GENIE, an automated talent agent for the creative industry, has announced the closing of its second funding round, led by female led corporate advisor, Adelpha, taking their total funding to-date to £1.75m. GENIE also announced advertising industry legend, Sir John Hegarty as Chairman, as the team look to disrupt the ways companies hire talent in the post-COVID world.

Clim8 Invest (Clim8), the investment platform to help consumers invest in companies that are focused on tackling climate change, has announced the launch of its mobile app. 

Vistage, business performance and leadership advancement organisation for small and medium-size businesses, has found that over 3 in 4 (74%) of SME leaders expect economic conditions to improve in the next year. The report has also found that a majority (84%) of companies anticipate revenue will continue to improve in the same period of time.

Market engagement platform Grip has partnered with the inaugural Event Tech Live (ETL) USA & Canada, set to take place from 8th until 9th June 2021. 

When a startup embarks on the entrepreneurial journey it can be very daunting, and you may need some help and guidance along the way. Here at Startups Magazine we have created our second Survival Guide issue, sponsored by Digi-Key,  which will give you in depth advice and information from some of the industry's leading experts.

The global early-stage venture capital firm, Antler has unveiled the seven startups it has invested in during its third UK cohort.

With the annual Hustle Awards event planning in full swing, we are excited to announce that Sonya Barlow, award winning entrepreneur, founder of the LMFnetwork, diversity business coach and motivational speaker, as her efforts are focused on bridging the skills gap and creating inclusive cultures.

An independent London teleshopping channel is offering small businesses with a unique product innovation the chance to sell their products for free in a TV advert worth up to £5,000 on Sky TV as part of its ‘Road to Recovery’ campaign.

Kickstart Innovation, one of Europe's zero-equity, open innovation platforms based in Zurich, is currently launching its sixth program, and welcoming applications from businesses across the world. The application period is from 15th April to 17th May.

Suss Ventures have contributed a six-figure sum alongside a multi-million investment drive. This raise marks a huge success for Suss Ventures who are synonymous with sourcing sustainable businesses for their community of impact-driven investors and corporate partners. The zero-effort payment system eliminates the worry of parking fines and is completely cashless, automated and secure.

BIG MAMMA founders, Tigrane Seydoux and Victor Lugger have joined forces with Christine de Wendel to announce a €20m seed round to support the launch of a new, innovative payment method - Sunday, created by restaurateurs for restaurants.

A team of top scientists from the University of Bristol have announced the formation of a new biotech company that is developing newly patented potential treatments for Coronavirus.

Research from Ezra has revealed that a fifth of UK workers feel they get less recognition within their career as a direct result of working remotely. It remains to be seen to what extent we will return to a full working environment, as COVID-19 restrictions see many continue to work from home for part of, if not their whole working week.

The pandemic has forced a recruitment rethink, and a huge uptake in flexible talent acquisition services. UK-founded scaleup, Talent Works reported 400% growth in March 2020 compared to March 2021, and a sustained 20% month-on-month forecasted compound growth.

Payhawk, the platform for payments and expense management, has raised $20m. The Series A round is led by the US-based fund QED Investors, which has a strong track record of investing in 18 fintech unicorns, including Klarna and Nubank. Existing investor Earlybird Digital East, who led the $3.6m seed round in March 2020, is also contributing fresh capital.

As restrictions continue to lift and organisations prepare to bring employees back to the workplace, a new report from hackajob has revealed that 86% of technology professionals in the UK and Europe don't want to return to the office full time at all.

2020 tied with 2016 as the hottest year on record as a result of human activities, according to NASA. Keeping business going during a pandemic has been front and centre this past year, but it’s possible that it’s distracted business leaders from another major crisis of our times - climate change.

A cohort of ten technology startups have graduated from the Techstars Hub71 accelerator, making compelling presentations to the community at the annual Demo Day. The portfolio companies hope to secure a total $15m in funding to support their rapid growth. 

Corgee has secured its first pre-seed investment from Think Bigger Capital to develop its AI-powered finance app to make personal finance simpler for the UK’s 5.3 million self-employed.

To mark Earth Day 2021, creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree has announced a second wave of speakers for its upcoming Earthrise Summit, a virtual festival to unite sustainability leaders, founders, politicians, change makers and innovators from all corners of the world - to inspire people to take action.