The negative impact that working from home is having on British office workers’ wellbeing is looking likely to be a key narrative of 2021, as we launch into the new year with yet another lockdown.

With the launch of Event Tech Live USA and Canada there are two versions of the show’s coveted startup competition this year, one on either side of the Atlantic.

TDK Ventures, the investment arm of TDK, invests in early stage hard-tech entrepreneurs from all around the world to help accelerate their dreams and find solutions for the world’s difficult problems. For this issue’s Startups Launchpad feature, we caught up with TDK Ventures, Managing Director, Nicolas Sauvage to find out more.

If you’re an avid watcher of sport, like I am, you’ll know that there has been great strides made over the last few years regarding the integration of data and technology – whether it be the ongoing debate of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in football, to the humble sports watch that tracks your steps and distance whilst running.

An innovative North East-based immersive technology company is aiming to transform the way customers engage and experience entertainment, sport, visitor attractions, hospitality and retail.

As someone who has sustained their fair share of sporting injuries over the years, I certainly could have done with the Running Pod Pro (RPP) wearable device from PhysiGo, which has the ability to analyse my run and provide actionable insights to improve running form, and crucially, prevent injury. We caught up with CEO and Co-founder, Luke Stephen-Perrett to find out more.

Midlands based entrepreneur, John Whitbread, launched The Spotted App back in January 2020 to allow businesses to connect with consumers without having to rely on social media alone or the interference of predictive algorithms. Now, he wants to give back to the businesses across the UK by offering a free, life-long membership 10,000 businesses when they sign-up.

Evidence has shown that consumers trust their energy supplier about as much as they do city bankers or politicians – a damning indictment for the industry. However, in this issue’s Founder Focus feature, we speak to Simon Oscroft, Founder of energy supplier So Energy, who has dared to challenge the status-quo and whose company uses the latest technology to operate as efficiently as possible, keep costs to a minimum and pass those savings onto customers.

Levity, the no-code artificial intelligence tool for workflow automation, has announced the launch of its flagship product that enables knowledge workers to automate tedious manual work processes in an easy-to-use platform.

The new national lockdown has once again resulted in many Brits spending prolonged periods of time at home and learning a new skill can be a great way to boost wellbeing and mood under these restrictions.

CybSafe, the behavioural security platform that’s transforming the way organisations manage human cyber risk, has announced a £5.6m ($7.9m) Series A1 round. It was led by deep tech investors, IQ Capital with participation from Hannover Digital Investments GmbH (HDI Group) and B8 Ventures.

Insurtech startup, Indeez has launched #CoviSure, a COVID-19 financial protection product for independent workers, in partnership with the global insurance company Chubb. Platforms engaging independent workers and small business entrepreneurs, can help them to obtain financial protection against some of the impacts of a COVID-19 infection.

As the pandemic continues to change how we work, and people working from home find themselves working longer hours and feeling under more pressure, the issues of work time versus down time and overall work-life balance have become even hotter topics than they ordinarily are.

Office relocations are necessary in many situations. You might be outgrowing the current office, or you may need to downsize your office after laying off staff so that you can afford to remain in business. Moving from one location to another may be necessary to better serve your customers or your top clients.

E-days, the absence intelligence company revolutionising the way companies handle absence, has announced that they have been asked to join this year’s cohort for Tech Nation’s Upscale 6.0 programme. Over the next 6 months E-days will be coached by some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs and experts.

Navenio, the healthcare scaleup whose location-based technology has revolutionised workflows and has been shown to double the throughput of hospital teams, has been selected to join Tech Nation’s Upscale 6.0 programme.

Tech Nation, the scaleup network for entrepreneurs, has launched its inaugural Scale Ratio, which compares the number of seed stage, early growth and late growth companies in the UK’s tech ecosystems.

Ten of the UK’s most promising startups working with immersive technologies have graduated from Digital Catapult’s Augmentor programme, with a number of investment ready, disruptive and commercially focused applications ready to market.

The pandemic has created challenges that many businesses have never seen before. Beyond the initial financial strain many endured, the ongoing restrictions have had a lasting impact on the way the UK workforce approaches the working week.

What a difference a year makes. In the last 12 months, your company has no doubt changed beyond recognition. Long time employees are likely missing each other and may not have even met the newbies hired via Zoom or Teams in the midst of the pandemic.