Revenues and profits at the UK arm of Google grew in 2024 but the tech giant cut nearly 400 jobs, new filings show. Figures for Google UK Limited show revenues grew to £2.89bn in 2024, up from £2.81bn the year previous, while pre-tax profits were up to £550m from £502m. But headcount was down nearly 400, from 7,422 to 7,029 in the period, new figures show. The figures were first reported by City A.M. It is understood the headcount reduction is a mix of job cuts, natural attrition of roles, and job role changes. Google said revenues increased due to a higher demand for its services. Last month Google-owner Alphabet pledged a £5bn investment in UK artificial intelligence (AI). Google’s £5bn investment will be ploughed into infrastructure and scientific research over the next two years, including “pioneering” AI research in science and healthcare through its Google DeepMind operation.
 Google says the investment would help the UK boost its AI economy, open new doors for job opportunities and fortify cybersecurity. 
Google, which is a significant player in AI and is behind the Gemini AI bot, said its investment is projected to create 8,250 jobs every year for UK businesses. The US tech giant opened a £735m data centre in Hertfordshire with Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) announced that its Governing Board has approved €978 million for 2026–2028 to strengthen innovation, entrepreneurship, and skills development across Europe. The EIT’s largest funding package to date provides new resources for six Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) and for joint initiatives such as the EIT Higher Education Initiative, reinforcing its role as Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem. The decision reflects KIC performance and alignment with EU priorities, including the Union of Skills and the Clean Industrial Deal, while also supporting the implementation of the Startup and Scaleup Strategy through entrepreneurial education, stronger corporate participation in innovation ecosystems, and improved knowledge transfer from universities and research centres to business. Powering Europe’s competitiveness with investments in innovation and skills The funding will support EIT Health, EIT Raw Materials, EIT Food, EIT Urban Mobility, EIT Manufacturing, and EIT Culture & Creativity. These partnerships bring together leading businesses, universities, and research centres to address Europe’s most pressing challenges, from sustainable food systems and resilient healthcare to advanced manufacturing, critical raw materials, creative industries, and the future of urban mobility. With this investment, the EIT reaffirms its mission to drive innovation, develop talent, and foster growth across Europe. The allocations for 2026–2028 are as follows:  EIT Health: €67.3 million EIT Raw Materials: €74.8 million EIT Food: €125.3 million EIT Urban Mobility: €206.9 million EIT Manufacturing: €163.2 million EIT Culture & Creativity: €131.6 million  An additional €79.3 million will fund cross-KIC activities, open to financially autonomous KICs such as Climate-KIC, EIT Digital, and InnoEnergy. These initiatives coordinate action across sectors to maximise European impact, from strengthening entrepreneurial education and STEM skills to supporting business creation in areas like AI and women’s entrepreneurship, and fostering international cooperation. Stefan Dobrev, Chair of the EIT Governing Board, said: As a board, we are confident this decision steers resources to the best-performing innovation ecosystems that effectively integrate the triangle of research, industry and entrepreneurship. It is a substantial catalyst for the engagement of the public and private sector to deploy the skills, technology and businesses we urgently need for a competitive Europe, able to defend its prosperity and its values. The decision also allocates €130 million to the EIT Higher Education Initiative, which supports universities across Europe in building innovation and entrepreneurship capacity. Aligned with European university alliances and complementary to Erasmus, it also advances the EU’s STEM Education plan. Since its launch, the initiative has engaged 600+ higher education institutions and helped thousands of students, staff, and researchers develop entrepreneurial skills and turn ideas into market-ready solutions.

Counter-drone defence company Alpine Eagle today warned that NATO’s existing plans for an Eastern Shield architecture along its borders with Russia and Belarus are not equipped to counter the scale and speed of modern drone warfare. The company has published a new whitepaper, Building Counter-UAS into NATO’s Eastern Shield,  warning of the dangers of the emerging drone threat, which comes in the wake of recent incursions of Russian drones into Polish airspace, which forced temporary airport closures in Warsaw, Lublin, and Rzeszów. Polish leaders described the attack as “unprecedented” in its breach of NATO and EU territory. Critical gaps in the alliance’s defences, from radar blind spots with fixed ground radars struggling to detect small, low-altitude drones, and cost imbalances with cheap €20,000 drones triggering expensive responses ranging from €100,000 to €1 million in missiles and fighter jets, are putting European security at risk, according to the white paper. In addition, it warns that once drones cross the initial radar line, the only interception capabilities come from scrambling expensive and extremely scarce fighter jets. To address these challenges, the report calls for a comprehensive, multi-layered approach. Key recommendations: Layered detect–decide–defeat chain: A tiered system must prioritise low-cost effectors first, reserving expensive interceptors and fighter jets as a last resort. Airborne radar as a second line of defence: Mobile autonomous airborne radar platforms should fill coverage gaps and intercept drones that penetrate beyond fixed radar sites. Integrated NATO-wide C2: Shared command-and-control (C2) systems are needed to speed triage, automate decisions, and ensure seamless cross-border coordination. Each system plays a role, but must be integrated through NATO-wide command-and-control networks to ensure rapid triage and proportionate responses. The goal, the whitepaper argues, is not a single “silver bullet” but a layered defence system that delivers coverage, speed, and cost discipline. Unmanned aerial systems are far from the only threat, with enemy planes entering Estonian airspace in recent weeks. But they are often the first tool deployed, on the battlefield and away from it, with drone sightings shutting down Copenhagen and Oslo’s airports recently. Any European defence system must be capable of countering a wide range of incursion methods. Counter-UAS systems to close the defensive gaps. Alpine Eagle’s report calls for the urgent integration of a range of airborne counter-UAS capabilities to close these gaps. Airborne radar provides mobile coverage in forests, cities, and coastlines, acting as a quick reaction force to track and defeat drones deep inside friendly territory, without relying on fighter jets to chase down low-cost threats. These proposals align with wider European efforts, including the European Commission’s plan for a “Drone Wall” and ongoing discussions among EU defence ministers on technologies drawn from Ukraine’s frontline experience. Jan-Hendrik Boelens, co-founder and CEO of Alpine Eagle, said: “The events in Poland show that drones are no longer a future threat — they are shaping Europe’s security today. What the report makes clear is that no single technology will solve this problem. Only a layered, integrated approach can deliver the resilience NATO needs to defend its eastern frontier.” The white paper makes clear that Europe’s defence posture must adapt at pace. Alpine Eagle calls on policymakers to move from discussion to implementation and accelerate deployment of layered counter-technologies so that the next drone swarm does not succeed where the last was contained. Lead image: Alpine Eagle. Photo: uncredited. 

