老九品茶

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The name Ocado has long been synonymous with cutting-edge technology.

Founded at the turn of the century and floated in London in 2010, Ocado – which had built warehouse automation technology – launched an app in the early smartphone years and runs an online-only supermarket.

John Lewis was an early backer and it also provided the tech for the online business of its Waitrose subsidiary.

In 2019, after nearly two decades, Ocado ditched Waitrose and agreed a joint venture (Ocado Retail) with rival M&S – which saw the latter pay 拢750 million – to sell its food instead.

However, as THG found with its technology division Ingenuity, R&D and robotics require a constant stream of investment and are rarely profitable compared with their retail counterparts.

THG eventually demerged Ingenuity, which like Ocado has retail clients, in January 2025 to protect the value of its retail arm鈥檚 shares, which had dropped dramatically since IPO.

Ocado鈥檚 valuation remains higher than at flotation in 2010, but that may not be the case forever – and at 200 pence today, it is some way short of the more than 2,200p it reached at the height of COVID.

It’s a complex picture.

So, as Ocado鈥檚 share price rises 4% today, what does the future hold?

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Shares in Bytes Technology Group plc have dropped again after its MD departed.

The listed firm said Jack Watson, who left 鈥榖y mutual consent鈥� yesterday, won鈥檛 be replaced.

It has been a turbulent two years for Bytes, which in 2024 began investigating the shock resignation of its former CEO Neil Murphy after he was accused of unauthorised trading in the company鈥檚 shares.

The firm rebounded under new CEO Mudd, but has fallen again in the last six months.

A University of Edinburgh spinout has secured 拢1.6 million in fresh funding as it launches its liquid biopsy kits in the United States.

Liquid biopsy is when fragments of tumour DNA circulating in a patient鈥檚 bloodstream are analysed by scientists – a less invasive process to study cancer.

BioCaptiva was founded by Jeremy Wheeler, Matthew Simmonte Owens and Mark Bradley to prepare blood samples in a way that preserves fragile cell-free DNA. Its msX platform uses magnetic bead technology to capture DNA directly from whole blood.

The round was led by Archangels, with support from Old College Capital,聽BBI,聽Scottish Enterprise聽and new investor EverQuest Capital Partners.

Isembard has raised 拢37 million in Series A funding less than 12 months after its seed round.

The capital will accelerate the London company鈥檚 plan to open 25 factories by the end of 2026, expand its engineering teams while launching into Germany, France and Ukraine.

The round was led by Union Square Ventures, an early backer of Twitter, Coinbase, Etsy, Abridge and Twilio.聽

New investors Tamarack Global and IQ Capital joined the round alongside existing investors Notion Capital and CIV.聽

Angel investors include Alex Bouaziz (Founder and CEO of Deel), Andrei Danescu (Founder and CEO of Dexory Robotics) and Matt Briers (former CFO of Wise).

Reflo, a sustainable sportswear brand backed by England captain Harry Kane, has launched a 拢2.5 million crowdfunding raise – giving the public the opportunity to invest alongside one of world sport鈥檚 biggest names.

Founded in 2021 by childhood friends Rory MacFadyen and Peter Philippou, Reflo has generated millions in revenue since launch, including 拢5m in 2025 alone.聽

Kane, England’s record goalscorer, joined Reflo in 2024 as lead ambassador and investor, citing belief in the brand鈥檚 long-term vision and commitment to genuine sustainable innovation over marketing-led claims.

Rather than pursuing traditional venture capital, the founders have chosen to open this round to their community.

Open for five days, Reflo has raised 拢51k so far from 73 investors.

Personnel Checks, a Blackburn-based background screening provider, has acquired Manchester screening firm Know Your Candidate in a six-figure deal.

The acquisition will add around 2,000 SME clients to Personnel Checks鈥� customer base, while expanding the company鈥檚 capability to deliver a broader range of compliance and screening services to UK employers.

Founded more than 20 years ago, Personnel Checks provides background screening services to organisations across the UK, primarily supporting SMEs and employers operating in regulated sectors.聽

As the UK government faces growing pressure over AI and copyright, the publishing industry is moving to set out a practical solution.

Days after a House of Lords committee warned that the UK鈥檚 creative industries face a 鈥渃lear and present danger鈥� from generative AI, Publishers鈥� Licensing Services (PLS) has unveiled a new collective licensing initiative at the London Book Fair.

The scheme will invite publishers across the sector – including news, magazine, academic and book publishing – to opt in to a framework enabling AI developers to legally license text for training and related uses through a transparent, paid licence.

Backed by the UK鈥檚 major publishing trade bodies, the initiative represents the industry鈥檚 most significant attempt yet to establish a workable licensing route for AI developers while ensuring publishers and authors share in the value created by the technology.

Augmented reality company Blippar has acquired Plattar, a 3D product configuration and AR commerce platform with a strong presence in Australia and New Zealand.

The acquisition marks a significant milestone in Blippar鈥檚 wider M&A strategy to build a group of industry-specific AR products designed to deliver scalable, commercially impactful AR solutions across global markets.

