Defence and AI drive Europe’s venture capital rebound Tech European venture capital (VC) investment rose to €66bn (£57bn) in 2025, up five per cent year on year, as funding flowed into AI and defence tech, according to PitchBook data. The increase marks a post-pandemic high for the region, but reflects a narrowing of investor focus rather than a broad-based recovery. Large late-stage rounds in [...]
Fintech founder Adam French: I wish the City would be braver Opinion Each week, we dig into the memory bank of the City's great and good. Today, we speak to Adam French, partner at early-stage VC firm Antler.
London AI startup Lupa raises $20m to modernise vet clinics Lupa, a London-based startup building modern software for veterinary clinics, has raised $20m (£16.5m) in a Series A round led by European VC Singular, just five months after securing $4m in seed funding. The software firm, founded in 2023, says it is tackling one of the most overlooked corners of healthcare: the $350bn global veterinary [...]
Rachel Reeves told to ‘get out of the way’ ahead of Autumn Budget August 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to “let businesses get on with it and get out of the way” ahead of delivering her second Autumn Budget in the coming months. A group of 1,500 private business leaders surveyed by KPMG said the Chancellor should focus on promoting higher wages and lower costs for companies. They [...]
UK VC investment storms ahead of Europe as AI dominates July 3, 2025 UK venture capital funding stormed ahead of its European peers in the first half of 2025 as the country’s innovation economy remained resilient in the face of wider geopolitical tensions. Total investment topped $8bn (£5.9bn), edging up three per cent from the final six months of 2024. This gave the UK a 30 per share [...]
After angels, before VCs: UK consumer startups are stranded in £1m-£5m no man’s land May 14, 2025 Britain's brilliant consumer startups are finding themselves stranded in a funding no man’s land, writes Joe Benn.
UK scale-ups face crisis as growth capital hits seven-year low May 6, 2025 Growth capital has hit a seven-year low on both volume and value with the UK start-up to scale-up pipeline “broken”, a fresh report has warned. Figures seen by City AM revealed Series A funding – investments of £2m to £10m for startups looking to grow – had slumped to £2.4bn in the 12 months to [...]
Vinted launches venture capital arm with eye on UK start-ups April 29, 2025 Vinted, the Lithuanian-founded secondhand marketplace, has launched its own venture capital (VC) arm and is eyeing UK start-ups. The move adds new competition to the UK’s fast expanding, re-commerce and resale market, now worth already £7bn, as major platforms look to capitalise on shifting consumer habits driven by inflation and sustainability concerns. Vinted Ventures will [...]
UK funding for AI startups surges but still lags behind US January 6, 2025 AI startups captured 25 per cent of all UK venture capital funding in 2024, totalling $15.9bn (£12.8bn) – a sharp rise from $3.1bn (£2.5bn) four years ago. Balderton Capital’s latest data shows that 2024 was the second best year on record for AI investment in the UK. The sector’s value has more than doubled in [...]
If we can’t ‘eradicate the bias’ — how do we close the funding gap? October 25, 2024 Join Ambition AM for a powerful event on closing the gender funding gap, where female entrepreneurs share their experiences, challenges and insights.