Oneleet, an all-in-one security compliance platform, has raised $33 million Series A led by Dawn Capital, with participation from existing and new backers including Y Combinator, Frank Slootman (former CEO of Snowflake and ServiceNow), and Arash Ferdowsi (co-founder of Dropbox). Founded in 2022 by Bryan Onel, Ora Onel, and Erik Vogelzang, Oneleet aims to close the gap between passing audits and achieving real security. Drawing on years of offensive-security work, the team observed that many organisations treat compliance as a checkbox exercise, relying on tools that don’t materially reduce risk or on slow, costly manual workflows. Built from an attacker’s perspective, Oneleet focuses on the fundamentals adversaries exploit and delivers only the controls that matter, at a cost-effective price. The platform offers deep technical coverage, including an “AI + pentester verification” approach that it says identifies up to 30 per cent more assets than incumbents. It guarantees successful audits and includes a proprietary integrations engine, code scanner, and attack-surface monitoring—built on a unified data model to surface issues attackers are likely to target. We call it the ‘pentester mindset: find what others miss’. This means we use AI extensively to scale what used to be a manual expert review. AI doesn't have a security expert's intuition for what looks suspicious, which is why we augment, not replace, human expertise, said Bryan Onel. The new funding will support growing demand, accelerate product and business development, expand services, and strengthen hiring.

fan3, an entertainment technology company building a fan-first access platform for live events, has raised $5 million in funding from Improbable.  The investment advances fan3’s mission to restore fairness to ticketing by verifying genuine fans, protecting access from bots and scalpers, and rewarding loyalty with presales, perks, and exclusive experiences. The live entertainment industry faces mounting challenges. Around half of all ticket inventory is estimated to end up on secondary markets, bot activity is expanding each year, and detection tools that once caught most fraudulent purchases now detect only a fraction. For fans, this results in sell-outs and inflated resale prices. For artists, it means losing visibility of their true audiences. fan3 addresses these issues by acting as a gateway — a lock-and-key layer that integrates seamlessly with existing ticketing systems, invisible to buyers yet transformative for fans, artists, and promoters.  At the core of the platform is a digital pass that lives in a fan’s phone wallet, claimable in seconds, giving priority access to presales through Ticketmaster, AXS, Eventim, and Etix. The passes also act as a defence against bots and scalpers, authenticating fans at entry and reducing secondary market leakage. fan3 uses blockchain technology behind the scenes to securely record fan identity and access data, ensuring authenticity and permanence without adding complexity for users. NFC-enabled wristbands extend the platform into live events, enabling fans to verify attendance, unlock exclusive access, and claim digital rewards. Together, passes and wristbands create a seamless bridge between live events and ongoing fan engagement. The physical activity recorded in geo locations is also recorded on-chain and increases the verification of real fans as an ongoing process. “Real fans don’t usually sell their tickets immediately, and we make sure they get them first,” said Ross Taylor, CEO of fan3.  “We appreciate that some fans at a later date may have plans changed and need to resell for unforeseen circumstances. Most non-fan resales happen instantly and we will see which key resells immediately and remove them from the system for good. Improbable’s investment allows us to scale our technology and deepen integrations across the industry, so that artists can own their audiences directly and fans can finally get fair access to the shows they love.” fan3 was founded by music industry veterans Steve Finan, Paul Rose, and Ross Taylor, who have collectively managed global artists with social media followings exceeding 150 million. The platform has already proven effective. Their fraud prevention heuristics have reduced tickets reaching secondary platforms to under 5 per cent – an 8.4-fold improvement on the industry average.  “fan3 is directly addressing one of the most pressing challenges in the entertainment sector: ensuring trust between fans, artists, and platforms,” said Herman Narula, CEO of  Improbable. “At Improbable, we back ventures that can reshape entire sectors, and fan3’s model for loyalty and access has the potential to set a new global standard in live entertainment. It’s also one of the clearest examples of how crypto can deliver real value by powering fairer and more transparent relationships.” The funding will be used to expand technical capabilities, grow the team, and extend integrations with ticketing platforms and artist partners, strengthening fan3’s position as a trusted, loyalty-driven gateway for live entertainment.

