UK businesses anticipate another tough year in 2025, according to new research from Pleo, one of Europe’s business spend management platforms.

Exein, the embedded IoT cybersecurity startup, and MediaTek, a global company in semiconductor solutions, have announced a partnership that transforms device security on a massive scale. Exein’s advanced cybersecurity technology will be natively integrated into MediaTek’s Genio platform, starting with the 24.1 release of MediaTek IoT Yocto. This collaboration will bring powerful security features to billions of connected devices worldwide.

An EU-funded consortium of 10 organisations – including Telefónica and Huawei – has launched to reduce the carbon footprint of telecommunications systems. EXIGENCE, which lists partners in telecommunications, academic research and digital transformation across seven EU Nations, is set to mitigate the environmental impacts of next-generation (6G) mobile systems.

Exactly Payment Specialist, Saran Talasila, shares insights on how startups and SMEs can drive value through an efficient payment processing strategy and provides best practices for selecting the right payment solution provider.

Swedish startup Adsorbi, a research-based spinout from Chalmers University of Technology, has raised €1 million in funding from Metsä Spring, Chalmers Ventures, Jovitech Invest, and a grant from Sweden’s Innovation Agency for its cellulose-based air purification material.

Sage has announced that Sage Copilot, the generative AI-powered assistant will be generally available to UK SMBs starting in March.

This National Productivity Week, a CIPD poll has found that almost two thirds of people (63%) would trust AI to inform – but not make – important decisions at work. According to the poll of over 2,000 people, over a third (35%) wouldn’t trust AI to make important decisions at work, preferring to use human intelligence. Just 1% of respondents would trust AI to make important work decisions.

BOW, the universal robotics software company, has announced closing a £4 million seed round. The round was led by Northern Gritstone, the investment business focused on science and technology businesses in the North of England, with co-investors Finance Yorkshire and Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.

A new analysis by iwoca reveals that among major economies, SMEs believe that the UK offers the least support for businesses and performs the worst at creating wealth.

Atelerix, a Newcastle University spinout that is transforming the way that biosamples essential for drug discovery and pharmaceutical research are stored and transported, has raised £750,000, with participation from ACF Investors and biotech specialist investors o2h Ventures, bringing the year’s total funding to £1.25 million.

Startup founders have a huge list of things to think about, and somewhere pretty high is the company name. It’s like naming your child, so much emotion and pressure to get it right can lead to a disproportionate amount of time and concern being expended at the expense of other vitally important jobs-to-be-done.

Dan Thomson, Founder of AI startup Sensay, has urged the industry to drop the term 'AI agent' and instead use the term 'AI employee' as the firm seeks to reframe the tense discussion around AI-human collaboration.  

The UK healthcare sector is at risk of falling behind its European counterparts in adopting AI, according to a major new pan-European study.

Technology and sustainability are joining forces to drive a new wave of innovation in the financial sector, and ekko, a fintech company with a mission to make every transaction a force for good, is leading this movement.

Ayesha Ofori is the Founder and CEO of Propelle and she is on a mission to change the way women think about and engage with their finances.

The electronics industry, a cornerstone of modern life, is essential for the functioning of economies and the daily lives of billions. From smartphones, computers, ticketing machines, or wearable devices, the demand for electronic devices continues to surge, driven by technological advancements and consumer expectations. However, behind the sleek designs and cutting-edge functionalities of these devices lie increasingly complex supply chains, sometimes marred by environmental degradation and unethical labour practices.

Every company today faces mounting pressure to deploy AI, but most solutions fall short on reliability and cannot handle complex, critical workflows.

In 2024, the UK’s fintech startup ecosystem emerged as the second most funded globally, trailing only the US. Despite its historical prominence, 2024 marked a five-year low in funding, attributed to factors such as evolving regulatory complexities, heightened investor caution due to fraud and cybersecurity concerns, and macroeconomic challenges like inflation and rising interest rates. 

International law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Streambased, a specialist in streaming data analytics and management, on its $2.7 million in seed funding led by Elaia. Other backers include Seedcamp, TKM, and First Momentum as well as industry expert angels. This funding round will go towards hiring and R&D to expand their tech capabilities.

NeoCarbon and Carbonaide are excited to announce the successful mineralisation of the first batch of concrete cured with ~1kg CO2 captured from NeoCarbon’s pilot Direct Air Capture (DAC) blended with other biogenic CO2. This marks a significant milestone in their collaborative effort to increase the share of DAC CO2 used in the mineralisation process, in addition to CO2 captured from biogas and waste-to-energy plants.