Black Friday 2024 is almost upon us, and new data from Criteo shows it promises to be a significant moment for retail. With UK consumer spend set to rise year-on-year, the insights demonstrate that tailored product recommendations, omnichannel experiences, and discounted offerings will be key to attracting high-intent shoppers.

Building a regtech startup that not only survives but thrives in today’s regulatory climate requires more than a bright idea. It takes strategic foresight, meaning teams must keep a finger on the pulse of ever-evolving regulations. As with any business, having a deep understanding of the market that you’re either creating or addressing is critical – but with regulatory environments constantly tightening, the regtech sector takes this one step further.

The UK’s largest ever pre- A funding round for a digital diagnostics company, has been announced by Cambridge-based healthtech startup, PocDoc.

Starting a retail business in today's digital age can be both exciting and challenging. With the rapid evolution of online platforms and digital marketing tools, startups have incredible opportunities to reach their target audience effectively. However, navigating the world of small business digital marketing can be overwhelming without the right strategies. This guide provides essential digital marketing tips for retail startups to establish a strong online presence, engage customers, and grow sustainably.

A new framework designed to guide businesses to introduce and implement new ideas, processes, products, or services that improve an organisation’s overall efficiency, productivity, or culture has been published by UK national standards body BSI.

YouLend, the global embedded financing platform, has reported that a growing number of UK SMEs are turning to embedded financing to secure vital capital ahead of the most important sales period of the year – Black Friday and Christmas.

Trilateral Research, which investigates ethical AI solutions to address a range of complex social issues, has secured a £2.5 million investment from Growth Lending. The funds will facilitate the growth of the business as Trilateral Research accelerates the rollout of ethical AI products, which are designed to tackle complex social issues such as child safeguarding, modern slavery and public health.

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), are being given the chance to engage with their bigger counterparts, along with education and governments, in order to help drive policy reform, close the skills gap, and generate growth, it has been announced.

Ukrainian startup GetOrder, a rising star in the restaurant-tech sector, has raised $250,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by the venture capital fund Digital Future, with additional backing from the United Angels Network. The funding will drive the company’s expansion into European markets and enhance its product offerings for the restaurant industry, aiming to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

AI skills are important in today’s knowledge economy – there’s no doubt about it. Roles requiring such abilities are growing 3.5 times faster than all other jobs combined, meaning that workers need to learn about AI to avoid falling behind their peers. This is especially true in the UK, where knowledge-intensive sectors like financial services, professional services, and technology dominate economic growth.

Growth is what we are all aiming for. In fact, it is the number one mission of the UK government. For founders and startups, the great success stories of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) being preserved in the UK Budget was welcome news. As was the extension of the sunset clause of the EIS and Venture Capital Trust (VCT) schemes to April 2035 in the Autumn Statement.

The emergence of "death tech" is reshaping how society approaches end-of-life matters, transforming a traditionally sombre industry into one ripe for innovation and growth. Valued at £78 billion, this sector aligns with the burgeoning silver economy, which is projected to reach €5.7 trillion (a third of Europe’s GDP) by 2025.

Global research group, The Hurun Research Institute, has just released the Hurun UK Under30s 2024, showcasing outstanding young entrepreneurs in the UK who are driving growth and job creation.  

Biolevate, a software company accelerating healthcare innovations through AI, has announced that it has raised €6 million in a seed funding round led by EQT Ventures, with participation from bpifrance and prominent angel investors.

The Invest in Women Taskforce has secured over £250 million in funding to support female entrepreneurs in the UK.

After the success of its latest edition, Digital Enterprise Show (DES) 2025 is gearing up for its ninth annual event in Málaga, strengthening the Costa del Sol capital as a European hub for technological innovation. The event is expected to host over 17,000 executives. This year’s edition will again highlight Artificial Intelligence (AI), not only for its transformative impact on digital transition but also for its crucial role in structuring and coordinating various business areas. AI acts as a "digital brain" capable of managing the complexities of today’s technological landscape and ensuring organisational success.

This international hub on cybersecurity, co-funded by Instituto Nacional de Ciberseguridad (INCIBE), an entity under Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública, through Secretaría de Estado de Digitalización e Inteligencia Artificial, and Universidad de Salamanca has connected Spanish companies with international investors by attending the Finnish event on 20-21 November.

MAGIC AI, the startup that has created the fitness mirror that uses AI to track and train its users has announced it has raised a $5 million funding round.

Vegan meal kit startup Allplants has officially entered administration, with 65 members of its staff having been made redundant already.

The holiday shopping extravaganza of Black Friday and Cyber Monday is fast approaching, and this four-day window isn't just the busiest shopping period of the year, but a golden opportunity for e-commerce businesses to drive sales, attract new customers and supercharge their bottom line.