Specialist global healthcare investor GHO Capital has agreed to acquire Scientist.com, the AI-powered R&D platform used by MedTechs and pharma companies to manage outsourced research.

The deal will see Scientist.com, which is headquartered in San Diego, tap into the London firm’s global reach and sector expertise to accelerate growth through partnerships and acquisitions.

GHO said the move strengthens its portfolio of healthcare and life sciences companies driving efficiency and innovation.

Aaron Tanner has joined AI analytics platform ASK BOSCO and parent company Modo25 as vice president of sales.

Tanner, who previously led EMEA sales at BlueOptima, joins following a £4.1m VC investment aimed at scaling the platform’s AI-driven reporting and forecasting tools.

His appointment comes as the Leeds-based company plans to accelerate growth and expand its global reach.

Implement AI, a startup co-founded by former BBC Dragon Piers Linney, has raised £1.3 millon in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by prominent angel investor Nigel Wray.

Fresh from winning AI Start-Up of the Year at the UK Startup Awards London 2025, the company will use the funds to scale its AI operating system, grow its AI-augmented team and expand its reseller channel.

The London-headquartered firm deploys digital workers to help businesses boost revenue, cut costs and gain a competitive edge.

London-based startup m3ter has struck a new partnership with PwC UK to help businesses modernise billing and protect revenue.

The deal combines the firm’s pricing platform with the global professional services company’s expertise in governance and risk management.

Oxford Quantum Circuits has launched the first quantum computer in a New York City data centre, working with Digital Realty and NVIDIA.

The facility, based in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, is being billed as the world’s first to combine quantum and AI infrastructure, supporting industries such as finance and security.

Science Minister Patrick Vallance said the move highlights UK tech leadership and strengthens ties with the US.

AI-powered home care provider Cera has been credited with saving the NHS and government more than £1 billion, according to new analysis by data science company Faculty.

The report found that the company’s preventative model cuts hospital admissions, emergency visits and referrals into residential care, saving over £1.5m a day.

The HealthTech, which is led by the UK’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024, Dr Ben Maruthappu, now has 10,000 carers and nurses delivering around 2.5 million home visits each month.

Sky to cut about 600 tech jobs across three sites

Published: September 16, 2025 at 12:00 pm

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Sky is to make roughly 600 tech roles redundant as it moves away from the development of new technology platforms.

The broadcaster is beginning a consultation with 900 staff across its Osterley, Leeds and Livingston sites.

Sky said it will refocus on existing services rather than platforms like Sky Glass and Sky Stream television, while more tech functions will be moved to international teams.

London FinTech gets Reward with backing of BBC Dragon

Published: September 16, 2025 at 11:53 am

Author: Patrick Killeen

Dragons’ Den star Touker Suleyman is backing customer engagement platform Reward through a new partnership with his fashion brand Hawes & Curtis.

The deal gives the retailer access to Reward’s network of 10 million customers, helping it grow sales online and in-store.

The London-based FinTech connects banks and retailers via its commerce media platform.

Shop Circle extends funding round to £73m

Published: September 16, 2025 at 11:38 am

Author: Patrick Killeen

Shop Circle has extended its Series B round to $100 million (£73m), with backing from investors including Nextalia Ventures, 645 Ventures and CDP Venture Capital.

CEO Luca Cartechini said the funding gives the company “firepower to double down” on acquisitions and AI product development.

The London-based firm recently bought API gateway KrakenD and says more deals are already in the pipeline.

Early-stage investment firm Anthemis and Cambridge AI Venture Partners have together launched CommonAI, a collaborative engineering and computing platform for AI-enabled startups, enterprises, engineers, academics and investors.

Aiming to turbocharge the UK and European AI innovation ecosystem, it seeks to tackle the key challenges and barriers startups and enterprises face, allowing them to innovate safely and cost effectively, reduce their reliance on Big Tech and secure strategic investment.

At the heart of the initiative is a non-profit engineering organisation – Common AI CIC – which will co-develop foundational AI IP in partnership with its members. The platform additionally provides access to CommonAI Compute Ltd – a facilitator of cost-effective GPU resource.

eCommerce retailer Vanquish Fitness has secured a UKEF-backed trade loan from NatWest to fuel growth ambitions.

Founded in Tottenham in 2014, Vanquish focuses on supplying high-quality active streetwear to a global customer base, with significant sales in the UK and the US.

Renovare Fuels has appointed George Mkushi as head of engineering as the company accelerates the commercialisation of its sustainable fuel, backed by NASA.

Mkushi previously acted as head of engineering and executive director to firms C-Capture Ltd and East Energy.

The strengthened engineering team will support a growing pipeline of projects, including a £13 million site in Craigmore, Northern Ireland, due to open in 2026.

Blackfinch Ventures has appointed Dr Simon Porter as principal.

He joins Blackfinch after building his own consultancy firm that helps startups and their management teams with business growth, including planning, strategy, fundraising and exit.

Prior to that Simon held a principal role at Active Partners, where he built strong expertise in Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) investing.

CleanTech company UCR Group has appointed Mel Morris CBE, seasoned entrepreneur, investor and CEO/co-founder of Corpora.ai, to its advisory board.

Morris brings over five decades of experience founding, scaling, and transforming high-growth ventures across software, AI, medical and cloud technologies to the Southampton business.

Goodbye to my ‘X’ – why I’ve joined Twitter exodus

Published: September 16, 2025 at 10:20 am

Author: Chris Maguire

As millions of people turn off ‘X’,  I go back to a time before 24-hour news when our TV screen was dominated by an eight-year-old girl playing noughts and crosses with Bubbles the Clown.

The Data City has appointed its first chief economist in Paul Swinney as it continues its international expansion.

The Leeds-based organisation has built a platform that tracks emerging industries and markets in real time.

Ex-PwC associate Swinney joins after spending 16 years at London-headquartered think tank Centre for Cities and will be tasked with developing the company’s economic insight products, as well as helping to show how its real-time data can replace traditional industry codes.

FARx, described as the world’s first and only AI fused-biometrics company, has secured £250,000 seed investment.

The round was aided by the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) – a UK Government initiative providing tax relief to investors who fund small, early-stage startups.

The Worcestershire-based company is tackling the escalating threat of AI-driven cyber-attacks currently targeting global commerce, enterprise and critical national infrastructure.

From Nothing to unicorn: UK firm valued at £1bn by £150m raise

Published: September 16, 2025 at 9:11 am

Author: Patrick Killeen

London-based consumer tech company Nothing has raised $200 million (almost £150m) in a Series C round, valuing the business at $1.3 billion (almost £1bn).

The funding round, which was led by Tiger Global, marks a major milestone for the firm as it becomes the latest UK unicorn.

Its products include the Phone (2), Phone (2a), and Ear (2), which have helped the startup carve out a loyal global community, which is reflected by it previously raising over £8m in community funding rounds.

Google to invest £5bn in UK as Chancellor opens data centre

Published: September 16, 2025 at 8:17 am

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Google has announced a £5 billion two-year investment in the UK – covering capital expenditure, research and development, engineering, and Google DeepMind’s AI research in science and healthcare.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves opened its new data centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire which it says will help the UK develop its AI economy — advancing AI breakthroughs and supporting a projected 8,250 jobs annually in the UK.

A new drone factory will open in Swindon today, making it four companies in the sector who have set up in the town.

Leading European drone maker Tekever is cutting the ribbon on its North Swindon site, with Defence Secretary John Healey MP in attendance.

The firm says the move will bring hundreds of new jobs to the area.