $1 billion+ legaltech organisation, and the Head of Fraud at Asia’s largest law firm.
Brexit’s official 5th anniversary was on 31st January, and – for some businesses – international trade remains a point of great frustration. Brexit, for many British enterprises, has been more shock and less awe. A recent LSE study revealed that the UK lost £27 billion in trade during Brexit’s first two years, with the value of British goods exports falling by 6.4% and total goods imports by 3.1%.
Noxus has raised $1.5 million in pre-Seed funding. Led by SFC Capital, the round also saw participation from Antler, Bynd VC, Caixa Capital, AltaIR Capital, I2BF Global Ventures, Yellow Rocks, and Smart Partnership Capital plus prominent business angels from the European ecosystem. The funding will help further develop and scale Noxus’ platform and expand operations.
Jarvis has partnered with Finity to simplify pensions management for businesses in the recruitment industry. This integration will also act as a platform for direct access to pension data through a unified system.
With UK landlines (PSTN) being phased out by 2027, small businesses face a shift in how they communicate. Rinkel, the Dutch telecom provider for freelancers and SoHo, is expanding its virtual phone services to the UK, offering a reliable, future-proof alternative to traditional telephony.
Doshi has teamed up with Lloyds to give students the financial confidence they need. This partnership is all about combining gamified learning experiences with rewards-based engagement to help students master essential financial skills and build a stronger connection with Lloyds.
SAP launches its ‘Supercharging Growth with AI in the UK – a Pathway for High-Growth Businesses’ report, which considers the scale-up opportunities and challenges facing UK businesses in 2025.