London-based Simple Life has closed a $35 million Series B led by Hartbeat Ventures, founded by actor and entrepreneur Kevin Hart, along with Liquidity. The raise follows a year of strong performance in 2024, including $100 million in revenue, 64 per cent year-over-year growth, operating profitability, more than 20 million downloads and over 17.5 million pounds lost by users. Simple Life provides an AI-powered health app that supports weight loss through personalised plans, on-demand virtual coaching, and real-time nutritional insights. The company targets a large and growing market: the global digital health market is projected to expand from about $340 billion to roughly $940 billion over the next five years, while many existing solutions remain costly, fragmented, or difficult to scale. The platform’s approach combines evidence-based behaviour change, continuous guidance, and real-time nutrition to deliver durable weight outcomes and healthier metabolic profiles, with or without GLP-1s. Its AI coach, “Avo,” delivered 19 million coaching messages in January 2025. In a peer-reviewed study of 50,000+ users, 42 per cent achieved at least 5 per cent weight loss at one year, with higher engagement associated with improved outcomes. Each new member contributes data that enhances personalisation across the user base, creating a compounding behavioural-intelligence effect. Commenting on the round, Mike Prytkov, founder and CEO of Simple, said the industry often fixates on the outcome, while Simple prioritises the journey, making it adaptive, rewarding, and sustainable. With the company’s data and methodology, he added, users don’t need obsessive calorie counting or extreme restrictions. We’re turning healthy habits into a motivating game, helping people not only see results, but also build a more positive relationship with health and wellness. With the new capital, Simple will advance AI for real-time personalisation, multimodal coaching, scaled content creation, and behaviour–science–based gamification to improve retention. Looking ahead, the company plans to launch a gamified companion experience that, based on early testing, has improved both retention and weight-loss outcomes by using streaks, rewards, and motivational prompts to make habit-building more engaging.

Mobile interactive entertainment company Cypher Games has raised $30 million funding. Cypher Games is an Istanbul-based mobile gaming company developing casual titles with a focus on next-generation puzzle and luck games.  With its first game approaching launch, the company aims to shape the future of mobile gaming in partnership with colleagues and investors by introducing a novel match-3 concept featuring built-in social features.  The Raine Group and Play Ventures led the round. The Raine Group specialises in gaming, technology, media, entertainment, and sports, while Play Ventures focuses on early-stage gaming and consumer apps.  The round was oversubscribed, with participation from MIT, E2VC and Huuuge Founder Anton Gauffin’s VC Big Bets. They join existing backers, Discord CEO Humam Sakhnini, King Founder Riccardo Zacconi and Tripledot Co-Founder Akin Babayigit. “We’re thrilled to close this Series A fundraising with the support of such a strong investor group,” said Anil Simsek, Co-Founder and CEO of Cypher Games. “Our mission is to pursue innovation and deliver it with top-tier storytelling and premium production quality, at the fastest possible pace. This new funding provides the liquidity necessary to execute on that vision as we bring our game to market.” This investment follows the successful completion of Cypher’s $10 million seed investment round in September 2024, which enabled the expansion of the Cypher team and accelerated development of its debut match-3 game, Match Squad. Match Squad combines match-3 mechanics with dice-based gameplay, uniting two of the most popular genres in the casual mobile gaming category. According to Simsek, players expect something new every year: “They look for innovation and meaningful differences. Match Squad offers the perfect intersection of luck and skill in the core loop – something we believe is missing in today’s mobile games.” He added: “We are bringing the true social core of luck-battle games to match-3 by combining them with city-building metagames. We don’t aim to differentiate for the sake of being different. We operate in pursuit of the perfect feeling, bringing all players under one roof and expanding the potential player base. We won’t stop until we achieve it.” According to John Salter, co-founder and Partner of The Raine Group, the Cypher team pushes the boundaries of the match-3 genre with their innovative integration of the dice mechanic.  “They have continued to attract the best talent in Turkey, which is evident in the beautiful game design and best-in-class gameplay in Match Squad.  We look forward to supporting the execution of the team’s innovative strategy as Cypher continues to shape the future of the casual gaming ecosystem.” According to Harri Manninen, a Founding Partner at Play Ventures, 'Cypher has one of the strongest art and design visions in the world. "The team invests heavily in experience and emotional design, actively seeking out the best talent in Turkey. We were the first to back Cypher, a young, world-class team that has quickly evolved into a true global design and art powerhouse.  With Match Squad, they are set to redefine the match-3 genre, and early metrics already show incredible player engagement along with the best-in-class early to mid-term retention.'' Cypher will use this most recent funding to identify more talent to support the Match Squad rollout and execute on the Company’s long-term vision for game development, initiating the creative production process for its second game within the next two years. 

