‘The world of Cat TV is more cut throat than you would ever imagine’ – inside the strange business of TV… for cats
AI voice firm Elevenlabs hits $22bn valuation in fresh boost for UK tech Tech London-based ElevenLabs has hit a $22bn (£16bn) valuation after completing a $300m employee share sale, marking another sharp jump in value for one of Britain’s fastest-growing AI firms. The voice AI group’s valuation has doubled since its $11bn Series D in February, when it raised $500m, and is now more than 2,000 times the $9m [...]
End the non-competes! Tech bosses warn ‘unfair’ rules are choking UK growth Tech Some of Britain’s leading tech founders have called on the government to tear up “unfair” employment restrictions they say are choking growth and leaving UK startups struggling to compete with Silicon Valley. The bosses of Elevenlabs, Synthesia, Fuse Energy and a string of British AI startups have signed an open letter published on Tuesday demanding [...]
‘Resilience or reliance’ – Tech chiefs urge Burnham to spend £20bn on ‘sovereign AI’ Tech British tech bosses have called on the government to commit more than £20bn to sovereign AI infrastructure, warning the UK risks becoming dependent on foreign technology in one of the most important industries of the coming decades. Senior figures from BT, Telefónica Tech, Leonardo, HPE, Kainos and Sopra Steria are among the signatories to an [...]
Natwest makes first VC fund bet in push to back British tech September 23, 2026 Natwest has made its first direct investment into an independently managed venture capital fund, joining a push by some of Britain’s biggest financial institutions to funnel more domestic money into UK tech companies. The banking giant is investing across top venture capital firm Phoenix Court’s Localglobe, Latitude and Solar funds, which back companies from their [...]
Mercedes rides the AI Wayve with self-driving deal September 22, 2026 Mercedes-Benz will put British start-up Wayve’s self-driving technology into its cars within two years, handing the London AI firm its third major production deal in less than nine months. The German carmaker has signed a production agreement to integrate Wayve’s AI Driver into future models, allowing cars to handle point-to-point journeys through cities with advanced [...]
Nscale vows stay in UK despite £35bn US stock market listing September 22, 2026 Nscale has vowed to keep Britain at the heart of its global expansion despite choosing New York over London for its blockbuster float, as the AI infrastructure firm looks to turn its UK base into an export hub for computing power. The Nvidia-backed firm believes jobs and expertise built in Britain can serve customers around [...]
GOV.UK founder warns Britain is ‘dangerously dependent’ on foreign AI September 21, 2026 Britain risks becoming “dangerously dependent” on a handful of foreign tech companies as AI spreads through businesses and public services, the founder of GOV.UK has warned. Mike Bracken, who founded the Government Digital Service and led the creation of GOV.UK, said organisations were steadily giving up control of critical systems as they turned to external [...]
Labour warned UK at risk of foreign tech giants ‘pulling the plug’ September 18, 2026 Labour has “no plan” if foreign technology companies or governments cut Britain off from systems underpinning critical services, the Liberal Democrats have warned, after ministers acknowledged the risks posed by the UK’s reliance on overseas tech. Victoria Collins, the Lib Dems’ tech spokesperson, accused the government of handing “contract after contract to foreign tech oligarchs” [...]
Month-old Deepmind spinout nears $4bn on ‘future capability’ bet September 17, 2026 A British AI startup founded just last month by three former Google Deepmind researchers is nearing a $4bn (£2.9bn) valuation – despite having no product or website. Emulate is in advanced talks to raise as much as $700m in a seed funding round led by Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners in a deal that [...]
Beauty Tech shares glow as boss brushes off ‘cheap’ rivals September 17, 2026 Beauty Tech Group boss Laurence Newman has brushed off competition from ‘cheap beauty devices’ after the London-listed firm more than tripled its first-half profit. Shares in the owner of Currentbody Skin rose more than 13 per cent to 395p on Thursday after revenue climbed 44.3 per cent to £79.7m in the six months to June. [...]