Plattar is a profitable business with an established customer base. It has built a powerful 3D product configuration and AR commerce engine that enables brands to showcase products interactively and drive measurable results across eCommerce and digital channels.

It will continue to operate under the same leadership and team and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Blippar.

The transaction follows a period of strong momentum for Blippar. Over the past year, the company has significantly expanded its global development capacity, opened a new engineering and development office in Bangalore, launched a new global headquarters in Waterloo, London, and continued to exceed internal growth expectations across its platform and services.

i247 Group, a technology-led fleet management and software provider for the automotive leasing sector, has secured investment from private equity firm LDC to support its next phase of growth.

Headquartered in Poole, i247 manages more than one million vehicles through its Flex 247 platform, providing 24/7 SMR support, tyre management and preventative fleet services to major leasing companies.

SportTech platform SPORTL has launched and closed a pre-seed fundraise of 拢250,000.

The London-based pay-as-you-train gym and studio booking platform, aiming to transform the fitness industry, has聽gone live with 50 gyms and studios across London – with 300 in the queue to join.

Onboard are investors and strategic partners such as Kevin Hewitt, former EMEA chairman of FTI Consulting, who will also join as chairman of the board at SPORTL; as well as James Hardy, former Deliveroo executive and co-founder of Bioniq; and HealthTech investor Jamie Hearne.

Tandem Bank has announced key changes to its board as it positions itself for future growth.

Stephen Jones has been appointed chair to lead the bank in its next stage of growth. Jones is currently executive chair of investment banking at Panmure Liberum and brings decades of senior leadership experience from across the UK banking sector, including senior executive roles at Santander and Barclays, as well as being the inaugural chief executive of UK Finance.

He succeeds Paul Pester, who steps down after three profitable and successful years in which he oversaw the successful integration of Tandem and Oplo and strengthened the bank鈥檚 leadership team, including appointing new CEO Neil Chandler in 2025.

Clive Kornitzer will also join the board as an independent non-executive director. With senior roles held at Santander and One Savings Bank, he was most recently group COO at OSB Group.

SWURF, an Edinburgh-based remote working platform, has announced a new 拢200,000 funding round.

The investment will accelerate SWURF鈥檚 expansion, with the goal of turning Edinburgh into the world’s most flexible working friendly city.

The investment will primarily drive the rollout of the innovative SWURF Pods, the state of the art, on demand private meeting spaces providing a seamless solution for the 鈥榳ork-from-anywhere鈥� professional.

The investment will also see continued improvement of the SWURF app, where users can discover and connect with welcoming remote working friendly venues across the city. To date, over 450 venues are listed on the app, including partners such as the new Hoxton hotel, the Crowne Plaza Edinburgh Royal Terrace, and The Royal Scots Club.

Data highlights SWURF is contributing 拢2 million to the local Edinburgh economy through venues adding new revenue streams, monetising space during off-peak hours, and Swurfers discovering new venues across the city.

Women in Unexpected Places (WIUP), a new nonprofit initiative dedicated to expanding opportunities for women and girls, has launched and is focused on developing its first programmes.

The organisation was founded to address a growing global challenge: women and girls continue to face increasing barriers to safety, education, and professional opportunity, particularly in regions affected by instability.

At the same time, women remain significantly underrepresented in many of the sectors shaping the future, including science, technology, and leadership.

WIUP aims to help close this gap by supporting women and girls in moving from crisis to opportunity through education, professional pathways, and partnerships with businesses, universities, and nonprofit organisations.

Its founder is British humanitarian and technology entrepreneur Sarah Porter. She is founder of InspiredMinds!, a global artificial intelligence and emerging technology community, and also World Summit AI, an international technology summit held annually in Amsterdam with additional events in Qatar.

She has advised governments and international organisations on emerging technologies and their societal impact, including serving as an artificial intelligence policy advisor to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and advising the United Nations on the use of AI in lethal autonomous weapons.

The charity will initially focus on programmes for women and girls in the UK, before expanding across borders. The charity has filed the required documentation with the UK Charity Commission as part of its formal registration process. Legal advisors Edwin Coe LLP have been appointed to support the application.

Early work on the initiative has been made possible through support from individual donors. Early fundraising secured over 拢115,000, and these contributions are helping lay the foundation for programmes designed to expand opportunity and support women and girls where the need is greatest.

Author: Nicole Goodwin, joint managing director, AllBright everywoman

As we look ahead to this year鈥檚 , I find myself reflecting on how far we have come, and how much opportunity still lies ahead for women in tech.

Celebrating success has always mattered but right now it feels particularly important.

In what many are calling the age of intelligence, representation matters more than ever. I strongly believe that the people designing and deploying technology should reflect both the society we are today and the society we aspire to build.

That can only happen with a genuine mix of viewpoints at the table. Research shows women are more likely than men to prioritise values such as privacy, safety, accountability, fairness and human autonomy in AI systems.

Those are not secondary concerns, as they are central to responsible innovation. If diverse perspectives are absent at the design stage, we risk creating systems that fail to serve everyone.