55 North, the world's largest dedicated quantum technology venture capital fund, today announced the first close of its €300 million inaugural Fund I at €134 million, establishing its position as the sector's largest pure-play quantum VC.  The fund was co-founded by three founding GPs, Owen Lozman, Dr Helmut Katzgraber, and Dr Kai Hudek, who are expert quantum and deep-tech specialists. It also has anchor investors, including EIFO (the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark) and Novo Holdings, as well as European VC firm Vsquared Ventures and US-based Cambium Capital.  Headquartered in Denmark, 55 North will be investing stage-agnostically across the globe, and has already executed two investments, backing European quantum leader IQM in the company's latest €275 million Series B, and co-leading the investment in Kiutra's €13 million Series A-2.  Quantum technologies have become a strategic priority at national, European, and global levels, with the EU, UK, Germany, France, and Denmark integrating them into their core security and innovation frameworks.  The G7 recently pledged coordinated action amid $40 billion in global public funding - underscoring that leadership is now critical for economic sovereignty, climate resilience, and national security, across the globe.  The Danish government, which launched its National Strategy for Quantum  Technology in 2023, has firmly committed to advancing the field as part of its long-term innovation agenda, which included the mandate for EIFO to spearhead the creation of a world-leading quantum investment fund.  The fund is led by Managing Partner Dr Owen Lozman FRSC (ex-M Ventures) alongside General Partners Dr Helmut Katzgraber (ex-Amazon, ex-Microsoft) and Dr Kai Hudek (ex-IonQ). They are supported by Vsquared Ventures and Cambium Capital. The team, with roots from across Europe, the  UK and the US, bring deep entrepreneurial and technological expertise, having built, run and backed successful deep tech ventures across the globe.   "Quantum is no longer a science experiment, it's a strategic imperative," said Dr Owen Lozman,  Managing Partner of 55 North. "As classical computing nears its physical and computational limits in applications like drug discovery and AI, quantum is well-positioned to accelerate these workloads.  Europe must push its quantum agenda to remain a producer, not just a buyer of quantum technologies. With our first close and early investments, we're laying the foundation for the world's  quantum future."  According to Peder Lundquist, CEO, EIFO: "To fulfil the strategic objective of the Danish Government, we have teamed up with strategic partners to incubate a world-leading platform ready to invest in the important field of quantum technology. Quantum will shape industries,  economies, and security frameworks worldwide. That is why Europe must act decisively to secure a  leading position."  Morten Bødskov, Danish Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs: "We need to seize the potential of quantum technology. It can help us solve some of the major challenges we are facing.  Just look at the opportunities within, for example, cybersecurity and supply chain optimisation. But courage and investment are needed. In Denmark, we proudly carry on Niels Bohr's legacy as we inaugurate the world's largest quantum fund today. With it, we can invest in the major quantum  breakthroughs of the future and more quickly get ideas out of the labs and into our society."  The fund's focus on European quantum leadership aligns with EU initiatives to maintain technological independence in critical computing infrastructure as quantum technologies transition from research labs to commercial deployment.

