Anthropic has banned users from being unnecessarily cruel to its artificial intelligence chatbot Claude as part of a major update to its usage policies.

The US technology company, which is led by CEO Dario Amodei, has introduced rules prohibiting sustained and needless abusive behaviour towards its AI models.

The changes, which take effect on 12th November, mean users who repeatedly subject Claude to extreme abuse without a legitimate purpose could have their conversations terminated.

However, Anthropic stressed that the restrictions would not apply to ordinary frustration, criticism, creative writing or legitimate testing of its technology.

 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Laura Harrison has grand ambitions for her business Education Lifeguards.

The mum-of-two taught English in schools both at home and abroad, and grew frustrated at how much of teachers’ time is spent on admin.

After launching the online tutoring business from Rochdale, she built out the platform’s capabilities using AI. Today it features most major subjects and its USP is the high level of qualification of the teachers.

For Founder Friday Laura discusses her early exposure to entrepreneurship; why education is dear to her heart; joining the Exchange programme at Campfield; and juggling motherhood and life with building a startup.

With a little help from her Grandma June…

The UK’s data protection watchdog is stepping up scrutiny of artificial intelligence agents amid concerns about the risks posed by increasingly autonomous technology.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed enquiries involving OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and the UK’s AI Security Institute as it examines how AI agents interact with external systems and handle personal information.

It also said it had secured data protection improvements from 10 of the world’s largest AI foundation model developers: Amazon, Anthropic, Apple, Cohere, DeepSeek, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and Stability AI.

The UK has signed a first-ever ‘industrial tech corridor’ agreement with Germany.

The government said the deal – backed by leading German firms Allianz, Bosch, RWE and Siemens – will unlock investment, jobs and opportunity for British business by helping them to strike partnerships.

The flagship initiative under the Kensington Treaty – the UK-German bilateral friendship agreement – comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham visits Berlin.

Both countries will share a pot of some €20 million (£17m) to help accelerate joint research on quantum – one of the defining technologies of the future which the government says has the potential to add more than £200 billion and some 100,000 jobs to the UK economy by 2045. 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Oxford Metrics plc has agreed a cut-price deal for the technology of London’s Move AI.

The Oxfordshire-based smart sensing group has acquired the assets of the 3D motion data firm ‘following a competitive bid process’.

Move AI combines artificial intelligence, computer vision and an understanding of human biomechanics to convert video into detailed 3D motion data without the need for markers or specialist suits.

It has worked with videogame giants EPIC Games, Ubisoft and Sega; entertainment giants Disney, Sony and Paramount; sportswear leader Nike; and social media firm Meta.

The firm reported revenue of £1.1 million in the year ended 31st December 2025. However consideration for the acquisition is just £525,000 in cash – or £725,000 inclusive of immediate transaction expenses.

Move AI’s technology, intellectual property, patents, specialist team and customers will transfer to Vicon, the group’s motion capture division.

One reason for the seemingly low acquisition cost is reduced industry-wide investment across film, television and games. In a separate announcement this morning, Oxford Metrics reported revenue below market expectations due to “lower demand for new virtual-production stages, delaying several large contracts”. 

FuelHub, a premium meal prep company, has announced three senior appointments as it continues to strengthen the team supporting its next phase of growth. 

The appointments come as FuelHub – founded by Northern Leaders and Founder 250 stars Michelle and James Laithwaite – continues to scale at pace.

The business has achieved 98% compound annual growth over three years and £6.5 million in turnover for the financial year ending April 2026.

 

Universal Quantum, a UK company building large-scale quantum computing systems for real-world use, has secured over $100 million (£75m+) in Series A funding – marking the largest Series A ever raised by a quantum firm headquartered in the UK. 

The funding will accelerate the company’s global expansion, as well as the development and commercialisation of its modular technology, advancing a path towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. 

The round was co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures, with participation from EDBI, Artal (advised by Invus), Integral GlobalTech, Main Sequence, Hostplus, NGS Super, IAG Capital, EdenBase, Eigenstate.holdings, and Dave Baszucki (founder and CEO of Roblox), as well as other existing and new strategic investors including Nauta Capital and The Venture Collective.

 

AI talent platform Dex has appointed Secret Escapes co-founder Tom Valentine as chief operating officer and Progression co-founder Jonny Burch as head of design.

Dex matches fast-growing tech firms with software engineers. Its founder Paddy Lambros said early-stage tech businesses should turn to former founders when it comes to hiring, with AI changing how companies fundamentally go from zero to one. 

As AI agents expand what leaner and more experienced teams can achieve, Dex believes that new recruits with sound human judgement to find the solutions to complex problems, the initiative to take action, and the willingness to take responsibility for outcomes, have increasingly become the most valuable skills in the hunt for top talent. 

 

PlannerPal, an AI workflow for financial advice and wealth management firms, has raised $6 million (£4.3m) in a round led by Mercia Ventures. 

Existing investor Ada Ventures, which led PlannerPal’s pre-seed round in February 2024, is also taking part, alongside a group of strategic fintech investors and angels.

PlannerPal has grown rapidly as the sector looks beyond stand-alone AI tools towards technology that can work with the client data and systems they already have and is now used by over 250 UK advice firms, including 20% of the UK’s top 20 wealth managers.

Five pioneering innovations tackling some of the most persistent challenges in women’s health have been recognised with awards at the Women’s Health Technology Summit 2026.

The awards recognised innovations across healthcare, technology, data and research, highlighting new approaches to improving health outcomes for women and girls.

 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Listed investment firm Logistics Development Group has rejected an £83 million takeover offer by its fund manager DBAY Advisors.

Formerly Eddie Stobart Logistics plc, LDG has a long history with DBAY.

