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Napier AI, a London-based financial crime compliance RegTech, has appointed seasoned professional Stacy Lowe as chief people officer to lead the company鈥檚 hiring and retention strategy.

Lowe will be tasked with hiring key financial crime and anti-money laundering talent into Napier AI, the upskilling of staff to support career progression and growth, and managing the organisation鈥檚 global workforce, spanning the UK, Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Lowe joins with experience in HR and people leadership, following the acquisition by Marlin Equity Partners (Marlin), and will also support Napier AI鈥檚 global expansion strategy.

Most recently, Lowe served as the Director of HR Practice at Private Equity firm Aurelius and has previously held roles at Citeline; a Norstella company, Taylor & Francis and Informa 老九品茶 Intelligence both Informa Plc divisions.

Bloxx, a FinTech founded by former banking executive Chris Smith – a native of Yorkshire – and Hollywood actor/producer Cliff Curtis, has launched its home equity subscription platform globally.

The platform introduces a revolutionary new route to homeownership, allowing individuals to build equity from day one without taking a mortgage.

It was piloted in New Zealand.

Children will be better protected from becoming victims of horrific indecent deepfakes as new laws aim to ensure AI聽cannot be exploited to generate child sexual abuse material.

Data from the Internet Watch Foundation released today shows reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

There has also been a disturbing rise in depictions of infants, with images of 0鈥�2-year-olds surging from 5 in 2024 to 92 in 2025.

Under stringent new legislation,鈥痙esignated bodies like聽AI developers and child protection organisations, such as the IWF, will be empowered to scrutinise聽AI models and ensure safeguards are in place to prevent them鈥痝enerating or proliferating鈥痗hild sexual abuse material.

Currently, criminal liability to create and possess this material means developers can鈥檛 carry out safety testing on聽AI models, and images can only be removed after they have been created and shared online. This measure, said to be one of the first of its kind in the world, ensures AI聽systems鈥� safeguards can be robustly tested from the start, to limit its production in the first place.

The laws will also enable鈥痮rganisations to check鈥痬odels鈥痟ave protections against鈥痚xtreme pornography, and non-consensual intimate images.

Menstrual health startup Joii is launching the world’s first AI-powered app that measures period blood volume in the UK.

Joii鈥檚 innovation, which is registered as a Class I medical device in the UK, is bringing data to an area of women鈥檚 health that has long been ignored and minimised.

Using AI technology paired with Joii鈥檚 specially designed pads, Joii鈥檚 Period Evaluation app instantly measures blood volume and clot size with clinical precision. Users simply scan their pad with their phone.

Using the app to measure period volume provides users with objective data rather than relying on subjective terms like 鈥榟eavy鈥�, 鈥榣ight鈥� or 鈥榥ormal鈥� flow or counting how many pads or tampons they use, the startup says.

The app also provides cycle tracking and predictions, doctor visit notes so users can remember what to ask at appointments, educational content and personalised health insights and reports.

Hospitals, energy and water supplies and transport networks could be better protected from the threat of cyber-attacks under new laws being introduced in Parliament today.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will regulate medium and large companies providing services like IT management, IT help desk support and cybersecurity to private and public sector organisations such as the NHS.

“Because they hold trusted access across government, critical national infrastructure and business networks, they will need to meet clear security duties. This includes reporting significant or potentially significant cyber incidents promptly to government and their customers as well as having robust plans in place to deal with the consequences,” said the government.

Regulators will also be given new powers to designate critical suppliers to the UK鈥檚 essential services such as those providing healthcare diagnostics to the NHS or chemicals to a water firm: this would mean they鈥檇 have to meet minimum security requirements 鈥� shutting down gaps in supply chains criminals could exploit which could cause wider disruption.

Tougher turnover-based penalties for serious breaches will also be introduced, while聽the Technology Secretary gets new powers to instruct regulators and the organisations they oversee to take specific, proportionate steps to prevent cyber attacks where there is a threat to UK national security.

Credit reporting and data company Experian has reported strong growth in the six months ended 30th September 2025.

Revenues for the period topped $4bn, up from $3.6bn in the corresponding period last year – signalling growth of 12% at the FTSE 100 firm.

Profit before tax was $975m, up from $718m – a rise of 36%.

Author: Chris Maguire

Serial entrepreneur Grace Beverley took to the Web Summit stage yesterday – twice in one hour.

Her business portfolio includes聽 SHREDDY, TALA, The Productivity Method and the聽 AI-powered talent agent Retrograde.

The companies employ around 100 people and are reported to have a collective value of 拢70m.

She鈥檚 also the host of the chart-topping podcast 鈥�Working Hard with Grace Beverley鈥� and the author of the bestselling book 鈥榃orking Hard, Hardly Working鈥�.

