DeepL, a language AI company, has announced $300 million investment round, at a $2 billion valuation. Led by Index Ventures, the heavily oversubscribed round attracted support from new investors, who plan to bring extensive expertise, connections, and resources to support DeepL’s growth and long-term vision to transform the way companies communicate globally.

After the economic dynamism recorded at the end of the pandemic, we are currently in a period characterised by question marks. Geopolitical conflicts, rising energy and labour costs, increased tax pressure and staff shortages, among other factors, have had an impact on the business ecosystem. According to CEOE data, in order to face these challenges, 81% of organisations are betting on digitalization, with the purpose of reducing costs and increasing competitiveness. A fact that also has an impact, to a large extent, in the field of human resources, responsible for retaining and attracting talent, a driving force for all companies.

The war in Europe, the war in the Middle East, an American president on trial for hundreds of criminal and civil offenses, democratic backsliding across the world, record high temperatures and climate change, the widening gap between rich and poor: the world is in crisis, but, as we all well know, we should never let a good crisis go to waste. We can use it as an incredible vehicle for driving inclusive growth and tackling major social challenges.

In 2021, CB Insights conducted 111 post-mortems on ‘startup fails’ globally since 2018. Two key trends emerged beyond all others: firstly, and possibly most predictably, startups fail because they struggle to raise sufficient cash.

The number of people satisfied with their work/life balance has declined over the last two years, despite the increase in flexible and hybrid working, a new survey has found.

Helping businesses simplify tax compliance, fintech startup Kintsugi AI announced a $6 million funding round (at $40 million valuation) for its tax automation platform.

OnePlanetCapital, the Climate Change-focused venture capital fund, is launching a Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) fund to invest in early-stage startups across the UK that are accelerating the transition to net zero and a green economy.

Empowered Brands, the Milton Keynes headquartered fitness franchise investor spearheading the growth of the UK’s leading gym franchise, énergie Fitness, and Australian-born, innovative boxing and strength training concept, UBX Boxing & Strength, has announced the signing of a master licence agreement with fit+, a German-based pioneer in staffless gyms with over 250 locations across Europe projecting 2024 turnover in excess of €30 million.

Hubl Logistics has secured £2.527 million in funding to accelerate the development and deployment of its innovative and cost-effective technologies.

Jedsy has announced the launch of its latest drone model, the Jedsy X, designed to revolutionise the delivery of laboratory samples. This innovative drone promises to transform urban and rural logistics and significantly improve operational efficiency under challenging conditions.

Nearly eight in ten brokers (77%) believe that high street banks are scaling back their willingness to fund small and medium-sized businesses, according to iwoca’s latest Q1 2024 SME Expert Index.

Abound, a fintech offering affordable loans, has announced its new financing round. The new funding follows the startup’s continued growth, with Abound reaching profitability in April 2024, just three years after launch.

The majority of UK Chief Executives are experiencing tech imposter syndrome in the boardroom, with nearly two-thirds (64%) admitting they secretly feel out of their depth when it comes to digital skills.

One of the greatest tasks that the human resources team has to accomplish is making sure that there is productivity in the workplace. For this reason, the HR department employs measures like using HR software.

Time is the most precious resource when starting and running a company. As Fallow, Field & Mason turns four this quarter, I wanted to share lessons I’ve learnt on how to save new entrepreneurs time.

Vizcab, a SaaS platform that calculates the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to reduce the carbon impact of construction projects, has raised an additional €4.5 million in Series A funding, bringing their total round to €9 million. The funding will support its rapid growth and expand its operations into new international markets.

If there is one element that we can no longer discern from any industry, it is technology. Its implementation has generated a true revolution that has also reached the travel and tourism sector. A transformation that is analysed every year at Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS), the technological event for the tourism industry, which returns in 2024 to Seville, Spain, from 23 to 25 October to learn about the latest traveltech trends from the world's leading experts in the field.

European venture firm Rialto, has publicly announced its first fund, established by AVM Gestioni SGR Spa, has secured funding for more than €55 million and is more than halfway deployed, with eight investments to date already completed.

The marketing industry is rapidly adapting to the new consumer profile, who spends a large part of their time online. According to the study 'Trends Review 2024', prepared by The Cocktail, 35% of our daily rest routine is spent using the Internet. This digital experience has made users increasingly more informed when making decisions, more up to date with trends on social networks, and more aware of different causes although, on the other hand, they are saturated with content and screens, so they seek physical disconnection as an escape route.

Eneryield, one of Chalmers Ventures’ portfolio companies, has successfully closed a seed funding round with investment from technology leaders in electrification and automation, ABB and Chalmers Ventures.