In the first half of 2025, European transportation companies raised €1.5 billion across 33 deals, around 4.5 per cent of total capital and 1.7 per cent of deal activity within European tech (€33.7 billion across 1,941 deals). Funding in transportation favoured asset-heavy operators with sizable debt to scale fleets and capacity, particularly in vehicle subscriptions and rail. Equity, meanwhile, supported infrastructure and operating platforms spanning EV charging, vehicle access and shared mobility, managed shuttles, drones, and digital service orchestration. The ten largest deals highlight this trend, blending immediate investment in physical infrastructure with support for technology-driven models designed to scale over time. Amount raised in H1 2025: €1B FINN offers flexible car subscriptions with fixed monthly pricing that includes insurance, maintenance, registration, and carbon offsetting. Available in Germany, FINN allows users to choose a vehicle online, subscribe in minutes, and receive doorstep delivery, with the option to return or swap at the end of the term. In February, FINN closed a new €1 billion Asset-backed Security program, “ABS II,” to acquire vehicles and strengthen its position in the German market. Amount raised in H1 2025: $200M Polestar is a Swedish electric performance car brand known for combining minimalist Scandinavian design with advanced technology and sustainability. With no proprietary factories of its own, Polestar produces its models via manufacturing arrangements with Volvo and Geely facilities in China, the US, and South Korea. Founded in 2017 as a standalone EV marque, it markets itself globally and builds vehicles like the Polestar 2, 3, and 4. Polestar emphasises innovation, sustainability, and uncompromised design in its mission. In June, Polestar announced a $200 million equity investment to support working capital and general corporate purposes. Amount raised in H1 2025: £65M Connected Kerb is a UK-based company founded in 2017 on a mission to make electric vehicle charging accessible, sustainable and equitable. They specialise in on-street residential and public charging infrastructure, partnering with local authorities to serve drivers who lack private parking or home chargers. Their approach integrates smart charging technology, allowing users to schedule charging during off-peak periods for lower cost and better grid balance. With £65 million investment secured in February, Connected Kerb is accelerating deployment of tens of thousands of curbside charge points across the UK and expanding internationally. Amount raised in H1 2025: €32.9M HELROM is a rail-freight and technology company that moves road semi-trailers by rail, punctually, flexibly and without expensive loading terminals. Using its globally patented HELROM Trailer Wagon, any trailer, including non-craneable and refrigerated units, can be loaded at level ground next to the track in minutes. The service spans open-train bookings for SMEs and exclusive block trains for industrial supply chains, cutting CO₂e emissions by up to 90 per cent at costs comparable to road. Bookings run via a digital customer portal for smooth planning. HELROM’s mission is to unlock Net Zero Transport by decentralising and accelerating the shift from road to rail. In May, Helrom secured €32.9 million in green loan financing to expand transport capacity, purchase around 120 additional trailer wagons, and accelerate its strategy of shifting more freight to rail. Amount raised in H1 2025: €30M Dronamics, a UK-Bulgarian company, is pioneering the future of logistics as the world’s first cargo-drone airline. Their mission is to transform cargo mobility by building an air-cargo ecosystem powered by long-range cargo drones, enabling rapid, reliable and cost-efficient same-day delivery, even to remote areas. The heart of their offering is the Black Swan drone, capable of carrying up to 350 kg over distances up to 2,500 km. With a network of droneports, mobile control and cargo systems, Dronamics integrates seamlessly into existing supply chains, delivering greener, faster and more affordable middle-mile logistics. In June, Dronamics announced that it had been put forward for an equity investment of up to €30 million under the European Innovation Council (EIC) Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). Amount raised in H1 2025: £20M Be.EV is a UK electric-vehicle charging network delivering rapid, reliable and accessible charging nationwide. Founded in Greater Manchester in 2019, it now operates 800+ charging bays and powers them with traceable green energy from wind and solar. Be.EV’s mission is to make the switch to EVs practical and affordable for everyone, whether you’re in a city or a rural area without home charging. It deploys fast, rapid and ultra-rapid hubs on busy routes and within communities, offering a seamless experience via app, RFID and multiple payment options. In May, Be.EV secured a £20 million partnership with Schroders Capital to install 200 ultra-rapid bays across 22 UK retail and leisure sites. Amount raised in H1 2025: $23M Zeelo is a TransitTech company providing smart shuttle and managed transportation services for organisations, universities and schools. Using proprietary routing software and data analytics, Zeelo designs, operates and optimises commute programs to increase efficiency, reliability and sustainability. They support corporate shuttles, student transport and event transit, offering rider apps, real-time tracking, flexible boarding and streamlined operations. Zeelo is carbon-neutral from day one, aiming for full electric fleet deployment, and already serves over 1,000 clients, delivering sustainable, efficient group mobility. Zeelo raised $23 million in a Series B round in June to scale its AI-powered transportation management platform, improve self-serve options for users, and pursue strategic acquisitions to support global expansion. Amount raised in H1 2025: €15.3M Forest (formerly HumanForest) is a London-based micromobility platform offering dockless, shared e-bikes powered by 100 % renewable energy. The company integrates sustainable commuting with digital innovation, enabling users to locate, unlock and ride bikes via its app, and even monetise visibility through its ad platform. Forest has achieved B-Corp and Verra validation accreditation, and operates zero-emissions services across its fleet and support operations In January, Forest secured €15.3 million in Series B funding to scale its fleet, enhance its technology and expand into new cities. Amount raised in H1 2025: €12M Dance is a micromobility company offering an all-in-one e-bike and e-moped subscription for a fixed monthly price. Members get their own vehicle plus on-demand repairs, theft protection, and convenient delivery/pickup, making city travel simple and sustainable. The service is available in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Paris, with flexible monthly or annual plans. Companies can also equip teams with “Dance for Business,” which provides streamlined billing and management for employee subscriptions. Electric mobility subscription company Dance has raised €12 million in equity and debt funding to expand its fleet and operations while further developing its hardware, software, and service for urban mobility. Amount raised in H 2025: $11M Cafler is a Barcelona-based platform that simplifies vehicle management for businesses and drivers by unifying automotive services (maintenance, tyres, washes, MOT/ITV, and admin paperwork) into one digital marketplace. Users book online, set a pickup location and time, and a professional driver handles the service end-to-end, returning the car when finished. For fleets, Cafler adds AI-powered monitoring to anticipate issues and cut operating costs. Founded in 2021, the company acts as a digital partner to dealerships, workshops, manufacturers and rentals across key European markets. Cafler has closed an $11 million investment round to enhance its product and expand its presence across multiple countries in Europe and the US.

AI leads investment volumes, the UK tops activity charts, and Mistral’s €1.7 billion megadeal drives the biggest month of 2025 so far.Click to read the rest of the news.

