Starting a business makes you happier. At least, according to participants in the recent study by IONOS SE. 500 Brits were asked about their dream jobs, and 59.3% stated that it would make them happy to start their very own business.

New data released today shows that nearly 40 million Brits (78%) have shopped ‘small’ this festive season. So far spending nearly a quarter (24%) of their Christmas budget – a whopping £5.8 billion in total – on festive gifts and food from startups and small businesses. In fact, one in ten (10%) people say the majority of their Christmas list has come from small shops and sellers this year.

The fund will focus on early-stage startups in deeptech, b2b, blockchain, fintech and the automotive industry.

Three quarters (75%) of global consumers are now more likely to use digital banking in the next few months than before the pandemic, according to a new report from SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu.

Deeptech Labs, the VC accelerator for post-Seed, pre-Series A deeptech companies unveille its Autumn cohort of startups to an online audience of investors on 15th December.  

Tech Nation has today announced the 5 East of England Regional Winners of its fourth Rising Stars competition, which recognises the brightest and best early-stage tech scaleups from every area of the UK. In total, 55 fast-growing tech companies from across the UK have been named this year’s Regional Winners - 5 within each UK region. Previous years’ Rising Stars Regional Winners have included Selazar (from Northern Ireland), Circa5000 (from the North West) and SeedLegals (from London), who have received a combined £33.79mn in investment to date, demonstrating the ability of the Rising Stars Regional Winners to scale quickly, and their potential to become the UK’s tech ‘unicorns’ (companies with valuations of $1bn+) of the future.

KlearNow, the smart Logistics as a Service (LaaS) pioneer founded in 2018 and launched in the UK 2021, has raised $50M (£38M) in new capital to transform broken supply chains, simplifying and providing real-time cargo visibility to the customs clearance and drayage processes. KlearNow’s AI-powered platform eases the worldwide supply chain disruptions that have left businesses grappling with delays and shortages.  

Future VC, which runs internship and development programmes, today announces that applications are open for all of its global cohorts in 2022. 

SEON, the fraud fighters, has announced its partnership with Playtech, the gaming software developers. The online gambling market is experiencing a meteoric rise (expected to reach $1trn this year). However, the sector is becoming an increasingly high target - even before the pandemic, a 2019 study found that one in 20 online gaming accounts were associated with a fraudster. By joining forces, SEON and Playtech aim to significantly reduce this number. 

Talenthouse Media Foundry, a revolutionary new platform that empowers game creatives to thrive independently, launches today. Media Foundry enables developers to explore partnership opportunities and resources, connect with other creatives, and crucially access direct, exciting opportunities for revenue beyond games - all while retaining creative control of their IP. A much-needed resource in an industry in constant, exhilarating growth.

As the UK Government’s consultation to reform flexible working regulations comes to an end on 1 December 2021, new research from Soffos.ai reveals that half of UK workers are keen for flexible working practices to be stipulated by law. 

Global thought-leaders Wade Davis, Vice President of Inclusion Strategy for Product at Netflix and Gayemarie Brown, Forbes Top Female Futurist are set to join leading Scottish businesses at Scotland’s third annual CAN DO Innovation Summit early next year.

In a Series A financing round, the Berlin-based health tech company Lindera has secured an investment of €6m.

Antler, the early-stage venture capital investor with 350 portfolio companies across 17 cities across the world, has put out a call to founders and teams interested in building in Web3 to join its global cohorts.

Caunce O’Hara, the specialist insurance broker for freelancers and small businesses, have released the results of their survey on the growth of ‘side hustles’, referring to someone who has a second source of income in addition to their regular full-time job.

The UK and US are driving forward the rapid growth of the global healthtech sector, with latest data from London & Partners and Dealroom.co showing a record $51.3bn has been pumped into global healthtech startups already this year, up 280% on 2016 levels.

The new Omicron variant has sent governments scrambling. Despite ministers' protestations to the contrary, Christmas restrictions in the UK would not come as a surprise.

AI Startup Incubator's portfolio grows with AssetFloow and their new sensorless AI software that enables retailers to understand customers' behavior and movement in the store. AssetFloow's solution provides analysis, prediction, and workflow improvement, making current retailers' decision-making more efficient. Headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, AssetFloow currently operates in Europe, plans to enter the Czech market, and expands its technology overseas.

Over 2,500 people were welcomed through the doors of Islington’s Business Design Centre at the inaugural Workspace Design Show to see the wealth of new products and leading-edge discussions. The event united industry colleagues with each other after a pandemic-induced hiatus of over eighteen months with an overall theme of ‘Redesigning tomorrow’s commercial interiors together’.

Looking back at COP26 Clim8, a new climate impact investing app, has shared comments and tips on how consumers can invest their savings and positively impact climate change.