COVID-19 rocked the world and demanded many changes to the way we went about our daily lives.  As a result, this pivotal year has led to a renewed focus on the health of our planet post-pandemic. Many have recognised the positive reaction to the world slowing down on our natural surroundings, and many have taken the opportunities that this huge period of change has offered to drive their ambition to make a difference.

Dutch artificial intelligence company, Sentinels has raised £4.9m (€5.7m) in a seed funding round, led by INKEF Capital, complemented by strategic angel investors and industry leaders - including several members of the early Adyen team. The startup has now raised a total of £7.3m (€8.4m) to date. 

Environment-savvy small firms have been stirred into action by the pandemic and propelled saving the planet to the top of their agenda. And business owners now see sustainability as a critical issue and want to take action as lockdown restrictions ease.

Creative England and the British Business Bank’s Start-Up Loans programme have announced a new partnership, establishing an accessible source of financial and business support for creative entrepreneurs across the UK. The partnership provides vital support for creative businesses - many of whom struggle to access traditional forms of finance - to start, grow and develop their IP.

New research from GovGrant, with data commissioned from CBI Economics, has revealed that just 10% of UK SMEs own Intellectual Property (IP) rights. This scenario is further exacerbated by the fact that the UK’s top ten patent applicants are predominantly made up of large firms, but still make up almost a fifth (18%) of IP applications. This suggests large firms dominate SMEs when it comes to applying for patents. 

Event Tech Live’s competition for startups is now open to the public.

Meet Disco: A combination of improved purchasing power and super-safe security structures, extension features a referral program within the add-on, and auto-fill shopping cart for all the favourite merchants.

The Inspiring Fifty UK awards, hosted by accelerateHER, opens nominations to spotlight women excelling in technology careers across the UK and showcase 50 incredible trailblazing leaders.

Event Tech Live (ETL) will make its debut in the States and Canada next week from June 8th until the 10th.

The NatWest Accelerator supports and empowers UK entrepreneurs and business owners to scale their businesses to the next level. Through our specialist Accelerator programmes we provide wrap around support and access to expertise, removing barriers and providing more opportunities to help customers grow.

Penfold, the pensions challenger making saving for the future easier today, has announced the close of a £6m investment round to accelerate growth and expand its team. 

Majority (83%) of UK cities are interested in acquiring office space, indicating an increased demand in returning to the physical workplace, according to insights from Orega Offices. The findings were based on data obtained from 18 cities across the UK, analysing average keyword monthly search data to reveal ‘the cities where office space is most-in demand’.

We know that when starting out it can be very daunting and you may need a little help when it comes to direction, discipline and planning. That is why we have decided to create another version of the extremely popular Survival Guide. Brought to you by Startups Magazine and Digi-Key Electronics, this second edition of the Survival Guide brings you resources in the ten step entrepreneurial journey.

UK workers are putting in an additional 20 working days per year by skipping all or some of their lunch breaks, new research has found. The data from flexible office specialist, Workthere, has analysed the UK’s lunchtime habits, both before and during COVID restrictions.  

The competition enforcer’s new regulator for Big Tech risks damaging competition and innovation in the UK, argues a report from The Entrepreneurs Network and the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE). The report argues that by limiting acquisitions, and implementing a series of burdensome regulations around product changes, the regulator will decrease the amount of funding going to startups, and hurt Big Tech firms’ attempts to compete with each other.

Suss Ventures has sourced a six-figure sum for sports engineering startup, E-Nano which will support their current raise. The robotics startup uses its cloud platform to measure, analyse and feedback real time data to sport field managers and groundskeepers.

People management platform, Employment Hero has revealed new data on how employees and employers are managing mental health support in the workplace.  

Businesses are divided over the future of remote work and employee training over the next 12 months, new research from Soffos.ai has revealed.

Kavida.ai, a supply chain resiliency startup, founded in 2020, has secured £300,000 ($425,000) in pre seed capital from strategic investors. The company provides enterprises with decision intelligence tools to prevent and mitigate supply chain disruptions in a range of sectors including apparel, FMCG, food, retail and pharma.

Black, Asian and mixed background tech entrepreneurs from London and Greater Manchester will join a five-day virtual trade mission starting today (7th to 11th June). The mission will see fifteen companies ‘touch-down’ in North America to meet with corporates and startups to explore new investment and export opportunities and accelerate their expansion plans in the US market.