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Thought Machine, the UK cloud-based banking services provider, carried out a near-£45m funding round earlier this year, as its losses increased year-on year, according to new filings. The London-based fintech, which has counted Lloyds and Standard Chartered as clients, raised £44.8m in July this year, according to filings. It raised the funding from existing investors and will be used to “finance the company’s growth and in particular continued investments in product development”. The fintech, headed up by tech entrepreneur Paul Taylor, did not respond to a request on its valuation following the round. Thought Machine was valued at $2.7bn ( £2.2 billion) in a funding round in 2022 after a $160m round featuring Morgan Stanley. The Series D round was led by Singaporean investor Temasek, with Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo and Lloyds TSB Group also providing capital. In its financial results, Thought Machine, which has offices in London, New York, and Singapore, reported revenues of £47.6m in year-end 2024, compared to £47.8m the year previous. Losses increased to £69.3m, compared to £62.7m the year before. Headcount came in at 518, compared to 552 the previous year.

Emblematic, a startup using agentic AI to streamline finance and accounting workflows, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Passion Capital, with participation from Caesar VC, Plug and Play, K Fund, and prominent fintech angels, including Chris Adelsbach. Emblematic was co-founded by fintech entrepreneur Edgar Alvarez and AI specialist Prokopis Gryllos. It addresses a key challenge for mid-market and enterprise finance teams: how to manage increasing transaction volumes, cross-border complexity, and evolving internal accounting workflows, without expanding headcount or resorting to outsourcing. As companies grow, finance teams must process more invoices, classify transactions and taxes across jurisdictions, and apply internal booking rules consistently. Standard ERP templates and rigid rule engines often don’t adapt to each company’s specific operations. When these gaps persist, the impact can include inaccurate data informing decisions, higher turnover from repetitive tasks, and increased audit and compliance risk. Emblematic’s approach uses AI agents that learn a company’s internal logic (chart of accounts, cost structures, tax rules, and departmental policies) and apply it at scale to new transactions. Built on multimodal large language models and fine-tuned with company data, the agents autonomously process documents, categorise entries, detect anomalies, and integrate with existing ERP workflows. Emblematic prioritises transparency, explainability, and human oversight. Its AI agents generate natural-language rationales and confidence scores for each action, enabling accountants to understand recommendations and their basis. A clean, auditable interface with a full audit trail supports governance, while users can review, accept, or override any AI-driven decision. With this new funding, Emblematic will expand its portfolio of AI agents and accelerate development of core platform capabilities, while continuing to onboard international early adopters in technology and financial services.

Flovi, Finland’s largest technology company specialising in car relocations, is expanding to Poland.  With Flovi, car dealerships, rental and leasing providers, and car-sharing platforms can move vehicles quickly, smoothly, and cost-effectively, which enables them to expand their business and easily sell cars across the country. I spoke to CEO Aapeli Kallunki about their expansion, the evolution of their platform, and why Poland represents a key strategic step in their European growth journey. Co-founding the company back in 2008, and CEO since 2015, Kallunki contends that “it’s always been about creating value — not only for myself, but for our stakeholders: our employees, customers, drivers, and owners. From day one, our focus has been on clarity, accountability, and empowerment.” “When we started, the logistics industry in Finland was broken. It was slow, expensive, and unreliable — and car transfers were often coordinated through endless phone calls and emails.  We saw an opportunity to fix that. In the early days, every transfer was booked manually, one deal at a time. But we built trust because we delivered what we promised.” In 2016, the team began building its own technology to automate and optimise the entire process. Then in 2024, it acquired Saka's entire driving logistics operations, including over 100 skilled drivers and logistics professionals from Saka.  It has built a strong in-house tech team and developed a platform that combines the best price and speed in the market. “We’re building the backbone of Europe’s car logistics. In a sector where speed and reliability are everything, we’re proving that digital-first doesn’t just mean convenient — it means transformative.” Critical to Flovi’s success is its UX. Flovii is designed so that anyone in the automotive business can book a car relocation in seconds.  "It’s as easy as ordering a rideshare — no phone calls, no waiting, no uncertainty,” shared  Kallunki. “Our platform removes all the back-and-forth that used to define car logistics. With just a few clicks, customers get instant prices, exact delivery times, and full transparency throughout the journey.” Car relocations in Poland have long relied on manual coordination through phone calls and emails. Flovi is transforming this process with its digital-first platform, delivering unprecedented convenience, speed, and reliability. Customers can now order relocations directly through Flovi’s platform, receiving exact pricing and delivery times instantly. As a result, even long-distance car deliveries are now completed in days rather than weeks. According to Kallunki, digital optimisation means fewer empty trips and better route utilisation.  “We’re making car logistics more efficient — and more sustainable — at scale.” Poland marks Flovi’s third market entry following Finland and Sweden, representing a key step in the company’s broader expansion strategy.  Kallunki shared some of the key to Flovi’s market entry strategy: “We’re setting up a local office and building a network of vetted, Polish-speaking drivers — clear communication and professional service are essential. Every car is insured during transit, and within six months we expect to reach the same speed levels we’ve achieved in Finland.” The company aims to transform car logistics in ten countries by 2028 and become Europe’s number one choice for vehicle transfers. Poland was selected as the next market due to its strong economic growth, long distances between major cities, and large car industry. In 2024, almost 1.5 million cars were registered in Poland. “We are particularly strong in long-distance transfers, and Poland’s car industry is consolidating in a way that increases the need for internal relocations between dealerships across the country,” says Kallunki. “Customers here are used to relying on ad hoc solutions or waiting as long as 1–2 weeks for truck transport.  We will cut that time down to just one to two days. By combining speed with a seamless digital platform, we’re not only saving time and money for our customers but also setting a new standard for vehicle logistics and car transfers in Poland and across Europe.” In Finland, Flovi currently delivers relocations in an average of 22 hours. The company expects to reach similar speed levels in Poland within six months of launch. Flovi has experienced rapid growth in recent years. In 2024, the company generated approximately €12 million in group-level revenue and completed more than 100,000 car transfers, covering nearly 23 million kilometres.  In 2023, Flovi secured a €3.5 million equity investment from Voland Partners to accelerate its international expansion and strengthen its position as a pioneer in digital car logistics. Lead image:  Flovi CEO Aapeli Kallunki. Photo: uncredited.

