2021: Best year ever for UK tech sector with £26bn in VC, 116 unicorns, record London listings and more jobs December 28, 2021 The UK tech sector looks back on its best year ever, raking in £26bn in venture capital, record London listings, more jobs and the number of British unicorns climbing to 116. Success feeds cities outside London as Cambridge has become the leading regional tech city in the UK thanks to its combination of high levels [...]
Global climate tech investment has tripled, but emissions-cutting solutions are overlooked December 15, 2021 Investment into climate tech is booming globally, as venture capital and private equity firms poured $87.5bn into the sector over the twelve months to 30 June 2021 – more than triple the $28.4bn global total reached a year before. Buoyed by dry powder accumulated during the first few months of Covid lockdowns, investment firms focusing [...]
Saturday Read: Two sustainable fashion gurus on a mission to make soil sexy in London November 27, 2021 Far from providing a pivotal road map, COP26 has at least uncovered a few tangible solutions for multiple industries to move forward. For the first time ever, fossil fuels have been noted and added to the final agreement, albeit rather half heartedly, with a little help from India and China. Another key take-away [...]
Exclusive: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ no longer applies as tech-daring UK companies are hungry for risk November 25, 2021 Enthusiasm for experimenting with new technologies is growing fast across UK businesses, largely because many companies are increasingly prepared to take more risks. Given the increased risk appetite and firms embracing tech, organisations are pumping more cash in new technological applications and platforms. In fact, 77 per cent of businesses with headcounts over 250 said [...]
Founder of tech firm where David Cameron chaired advisory board steps down after sexual assault claims November 19, 2021 The founder of a tech group at which former prime minister David Cameron was an adviser has stepped down amid allegations of sexual harassment. Zia Chishti, who founded Afiniti, was accused this week of pressuring a former employee into having sex with him on a business trip, when it was also alleged he beat her. [...]
Climate scientists reject Science Museum feature after Shell sponsorship November 16, 2021 Pollution experts refuse to let Science Museum feature work over its links to Shell and willingness to be associated with oil giants.
Rolls-Royce to unveil funding for smaller UK nuclear reactors November 8, 2021 Rolls-Royce will announce it has successfully raised the required funds to start building its smaller scale nuclear reaction project in the UK. The aerospace company is leading a consortium of investors for a new smaller nuclear reactor project, based on technology used in nuclear submarines. The plan is to initially build four small modular reactors [...]
COP26 one week down: Optimists and cynics on the climate summit’s progress so far November 8, 2021 The first week of the climate summit has brought some major commitments but critics say they are just more hot air. A range of high-profile climate activists have already labelled COP26 “a failure” but other voices are warning their message of doom could be as bad as denying climate change altogether. Here is a guide [...]
Green tech Recycling Technologies to list in £40m London IPO November 8, 2021 UK green technology company Recycling Technologies has announced its intention to float on London’s junior AIM market in an £40m IPO. Founded in 2011 by automotive engineer Adrian Griffiths, Recycling Technologies’ main product is a mass producible machine, called the RT7000, which processes plastic waste into a synthetic oil that can then be sold back [...]
Rolls-Royce and Qatar set to launch multibillion fund for UK green engineering startups October 31, 2021 Rolls Royce and Qatar have joined forces to launch a fund to inject billions of pounds into UK green engineering startups in a move that could create up to 10,000 UK jobs in the next few years. In what would represent one of the biggest-ever inward investment projects in the UK, the gas-rich state is [...]