Addleshaw Goddard and HSBC have announced the return of the Ethnic Business Growth Programme, an initiative which seeks to empower and support UK businesses which are led by entrepreneurs from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Noxus has raised $1.5 million in pre-Seed funding. Led by SFC Capital, the round also saw participation from Antler, Bynd VC, Caixa Capital, AltaIR Capital, I2BF Global Ventures, Yellow Rocks, and Smart Partnership Capital plus prominent business angels from the European ecosystem. The funding will help further develop and scale Noxus’ platform and expand operations. 

Jarvis has partnered with Finity to simplify pensions management for businesses in the recruitment industry. This integration will also act as a platform for direct access to pension data through a unified system.

Funding and support are now available for the next generation of great ideas to take silicon photonics from research to implementation.

The second Future of Capitalism Competition, founded by The Leo Lion Company, took place on the 12th February at The Shard in London. The Startups Magazine team went along to the evening to learn more about the startup finalists of this year’s competition, and to celebrate with the finalists and winners.

Global research group, the Hurun Research Institute, has released Hurun UK Unicorns and Future Unicorns Index 2024, showcasing 137 outstanding startups competing on the world stage and driving the UK economy to new levels.

Tech Cornwall’s flagship event, the BIG Cornish Tech Showcase, is returning on February 27, 2025, at The Atlantic Hotel, Newquay, from 10am to 5pm. This free-to-attend event is the biggest opportunity of the year to connect with Cornwall’s thriving tech community, meet innovative suppliers, and gain insight from some of the most exciting names in technology.

JFrog, the Liquid Software company and creators of the JFrog Software Supply Chain Platform, has announced it has signed a strategic collaboration agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The agreement empowers enterprise customers to swiftly migrate workloads to AWS to maximise the value of their cloud-based, software supply chain investments.  

In the competitive world of fintech, success stories often start with failure. For Oliver Pugh, Founder of yetipay, this couldn't be more true. Starting his entrepreneurial journey at just 20 years old with an events business, he's weathered multiple ventures, a pandemic, and the complex world of payment processing to build what's becoming a significant player in the payments industry.

Fintech scaleup Revving, which is reshaping digital media payments through innovative invoice factoring, has secured a £107 million investment led by global asset manager DWS.

HowNow – the AI-powered learning and skills platform, has announced the completion of its Series A funding having raised a total of £7.5 million. Following an initial £4 million Series A investment from Mercia Ventures and FTSE 100 education firm Pearson in February 2023, HowNow recently secured a further £3.5 million from the same two investors, along with Fuel Ventures.  

When I first started helping organisations to change their culture, it was quite a slog to convince them that getting their culture right would change everything. Or anything.

A couple of Manchester-based graduates have successfully launched the B2B travel-tech platform Arcube, with Etihad Airways as its first customer. In conjunction with the launch, Arcube is announcing a $1.5 million seed round to further develop the platform and its services, co-led by Fuel Ventures and Oxford Capital.

DeepL, a global Language AI company, has unveiled its latest whitepaper, “The language revolution: how AI improves the way businesses communicate.” Based on findings from a new DeepL survey of EMEA and US business leaders, as well as external sources, the report explores the intersection of language and AI in business, covering critical topics ranging from global corporate AI adoption trends, to the financial impact of poor communication on international businesses, and the real-world impact and value of Language AI tools.

The UK government should draw on the creativity and insights of Britain’s ambitious small business community if it is to achieve its “number one mission” to grow the economy, says a new report published by Goldman Sachs.

Leap Venture Studio & Academy, the pet care startup accelerator, has announced the launch of its ninth accelerator programme. The studio offers pet care startup founders a highly customised, hybrid programme tailored to support and provide resources to early-stage startups, in addition to $200,000 in funding. The newest cohort kicks off in Nashville on February 24, and will culminate with a Demo Day in London on May 16.

Nina Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to healthcare transformation through technology, has announced the first close of its €50 million Fund III. The new fund will propel Nina Capital’s total assets under management to over €100 million, reinforcing its position as a leading international investor driving impactful healthcare innovation.

MarketLeap, the fully integrated AI-driven platform to simplify and scale D2C ecommerce, has announced an $8 million Series A funding round led by Smedvig Ventures, with participation from Expon Capital, Motier Ventures, and prominent business angels including former executives from Amazon, SoftBank, and Unilever. This capital injection will allow the company to accelerate platform development and invest in top talent to support its rapid growth trajectory.

FUTR Europe has revealed its lineup of speakers and agenda for the highly anticipated 2025 event, taking place at Convene, 155 Bishopsgate, London, on April 24. The exclusive one-day event brings together senior leaders and innovators to explore forward-thinking strategies shaping the future of retail, marketing, and commerce.

As world leaders, tech CEOs, and founders gather in Paris at the AI Action Summit, new figures reveal the extent to which the technology is hoovering up global pools of capital.