In Germany, physics curricula include almost no breadth requirements; students take only physics or closely related courses. In my cohort, entrepreneurship wasn’t presented as an option at all. Where university spin-outs do occur, they frequently address extremely narrow problems. These observations reflect a broader European issue: cultural and structural barriers discourage technical talent from founding companies and from working on actual problems that scale.

Cambridge Future Tech (CFT), the scientific venture builder, and global built environment consultancy Arup, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the creation of the Deep Rack Venture Studio – an initiative targeting the creation of 16 new startups addressing critical challenges in global data centre infrastructure.

In a tough economic climate, we hear a lot about ‘productivity’, often reduced to a statistical measurement associated with the economic output of a country or region. Because of their relatively small size, mathematically, startups don’t contribute significantly to the macroeconomic productivity figures.

My professional journey started within the depths of corporate marketing with established brands. In those early years, I managed campaigns backed by generous budgets and renowned brand reputations. While it was thrilling at first, it eventually became a little predictable. Then I started working with startups – and everything shifted.

Caracol, one of Europe’s fastest growing deeptech companies and a pioneer in large-format robotic manufacturing, has announced the closing of its $40 million Series B round, co-led by Omnes Capital, Move Capital Fund I, alongside CDP Venture Capital – Large Ventures Fund, which played a key role as a catalyst for international investors.

Maia Ventures, an early-stage AgriFoodTech fund, has launched its first fund of €55 million. It will back 20 to 25 companies, with initial ticket sizes ranging from €0.5 to 1.5 million. The fund is fully operational with six investments to date and is targeting a final closing in the coming months.

Any business in the startup phase is under immense pressure. Limited budgets, high expectations, and the relentless pace of early growth can put pressure on every function of the business – particularly marketing. So the recent explosion of AI, promising automation, scale, and cost reduction, has left many founders wondering whether AI can take the place of a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) within their business?

Between 40,000 and 60,000 women leave the tech industry each year, costing the economy an estimated £2 to £3.5 billion annually, according to The 2025 Lovelace Report: Unlocking £2–3.5 billion.

Intangible assets, particularly intellectual property (IP), now constitute a significant portion – around 90% – of the S&P 500's market value. This is a substantial increase from the 32% seen in 1985. Nevertheless, the importance of these assets is still often underestimated and overlooked by management and market participants.

Tech startups today sit at the intersection of enormous opportunity and mounting risk. On one hand, global IT spending is projected to grow by 9.3% this year according to Deloitte, driven in part by surging demand for AI and digital transformation. On the other hand, the rapid pace of change, macroeconomic volatility, and shifting investor sentiment mean that even high-growth companies can find themselves vulnerable.

The AI talent war is here. The majority of executives (68%) report that the skills gap within their organisations is moderate to severe. The current AI tech job landscape is uneven and competitive, prompting firms to discover new tech hubs for sourcing AI expertise.

Each month, Zubr Capital shifts its focus from daily market activities to gain a macro view of Europe’s tech investment ecosystem. It’s not just about who raised new funding or exited, but about the underlying patterns that could indicate future trends. We found volumes remained steady while the market tone turned deliberate. Familiar themes remained strong, with a few gaining momentum and several new aspects coming into sharper focus.

Running my own business propelled me through the biggest trauma of my life. I was in a hospital bed the day after surgery, a bandage on one side of my face, having had my entire left eye removed suddenly due to rare eye cancer. My husband caught me on LinkedIn. “You can’t stop!” he teased. It’s true, I didn’t pause to take a breath. I continued as if nothing had happened. I plunged myself further into growing my business. And I realise now that this masked the mental struggle that was bubbling within.

Trescon, in partnership with ESG Mena, announced the launch of the CARE ESG Awards, a landmark platform recognising the innovators, organisations, and change makers redefining sustainability standards across the Middle East and North Africa. The CARE ESG Awards will take place at the inaugural Climate Action, Renewable Energy & Sustainability Forum (CARE MENA), co-located with the Digitisation, AI & Emerging Tech Summit (DATE). Together, the two events will bring together over 4,000 government, industry, technology, and sustainability leaders.

In today’s digital landscape, British consumers are increasingly stepping back from constant connectivity, driven by content oversaturation, “attention fatigue” and a desire for more mindful experiences. World Mental Health Day offers a timely opportunity for individuals and brands to reflect the ways technology shapes our emotional health – and how more intentional visual storytelling can help spark meaningful conversations around it.  

We’ve all heard of the motherload, that invisible rucksack full of mental lists, guilt, and responsibility that so many women carry. Eve Rodsky’s book Fair Play helped put a name to it. But even with all that talk of balance, I still find myself asking: what happens when you add neurodiversity to the mix?

Burnout has become a silent epidemic in modern workplaces. Leaders across every sector are seeing rising absenteeism, falling engagement, and talented employees walking out the door, often without any warning signs.

Great businesses don’t begin with balance sheets, boardrooms, or venture capital. They start with an idea – often a small, simple spark of inspiration that grows into something significant through determination, discipline and persistence. The journey from idea to product is rarely glamorous or straightforward. It’s messy, relentless and sometimes unforgiving. Yet when tackled with clarity and courage, it becomes one of the most rewarding adventures an entrepreneur can undertake.

As a small business owner and a business that also provides services direct to businesses (some of whom also happen to be small and startups), one of the things that I found the most stressful and that contributed to poor mental health when I first started out, was the amount of bad advice that exists and that is promulgated aggressively from other small businesses trying to make a quick buck from small businesses and startups. 

In the volatile world of entrepreneurship, mental resilience has quietly become a key performance indicator. Founders, investors, and teams have begun to realise that mental resilience is not just a wellness trend – it’s the infrastructure of sustainable growth.