In the May/June 2025 issue of Startups Magazine, we introduced four startups that we believe are the ones to watch in the medtech space.

ZERO, the B Corp Certified sustainable money app, has launched its second crowdfunding campaign via the Crowdcube platform following a landmark first six months of operations.

One year on from going live, the EU AI Act has moved from concept to reality, forcing businesses, regulators, and innovators alike to confront turning responsible AI into practice. The legislation has set a global benchmark, and its ripple effects are impacting industries, sparking both compliance challenges and new opportunities for competitive advantage.

Disposable tech is out. Bang & Olufsen and BREATHE Battery Technologies are leading the shift towards lasting intelligent design. Together, they are reimagining timeless technology – where performance meets beauty, and longevity and circularity are engineered from the outset.

The past year has seen small businesses and entrepreneurs face a storm of economic pressures. From rising salaries to skyrocketing energy costs, SMBs are facing a major squeeze. Our recent survey revealed that half of small business owners are concerned that one more major cost increase could force them to close their doors.

Q-CTRL has announced its selection for two awards under DARPA’s Robust Quantum Sensors (RoQS) programme. With this selection, DARPA has awarded Q-CTRL contracts valued at A$38 million ($24.4 million) to augment Q-CTRL’s field-validated quantum sensing technologies for demanding real-world use cases in high-performance military vehicles.

Whilst the UK prides itself on being a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, a striking number of new business startups are failing.

Three quarters (75%) of SME leaders believe that the better they feel, the more successful their business is, according to findings from American Express’ latest Business Barometer survey. 

Gen Z employees are helping older, more senior colleagues get to grips with AI in the workplace, new research has revealed.

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world-renowned annual tech show for the audiovisual and systems integration industry, introduced Innovation Park at ISE 2025, a dynamic business hub aimed at showcasing startup ventures and presenting exciting new ideas.

Farang, an AI research lab developing next-generation foundational Large Language Models, has announced it has raised €1.5 million in seed funding led by Voima Ventures and the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, with notable entrepreneur angel investors including Tero Ojanpera (Co-founder, Silo AI), and Nilay Oza and Niraj Aswani (Former Founders, Klevu).

New analysis from the global charity, Made By Dyslexia, shows that dyslexic entrepreneurs contribute a staggering £4.6 billion or more to UK GDP every year whilst supporting more than 60,000 jobs. 

Scaling is a thrilling word – and a dangerous one. For many founders, it means growing fast, entering new markets, chasing opportunity. But without the right foundation, growth turns into chaos: teams burn out, tech breaks down, and customer trust vanishes.

Every so often, a new trend takes over social media. Recently, TikTok has been filled with people talking about ‘fibremaxxing’, a health craze where people dramatically increase their fibre intake. The idea comes from a good place – fibre is important for health – but too much can do more harm than good.

The digital landscape has a new controller. AI is the driving force behind everything from smart chatbots to real-time campaign tweaks. Social posts, personalised content, and platform-ready ads are created and shared across multiple channels in seconds.