In what founders are calling a race against the largest economic divide humanity has ever seen, Prompt University opens its doors as the world's first completely free, open-source institution dedicated to teaching prompt engineering and AI communication skills.

Sustainability is everywhere. From investor decks to packaging labels, every business seems to have a ‘green strategy’. But it’s also true that sustainability has suffered setbacks in recent years. Some large corporations have quietly rolled back their climate commitments or deprioritised their ESG targets in response to political pressure.

The joy of the festive season is all about connection – spending traditions together, creating special moments, finding that perfect something that lights up a loved one's face. Yet, for e-commerce, this time is also the biggest commercial battleground of the year, and it usually starts much earlier than December: 65% of shoppers start their gift search before November.

Forget the usual choice – big tech capitals are no longer the only places to build a thriving startup. Emerging European cities are carving out their own innovation hotspots, offering founders advantages that the biggest hubs can’t match.

In an age where AI can generate business plans in seconds, draft marketing copy at the click of a button, and even stimulate human conversation, it’s easy to overlook the importance of human interactions when it comes to growing a business.

Chainguard, the trusted source for open source, announced $280 million in growth financing from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund (CVF). This investment, which will help Chainguard meet growing demand and accelerate its mission to make open source software trustworthy by default, follows the company’s Series D fundraise in April and marks $636 million total secured in the past six months and $892 million in total.

Branded Realities, the creative technology company at the intersection of sports, fan engagement, and immersive experiences, has closed its $1.6 million seed funding round.

Astut, an Oxford University AI spin-out, has announced £1.6 million in seed funding to commercialise its breakthrough technology that helps organisations navigate unprecedented crises where traditional AI systems fail due to lack of historical data.

London-based entrepreneur, Reedah El-Saie, has successfully secured £30,000 funding from A-list Dragons’ Den stars, Sara Davies, Deborah Meaden, and Touker Suleyman for her educational gaming startup, Brainspark Games.

SheMed, the female-founded health technology company changing how women access personalised healthcare, has announced it has raised $50 million to further develop its innovative health platform and advance new breakthroughs for pre-emptive healthcare.

Paygentic, which provides an all-in-one billing and payments platform purpose-built for AI-native and agent-driven products, has successfully completed a $2 million pre-seed round.

ShengShu Technology launched Vidu Q2 ‘Reference-to-Video’, setting a new standard for AIGC products. This release shifts AI from simply creating motion to performing it, blending technology with creativity to deliver realistic, emotional, and cinematic videos.

Blue Earth Ventures has announced the 2025 BE100 Winners, selected in a live pitch finale at Blue Earth Summit in London. Three ventures were chosen by audience vote from a finalist cohort of six category-leading start-ups, each tackling urgent global challenges in water, energy, and construction.

Wonder Studios, the AI-native entertainment studio, has raised $12 million in seed funding to scale the studio model for a new era of entertainment production.

Bronto announced it has raised $14 million in seed funding led by Cercano Management – alongside Heavybit and Conviction Capital – to re-invent logging from end to end.