Gradfuel, the innovative data-driven graduate hiring platform, has successfully secured £200k in seed investment amidst ongoing market uncertainty in light of COVID-19. The graduate recruitment platform, valued at £1.05m, has fuelled interest from investors and top-tier employers alike. Investors from a range of backgrounds, including ex-Managing Directors from J.P Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, as well as early investors for Patch Plants and Mindful Chef, have backed the company in its seed round.

UK software company, TAAP is helping small, medium and large businesses across the country work safely from home, keep tabs on company equipment and help boost productivity by launching the TAAP Work From Home app (available across Android, IOS and Windows).

From a trickle to a torrent, impact investing has become the trending topic across the asset management industry. While pressure increases for all investments to ‘do no harm’, a growing demand for opportunities that actively ‘do good’ continues to go unmet. Chorus Network is hoping to address that. Launched by a social impact entrepreneur and reformed investment banker, Chorus brings the best aspects of investing in startups and wraps that around the impact space.

Signs of life in the economy and an increase of business activity has led to an surge in confidence of CEOs within UK and Ireland SMEs. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index rebounded to 82.9 Q3 2020; while not at peak recovery, this is just 2.5% below Q3 2019.

Join BRIDGE CEO, Brian Coburn, and Magnus Danielson, CTO of Worldline on the 28th October at 11am as they share critical insight in maximising e-commerce payment systems to enable businesses to take advantage of transformational, innovative digital payment solutions.

Kibus Petcare, a pet product company, has launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Kibus, its proprietary at-home product that cooks pet food with the healthiness of traditional home-cooked meals. An automatic, convenient device that cooks healthy, natural, and minimally processed dog food, Kibus meets the needs of demanding dogs and their owners worldwide.

Clim8 Invest (Clim8), the only digital investment platform to help consumers invest in companies focused on tackling the climate crisis, has appointed three members to its investment committee.

The finalists of one of Europe's most renowned startup pitch competitions have been announced ahead of Arctic 15 taking place from 19th-21st October. With more than 150 entrants competing for a chance to pitch to an audience of VC’s and angel investors, only 15 startups have made the final cut.

NovaQuest Capital Management, an investor in life sciences and healthcare, has announced a $20m product financing agreement with Mileutis, an Israeli biopharmaceutical company, to help mitigate the use of antibiotics in animals. NovaQuest’s investment will drive the continued development and commercialisation of Mileutis’ novel, biologically sourced, and residue-free therapies for animal health. NovaQuest’s investment is its first ever in the animal health care field and in an Israeli company.

The impact of COVID-19 on young people’s career prospects has been severe, with under-25s being more likely to be furloughed than any other age group, and many more young people being let go or having their job offers rescinded following the March lockdown. 

Satori has announced the launch of its new professional 3D printer, the ST1600, marking its debut in the 3D printing market. The London-based startup is also launching a partnership program to collaborate with global innovators and creatives across all sectors of the design and manufacturing industry.

Aberdeenshire startup company, Legasea, have won the award for Best Energy Industry Environmental Service Provider 2020, making this the company's second award since establishing the company 18 months ago.

Last month (September) was the highest month for Tech Nation visa applications since records began in 2014. August 2020 was the third highest month for visa applications on record, and applications in Q3 (calendar year) were up 42% on the previous quarter, and up 8% on Q3 of last year. It is clear that applicants have predominantly come from India, Russia and the US, and applicants come from backgrounds in software development, cloud computing and AI.

Rising Stars 3.0 is the UK’s most exciting competition for innovative, early-stage tech companies. Designed to showcase the best the country has to offer, we provide the platform for businesses from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to shine bright. Startups will benefit from significant profile raising on both a national and international level, as well as the opportunity to put their business in front of leading investors, influencers and corporates.

This month is off to a positive start after the successful run of the Good Mental Health festival, co-hosted by Calmer and Psychreg last Friday 9th October. People from all walks of life came together to join the virtual festival, in a bid to raise awareness around mental health while also exploring how to promote positive mental health in the workplace, and other aspects of our lives.

Investors are continuing to pump money into London’s fintech companies despite the pandemic, according to latest data from London & Partners and Dealroom.co today.

The UK government is starting to draw up a plan to create a 'world-leading' hydrogen market that can help meet its goal to zero out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  As a consequence, the renewables sector is urging the government to support the rapid development of commercial green hydrogen.

Vivalys is the first school in the world to automatically measure the level of hand hygiene of its students through connected water sensors. Developed by the startup, Droople, this first of its kind solution will contribute to the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

Brighteye Ventures, Europe’s first and largest education technology (edtech) venture capital fund, has announced the $54m first close of its second fund, bringing assets under management to over $112m. Funding for first close comes from a mix of existing and new investors, primarily international Family Offices, with a second close expected in 2021 to accommodate institutional investors.

Despite the on-going impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, global early-stage venture capital firm, Antler invested in seven startups during its second UK cohort, taking its global investment total to over $30m.