Beverley has around 3m social media followers 鈥� including 1.1m on Instagram 鈥� and has raised in excess of $14m in investment.

Chris Maguire has profiled the 28-year-old after watching both her appearances at Europe鈥檚 biggest tech event.

Founded by former care worker Tsitsi Mtasa, Manchester-based Wisterias has developed a digital care management platform designed specifically for smaller providers, combining scheduling, compliance, invoicing and care planning in one intuitive system.

With 拢87,000 in funding and tailored support from Greater Manchester’s innovation ecosystem, the start-up has gone from concept to market-ready product in under two years 鈥� already creating two new jobs and forecasting turnover growth from 拢58,000 to 拢1 million by 2028.

Built from the ground up by people who’ve worked in the industry, the cloud-based platform aims to provide an affordable way for care workers to access real-time updates even in low-connectivity environments. It offers a number of cutting-edge features, such as automated compliance tracking and offline functionality, to streamline workflows and reduce paperwork.

I don’t remember too much from my last year at school, but it definitely didn’t involve being a speaker at a global scale event filled with entrepreneurs and investors.

It also, unfortunately, didn’t involve starting a successful business in the world of technology.

Heman Bekele (15), Raya Mardani (16) and Aarav Sharma (15) all just spoke on a panel chaired by podcaster David Savage about their startups – and it was genuinely mindblowing to see not only how well they’re doing, but how well they carry themselves.

Bekele has invented a skin cancer-treating soap, Mardani a FemTech to make periods safer, and Sharma a brain-controlled exoskeleton arm to make assistive technology more accessible.

Very tough to put in to words how impressive these teenagers are – watch out.

St John鈥檚 in Manchester is fast cementing its reputation as a growing media industry hub in the city after announcing McCann as its latest signing.

Department鈥檚聽Bonded聽Warehouse聽is already home to leading global agencies, including Dentsu, Weber Shandwick and Grayling.

This month, Department will welcome its latest high profile signing 鈥� globally renowned advertising agency,聽McCann.

Open Partners, one of the UK’s biggest and fastest-growing fully independent agencies, is now in its fourth year at Bonded Warehouse.

Author: Patrick Killeen

Live from Lisbon, Manchester City CTO Greg Swimer and VTEX chief revenue officer Santiago Naranjo discussed how technology is transforming the fan experience through their new global partnership.

Swimer said the collaboration, announced eight months ago, reflects shared values of innovation, collaboration and expertise, as City expands its digital and physical footprint with new developments around the Etihad.

Among these are the recently announced virtual stadium tour, which gives fans first-hand experience of stepping out onto the pitch.

Naranjo praised the club鈥檚 – and Swimer鈥檚- 鈥渃ommitment to putting fans at the centre,鈥� and explained how VTEX鈥檚 platform will help to create personalised online journeys for supporters worldwide.

4Imprint – +17.18%
Oxford Instruments – +12.72%
Vodafone – +5.38%
Watches of Switzerland – +5.28%
WPP – +4.39%

Other big risers from the tech space are Kainos (+3.22%), Trainline (+2.13%), BT Group (+1.72%), Sage (+1.50%) and Rightmove (+1.49%).

Hilton Food Group – -22.31%
Ceres Power – -4.08%
Tesco – -3.28%
Marks & Spencer – -3.05%
Ashmore Group – -2.87%

Tech firms which have also dropped today are Auto Trader (-2.42%), BAE Systems (-1.15%), Pinewood Technologies (-1.13%) and Plus500 (-1%).

MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub (MITIH) has partnered with Grow with Google to deliver a free new workshop series helping Greater Manchester鈥檚 entrepreneurs unlock the practical potential of AI for business growth.

Based at HOST, the Home for Skills & Technology in MediaCity – and open to all – attendees can choose to take part in any of the interactive workshops, including Making Sense of AI, Practical AI for 老九品茶, Social Media Masterclass, AI Prompting Essentials, and Leadership for the Digital Age.

Delivered by MITIH as part of its Spark Salford accelerator programme, it brings together entrepreneurs, small business owners, and creative professionals for hands-on learning. Participants will gain actionable insights into using AI tools to streamline operations, boost productivity, and strengthen digital strategies.

Lifted Ventures won the 鈥業nvesting in Women: Initiative of the Year鈥� award at the Growth Investor Awards 2025.

It was recognised for empowering women founders and building regional investment ecosystems outside London.

The Growth Investor Awards, organised by Intelligent Partnership, took place at the London Hilton on Park Lane on Thursday 6th November.

Other finalists in the category were Angel Academe, Conduit Connect, NoBa Capital and Revenge Capital.

