Xero has ​announced the acquisition of Waddle, a cloud based lending platform that helps small businesses access capital through invoice financing. The acquisition aligns with Xero’s strategy to grow the small business platform and to address critical small business financial needs. Waddle’s cloud lending platform, combined with small businesses’ invoice data, will enable the delivery of tailored invoice financing solutions.

According to the World Allergy Organisation (WAO), 2.5% of the general population is allergic to one of more foods, while up to 10% can manifest adverse drug reactions. This is just one example of why in highly regulated industries, such as food or pharmaceutical manufacturing, it is particularly important to protect consumers by ensuring that items are properly packaged and labelled.

COVID-19 has drastically changed the landscape for businesses across all industries, forcing immediate changes - but ones that will have long term consequences. In the newest report by Lux Research, 'The Impact of COVID-19 on Tech Innovation', Lux outlines five key trends that will define how the world beyond the pandemic will be different.

An online game developed by a startup business in response to the recent COVID-19 lockdown is now being used to train the Artificial Intelligence (AI) component of its new legal contract management system.

Superstrata’s 3D printed e-bike, and traditional bike has soared past the company's initial crowdfunding target, hitting £3.3M in pre-orders as more than 2,800 backers from 66 countries have supported the project so far, and due to demand has decided to extend the campaign until Saturday 12 September 2020.

Bagboard, the creation of former credit trader Ben Ayres, advertising executive Ashleigh Bishop, and startup specialist Charlie Ayres, has hit over 100% funded with 13 days remaining. Bagboard marries major brand advertising campaigns and environmental impact, with a mission to empower consumers to use their collective spending power as a force for good.

Neuroscience-based people development company, Sesh has announced that it has secured $1.6m in pre-seed funding. The funding will enable Sesh to accelerate the development of its human comprehension AI, ​Empath​, that identifies states of mind and emotional mood of people in any video source.

Technology has come a long way in the past decade, and the telecoms industry is no exception. Since 2010, this sector has seen incredible advancements and the worldwide revenue of telecoms services is estimated to be £1,026bn.

Online investment platform, Seedrs has announced record-breaking activity levels on its Secondary Market, following the introduction of variable pricing in the August trading window. The introduction of variable pricing offered sellers the opportunity to list their shares at either a premium or a discount of 10%, 20% or 30%, relative to the mark-to-market share price and was developed in consultation with Seedrs entrepreneur and investor communities.

The Women On Top Podcast has announced its exciting brand expansion. This new direction will see the podcast evolve into a multimedia digital platform including online magazine, email newsletter, podcast and virtual events later in the year.

The startup bootcamp Renegade Academy from Huckletree is back this September. It’s a 6-day (evenings only) interactive bootcamp for people with a business idea or concept, to help them get it off the ground.

A London-based business growth agency is offering free coaching and mentoring sessions for aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to launch their own startup.

Investment syndicate, Equity Gap is celebrating 10 years as one of Scotland’s most successful angel investment groups with record investment figures and a healthy pipeline of new deals. Meeting the challenge of COVID-19 head on, the syndicate completed 22 investments in the first half of 2020, with total member funds invested since inception topping £20m.

Crowdcube has launched a new flagship secondary product, the Direct Community Offer (DCO). The DCO gives later-stage businesses a way of offering early investors a return on their investment while simultaneously giving new investors a chance to buy a stake in a business they believe in.

aeris health, a Swiss startup that creates commercial and residential air purification systems that are improving health globally, is facing huge demands on its manufacturing, as sales have doubled month over month since January.

Murata has announced the launch of its Open Innovation website to create collaborative relationships with startups to develop solutions in the mobility, energy, healthcare, and wireless markets.

As part of its increasing investment in digital technologies, global motor and industrial equipment manufacturer, WEG has acquired control of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) business. Mvisiais a Brazil-based machine vision startup that specialises in applying AI tools in industry.

Otter.ai announced today the launch of Otter for Events - a new collaboration service that completely changes the virtual and offline events experience for organisers and audiences alike. With Otter Live Notes’ AI technology fully capturing event conversations and turning them into highly accurate interactive, collaborative transcripts in real-time, this offering provides a wealth of previously untapped benefits and value. It is targeted at any organisation hosting a virtual, live, or in-person event - no matter the audience size.

Funding has increased by a staggering 940% for UK cyber security startups since the beginning of lockdown - with £496m being raised in the first half of 2020, almost outstripping the 2019 total of £521m. Investors have been quick to put their money towards startups specialising in cyber risk management, as the pandemic forced CEO’s to look beyond just financial or regulatory risk.

A tech entrepreneur who created the world’s first truly wireless earbuds with live voice translation has pivoted during lockdown and used his global manufacturing connection to create a brand new organisation tasked with making and distributing high quality, certified PPE at affordable prices to the healthcare sector and local businesses.