The sharp rise in UK consumer-price inflation to 3.5% in April has re-energised cost pressures that never fully dissipated after the pandemic and subsequent global trade shocks. Higher energy contracts, steeper materials costs, and renewed wage demands are converging to erode already-thin operating margins, forcing the country’s 5.5 million small and medium-sized enterprises to revisit their financing playbooks.

e.l.f. Beauty signed a definitive agreement to acquire rhode, the lifestyle beauty brand founded by Hailey Bieber, in a deal valued at $1 billion.

As economic pressures and AI innovations motivate countries around the world to invest in skills development, the UK has ranked 22nd globally out of 109 countries in skills proficiency. This ranking places the UK ahead of the US (27th) and China (39th), and sees it climb from 45th position last year.

Fintech is approaching a time of consolidation. During the last decade, growth has been rapid and expansive, spawning new technologies and seemingly endless startups. But while both markets have always been characterised by volatility, various socioeconomic factors have led to an industry slowdown.

Growing data usage on mobile networks has led to a growing number of RF frequency bands, in turn creating more components and greater in size. In summary, the more frequency bands there are, the more fixed frequency filters that are required in mobile radio front ends.

Robotics startup BOW’s name may seem quite evocative – ‘Bettering Our World’ – but it speaks to a broader mission of recognising existing issues within the robotics industry and seeking to address these issues through its robotic-agnostic software development kit (SDK).

All the way back in our 2023 May/June issue, we had the pleasure to speak with CEO & Founder Nickolai Vysokov about his company, BrainPatch, who is pioneering an e-meditation device which delivers meditative, quickly calming, and stress-relieving sensations via small, non-invasive electrical currents to the brain.

In the realm of artificial intelligence, the adage of "garbage in, garbage out" holds more weight than ever before. 

Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for transport, the built environment, cities and local growth, announced on 20th May that applications are open for the latest Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG) programme which will award up to 40 projects up to £45k each.

Over two-thirds (68%) of SME leaders believe their business is resilient and prepared to withstand challenges, with a similar proportion (69%) feeling confident in their ability to recover quickly from setbacks.  

With AI adoption racing ahead, outdated systems are holding organisations back as technical debt is rapidly becoming one of the most expensive challenges facing enterprises today, costing them more than just money.

Less than two-thirds (57%) of employers are ‘very confident’ that their pension scheme is compliant with automatic enrolment regulations, according to new research by Towergate Employee Benefits. This is leaving businesses open to the possibility of non-compliance notices and fines.

For founders trying to find their way through the world of investment, the language alone can feel like a closed shop: SEIS, Series A, VCT (venture capital trust), syndicates, ARR (annual recurring revenue), traction. But understanding these terms – and the logic behind how investors make decisions – can change how you approach pitching entirely.

“I was fidgeting through life in outfits – and identities – that didn’t quite fit.”

A growing number of UK small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are taking cybersecurity more seriously, with over half increasing their cyber defences in 2024, according to new research from Bionic.

In a world increasingly preoccupied with AI displacing jobs and automating roles, one question dominates headlines and boardroom discussions alike: Will AI replace people? As the founder of Solvora.ai, a platform building agentic AI co-pilots for solopreneurs and small businesses, my answer is clear: AI will not replace people. But it will radically replace how people work.

Spanish startup Dedge Security has raised a €4 million seed funding round, led by venture firm Tritemius, to strengthen its position as a leading security platform for developers and companies building on Web3.

As an entrepreneur navigates their startup from the helm, they will have an optimal view of financial health and the direction this is heading in. While navigating a business is no smooth sailing, witnessing the first signs of financial strain can be distressing, however, when acted upon early, the business owner can shore up finances by seeking professional insolvency guidance.

In the world of business, change is constant and forward planning is challenging. But, despite all this, one thing remains the same – the ambition to spend smarter.

Fintech startups often underestimate the complexity of scaling revenue, sometimes fatally. Mistakes made during this critical stage frequently drain resources, halt momentum, and can even lead promising companies to fail entirely.