DBAY initially offered 19 pence per share but increased that to 20p on 1st October.

Its independent directors – namely non-executive chair Adrian Collins and Mark Butcher – said they had carefully considered DBAY’s proposals with their advisers and their major independent shareholder.

However with its share price having climbed 37% in the last six months – to around £82m at the time of writing – they have unanimously rejected it.

The University of Manchester is launching a £10m Founders Fund to provide crucial pre-seed investment for the next generation of entrepreneurs with an initial £3m already secured.

The Fund will be managed by Unit M, the University’s innovation directorate, in partnership with the Innovation Factory, the University’s tech transfer office.

The University has set an initial goal of raising £10 million for the Fund, predominantly through philanthropic support.

So far, the Founders Fund has received a £2m commitment from the University and a £1m philanthropic gift from alumnus and technology entrepreneur Kevin Lomax.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Nybble has been confirmed as the latest sponsor for FUEL Manchester 2026 on Wednesday 28th October.

FUEL, to be held at No.1 Circle Square in Manchester city centre, is an innovative event created to fuel business growth for promising startups and scaleups.

Following a breakfast panel where several founders share their advice for growth – which anyone can register to attend – a series of masterclasses will follow for a cohort of 25 promising companies across funding, growth planning, people & performance, and AI & technology.

Founders can email events@businesscloud.co.uk to register their interest for this session as there are a handful of places remaining.

Nybble joins GM Business Growth Hub and S&W as sponsors, while the event is supported by Bruntwood SciTech.

Ram Gupta, managing director at Nybble.co.uk Ltd, will speak on the breakfast panel alongside other highly regarded entrepreneurs and ecosystem figures. He will also join the masterclasses a growth planning expert, while Joe Makepeace, mission specialist and senior manager at Nybble, will join the AI and technology masterclass as an expert.

Boots, the high street pharmacy and retail chain, has been sold in an $8.9 billion (£6.7bn) deal to the holding company of Canada’s billionaire Weston family.

Wittington Investments confirmed it had agreed to buy Boots on Wednesday from US private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Sycamore had only owned the retailer for 18 months.

The deal covers Boots’ retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchised businesses.

Shares in military and law enforcement equipment specialist Avon Technologies jumped 13% after it said full-year results would beat market expectations.

The stock has now risen around 26% over the last six months as the Wiltshire-headquartered group benefits from strong momentum and a significantly increased order book.

In a trading update for the year ended 30th September 2026, Avon said it expects revenue growth of approximately 12.5%, compared with 13.8% in FY25.

Adjusted operating profit margin is expected to be “comfortably above” its previous guidance range of 14-16%, helped by some beneficial one-off items during the year. The margin was 12.8% in FY25.

HSBC is reportedly planning sweeping job cuts across its UK wealth management operation as it increases its use of artificial intelligence.

The banking giant could cut around half of management and specialist roles in the division, while the number of financial advisers could be reduced by about 70%, according to the Financial Times.

HSBC is currently consulting staff over the proposed changes, with affected employees expected to leave at the end of October. The bank did not disclose how many people work specifically in its UK wealth business, although it is thought to have hundreds of relationship managers around the country.

The restructuring comes as group chief executive Georges Elhedery (pictured) makes greater use of AI and digital technology a central part of his efforts to simplify the bank and improve efficiency.

People living with rare diseases are being offered two years’ free access to an AI-powered app that captures medical appointments and turns them into easy-to-read summaries of what was discussed and what happens next.

Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, is working with UK digital health technology company Aide Health to make Mirror available free of charge.

The app helps people remember and act on information from multiple appointments and specialists. Users can revisit what was discussed to reduce anxiety and uncertainty in complex care. They can then share their notes with relatives, carers or other clinicians, rather than repeating the information several times, which is a real burden for people living with rare disease.

More than 3.5 million people in the UK live with a rare condition. Many navigate long diagnostic journeys, repeated appointments and care across multiple specialists. The volume of unfamiliar medical information, combined with symptoms, fatigue and emotional pressure, can make it difficult to absorb what is said and understand what comes next.

IKEA has announced the launch of its second-hand marketplace in the UK, giving people a way to buy and sell pre-owned IKEA products.

The marketplace makes it easier for people to pass on IKEA furniture they no longer need, while helping others discover pre-owned products, including those that may no longer be available in stores.

The Swedish retail giant said it complements IKEA’s existing in-store Buyback & Resell service, which was introduced in 2021. This allows customers to sell eligible products back to IKEA in exchange for in-store credit.

ClearCourse, a provider of industry-specific software and embedded payment solutions for SMEs, has acquired two hospitality brands: SK Chase, a digital voucher platform, and Elina PMS, a cloud-based reservation management software platform.

The deals take ClearCourse’s total acquisitions in 2026 to four, and reflect the group’s continued strategy of backing specialist software businesses with the resources and expertise to help them grow.

Founded in Edinburgh in 2003, SK Chase built one of the first platforms to enable luxury hotels to package and sell gift experiences. Today, the business serves hundreds of the world’s most prestigious hotels, restaurants, and resorts with an all-in-one eCommerce platform that makes it simple to sell gift vouchers, event tickets, retail items and guest add-ons.

Elina PMS was established in London in 2007 to help hospitality businesses boost direct bookings. Today, its cloud-based platform serves hotels, serviced apartments and rentals globally, unifying reservation management, invoicing, guest experience, data storage, and payments in one system.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Online fashion firm ASOS Plc has been hit by a cyber attack – leading to a fall in its share price.

The firm said that around 10am on Tuesday, an unauthorised customer notification was sent to its customers.  

Basic personal information including name and contact details may have been accessed. ASOS said it “does not believe that payment card information or account passwords were impacted”.