The award was presented by TV presenter Alex Jones and Natalie Gasson-McKinley MBE, senior manager, policy and strategy at the British 老九品茶 Bank.

Liverpool-based MedTech innovator Enteral Access Technologies Ltd (EAT) has secured 拢500,000 in a bridging round led by British Design Fund for its patient safety device.

The round also saw continued support from existing investors, with the funding intended to contribute to EAT鈥檚 work in advancing patient safety through innovation in enteral access.

The company鈥檚 flagship product, DoubleCHEK, is a device designed to prevent misplacement of nasogastric feeding tubes, a persistent and dangerous issue in clinical settings and one of the most frequently reported Never Events in the NHS – serious, preventable incidents that should not occur when proper safety procedures are followed.

DoubleCHEK鈥檚 CO鈧� indicator helps flag accidental lung placement by detecting carbon dioxide, which is an indication that the nasogastric tube is in the airway and not the esophagus, and should be removed prior to full insertion. When there is no indication of CO2, the tube can be fully inserted to the stomach where DoubleCHEK鈥檚 pH indicator can then confirm the acidic environment of the stomach. This combined approach provides a fast, reliable, and easy-to-interpret bedside check, reducing reliance on X-rays and subjective interpretation, and aligning with emerging NHS safety guidance.

The company was founded by George Gallagher, an electrical engineer and seasoned entrepreneur who recognised the scale of the challenge with misplaced nasogastric feeding tubes – a treatment he himself needed as a child.

Customer service provider Moneypenny has launched two new services, Payment Taking and Appointment Booking, that complete high-intent customer calls in the moment.

The products remove the need for handovers and follow-ups which slow companies down.

The Appointment Booking service allows Moneypenny PAs to schedule, rearrange or cancel appointments during a call, updating calendars or booking platforms instantly. For Payment Taking, trained PAs process deposits, balances, invoices or gift vouchers on the spot.

Starling Bank has teamed up with Small 老九品茶 Britain to found a campaign to empower women across the UK to start and grow their businesses.

Launching in early 2026, the new partnership will feature a free training programme – ‘Female Founder Fundamentals: the definitive guide to starting and growing your business’ – comprising online masterclasses and peer-learning opportunities focused on building confidence, growth and financial skills.

The programme will also support mental resilience, financial wellbeing and community connection after joint research found that 60% of female founders struggle to switch off from work.

Permutable AI, a UK-based FinTech using vertical large language models to deliver real-time, explainable intelligence for institutional markets, has announced a major expansion of its global partnerships programme.

This initiative marks the next phase in its scale-up journey, extending its adaptive, reasoning-based AI systems into leading financial, commodities, and energy platforms worldwide.

Unlike generic LLMs, Permutable鈥檚 vertical architecture continuously learns from evolving market, sentiment, macro and geopolitical data – enabling financial institutions to anticipate, not just react to, market change.

Pulse Finance has appointed Rachael Burling as business development manager, reinforcing its commitment to supporting the funding needs of UK SMEs.

Burling will be responsible for expanding Pulse Finance鈥檚 reach within the UK market, increasing firms’ access to flexible finance solutions.

She brings over a decade of experience working within the Australian financial services sector and joins Pulse Finance from Spenda, a business platform that acts as both a software solutions provider and a payment processor.

Author: Chris Maguire

What links Dragons鈥� Den star Steven Bartlett, TikTok sensation Khaby Lame and a first-team scout at Serie A side Como 1907?

The answer is they鈥檙e all part of a growing number of content creators.

Last month Diary Of A CEO host Steven Bartlett told me in an聽exclusive interview how he wants to be the 鈥楧isney of the creator economy鈥�.

The 33-year-old鈥檚 new company 鈥� Steven.com 鈥� has just closed a major eight-figure investment in a deal that valued the business at an impressive $425m (拢320m).

In simply terms, Bartlett wants to be at the heart of creator economy 鈥� and it鈥檚 easy to see why.

Last night I attended the launch event for this year鈥檚 Web Summit in Lisbon, where the name on everyone鈥檚 lips at a packed MEO Arena was Khaby Lame.

The 25-year-old鈥檚 wordless comedy has made him the most-followed creator on TikTok with 161 million followers and another 79 million followers on Instagram.

If you鈥檝e heard of Steven Bartlett and Khaby Lame, the odds are you haven鈥檛 heard of Felix Johnston.

The 20-year-old has been making headlines of his own after Serie A side Como hired him as a first-team coach.

What makes his story remarkable is that, until recently he was a content creator for Chelsea on the social media platform X, highlighting the academy鈥檚 brightest young academy stars.