Counter – the consultancy brand from Northcoders – has secured a new engagement with BigChange, a leading global provider of business management software.

The scope of work, which is expected to last 12 months, will see Counter assemble a five-strong team of technologists who will help BigChange develop its mobile engineering solutions. The team will be made up of two mid-level and two associate-level developers who will work alongside a Counter tech lead.

Headquartered in Leeds, and founded in 2013, BigChange is a pioneering provider of software solutions for trades and field service professionals across multiple industries. It combines innovative software and hardware, with intelligent AI features, which empower businesses to simplify operations, scale seamlessly, and achieve extraordinary results. ‍

Counter’s consultants have either completed Northcoders’ training and are proficient in modern cloud and software solutions, including AI/ML development, data and cloud engineering or are part of the Tech Returners network. The consultancy’s robust model ensures that at the end of each engagement, clients have the option to onboard the consultants as full-time employees, at no additional cost, reinforcing skill retention and continuity.

Angel Investment Network, the world’s largest online angel investment platform, has launched its first Chinese language site in Singapore.

Founded in 2004, Angel Investment Network now operates 42 networks spanning 90 countries worldwide with more than 2 million users with sites in five different languages.

The move is driven by the vast entrepreneurial potential of the world’s Chinese-speaking population and the region’s dynamic growth. With 17% of the global population speaking Chinese, Angel Investment Network says it is expanding into a highly entrepreneurial community.

Digital Catapult has announced a £400,000 investment in DeepTech startup Optimal Slope, a mining technology company on a mission to transform open-pit mining into a more efficient and environmentally sustainable industry.

The investment will enable the startup to secure more partnerships with global mining companies, as it looks to scale its solution, decarbonise mining operations and equip the sector to be future ready through the application of its deep tech solution.

Founded in 2021, Optimal Slope developed the world’s first software platform to automate, optimise, and digitalise the design of mine pit walls, which are the stepped rock faces that form the sides of an open-pit mine, and is a process that traditionally relies upon manual
trial-and-error by engineers.

By intelligently minimising the excavation of waste rock, Optimal Slope’s solution reduces costs, increases mine profitability, and significantly cuts the carbon footprint of mining operations, which is critical to decarbonising the sector and driving industrial supply chain resilience.

Bank payments giant GoCardless has appointed two senior hires to its European team.

Borja Valiente has been named VP of sales and general manager, EMEA and Hamish Wood as the VP of customer success, EMEA.

The two will be part of a new, integrated go-to-market team responsible for driving the company’s expansion across the UK, Ireland and continental Europe.

Valiente has been at GoCardless since 2016, and in his new role he will be responsible for revenue growth and new customer acquisition across the EMEA region.

Wood, who joined GoCardless in 2019, will be responsible for building a customer-centric culture within GoCardless and helping businesses maximise the benefits of the global bank payment platform to fuel their growth.

Author: James Heggs, tech director, Counter

We’re seeing AI implementations beginning to move out of the realm of pilots, prototypes and proof-of-concepts. 

Across industries, organisations are moving from experimentation to enterprise rollout. What was once a curiosity in innovation teams is becoming part of core operations, customer experiences, and decision making.

This shift is transformative, but it is also fraught with risk. The transition from experiment to production is where AI initiatives can stumble. Technologies (or approaches) that looked promising in controlled environments struggle to deliver at scale; users resist adoption; costs rise; and momentum stalls. 

So how should firms approach this? And is a rethink of consultancy needed with the true arrival of AI?

Allye Energy has closed a £1.9 million seed round to scale intelligent battery storage systems.

The London firm says these address a critical bottleneck: 50-80% of electrification projects, including EV fast charging rollouts, are currently delayed or blocked due to grid capacity constraints that can’t be economically resolved.

The repurposed battery approach addresses both grid constraints and the growing challenge of what to do with retired EV batteries. It has already deployed with customers such as Roadchef (motorway services), construction firms and biogas producers.

Technology trade association techUK has published a new report outlining a roadmap for how the UK can achieve global leadership in blockchain and digital assets by 2030.

As blockchain and digital assets become core infrastructure for modern finance, trade, and the creative economy, techUK’s ‘2030 Vision: A Roadmap for Building a Digital Assets Economy’ report provides policymakers with a roadmap for proactive regulation.

techUK says that to lead, the UK must move from reactive regulation to a clear, coordinated strategy that supports innovation, builds trust, and strengthens resilience.

