Richard Sams

Tech funding beyond London, finally… The UK government just launched the Regional Tech Booster - a £1m initiative to support scale-ups outside London, including clusters in: 📍Scotland 📍North East ​​📍South Yorkshire The programme offers: 🧭 Mentoring and investment support 🎓 Skills workshops for founders 🚀 Tailored help for local growth It’s a small sum (£1m across multiple regions) - but a symbolic step toward rebalancing the UK’s innovation economy. Smart policy makers are finally: ✅ Recognising the value of regional tech ecosystems ✅ Backing ambition beyond the capital ✅ Investing in the talent that’s already building, not just pitching The next breakout startup might not be in Shoreditch. It might be scaling quietly in Sunderland, Sheffield, or Stirling. 👇 What else would you like to see in regional tech policy? 🔗 Full story: https://lnkd.in/gHXjr_dm ******* For more like this, try my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gBf8n27a

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2 Year Fhunded Snapshot: 💰£21M+ early-stage equity raised through the Fhunded VC community 🧑‍💼 Around 40 new, high-skilled jobs created across Lancashire 🌹 19 leading VC's engaged with Lancashire-based deals via Fhunded events 🪽 Launch of the Fhunded Angel network 💻 Roll-out of Lancashire's bespoke Dealroom platform Read more: https://lnkd.in/eCX353jb

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Just read Tech Nation ’s UK AI Sector Spotlight 2025 — a compelling snapshot of where we stand. With a $230bn market valuation and over $1bn raised in Q1 alone, the UK is leading in Europe. Yet, as the report highlights, access to capital and talent remain significant hurdles. If we want to keep our AI champions like Wayve and DeepMind on home soil, we need to double down on support — from funding to skills to smart regulation. #UKtech #AI #Innovation https://lnkd.in/eG54jVSy

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Good to see the government are pausing InnovateUK smart grants to review the treatment of SMBs versus Startups. I've said in the past that startups are not SMBs, even though they might be small. They are searching for a business model to scale up - growth. A SMB might be a great business but growth is not its purpose, in general. Now I think they also need to purge their pool of assessors for people who understand startups and technology. I'd suggest using ex-founders, entrepreneurs and VCs. VCs live and die by successfully deciding which companies to fund. How many government assessors would that apply to? I had an assessor on my Machine Learning smart grant application, asking why I needed so much funds for "training my staff, aren't they already qualified" - he was referring to our ML-training budget. I'll say no more, this is not unusual in my experience. https://lnkd.in/eXh98YFJ.

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Big news for founders: SeedLegals has acquired The Pitch, the UK’s largest pitching competition for early-stage entrepreneurs. Since 2008, The Pitch has been connecting startup founders with active investors through its flagship programme, offering participants guidance and support as they refine their pitch to a panel of experts. Now with SeedLegals – the UK’s #1 closer of funding rounds – at the helm, startups can expect greater exposure, boosting both their brand reach and their chances of securing investment. And of course it will always be free to pitch. https://lnkd.in/d_MBgk8n

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London-based Spaceflux has raised £5.4 million in a seed funding round to boost growth in the space domain awareness sector. Spaceflux is a key player in space surveillance and tracking, using its proprietary AI-driven analytics and cutting-edge optical sensor systems to monitor satellites and debris. The company's ground-based sensors uniquely combine visible and Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) imaging, enabling 24/7 coverage to address the increasing challenges of orbital congestion and space security. The funding round was co-led by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund [UKI2S] (UKI2S) (managed by Future Planet Capital), Foresight Group, and Blackfinch Ventures. The new funding will enable Spaceflux to scale its global sensor network, enhance its Cortex analytics platform, and expand its tracking services to satellite operators, insurers, and government agencies worldwide. Congratulations to CEO and co-founder Marco Rocchetto and the Spaceflux team. Tech.eu: https://lnkd.in/dymE2PAi #SpaceTech #SpaceDomainAwareness #AI #DeepTech #SeedFunding #UKTech

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