News
Atom, a Durham-based mobile-only bank, has raised £149m in its latest fundraising round, which was led by BBVA and Toscafund.
Recent accolades for Atom include being voted the UK’s most recommended bank and ranking 14th in LinkedIn's 'Top 25 Startups'.
The funding will allow Atom to continue its rapid growth as well as fund further investment in technology and business capabilities.
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Dennis, a British magazine publisher, is currently building it's ecommerce empire through a relatively new and unusual route for such a company - online car sales.
The company sells new and used cars via its site Buyacar.co.uk. Although the publisher sells only 7000 of the 8 million cars sold in the UK each year, it generated £31m in revenue in 2017, double its previous year and is expected to reach £60m by the end of 2018.
Dennis is excited for the areas of future expansion, both in increasing their current success as well as potentially offering consultancy to other car sellers and car insurance to its customers.
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There were some exciting technological developments in Wales during February including government-backed funding for the country’s superfast broadband scheme, a new science centre to support STEM learning programmes and an app, launched by a 21-year-old student, for sharing petrol costs fairly.
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ResponseiQ, a London-based tech startup that provides intelligent instant callback to improve company's customer service, has managed to raise £850k.
The investment will allow the company to develop a second version of its core platform, expand its team and to reach more markets across the EU and US.
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Hold, a Norwegian EdTech startup, has raised £800,000 in seed funding and relocated to London.
The Hold app promotes mindfulness in students by rewarding them for every 20 minutes they don’t check their phone while on campus. Points can then be traded for rewards such as cinema tickets, free food, drinks or Amazon gift cards.
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Kindred Capital, a new venture capital firm, has raised £80m, making it one of Europe’s largest ever seed funds.
The company, which opened in 2015, is pioneering an “equitable venture” fund, sharing its profits with its start-ups’ founders, a model it says is unique in Europe.
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Jaywing, a data-science agency, has announced it will be acquiring digital agency, Frank Digital.
The two agencies had previously worked together for Campos Coffee and both agencies will bring additional expertise to each other’s clients.
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Peakon, a people analytics firm that launched in 2016, has managed to raise $22m in a round led by Balderton Capital, with support from existing backers EQT Ventures, IDInvest and Sunstone.
The company currently has a presence in London and Copenhagen with its headquarters in the UK. It will use the funding to expand globally into the US, Germany and Asia Pacific.
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Lombard Risk, a UK-based tech firm, has been acquired by Vermeg, a European banking and insurance software provider based in Amsterdam.
The acquisition will allow Vermeg to reach a turnover of €100m and increase its global reach with new access to Lombard Risk's markets in the UK, North America and Asia-Pacific.
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Microsoft has opened a $20 million venue in London to help the UK remain the home of technology innovation in Europe.
The Reactor, in Shoreditch, will be used to “nurture and develop start-up talent in the UK” by giving new businesses access to Microsoft partners, customers and products, UK Chief Executive Cindy Rose said.
As well as offering free office space to start-up and scale-up companies, the UK Reactor will host regular events such as hackathons, talks, meetups and more for up to 120 people.
It is Microsoft’s first such space in Europe, after similar hubs were opened in New York, Redmond and San Francisco. Further Reactors are planned for elsewhere in Europe and Sydney, Australia.
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