Despite the number of women starting businesses in the UK rising to record levels, female-led startups continue to receive just a fraction of the equity investment male-led companies do, according to a new report published by The Entrepreneurs Network in partnership with Barclays. 

FINLAND: Finnish Earth observation company Kuva Space has successfully raised €16.6M in funding. The funding round was led by existing investors Voima Ventures and Nordic Foodtech VC, with Singapore-based Earth VC also participating. The round also includes Finnish private investors through a Finland-based growth funding initiative with Springvest and non-equity funding from Business Finland.

Green Angel Ventures has completed an investment in PES Technologies, which claims to be "The Future of Soil Health Measurement".  

San Diego, USA: Digital health startup CARI Health has been awarded an SBIR Fast Track grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to help it bring the world’s first wearable medication monitor to market. CARI Health is eligible for up to $2.8M over three years as project milestones are successfully completed within Phase I and Phase II portions of the grant. The award funding will go toward supporting product development and conducting human clinical studies for CARI Health’s wearable remote medication monitoring device.

For the second consecutive year, the United Arab Emirates has participated in CEATEC Japan 2023, reinforcing its commitment to nurturing innovation, technology, and fostering international business partnerships. This year's participation comes after a successful engagement in 2022 that led to significant collaborations between UAE and Japanese companies.

Fox Robotics Ltd, in collaboration with the University of Surrey and the Agri-EPI Centre, along with three prominent farms – MA & MP Stockwell Barnsmuir Farm in Scotland, Lutton Farm in Peterborough, and Secretts Farm in Surrey – has been awarded a grant of £998,639 for their ground-breaking FLEXBOT project, from DEFRA and Innovate UK.

The EISA has welcomed the Treasury’s confirmation that the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) should be extended beyond the current 2025 deadline.

Geovation,  a community of innovators and collaborators which uses location data to create solutions addressing global challenges, has announced a new cohort of six GeoTech and PropTech start-ups has just been selected to start on its Accelerator Programme. 

Seedrs, Europe's leading private investment platform - is now officially licensed under the new EU regulation for equity crowdfunding providers. Seedrs will be authorised in Ireland, where its EU headquarters are and, to begin with, will additionally focus on the Nordics, Iberia and the Netherlands. 

GERMANY: Oxolo, a pioneering AI startup with its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, has successfully raised €13 million to propel its mission of transforming the AI landscape in the realm of video.

GC Angels, Manchester’s early-stage investment vehicle, has announced the launch of its Angel Academy. Set to support GC Angels’ growing network of over 100 angel investors, the Academy will leave aspiring angel investors with the necessary skills to unlock businesses potential, minimise risk and reap the benefits of high growth. 

Bringing together investors and partners from diverse industries, the Academy reflects GC Angels’ commitment to developing the early-stage equity market in the region. 

Huddersfield based startup, Holdson, has secured a £150k investment from British Design Fund, as it gears up to disrupt the precision manufacturing market with its innovative electrochemical polishing technology.