Venture debt financing is an increasingly popular source of funding for growth companies in Europe, reaching record highs in 2024 with a deal value of €25.4 billion, according to PitchBook. With this growing interest, we are seeing a broader range of providers in the market, from established financial institutions to a wide range of funds.  

Over my career I’ve worked with countless startups – some of which have gone on to become household names. The ones that stand out offer more than great products or clever marketing. They have a beating heart. They create moments that make people feel – joy, excitement, pride, nostalgia.

Time pressures are limiting the ability of small businesses to focus on growth, according to new American Express research, with over two-fifths (43%) of small businesses looking to AI to help tackle this challenge.  

Omnea, an AI-native procurement intake and orchestration platform, has raised a $50 million Series B funding round to accelerate its shift to a new era of AI-powered supplier relationship management. The round was led by Insight Partners and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Accel, Point Nine, First Round Capital, and Prosus, bringing total funding to over $75 million.

Running a small business is rewarding, but demanding. From serving customers to managing cashflow and dealing with economic uncertainty, you are constantly juggling different demands and roles. The daily grind can also make it easy to forget about your accomplishments, and our latest research shows fewer than half (43%) of small businesses regularly get the opportunity to pause and celebrate their wins.

Once an afterthought in most transactions – except in pure technology acquisitions – intellectual property (IP) is moving to the centre of deal-making. Software, data, and AI shape nearly every product and service, and the know-how, data sets, and IP rights behind them increasingly determine whether a deal delivers its growth story.

Women exit from their businesses for 25% less than their male peers on average, wealth management firm Evelyn Partners has revealed.

Dubai is set to host one of the most anticipated tech events of the year as DATE (Digital Acceleration & Transformation Expo) makes its debut in the city on 26 – 27th November 2025, followed by DATE KSA on 8 - 9th December in Riyadh.

Humanoid Global, a publicly traded investment issuer focused on building and accelerating a portfolio of pioneering companies in the humanoid robotics and embodied AI sector, is pleased to announce that it has closed its indirect strategic investment in Agility Robotics via a single-asset special purpose vehicle.

The UK Government has announced a landmark £150 billion investment package from US-based private sector firms during the US state visit, marking a major milestone for UK–US economic ties and reinforcing the UK’s position as a global hub for innovation and technology

A new, outcomes-focused initiative will support 150 startups led by entrepreneurs from traditionally overlooked groups across the UK to raise investment and scale. Launched by a consortium of award-winning organisations, the programme replaces fragmented efforts with a joined-up national solution designed to deliver real funding outcomes. 

In the world of sports and entertainment travel, where customers are investing not just their money but also their dreams of unforgettable experiences, trust is everything. Trust is something you cannot place a value on, it’s the foundation on which long-lasting customer relationships are built. Without it, even the most sophisticated booking systems or flashy marketing campaigns fall flat, particularly in an industry where competition is rife.

UK-based robotics and AI company Humanoid has launched HMND 01 Alpha, the country’s first humanoid robot for industrial use. Built in just seven months, Alpha represents the fastest humanoid development cycle in history.

In today’s fast-moving tech world, customer and user data is no longer optional, it’s essential. How a business interprets, contextualises, and applies this data often determines whether it accelerates or stalls. The companies that succeed are those that don’t just react to change, but anticipate it through intelligent, data-led decision-making.

After spending 15 years leading teams in one of the UK’s largest retailers, I made the bold decision to put everything into my dream: becoming a full-time magician and speaker. On 4th April 2020, I took redundancy – ready to launch the business I had been quietly building for years.

A mother-daughter perspective on AI’s impact on future careers.

After a run of double-digit growth, many founders look to bank the momentum and exit. Increasingly, however, others are turning to Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs). For these leaders, the priority is building a company that can sustain growth and stay true to its values. In today’s volatile market, independence matters, and so does a culture that helps teams adapt without compromising standards. An EOT provides both: it secures that independence while keeping long-term goals at the centre of decision-making.

Away from the pomp and pageantry of Donald Trump’s State Visit to the UK, there was real progress made on business. The record-breaking £150 billion Tech Prosperity Deal of US investment in the UK rightly grabbed a lot of attention. This is the largest-ever single package of commercial investment linked to a State Visit.

Launching a new business is exhilarating – the energy, the creativity, the vision of building something that’s uniquely yours. But the statistics are sobering. According to ONS data, around one in five UK businesses fail within the first year, and nearly half don’t make it to their fifth birthday.

Catalyst brought 40 UK and Irish venture capital firms to Belfast last week, for its annual Inbound Investors event, to meet and hear from 50 fast-growing Northern Ireland startup and scaleup companies.