LemFi, the international payments pioneer has announced it has acquired UK credit fintech Pillar to accelerate their shared mission of empowering immigrant communities with fair, fast, and accessible financial services.

Redefining success: “Success isn’t just about numbers. And it’s easy to get stuck chasing them. Success means freedom – the freedom to live by the ocean, to surf almost every morning, and to build a life shaped by small, intentional choices. A life where I get to design – and choose – every single piece of it.”

Speaking in front of an audience is one of the most common fears, whether it’s pitching to investors, leading a meeting, presenting at an event, or simply sharing ideas in front of a group.

The landscape for growth-stage fundraising has fundamentally changed. Today’s Series C and D rounds, typically involving raises of $50–100 million or more, are significantly tougher than in recent years. Investors have become more selective, valuations more restrained, and expectations for business performance far more rigorous.

Skype, the platform once synonymous with video calls, shocked the world by shutting down after 22 years. How is it possible that a once-dominant business – with more than 300 million users at its peak – could fail?

I still remember learning history in school, memorising dates, cramming timelines, trudging through dry textbook passages. It was boring and ineffective. Mostly, I remember not understanding why any of it mattered.

The modern startup moves fast – testing, iterating, pivoting. But one thing that doesn’t change is the need to connect with customers in simple, scalable ways. And in 2025, there’s one underrated tool that’s quietly becoming essential across industries: the QR code.

UK startups are facing one crisis after another, from the lack of investment opportunities and access to talent, to economic and political uncertainties, scaling a business is becoming increasingly difficult. A recent report found that Series A funding has slumped £500 million over the past 12 months to March 2025 – hitting a seven-year low.

Dan Thomson, Founder and CEO of AI startup Sensay, has urged governments worldwide to deploy AI in their policymaking, as the firm launches the world's first AI-powered government to experiment with new cutting-edge ways of developing policy. 

AI’s reliance on existing material to generate content raises a number of thorny intellectual property issues, both legal and ethical. When sourcing material to complete its tasks, AI does not distinguish between content protected by intellectual property law and content that isn’t. As a result, there is a genuine risk that AI systems could produce infringing material. If your business uses that content, you could face legal action and a claim for financial compensation.

In the March/April 2025 issue of Startups Magazine, we introduced four startups that we believe are the ones to watch in the deeptech space.

Humanoid robots. Whether you love them, or they send a shiver down your spine, they are here to stay. With the release of multiple humanoids from big tech companies, from Tesla’s Optimus to Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, a whole host of startups are coming to the forefront of the humanoid revolution. With faster decision making, and a faster time to market, startups are well-placed to lead the rise of humanoids.

Amos Miller is the CEO and Co-Founder of Glidance, a startup that has developed Glide, the world’s first autonomous, self-guided mobility aid designed for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Imagine being able to control your smart home with a small twitch of your jaw, or being able to control a fighter jet with that same motion. But there’s no longer a need to just imagine. This technology exists, and it’s connecting more people to technology than ever before, thanks to startup Naqi Logix.

Humanoid, a London-based robotics company, has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to accelerate robotic capabilities by integrating NVIDIA accelerated computing, advanced simulation tools, and next-generation Edge processing technologies for developing its humanoid robot.

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, in collaboration with Mergermarket, has released the third edition of its annual Global M&A trends and risks report, examining the trends shaping dealmaking around the world and including a survey of 200 top-level executives that took place across Q1 and Q2 of this year.

Owen Clater, an 18-year-old entrepreneur, is emerging as one of the UK’s youngest employers, as the Founder and CEO of Becks & Clates, a marketing and technology agency.

Autonomous AI is no longer simply a concept of the future – it’s here, and it’s already transforming how we build, test, and deploy software. As the CEO of an AI-powered company, I've seen firsthand how agentic AI, which independently designs, executes, and optimises workflows, can deliver exponential gains. Many of these are in productivity, especially in repetitive, rule-based domains around software testing.

Rimac Technology, a technology supplier to the automotive industry, engineered, designed and seamlessly integrated the cutting-edge battery system, e-axles, and electronic control units for the Bugatti Tourbillon hyper sports cars.

While innovation and ambition are not bound by gender, the systems that support early-stage business growth too often are. Securing investment is a critical milestone for a startup, but the pathway is often uneven for founders.