Ongoing discussions among industry leaders about AI, including those from this month’s Paris AI summit, have the potential to democratise AI and inspire larger enterprises to actively support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in adopting it, levelling the playing field and driving innovation.

Small business owners across the UK are facing a harsh reality – many are too overworked and financially stretched to take a much-needed holiday, potentially pushing themselves to the brink of burnout. According to new research from InsureandGo, a significant portion of the UK’s 5.51 million small business owners are missing out on holidays to keep their businesses running, highlighting the challenges of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.   

The beehive is the ultimate business case study for complex organisations and working life today. On this National Leadership Day, Philip Atkinson, leadership team expert, organisational coach, founder of Hive-Logic Coaching & Communications, and author of ‘Bee Wise - 12 Leadership Lessons from Inside a Busy Hive’ lifts the lid on what happens in a hive and explains what we can learn for creating harmony and teamwork in the fast moving world of technology startups today.

Humane’s Ai Pin has been on a journey since it was originally teased at Paris Fashion Week. Becoming one of the most talked about gadgets in recent years, to receiving scathing reviews upon launch and dropping the price of the product, to the news of Humane’s assets being acquired by tech giant HP.

New research from YuLife’s ‘Getting Workplace Wellbeing Right in 2025’ report highlights a gender gap in employee wellbeing, with financial uncertainty and job stability influencing career decisions in the coming year.

Vinita Rathi is the CEO and Founder of Systango, a digital engineering services company specialising in generative AI, Web3, blockchain, automation, and cloud solutions.

Aura Funerals, the digital end-of-life planning and funeral service, has announced a successful £750,000 funding round through Angel Investment Network, the online angel investment platform. This marks Aura's third successful raise through the network. The funds were raised as part of a larger £3.2 million growth funding round.

The year 2025 started with a shockwave for the AI community. Launched by a relatively obscure Chinese startup, DeepSeek not only challenged the rules of the AI game by sending NVIDIA's stock plummeting 17% in one day and becoming the most-downloaded app on the App Store and Play Store, but also showed the persisting security problems by accidentally exposing its database and leaking sensitive data including chat histories, API keys, and backend operational details.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has welcomed the first businesses to join its new 5G Ecosystem at Daresbury Laboratory, designed to support and accelerate innovation among businesses. 

According to GRiD, over the next 12 months, nearly a third (31%) of employers intend to increase their investment in employee benefits to provide support for staff. However, almost the same number (29%) of employers are looking to increase investment into funding support directly, which the industry body for the group risk sector believes is a concern.

We've all experienced how online shopping has transformed retail. But this digital revolution comes with an inconvenient truth: every package delivered to our doorsteps has an environmental cost.

StructureFlow, the visual modelling platform designed for navigating complex corporate structures, transactions, and processes, has acquired Blue J Diagramming, a visualisation tool widely used by accountancy and tax professionals. This move aligns with Blue J’s broader strategy to concentrate on its generative AI solution for tax research, marking a shift in its business focus.

Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD), a startup working in gallium nitride (GaN) power devices, has successfully closed a $32 million Series C funding round. The investment was led by a strategic investor with participation from British Patient Capital and supported by existing investors Parkwalk, BGF, Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), Foresight Group, and  IQ Capital.

Defying today’s challenging funding landscape, healthtech startup Level Zero Health has announced a £5.5 million pre-seed funding round spearheaded by European VC, redalpine, to enable remote and continuous hormone monitoring using first-of-their-kind DNA-based sensors. HAX (SOSV), Entrepreneur First, and industry experts also contributed to the round.

How employers support the health and wellbeing of employees will play a crucial role in the recruitment and retention strategy of 61% of organisations over the next 12 months, according to the latest research from Towergate Employee Benefits.

In 2025, many businesses have come a long way in their acceptance and understanding of the importance of supporting mental health in the workplace. Reports show, of the UKs top companies, around 96% now offer some type of mental health support to their employees. Alison Bromley, Head of Partnerships at Onebright, discusses assessing your workplace mental health strategy for 2025.

For years, ADHD has been framed as a disorder: a problem to be fixed. Schools and workplaces are built for neat, structured thinking, rewarding people who can sit still, follow rules, and stick to routines. But for many entrepreneurs, ADHD isn’t a weakness – it’s their superpower.

The upcoming Africa’s Green Economy Summit (AGES) taking place from 18–21 February in Cape Town has garnered high-level institutional and private sector support, including, amongst others, Sanlam Investments, the African Union, SA Tourism, African Development Bank, DBSA, Standard Bank, Gauteng Department of Economic Development, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and the UNDP.

WinWayLab is a free two-month online accelerator for zero-stage startups (you don’t even need an idea at the beginning) in the wine tech industry. The programme kicks off on March 4 2025, offering participants the chance to turn their ideas into successful businesses with expert guidance, funding and resources from Winno.

Augmetec, the legaltech startup founded and led by Kritin Sundaram, announces that it has raised over £2 million in seed funding to turbo charge its growth. The round is led by UK-based early-stage investors Fuel Ventures, with participation from Swiss fund 14Peaks Capital, and three industry angel investors, including the Founding Partner of one of the world’s largest law firms, the family office of a $1 billion+ legaltech organisation, and the Head of Fraud at Asia’s largest law firm.