Grenoble-based industrial deeptech company TiHive has raised €8 million to commercialise its vision solutions, expand globally across key industries, and advance next-generation terahertz chips with enhanced AI. The round includes the EIC Fund, Karista, and Wind, a €130 million Article 9 fund focused on climate adaptation. TiHive’s platform uses proprietary CMOS terahertz chips for high-speed generation and detection, paired with advanced optics and an AI-driven software stack. Terahertz waves are non-ionising and enable see-through imaging, supporting applications from industrial quality control to sensing and secure communications. Integrating terahertz on CMOS enables miniaturisation, scalable manufacturing, low energy consumption, and high-throughput performance. Deployed directly on production lines, TiHive’s systems provide continuous, inline, non-destructive inspection, detecting internal defects, material distribution issues, residual moisture, and thickness deviations in real time. Adopted by leading hygiene manufacturers, the multi-camera, multi-source setup has demonstrated industrial ROI and supports a large diaper-quality dataset, analysing millions of products each week. The company is expanding beyond absorbent hygiene into regulated sectors that require non-destructive inspection, textiles and leather, recycling, agriculture, aerospace and space, for quality verification and impurity detection across the production lifecycle. TiHive is scaling operations and expanding across Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific while continuing production, assembly, and validation in Europe.

Creator Fund, a pre-seed VC that helps scientific founders turn university research into deeptech startups, has closed an initial $41 million for its first European institutional fund. The fund is anchored by Equation Capital and Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), alongside 60+ limited partners. Building on strong demand, the vehicle is already twice the size of Creator Fund’s 2022 UK fund and targets a final close in early 2026. Creator Fund operates a university-centric model across 24 campuses in eight countries. It recruits student investors, who receive carried interest, to source standout founders and surface lab breakthroughs early, enabling support for PhD teams from day one. The fund focuses on AI, life sciences, robotics, and quantum computing to turn academic research into scalable companies. Early investments include Ovo Labs and Sphotonix. Jamie Macfarlane, founder and CEO, believes that universities should be seen not as museums but as foundries, places that actively produce new ventures, because Europe attracts global talent across robotics, computer science, and genetics at the forefront of research. He said: When we ask: how does Europe remain competitive on the world stage? The answer lies in our universities. Creator Fund helps turn scientific discovery into world-defining businesses. Over the past five years, Creator Fund has backed 55 companies whose founders have raised more than $250 million in follow-on financing from leading venture firms and has recorded two exits. Creator Fund also invests beyond the traditional Golden Triangle. In the UK, it has backed three companies from the University of Glasgow, including robotic laboratory company Chemify, which has raised over $45 million, and one of the new fund’s first investments is in Southampton.

Berlin-based praxipal, the AI receptionist transforming healthcare front desks in Germany, has secured $6.7 million in seed funding. The round was led by HV Capital, with participation from Nebular, Anamcara Capital, HPI Ventures and Angel Invest. Founded in 2024, praxipal develops an AI workforce for healthcare front desks, addressing staffing shortages that affect many industrialised countries, including Germany, where over 80 per cent of medical practices report difficulty hiring medical assistants. Its AI receptionist, Luna, manages end-to-end patient communication, handling calls, scheduling, and inquiries so that core front-desk tasks can be automated. This enables practices to allocate more time to patient care while providing patients with continuous, 24/7 access to their providers. Luna answers incoming phone calls for medical practices in a natural, human-like manner. Using domain-specific knowledge and an understanding of practice workflows, Luna resolves patient requests end-to-end without human intervention, exceeding the capabilities of a basic voice bot. The system is highly configurable, allowing practices to tailor behaviour to their needs and processes. Praxipal integrates with established practice management systems, allowing Luna to interact with existing IT infrastructure much like a human staff member. This support helps address staffing shortages by reducing unanswered calls and shifting routine front-desk tasks away from medical assistants, enabling greater focus on in-person patient care. The new funding will support expansion beyond orthodontics into additional specialities, further development of the AI receptionist’s capabilities, and broader rollouts as staffing constraints continue to pressure healthcare operations.

