Ocado chips in to £7m round for UK robotics startup Karakuri May 9, 2019 Ocado has led a £7m seed round for UK robotics firm Karakuri, its first investment in a tech startup. Other backers in the round included Hoxton Ventures, Firstminute Capital and Taylor Brothers. The online supermarket chain will use Karakuri's technology to expand its grocery offering after a fire devastated one of its automated warehouses. It [...]
London fintech startup Transfergo picks up an additional $3.4m from Seventure May 8, 2019 Money transfer platform Transfergo has added a $3.4m (£2.6m) to its $17.5m series B funding round, as it surpasses 1m customers. The additional investment came from French venture capital firm Seventure Partners, which has previoulsy backed the likes of Push Doctor and Sum Up. Read more: London startup Checkout.com raises Europe's largest ever fintech series A [...]
Small businesses to be given artificial intelligence boost May 7, 2019 London may be the artificial intelligence (AI) capital of Europe, but City Hall believes the benefits of AI are failing to trickle down to small businesses. The mayor Sadiq Khan will give 200 small businesses in London a share of £200,000 to enhance their use of AI. “London is a leading hub for innovation in [...]
Banking challenger Monese tops 1m customers May 3, 2019 British banking startup Monese has surpassed the 1m customer milestone, as user growth tripled in the last year alone. The banking app, which counts Monzo, Revolut and Starling Bank among its rivals, said over 3,000 people are now joining Monese every day across its dual UK and European current accounts. Read more: Fintech startup Monese crashes [...]
London startup Checkout.com raises $230m in Europe’s largest ever fintech series A May 2, 2019 London-based fintech firm Checkout.com has raised $230m (£176.6m) from investors Insight Partners and DST Global, marking the largest European early-stage fintech raise to date. It is also the largest series A fintech fundraise globally of all time. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Blossom Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and other strategic investors also participated in the round. With [...]
VCs delay funding for London’s tech startups after the latest Brexit delay May 2, 2019 The latest Brexit extension has struck hesitancy into the heart of London’s venture capitalist scene as funders delay investments in the UK tech sector. Read more: Tech sector activity gets a boost despite falling optimism Almost a quarter of the capital’s technology startups have suffered a drop in VC funding since the end of 2018 [...]
Former HSBC trader’s fintech startup raises £3.8m from the crowd May 1, 2019 Dozens, a challenger banking startup founded by a former trader from HSBC, closed a crowdfunding round of more than £3.8m on Seedrs yesterday. The firm had initially set a target of £3.5m, but exceeded that amount with more than 2,150 investors in 42 countries. Read more: Philip Hammond says UK fintech sector will attract talent [...]
Tech sector activity gets a boost despite falling optimism April 30, 2019 Business activity growth in the UK technology sector has recovered to its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2018, while optimism fell to a 10-year low. The strength of business activity rose to 54.4 in the first three months of 2019, up from 52.3 at the end of last year, according to data from [...]
Tech sector activity gets a boost despite falling optimism April 30, 2019 Business activity growth in the UK technology sector has recovered to its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2018, while optimism fell to a 10-year low. The strength of business activity rose to 54.4 in the first three months of 2019, up from 52.3 at the end of last year, according to data from [...]
Perkbox gets a £13.5m pick-me-up from Revolut-backer Draper Esprit April 30, 2019 Employee rewards platform Perkbox has raised £13.5m in a funding round, led by London-listed fund Draper Esprit. Some of the company's long-term angel investors also participated in the round. Perkbox, which is hired by companies to provide their workers with rewards and benefits for both their personal and professional lives, will use the funding to aid [...]