This is why the everywoman in Technology Awards mean so much to me. As the longest-running tech awards programme dedicated to championing female talent, they have celebrated more than 1,300 women across the UK.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

AI hyperscaler Nscale has raised $2 billion (拢1.5bn) in Series C financing, marking the largest round of its kind in European history.

It values the London firm at $14.6 billion.聽

Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker and Nick Clegg have joined the Nscale board.

Clegg, a general partner at Hiro Capital, is both a former UK Deputy Prime Minister and former president, global affairs at Meta.

Sandberg is a former COO of Meta and an early executive at Google, while聽Decker is CEO and co-founder of Raftr and a former president of Yahoo, Inc.聽

Author: Chris Maguire

Embryo has completed its third acquisition in less than a year following a deal for creative and digital agency Serotonin.

The deal follows acquisitions of Making You Content in April 2025 and Novaro in November 2025.

Serotonin was founded in 2019 by Dom Carter and Clair Heaviside and is best known for its work with major eCommerce players such as ASSOS of Switzerland, New & Lingwood, as well as national property developers including Legal & General and Grainger plc.

Embryo鈥檚 CEO Ross Green said: 鈥淏y bringing Serotonin into Embryo, we鈥檙e strengthening our ability to deliver even greater impact for our clients, combining Embryo鈥檚 strategy-led approach with Serotonin鈥檚 creative excellence, media capabilities and strong client base across EMEA.

鈥淢ost importantly, this acquisition is about people. Dom and Clair will be joining the Embryo board, and we welcome the talented Serotonin team, who have built something special over the past six years, and we鈥檙e incredibly excited to welcome them to Embryo as we enter this next chapter together.

鈥淢anchester continues to be one of the most exciting and ambitious digital hubs in the UK, and this move reinforces our commitment to building one of the UK’s leading performance-driven agencies.”

As part of the transition, Heaviside will become chief creative officer and Carter will take on the role of chief strategy officer.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Darktrace has named its third CEO in just 18 months after its private equity owner reportedly forced out Jill Popelka.

In January Popelka stepped down after just 16 months, despite having recently described herself as a 鈥渓ong-term leader鈥� to The Times. She was replaced by chairman Charles Goodman on an interim basis.

Now the Thoma Bravo-owned firm has named Ed Jennings as president and CEO, an appointment which it says will bring deep software and cybersecurity experience.

ATC Music Group Plc has acquired two music technology business – Push Media Ventures and Cirkay – in a deal worth more than 拢1m.

ATC is an independent music company housing talent management, live booking, live events and talent services.

It said the swoop expands its technology and data capabilities across the music value chain.

Push is a technology services business providing digital marketing, data analytics, fan engagement and ecommerce solutions to the music industry.

Cirkay is a technology platform designed to create lasting connections between artists and fans. Its first product, Cirkay Fan Pass, is a digital key that unlocks exclusive perks and engagement across multiple platforms, enabling interaction between artists and their communities

Simon Scott, co-founder and CEO of Push and Cirkay, will join ATC as non-board chief technology and product officer.

The total consideration for the acquisition is 拢1.05m, of which 拢300,000 will be satisfied in cash and 拢750,000 by the issue of new ordinary shares.

Author: Chris Maguire

Connectus 老九品茶 Solutions, the fast-growing managed IT services provider with offices across the North of England, has acquired the assets of聽Wrexham-based IT support and cyber security provider I7 Technologies Limited.

The acquisition further strengthens Connectus鈥� regional footprint, which now already boasts offices in Salford , Doncaster, and Grimsby.

It will allow the聽business to provide stronger local support to even more聽organisations across North Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire.

The deal marks another milestone in Connectus鈥� rapid growth journey.

The award-winning technology business now supports more than聽700 businesses and over 15,000 end users聽and has achieved three consecutive years of double-digit growth, alongside completing five acquisitions in the past four years.

With the addition of I7 Technologies, Connectus will expand its engineering capability, increase recurring revenue, and enhance support coverage across 聽North Wales Cheshire and聽Shropshire.

AIM-listed Next 15 Group plc has appointed Mark Astaire as chair designate.

After serving nine years on the board, the last five years of which were as chair, Penny Ladkin-Brand will not be standing for re-election at the聽London-based MarTech‘s Annual General Meeting.

Astaire joined the board as a non-executive director in February 2025. He is a former chairman of corporate broking at Barclays and head of corporate broking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

He is also a NED at Cavendish Financial plc, a member of the Sky News board, a member of the University of Liverpool Management School Advisory Board, and a trustee of the Holburne Museum in Bath.

Next 15’s COO聽Jonathan Peachey stepped down late last year after聽long-serving boss Tim Dyson retired last June after 33 years in charge.

The firm also shut down its Silicon Valley venturing arm, Mach49, after it uncovered 鈥榮erious potential misconduct鈥� within the subsidiary. However it confirmed late last year that it is in discussions to sell its PR and marketing divisions amid media speculation of a potential 拢230 million swoop.