Artificial intelligence has already become a powerful democratiser for smaller companies and startup ventures, enabling them to achieve faster growth and enterprise-level efficiency. As the sophistication and simplicity of AI improves, there are also expanding opportunities for companies to enhance their competitive edge by taking direct charge of advanced technologies.

A fundamental shift is reshaping the startup landscape. As venture capital tightens and artificial intelligence accelerates innovation cycles, a new model for growth has emerged, one where success is defined not by the size of a company’s payroll, but by its agility. Startups are proving that lean, globally distributed teams can outperform larger, traditional organisations by leveraging specialised talent on demand. This move toward talent fluidity is no longer a trend; it is the core operating system for the next generation of market leaders.

On 13th - 14th October, Amsterdam became the powerhouse of innovation at the Oil and Gas Automation and Digitalisation Congress 2025. The event, held with the support of Host Sponsor Fluor, gathered more than 170 companies and 340 experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the new technological era and enhance professional skills.   

Amidst the pressure to make sales, offer a good deal and cut through the noise around the Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) sales, brands competing for shopper attention online sometimes forget that meaningful connections can be built with the right user experience (UX) design and a good story.

Across the UK, Europe, and the US, startup leaders are facing a growing shortage of young talent who are truly job ready. Particularly in remote settings, employers increasingly seek more mature profiles with strong soft skills and an understanding of company life capabilities that many graduates still lack.

Most early-stage founders spend more time dealing with money movement than they ever expected. Not fundraising, but the simple act of getting money in and out of the business. Traditional banking still slows teams down with long processing times, inconsistent cross-border transfers, and rigid rules that do not match how modern startups operate.

Speed and reliability have become the foundation of any good online experience. Now, shoppers expect sites to load without hesitation, checkouts to work flawlessly, and performance to hold steady regardless of device or demand. Data reflects this shift too, with a two second delay being enough to double bounce rates. When experience falters, customers rarely wait. Instead, they’ll move on to the next merchant offering the same product with a smoother journey. In a market where alternatives are just a click away, even brief moments of friction can mean a lost sale.

Alison Imbert shares with Startups Magazine what makes a winning team, how her team is shifting strategies in an unpredictable market, and why she thinks being considerate isn't incompatible with being a top VC.

Technology is constantly evolving, and some trends, like AI, have been dominant players over the last few years. While AI isn’t going anywhere, there are other themes and trends that will be taking the world by storm next year.

The CARE ESG Awards by Trescon and ESG Mena recognised the region’s most outstanding leaders, changemakers, and industry shapers driving sustainability, clean energy, climate resilience, and responsible growth. Held during the inaugural edition of climate action, renewable energy & sustainability forum, CARE 2025, the awards spotlighted high-impact contributions driving measurable progress across environmental stewardship, renewable energy deployment, resource efficiency, social value creation, and transparent governance.

AI has undeniably been the headline of 2025. Every day has seemed to bring a new tool, startup or product launch, promising transformation and innovation at levels never seen before. With so many new developments, often accompanied by both excitement and caution, how can business leaders know how to navigate the evolving AI landscape and ensure they are investing their time, money and resources in a way that truly drives value?

Prior Labs announces the world’s first foundation model capable of handling millions of rows of data, giving enterprises a powerful and scalable way to understand and use their most complex, business-critical information.

Small businesses are the beating heart of the UK economy: creating jobs, energising high streets, and boosting communities. But while they’re vital to growth, new research from HSBC UK shows many entrepreneurs are struggling to promote themselves and attract new customers. 

The traditional CV is losing its grip on hiring decisions, with just four in 10 employers now rating them among the most reliable indicators of talent in an age of AI-generated applications, according to a new global study from Willo.

Mirror Security, a research-driven cybersecurity company spun out of University College Dublin, has raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding to scale its breakthrough encryption platform for AI security.

A major highlight of Quantum.Tech World, taking place 25th - 26th June 2026 at the Encore Boston Harbour, Boston, will be the expanded Startup PitchFest. A high-conviction platform designed to accelerate the most promising companies building across quantum, AI, HPC, data-centre infrastructure, biotech, pharma tech and next-generation deeptech.

Humanoid, a UK-based robotics and AI company, unveiled HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal, a humanoid robot that sets a new benchmark for development speed and operational readiness.

The nation’s favourite small businesses have been revealed, showcasing the UK’s love for small firms ahead of Small Business Saturday (6th December).  

FASTA, a programme backed by the UK Agri-Tech Centre and delivered in partnership with the Carbon Trust, has launched to help UK-based innovators scale the technologies needed to support sustainable farming in the UK.

Deltek, the intelligent platform for project-based businesses, unveils a new framework to help UK small and mid-sized firms strengthen their confidence and build sustainable growth in 2026.