Sequoia scraps London office as UK employees face axe Tech Silicon Valley venture capital giant Sequoia Capital is shutting its London office and cutting staff, just six years after expanding into Europe, in a major retreat from Britain’s startup investment scene. The US investor, an early backer of Apple, Airbnb and Stripe, confirmed the closure in a sweeping restructuring announcement, saying it no longer saw [...]
‘Sigh of relief’ as Healey woos British founders with £10m tax break Tech Britain’s startup founders have welcomed a sweeping package of tax breaks in John Healey’s first Budget, but investors warned that the Chancellor’s attempt to keep the country’s most promising businesses at home will fall short without more capital to help them grow. At the centre of Wednesday’s announcement was a new Founders’ Relief, offering entrepreneurs [...]
Higher taxes will ‘kick UK fintech when it is down’, Healey warned Fintech Venture capital investors have warned that higher taxes on financial services would have trickle-down effects and “clip the wings” of Britain’s already capital-starved fintech sector. Start-up investors that fund the UK’s financial technology industry told City AM the sector’s struggles to access cash would be amplified by a tax hike on top banks and increases [...]
Oxford AI chip startup raises $125m to tackle data centre power crunch October 14, 2026 Oxford-based chip startup Salience Labs has raised $125m (£94m) from investors, including AMD and Intel, as the race to build AI data centres puts growing pressure on electricity supplies. The funding round, led by Bullhound Capital, is set to help the British firm scale production of its photonic chips, which use light rather than electrical [...]
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 [...]
London’s unicorn boom is masking an early-stage funding crisis September 11, 2026 European tech is experiencing two diametrically opposed extremes. On paper, there has never been a better time to build, writes Christoph Klink A new breed of rocketship unicorns are reaching billion-dollar valuations in record time. London sits at the absolute centre of this surge, home to 43 per cent of all European rocketship unicorns – [...]
AI startup raises $20m to build ‘digital twins’ of office workers August 20, 2026 An AI startup that creates digital replicas of employees has raised $20m (£15m) as investors bet that technology used to model factories and machinery can be applied to office workers. Twin1 AI emerged from “stealth” on Thursday after securing seed funding in a round co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Tribeca Venture Partners and Aramco Ventures. [...]
AI is driving a VC investment boom July 15, 2026 The UK has landed some of the biggest megadeals in history, but it must double down on tech investment to keep its crown, says Nicole Lowe The UK is currently riding on the crest of a wave of near-record-breaking levels of venture capital investment and I’m delighted that it shows no sign of coming to [...]
Liz Kendall ramps up push to funnel pension cash into UK startups June 12, 2026 The government is stepping up efforts to channel more institutional money into British tech firms as ministers look to stop promising startups heading overseas for funding. Tech secretary Liz Kendall announced that Labour would pursue reforms to unlock pension fund investment into UK growth firms, adding Britain needs to become an “indispensable partner” in the [...]
Quantum and AI drive UK startup funding to $7.8bn in 2026 April 14, 2026 UK startup funding jumped to $7.8bn (£6.2bn) in the first quarter of 2026, as a surge in quantum computing investment and mega-rounds powered the strongest start to a year since 2022. New data from HSBC Innovation Banking and Dealroom shows venture capital investment rose 60 per cent year on year, pointing to renewed confidence in [...]