AIWAYS, the Shanghai-based personal mobility provider, has arrived in Europe following delivery of the first batch of U5 all-electric SUVs in Corsica. The cars join the rental fleet at Hertz Corsica, operated by local company Filippi Auto, and are now available for residents and tourists to rent.

The Coronavirus lockdown has had a huge impact on Britain’s workforce, resulting a the majority of the working population finding themselves homebound, either working from home or furloughed. It was recently reported that 7 in 10 UK businesses have furloughed staff, resulting in millions of people across the country stuck at home with nothing but time on their hands.

Sure Valley Ventures, the venture capital firm that invests in early stage software companies, has announced that it has led a new €1.5m investment round for Volograms. Atlantic Bridge University Fund and Enterprise Ireland have also made follow-on investments as part of this round.

The saving and investing app, Moneybox has raised £4m in just four hours on Crowdcube, the investment crowdfunding platform - smashing the 2020 record for largest number of investors in a single campaign. Over 10,000 investors have taken part in the fundraise so far, which saw Moneybox reach its original target of £1,000,000 in just 20 minutes.

The banking platform that consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and app, Curve has announced it has partnered with Onfido, the global identity verification and authentication company, to speed up, simplify, and unify its Digital Identity and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes.

University of Bristol led technology incubator, SETsquared Bristol, is re-launching its Breakthrough Bursary for the second year, continuing its commitment to promote inclusion and equal opportunities in tech. 

As firms look to re-launch projects and resuscitate their business beyond COVID-19, the importance and value of freelancers as a critical requirement to retain skill at an affordable rate is essential for recovery. Someone only too aware of the importance of this is the CEO of The Future Strategy Club (The FSC), Justin Small; this is a benefit he has been aware of for a long time.

Fifty percent of people currently employed are planning on looking for a new job after COVID-19, according to new research released from Hooray Health & Protection. Nearly a quarter (24%) of employees questioned said they were somewhat likely to seek a new job, 13% said they were very likely and twelve percent were pretty positive when they said they were extremely likely to look for a new job post COVID-19.  

SAVORTEX has announced the launch of its ‘Smart’ Hand Sanitiser, a revolutionary hygiene product designed to help restart the office economy in a post-COVID-19 environment. The innovative product uses smart technology to deliver the exact amount of sanitiser required without touching the device, and to ensure maximum use, providing companies with peace of mind as workplaces re-open.

IW Capital has announced the completion of a £10m investment round for Transcend Packaging, providing a boost to the company in its goal to reduce consumer and industry reliance on single-use plastic by providing paper-based alternatives. 

Shanghai-based personal mobility provider, AIWAYS has unveiled the U6 ion electric crossover coupe concept ‘in the metal’ for the first time at the Chengdu Auto Show in China. With a focus on aerodynamics, intelligent technology and lightweight design, the U6 ion investigates the exciting future of the AIWAYS brand. The production version will be AIWAYS’ second all-electric SUV set to go on sale in China and Europe, with a direct-to-customer sales model in Europe in 2021.

The Entrepreneurial Sales Institute (ESI), whose mission is to support the professionalisation of the sales function through better sales education, has developed a new Entrepreneurial Sales microcredential, endorsed by Verizon Connect, to help those working in sales navigate today’s complex marketplace and gain in-demand skills.

One of the few positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had been the renewed focus of the climate agenda. Over the past few months we have seen companies like BP begin to divest from their traditional oil and gas business and set aggressive net zero targets. For startups this represents a huge opportunity.

The Czech marketing startup for home product testing, Testuj.to, for brands and e-shops has proven to be a new way of reaching customers, even during the coronavirus period. Testuj.to not only addresses customers directly, it also acquires valuable reviews for a given product or brand. B2C will never be the same again.

While car MOTs were scrapped during lockdown, taking the same approach with a business could be a mistake that leads to catastrophic consequences. Just as leaving unchecked, unroadworthy vehicles on the road is potentially dangerous, by not taking control of a business and leaving success to chance is a gamble at the best of times, but right now that approach could be the beginning of the end.

Over the course of the last three months, the private sector has undergone a seismic shift with an anticipated 531,000 businesses in the US set to go under in 2020 and a fifth of all small businesses in the UK to fail during the COVID-19 period.

Some founders come up with their business ideas alone, whilst others do so with friends or associates. Some founders wish to stay as sole founders, whilst others prefer to work with co-founders to share the tasks, decision making, and risks, as well as adding often complementary skills or knowledge to their own.

The automated driving technology company, AImotive has announced a new investment round of $20m led by Lead Ventures, a Budapest based scale-up investor. With the fresh capital AImotive has become the largest VC-backed company developing automated driving technology in Europe, with total funding of $75m.

A startup who in my opinion is a very deserved winner, and one of the best UK Startups we have come across. If you have read the last issue you may be familiar with Tractable, a company that uses AI for accident and recovery, and although it focuses primarily on car accidents, there is potential for that to grow to cover natural disasters too.