London-based Lupa, an AI-powered operating system for veterinary clinics, has raised $20 million in Series A funding to expand its AI agents, accelerate international growth, and launch what it describes as a Veterinary AI Lab. The round brings total funding to $25 million and follows a seed round completed five months earlier. Singular led the Series A, with participation from Firstminute Capital and angel investors including Michael Callahan. The global petcare market exceeds $350 billion and is growing, yet technology adoption remains uneven. Many large veterinary groups continue to use legacy systems from the 1990s, limiting clinical and operational performance. Founded in 2023 by Nicolò Frisiani and Matei Bjola (both formerly at BCG) and Raul LozanoMartin (formerly at Meta), Lupa is developing a modern operating system for veterinary clinics. The concept originated during a project to upgrade a major veterinary group’s technology stack, where the founders identified constraints in existing systems and opted to build a dedicated platform. Lupa consolidates more than seven point solutions, such as practice management, pet-owner mobile applications, in-patient tools, and AI scribing, into a single enterprise-grade platform designed for AI. Clinics using Lupa report higher ROI, approximately twice that of deployments based on multiple disconnected tools. The product is supported by customer success resources intended to help clinics realise full value from the system. The platform also includes a mobile app for pet owners that supports appointment booking, secure messaging with veterinarians, payments, and a digital pet-health passport for records, vaccinations, and reminders. An AI-enabled receptionist handles inbound calls and scheduling. By connecting clinics and pet owners in real time, Lupa provides an integrated channel for care and communication. Lupa is establishing a Veterinary AI Lab to develop clinically robust, safety-focused AI tools spanning the care pathway, from reception to diagnosis. The lab will serve as a combined product and research hub, publish peer-reviewed work, collaborate with universities and regulators, and contribute to ethical AI standards in pet care. In parallel, Lupa has signed multi-year agreements with veterinary groups in the UK and Europe, with deployments planned across hundreds of clinics. The new funding will support the expansion of its AI agents, international growth, and the launch of the lab.

Einride, a technology company that provides digital, electric, and autonomous solutions for road freight, has raised about $100 million in funding from a mix of existing and new investors. The capital will power Einride’s next phase of growth as it scales the deployment of its autonomous freight solutions, deepens technology development, and continues its expansion with customers.  Investors include EQT Ventures, one of Einride’s largest shareholders; a global asset management company based on the West Coast of the United States; as well as a strategic investment from IonQ, the leading quantum company, alongside other investors and shareholders. “We believe Einride is building the most complete and forward-looking freight ecosystem on the market today,” said Ted Persson, partner at EQT Ventures. “Nordic tech has a habit of being underestimated, until it quietly rewires an entire industry. That’s exactly what Einride is doing in freight.” Founded in Sweden in 2016, Einride is developing and operating a new freight ecosystem, which includes one of the world’s largest fleets of heavy-duty electric trucks, cutting-edge autonomous technology and the proprietary Saga planning optimization platform. Saga integrates advanced digital planning with electric and autonomous vehicles to address the fragmentation, high emissions, and labor shortages that continue to impact the freight industry. “I am excited and proud for the continued trust our investors have placed in us”, said Roozbeh Charli, CEO of Einride.  “This funding allows us to grow with our customer base and accelerate the deployment of our autonomous freight technology. It’s a strong signal of confidence in both our team and our unique position in the market.” This raise follows a year of sustained growth for Einride with net sales more than doubling in 2024, a successful expansion into Austria and the UAE, and a growing footprint with global shippers across Europe and North America.

London-based Simple Life has closed a $35 million Series B led by Hartbeat Ventures, founded by actor and entrepreneur Kevin Hart, along with Liquidity. The raise follows a year of strong performance in 2024, including $100 million in revenue, 64 per cent year-over-year growth, operating profitability, more than 20 million downloads, and over 17.5 million pounds lost by users. Simple Life provides an AI-powered health app that supports weight loss through personalised plans, on-demand virtual coaching, and real-time nutritional insights. The company targets a large and growing market: global digital health is projected to expand from about $340 billion to roughly $940 billion over the next five years, while many existing solutions remain costly, fragmented, or difficult to scale. The platform’s approach combines evidence-based behaviour change, continuous guidance, and real-time nutrition to deliver durable weight outcomes and healthier metabolic profiles, with or without GLP-1s. Its AI coach, “Avo,” delivered 19 million coaching messages in January 2025. In a peer-reviewed study of 50,000+ users, 42 per cent achieved at least 5 per cent weight loss at one year, with higher engagement associated with improved outcomes. Each new member contributes data that enhances personalisation across the user base, creating a compounding behavioural-intelligence effect. Commenting on the round, Mike Prytkov, founder and CEO of Simple, said the industry often fixates on the outcome, while Simple prioritises the journey, making it adaptive, rewarding, and sustainable. With the company’s data and methodology, he added, users don’t need obsessive calorie counting or extreme restrictions. We’re turning healthy habits into a motivating game, helping people not only see results, but also build a more positive relationship with health and wellness. With the new capital, Simple will advance AI for real-time personalisation, multimodal coaching, scaled content creation, and behaviour–science–based gamification to improve retention. Looking ahead, the company plans to launch a gamified companion experience that, based on early testing, has improved both retention and weight-loss outcomes by using streaks, rewards, and motivational prompts to make habit-building more engaging.