Decathlon has announced it is rolling out MishiPay’s mobile self-checkout solution across its 81 German stores. The innovative technology is already live in Decathlon Deutschland stores in Berlin (Berlin Hauptbahnhof), Munich (Munich Connect), Cologne (Marsdorf), Schwetzingen and Plochingen, with more locations being added every week

Tokio Marine is to use an AI solution to process auto damage across its insurance operations in Japan, to help drivers recover more quickly from car accidents.

Tech trailblazers, Gapsquare have been selected alongside the UK government, to be part of the Equal Pay International Coalition.

A workplace analytics solution that provides office utilisation intelligence for corporate real estate leaders and managers, Locatee has announced that it has secured $4m in Series A funding.

In a bid to help create the carbon neutral home, Schneider Electric has partnered with Sustainable Ventures, a UK-based cleantech hub that offers entrepreneurs workspaces, accelerator programs, and support to develop their businesses.

Blackfinch Group announces the launch of the #ISOLATIONINTERN  platform in partnership with investment industry firms and universities to enable specialist talent acquisition under Covid 19 Restrictions. The initiative aims to supercharge early stage companies and help keep this vital sector of the economy on track.

Small business owners are used to tackling the unexpected, but coronavirus has presented startups across the UK with a challenge on a scale they could never have planned for.

Sage has released the first edition of the SMB Tracker, highlighting the latest weekly sentiment from businesses across the UK. This week the Tracker finds that a greater proportion of the UK’s small and medium sized businesses may have either applied or intend to apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS).

Startups across sectors are signing up to offer learning and development opportunities to furloughed workers through professional development platform, Learnerbly, as they attempt to support employees throughout the coronavirus crisis.

National Health Service (NHS) workers are being offered free initial financial advice from Fintuity via their state-of-the-art online platform, the United Kingdom’s only FCA regulated-online Independent Financial Adviser (IFA).

With the UK charity sector estimated to be facing a £4 billion loss in the next 12 weeks and 50% of all businesses putting most of their staff on furlough as a result of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Freestyle, a Midlands-based digital product studio - has launched a unique service helping charities connect and find support from local businesses and its furloughed workers, Charity Matcher. 

More than six weeks after the Government ordered people to work from home many businesses have gone under while others remain fighting for survival. Yet thousands are also finding a way to get through - often by diversifying the way they work and seeking out new opportunities. In this special report by Harper James Solicitors - who support more than 1,000 firms from start up to scale up five firms share the story of their life in lockdown. 

Fractory, the award-winning Manchester cloud manufacturing startup, has announced the launch of SafeKey, an antimicrobial multitool that kills harmful bacteria, such as Covid-19, in as little as two hours. 

LuggageHero, a leading luggage-storage network, is bucking the trend by showing that investing in travel startups is not over during these uncertain times surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.  

London based FinTech Flagstone, developer of the UK’s largest cash deposit marketplace, has raised $15m (£12m) in venture capital in a round led by OMERS Ventures and supported by existing investors including Kindred Capital and Moneysupermarket Group plc.

North Wales fintech startup, monva has announced it has exceeded its initial crowdfunding target of £250,000, as it enters a period of overfunding across the next two weeks.

The Institute of Economic Development (IED) has today launched the Commission for Economic Renewal, which will bring together some of the UK’s foremost economic development practitioners and academics to formulate the policies and interventions it believes will be needed to rebuild economies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) should check the security and data protection of the technology they are using during COVID-19 lockdown, urges the MCA. Although there has been a rapid adoption of technology by firms, some have not been able to assess security quickly enough, risking exposure of confidential data and client information. The MCA has created a free checklist for SMEs to ensure that they ask the right questions about technology and how staff could use it before it is purchased.

Bot-Hive, a digital marketplace for robotics and AI solutions has successfully completed a six-figure equity funding round. Bot-Hive is a digital marketplace which connects SMEs with the right automation technology for their business and shows them the best way to introduce robots to their workflow processes.

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s growing tech ecosystem, has expanded to 51 startups with the announcement of 15 new joiners to the Hub71 Incentive Program. The Hub71 Selection Committee prioritized global startups in the field of HealthTech and EdTech, which provide essential technologies to support the private and public sector as they adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.