New research has revealed a significant yet often overlooked source of stress for employers: manual payroll. For some, it’s causing ‘payroll paralysis’.

Apideck, a provider of real-time Unified APIs, has announced that it has raised $7.5 million in a Series A funding round. Led by Amsterdam-based Airbridge Equity Partners, the round includes PMV, angel investors, and executives from Atlassian, Rocketreach, Aikido, Teamleader, and Proxyclick. The investment will accelerate the company's global growth and enhance its product offering, simplifying API integrations for B2B software and fintech companies.

The hiring landscape is undergoing a dramatic shift, as organisations reconsider their degree requirements in their pursuit of top talent. According to a recent survey, 45% of companies intend to eliminate bachelor’s degree requirements for certain positions this year, with 55% having already done so in 2023 for some roles.

Innovation scaleup Wazoku is expanding into the GCC region, with the establishment of a dedicated presence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Algorithmiq has announced a venture to accelerate error mitigation techniques for near-term quantum devices.

CommBox, an enterprise-grade omnichannel, AI-powered customer experience platform, has announced the completion of a $15 million growth investment round from PSG Equity, a growth equity firm that specialises in partnering with software and technology-enabled services companies to help navigate and capitalise on transformational growth.

Pruna AI, the AI optimisation engine empowering ML teams to simplify code and streamline models, has announced that it has successfully raised $6.5 million in a seed funding round led by EQT Ventures with participation from Daphni, Motier, and Kima, along with support from high profile angels including Roxanne Varza, Hervé Nivon, and Olivier Pomel.

The rational achiever brain has an interesting history. And while these terms, “rational” and “achiever” may seem to address what we need in business, in fact, this kind of brain is only an early steppingstone on the path to capable leadership.

Gendo, the AI platform which transforms how architects and designers bring ideas and sketches to life, has raised a £4.3 million seed round. This comes less than four months after the company emerged from beta and announced their pre-seed raise of £855k.

High-level sports coaching has long been an opportunity reserved for the few – those with access to the right resources, connections, or deep pockets. When a single one-on-one tennis lesson can cost upwards of £50, professional training is an unattainable dream for many aspiring athletes.

Virgin Media O2 Business and Cebr have published a new report, ‘The economic and social benefits of digitalisation’, revealing the significant growth potential UK businesses have left untapped. The report highlights that if all British-based firms had increased their digital technology usage in 2021, the economy could have seen a staggering £111 billion boost in turnover by 2023.

Atlas.co has announced its $2 million pre-seed funding round led by climate-focused VC fund Pale Blue Dot, high-profile investors Ben Lang (early employee and ex-community lead at Notion), and Andreas Klinger (ex-CTO and founding team at Product Hunt).

Bitsight has announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cybersixgill, a global cyber threat intelligence (CTI) data provider. Together, Bitsight and Cybersixgill will provide unmatched visibility into an organisation’s external attack surface, supply chain, and the threats targeting it. As a result, security leaders can proactively identify, prioritise, and mitigate risk across their first and third party environments. 

Future Planet Capital is working with NatWest Cushon, with a view to the Cushon Master Trust potentially making an investment in the British Co-Investment Fund (BCF). Any future investment will be subject to commercial terms, due diligence, and Trustee approval. If approved, NatWest Cushon’s participation would signify a major step forward, creating new avenues for British pension funds to access high-growth, private technology companies at scale.

“From a young age, I was deeply immersed in the world of technology, imspired by my grandfather, a pioneering engineer who played a key role in constructing the first computers in the 1950s. This unique upbringing, which involved soldering computers and circuits with my grandfather, instilled in me a profound appreciation for technology and innovation,” reminisced Roman Axelrod.