By focusing on five key core opportunities – finance, tokenisation, payments, fraud prevention, and creative industries advancements – the UK can enable a thriving ecosystem that integrates digital assets seamlessly into society within the next five years, it says.

techUK’s report outlines the roadmap to unroll the UK’s leadership in a digital assets economy in three phases and related policy recommendations.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Wild Bioscience, an Oxford University spinout that develops improved crop varieties using AI and precision breeding, has raised a £45 million Series A investment. 

The funding round was led by the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), founded by Larry Ellison, CTO and chairman of Oracle.

Existing investors Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), Braavos Capital and the University of Oxford also participated in the round.

The company started life in the University of Oxford with Founders Dr Ross Hendron and Prof. Steve Kelly, who spun out the business in 2021 to translate their scientific research out of the lab and onto the farm. 

Ellison said: “Wild Bio is using AI to better understand the lessons learned over millions of years of evolution encoded in plant genomes. 

“Those insights combined with precision breeding has enabled Wild Bio to develop new varieties of crops with both higher yields and climate resilience. 

“The ultimate goal is to grow these new crop varieties on a commercial scale and help provide food security around the world. EIT is committed to working with Wild Bio to reach this goal.”

Identity tech business GBG has acquired DataTools Pty Ltd, a provider of address validation and data quality solutions in Australia and New Zealand. 

The bolt-on acquisition adds scale where Chester-headquartered GBG is already enjoying strong growth, the firm said, and is “highly complementary to our market-leading identity verification platform”.

Total consideration payable is £7.9 million, which has been funded from GBG’s existing revolving credit facility.

For the six-month period to 30th September 2025, GBG reported revenue of £135.5m, compared with £136.9m in the previous year. It said this was in line with the board’s expectations.

Dev Dhiman, CEO of GBG, said: “We are delighted to welcome the experienced team at DataTools to GBG. This combination will strengthen our position in the ANZ market and we look forward to combining our capabilities to deliver even greater value to our customers in this region.

“The board and I are pleased with the operational execution delivered in the first half, underpinning our confidence into the second half of the year. We successfully delivered our financial plan for the first half and taken together with the strength of our current sales pipeline for the remainder of the year, GBG is well positioned to accelerate growth in the second half and achieve our revenue outlook for the full year consistent with current market expectations.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

A former CEO dismissed by the listed firm she founded – and who subsequently succeeded in ousting its chairman in a shareholder revolt – has managed to get the person she is recommending for chair added to its board.

Sara Murray OBE is embroiled in a £320m High Court battle with Big Technologies plc after it dismissed her from the position of CEO in March. The firm has accused her of forgery and deliberate falsification of documents to push through the company’s £577m IPO in 2021.

Murray – who has described the allegations as “outrageous” – recently led a group of shareholders in a successful bid to remove Alexander Brennan, the company’s non-executive chairman, from the board.

Her stated wish was to replace him with James Graham Matheson, who holds 15 directorships. Today, Matheson has been added to the Big Technologies board as a non-executive director.

Roquefort Therapeutics plc has raised funds of £300,000.

£200,000 is by way of an advance subscription agreements from certain strategic investors, with £100,000 a loan from A2A Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The proceeds will be used to fund the upfront costs of proposed transaction with A2A Pharma and Coiled Therapeutics, Inc, which will see it acquire the exclusive licence rights to AO-252, a new drug alternative targeting the TACC3 protein for the treatment of certain cancers.

A listed company developing circulating tumour cell (CTC) solutions for use in research, drug development and clinical oncology has appointed an interim CEO.

ANGLE plc recently announced that chief exec Andrew Newland and finance chief Ian Griffiths would be ‘transitioned’ out of the business but have their contractual entitlements honoured over the next 12 months.

Chairman Dr Jan Groen moved into an executive role to lead the company as it pursues a revised strategy, focused on tight cost control, accelerated commercial progress and a clear plan towards becoming a sustainable business.

Now this morning it has appointed Peter Collins as interim CEO, while Klaas de Boer joins as a senior advisor to the board.

Collins has held senior executive positions across both private and publicly listed companies. He joins following a series of successful leadership roles at leading oncology diagnostics organisations, including SAGA Diagnostics, Inivata, Guardant Health and GSK.

The company has a cash runway into Q1 2026 and will need to raise funds in the coming months.

