Natalie Portman and biomaterial company UNCAGED Innovations have announced a partnership. Portman, a long-standing advocate for animal welfare and ethical consumerism, will work with the company to promote the adoption of sustainable, animal-free materials within the luxury and fashion sectors.

Track Titan, the AI-powered “Strava for motorsport”, has raised a $5 million seed round co-led by Partech and Game Changers Ventures, the fund led by Alpine F1 co-owner Roger Ehrenberg.

Sustainable Ventures and Barclays Eagle Labs announced the launch of The National Climate Tech Accelerator (NCTA), a new programme designed to rapidly scale high-potential climate tech startups across the UK.

Britain is on the verge of an entrepreneurship boom which could change its employment make-up and significantly boost the economy, new research has revealed. One in 10 (10%) Brits want to start a business in the next year. If all of these people were to do so, the number of businesses operating in the UK would almost double.

Brevo, a European leader in customer engagement software, has closed its latest €500 million financing round, officially becoming a unicorn.

team.blue, a provider of digital solutions for businesses and entrepreneurs, has released a new report which analyses the digital maturity of European small businesses revealing that, while many are eager to adopt digital and AI tools, they are held back not by resistance but by uncertainty.

Zen Internet is marking this year’s Small Business Saturday (6th December) with a month-long social media campaign highlighting the outstanding contribution small enterprises make to the UK economy.    

Jentic has launched its AI Readiness Scorecard, the first automated assessment tool to pinpoint where and why enterprise AI pilots fail. The free solution aims to help organisations move from pilot to production by unblocking technical barriers.

Flametree has recently announced that Mexican fintech NOVACARD has officially deployed Flametree’s agentic AI to power its next stage of growth. This collaboration will let NOVACARD scale efficiently while maintaining high-quality, personalised customer service.

Anti Fund, co‑founded by Jake Paul and Geoffrey Woo, announces its over-subscribed $30 million Anti Fund I. With the close of Fund I, Anti Fund’s assets under management now exceed $65 million.

Two of the UK’s leading innovation organisations – Science Creates, the deeptech ecosystem supporting startups with lab space, training, and early-stage investment, and NCC, an innovation organisation helping businesses of all sizes bridge the gap between cutting-edge innovation and industrial application – announce a partnership to accelerate and scale the impact of the South West’s deeptech ecosystem.

On 3rd December, Campus Founders and Dieter Schwarz Foundation celebrated the official opening of its new startup and co-innovation space GRAVITY, marking a major milestone for the development of a collaborative and future-oriented innovation ecosystem in Heilbronn.

Across the United States, a new industrial age is taking shape. Trillions of dollars in infrastructure, from energy projects and advanced manufacturing to data centres and critical mineral facilities, must be built in the next decade. But large construction projects are slower and more expensive today than they were half a century ago.

AI is rewriting the rules of marketing. People are searching Google less and asking AI assistants like ChatGPT more – and the answers they get are shaping what they browse and buy. AI Search Traffic is converting at 14.4% vs traditional google organic rate which is closer to 2.5%.

Now, a new platform called Searchable has launched to help brands stay visible and capture customers as they move to this new marketing battlefront.

Transformational cooling technology that could massively reduce the environmental impact and costs of the booming data centre industry is to be made commercially available thanks to Dew Point Systems Ltd, a new University of Hull spin-out.

Engineers at the University have developed super performing cooling systems that can reduce associated electricity costs and carbon emissions by up to 90%.

Independent drone advisors, Drone Major, have launched a first-of-its-kind managed procurement services platform for the global drone industry, which will help power Britain’s procurement process and drive innovation across small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK’s drone sector.

2025 has been a transformative year for global technology. Rapid deployment of advanced connectivity infrastructure, AI-driven solutions and increased focus on data sovereignty have all redefined how enterprises operate.

Last week, Google boss Sundar Pichai told BBC News that there was some irrationality in the current AI boom, warning that no company will be immune to the impact of the AI bubble bursting. Just days after, Nvidia announced that its earnings were up 60% year-on-year, stronger than projections. Its CEO, Jensen Huang, told analysts on Wednesday that talk on an AI bubble was wide of the mark.

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) will bring back Innovation Park for the 2026 edition. Building on its success in 2025, the expanded initiative in Congress Square connects investors directly with game-changing startups, maximising investment opportunities.

Deltek, the intelligent platform for project-based businesses, unveils a new framework to help UK small and mid-sized firms strengthen their confidence and build sustainable growth in 2026.