It goes without saying that the past two years have been, for the most part, unpredictable. In both our professional and personal lives, we’ve all had to pivot and adapt to situations we never thought imaginable. In fact, according to the World Uncertainty Index (Ahir) we’re living in the most uncertain time in human history. 

The potential business success stories of tomorrow have been unveiled at the Santander X Entrepreneurship Awards 2021, a prestigious UK-wide entrepreneurial business pitching competition for students and recent graduates.

New data from Untapped AI has revealed more than 4 in 5 people have described themselves as feeling in the grip of change fatigue in September, exhausted with workplace and social uncertainty.

A green robotics company, slashing the cost of maintaining wind turbines, is flying high after securing £1.6m in its latest funding round.

In their previous article, entitled 'The top 5 trends to watch out for, beyond 2021!' MarketNgage discussed what's shaping the healthcare industry and what is their impact on the future. In this article they discuss the top healthtech startups that are taking the world by storm with their futuristic products and innovative thinking.

Forward Partners, London-based venture capital firm specialising in supporting high growth, early-stage technology businesses, has launched its 2021 Founders Programme.

74% of UK small businesses have upped their social media use for promotional purposes throughout the pandemic, with 43% using e-commerce more and 30% increasing their use of paid social media adverts.  

Mental health charity, Oakleaf, which is based in Guildford and supports people through training and wellbeing social activities, has partnered with Professional Training Solutions (PTS), a provider of employability, apprenticeship courses and training programmes. PTS works across London, Surrey and the South East, and together they will deliver an employability programme to help individuals get started or return to a work environment. 

UK-based fintech startup, Minted, surveyed over 1,100 people to reveal that more than half of people (54%) have no investments at all, mostly due to a lack of understanding.

The University of Salford and HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology, have won a bid to establish the first ‘Unity Centre of Excellence on Campus’ in the region, which will be aimed at bringing immersive technology skills, jobs and business innovation support to the area.

PassFort, the SaaS RegTech provider whose platform automates financial crime and compliance processes, has announced the close of its Series A funding, which gives the firm access to $16.2m. The money will be used to realise PassFort’s global growth plans and its ambition to be the category leader in compliance automation for regulated businesses.

UK startups and competition would be damaged if the government cracks down on mergers and acquisitions involving big tech companies, a new report argues. The report, released at the end of a Government consultation, warns that the plans will chill investment in British tech startups, hurting the UK’s competitiveness and attractiveness as a place for tech startups to do business.

As the furlough scheme ends and unemployment is set to rise, TheJobApp, an app set to change the temp recruitment industry, is helping attract more people to gig-working as the UK struggles to fill thousands of vacancies due to skill shortages.

OVHcloud have announced its partnership with SETsquared to offer its cloud solutions and Startup Program benefits to their member startups.

UK healthtech company Vagus has developed a 30-second electrocardiogram test performed with a smartwatch app. The technology is a massive boost for preventive healthcare.

PixelMax, a Manchester-based tech startup, has launched an immersive 3D platform to solve the hybrid working challenge.

Monolith AI, an Artificial Intelligence Engineering (AIE) software, has announced £8.5m in Series A funding, taking its total capital raised to £10.6m. The round was led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners, with existing investors Pentech and Touchstone supporting the round. Also joining the round is the founder of Formula E and Extreme E, Alejandro Agag, Apex Black and the Stanford Angels of the UK.

It’s true what they say, timing is everything. For some businesses, the pandemic will go down in history as one of the biggest challenges to their supply chain management, human resources, and overall bottom line. But many of the businesses that started up during or post-pandemic will note the last 18 months as the foundation of their success.

Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, announces the launch of two new accelerator programs in Paris and Stockholm. The launch showcases Techstars’ commitment to investing in startup talent in Europe, where it plans to invest in more than 100 startups in 2022 through its various accelerator programs in seven countries. Both programs will be fully funded by Techstars, following the recent July close of a new $150m fund, intended to support more local entrepreneurs looking for global exposure.   

London is the leading destination to grow a technology business outside of Silicon Valley, according to a comprehensive ranking of international startup hubs compiled by Startup Genome for its annual Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021.