Insig AI plc has reported a 164% increase in half-year revenues.

The provider of AI-led analytics and machine learning solutions said turnover for the six months to 30th September 2025 is expected to be just under £440k.

The Company has also recently raised gross proceeds of £1m for general working capital purposes including bolstering its sales activities and potentially investing in digital assets such as Bitcoin.

Synectics plc, a provider of security and surveillance solutions, has reported an expected £67m revenue for the year ending 30th November 2025, up from £55.8m in the prior year,

Profit before tax will be no less than £5.7m, it said, compared with £4.7m in FY24.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The head of data protection at Barings Law has said the £14 million fine issued to Capita by the Information Commissioner’s Office is not a sufficient punishment for its data breach.

Barings, based in Manchester, has pursued legal action against Capita since 2023 – a separate action to the ICO fine – to expose what it calls “inadequate cybersecurity procedures” at the firm.

In issuing the fine, the ICO said today that Capita had failed to ensure the security of personal data related to a breach in 2023 that saw hackers steal millions of people’s information.

Adnan Malik at Barings says the punishment is a clear confirmation that Capita failed to uphold the data security of its customers and systems – but will “do little to set right the harms caused”.

Another Avenue has secured over £800k in new funding to help upskill the UK’s next generation of digital talent and entrepreneurs.

The firm has been awarded over £877k by the Department for Education within 3 months to expand its fully funded Skills Bootcamps.

New fully funded cohorts are launching across London, South Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire & Warrington, including its Digital Marketing and Fearless Accelerator (Business Fundamentals) Bootcamps — with a new Content Creator Skills Bootcamp set to launch in early 2026.

The firm was founded by Fearless Adventures’ Dominic McGregor, David Newns and Charlie Yates, Another Avenue has already supported over 800 learners through industry-led programmes — and says it is on track to reach 1,000 by the end of 2025.

London startup Inntelo AI has entered into a partnership with Dubai’s The First Group Hospitality.

This will see Inntelo’s AI platform rolled out across TFGH’s hotels, including the world’s tallest hotel: Ciel Dubai Marina – Vignette Collection by IHG.

As well as streamlining hotel operations, Inntelo’s tech is designed to improve the guest experience, allowing them to make requests and access services via WhatsApp, phone or voice commands thanks to conversational and agentic AI.

A mobile app can improve the symptoms of one of the commonest mental health problem in students – even with limited engagement- according to university researchers.

Cerina uses the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy to treat Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – which affects a significant number of students, studies show.

Lead author Dr Ozlem Eylem-Van bergeijk from the University of Manchester – which conducted the study with Ulster University – said: “University students can sometimes be vulnerable to generalised anxiety disorder because the rigours of academic pressure and financial uncertainty, let alone the issues young people often go through when they leave home for the first time.

“But despite the need for treatments the availability of psychological services is patchy for students.

“And perceived stigma, long waiting times, service availability can restrict access to treatment.”

Mid-market investment firm Palatine has announced a strategic partnership with Flotilla, the sustainability leader for the private equity sector.

The partnership will see Palatine deploy Flotilla’s Portfolio Manager alongside its core decarbonisation products (Carbon Reduction Plan and Net Zero Solutions) to monitor and manage ESG performance across its portfolio companies.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Manchester, with offices in London and Birmingham, Palatine champions its philosophy of ‘positive equity’, backing ambitious teams to grow while delivering enhanced value through sustainable business practices. It invests across three funds, Buyout, Impact and Growth Credit.

Palatine pioneered its ESG framework 15 years ago and remains the first regional PE firm to launch a focused Impact Fund, targeting companies that deliver positive social and environmental change alongside market-leading financial returns.

Cybersecurity startup Ploy has raised £2.5m to address a growing security threat.

The firm says 93% of organisations are suffering two or more identity-related breaches per year.

The round was led by Osney Capital, with participation from Superseed, Tiny.vc and Rule30, alongside notable angels including Johnathan Scudder (co-founder of ForgeRock), Alastair Paterson and James Chappell (co-founders of Digital Shadows), Mark Ryan (VP of Product Management at ZScaler), Jonathan Tom (VP of GTM Enablement at Rapid7), Tony Pepper and Neil Larkins (co-founders of Egress) and Charles Delingpole (co-founder of ComplyAdvantage, MarketFinance, and The Student Room).