Anna Wood

Europe’s technology sector pulled in $35.4 billion in the first half of 2026, a 46% jump from the $24.4 billion raised in the same period last year, according to a new report from Tracxn. While the number is huge, it masks the reality: the number of companies actually securing funding is shrinking, and investors are writing larger checks to an ever-narrower pool of winners.

After much anticipation, The European Commission has completed the final legal steps to establish the Scaleup Europe Fund, and has made its first big bet on Finnish company ICEYE. The Scaleup Europe Fund has co-led ICEYE’s recently announced €1 billion Series F funding round, which includes a €450 million primary investment at a valuation exceeding…

Hedgehogs are lovable additions to the countryside, and increasingly, in urban areas. But these adorable creatures are in decline in the UK. According to The State of British Hedgehogs reports, since 2000, British hedgehog numbers have dropped by up to 75% in rural areas. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2024, the European hedgehog was classified as ‘near threatened' due to their rapidly declining population.

London-based Edgify has closed a $9 million Series A+ funding round led by Rank Ventures and Mangrove Capital Partners, bringing the retail-focused AI startup’s total funding to $25 million as it looks to expand from grocery loss prevention into wider industrial markets. Edgify’s platform links up the AI-capable hardware already sitting inside a store, including…

British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme has shown a strong year-on-year increase in the volume and value of early-stage finance being accessed, having provided UK business owners with £14.6 million in finance in July 2026

UK semiconductor startups have already raised more funding this year than in all of 2025, but reflecting wider technology funding trends, the money is flowing to fewer companies, as well as a shrinking list of cities Bristol alone is pulling in more than Cambridge and London combined.

Business in the UK is booming, with the UK’s active business population hitting a record 5.66 million companies. Despite a moderation in new company incorporations, this figure highlights the strength and adaptability of British entrepreneurship.

There was a time when only the biggest companies could afford software built just for them. Custom builds started at around $20,000, going up to $100,000, and would take the better part of a year to ship. Everyone else would make do with the generic tools on the market. Emergent AI wants to change that.…

Anna Wood, Editor at Electronic Specifier, picks her top 5 AI products released in August 2026.