The Rundown: Edition 55 – The Rundown goes public!
Edition 55: 24 July 2026
Welcome to The Rundown, a snapshot of news, views and intel from the fast-growth tech and investment scene, brought to you by FieldHouse Associates.
DSIT axed as AI Minister given Cabinet role
Kanishka Narayan, the AI Minister, will now attend Cabinet in Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s new government. The move followed the announcement that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has been scrapped. BBC
Innovate UK welcomes expanded Business Department
As the Government shake-up continues, Tom Adeyoola, Executive Chair of Innovate UK, said the disbanding of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – with many of the functions moving into the newly-named Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) – “very much makes sense” – despite many in the tech industry voicing concerns about the breakup of DSIT. UKTN
EU fines Google €890m for favouring its own apps
The European Commission has fined Google for giving preferential treatment to its own services. Brussels also said Google prevented app developers from freely communicating and promoting offers and concluding contracts with users. The Next Web
Mistral switches focus as new funding looms
The French AI giant Mistral is moving away from building frontier models that compete with OpenAI and Anthropic and towards helping enterprise customers deploy its technology. The switch comes as Mistral nears a funding round that would value the company at €20 billion. Sifted
Legislators push for AI “kill switch” after OpenAI model breakout
US lawmakers have introduced a bill to Congress that would give the government the ability to order the turning off of AI tools that may threaten the public. The move follows news that an OpenAI test model escaped a test environment and hacked into a different company’s real production systems. The Independent
CuspAI raises $450m Series B with Bezos backing
CuspAI, a Cambridge-based AI developer aiming to become the “search engine for rare materials”, is valued at $2.6 billion following a funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and NEA, with participation from Bezos Expeditions and the UK Government’s Sovereign AI Fund. Guardian
Humanoid hits unicorn status with $152m Series A
UK-based robotics startup Humanoid has raised a $152 million Series A round led by Prime Movers Lab, with further investment from Schaeffler, Bosch, Fubon Financial Holding Venture Capital, and Aglaé Ventures. Tech.EU
Arrakis lands $30m Series A
Arrakis, which is helping industrial companies to deploy AI agents inside their operational systems, has raised a $30 million Series A round led by Blossom Capital, with participation from Accel, GFC, MainObject and Rerail. Pathfounders
Oxford spinout Moa Technology raises £22.2m
Moa Technology, an agritech business that supports farmers in sustainably protecting their harvests from crop-killing weeds, has raised a £22.2 million Series C round co-led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Supernova Invest. UKTN
TidalSense secures £14m for lung disease test
TidalSense, which has developed a handheld device that tests for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), has raised £14.2 million from Cross Border Impact Ventures, BGF, Airstream Capital and Foresight Group. The device will be used across the NHS. Times
The politics of (AI) sovereignty
Henna Virkunnen, EU Tech Chief, said concern is growing about the EU’s dependence on American technology, as geopolitical tensions continue to advance the sovereign AI agenda. Following Brussels’ announcement of a tech sovereignty package last month, Virkunnen wants to strengthen the EU’s AI development strategies. FT
Hacking’s quantum leap
“Harvest now, decrypt later” is the new hacking mantra, and Nicolas Sauvage, President and Founder of TDK Ventures, spies a business opportunity. Hackers are working on the assumption that they can use quantum to access data in the future. It follows that quantum security is the best way to prepare for “when that moment comes”. Fortune
Defence tech backs Chancellor Healey
Paul Jenkinson, CEO and Co-founder of Whitespace, believes former Defence Minister John Healey’s appointment as Chancellor is the start the UK needs for “a more informed conversation” on building national resilience. Sifted
Sentient superintelligence and AI’s next big challenge
As AI advances towards superintelligence, the biggest challenge is no longer technical capability, according to Calum Chace, Co-Founder at Conscium. Rather, it’s about understanding the ethical, legal and societal implications of creating systems that may think, reason or even possess forms of consciousness. UKTN
The Rundown team: Peter Evans, Damilola Omotoso, and Lewis Francis (L-R).
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading The Rundown as much as we’ve enjoyed writing it over the past year. Now that the cat is out of the proverbial bag, the ‘we’ in question is Peter Evans, Damilola Omotoso, and Lewis Francis. Surprise! Hopefully, our lifting the lid on our identities is more of a Superman/Clark Kent reveal rather than finding out the truth about Santa Claus. For those of you asking ‘what truth?’…don’t worry about it.
Speaking of identities: what a week it’s been for UK politics. While former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was spotted at the pub after leaving office, there are many new and old (no, we’re not talking about anyone’s age) faces in Government. If you’re still trying to wrap your head around the ministerial changes, here’s a list of who’s who in PM Andy Burnham’s Government. Do you know who else has a new role? Investor Zaya Kadyrova. She’s joined Prague-based VC Aspire11 as a Co-founder. The fund has recently deployed the first €100 million of its €515 million pension capital fund into a portfolio that includes Revolut, Databricks, and Vinted.
Slightly further afield, Australia is set to introduce a new national AI plan aimed at tightening AI regulations across government operations, digital safety, privacy and infrastructure. Government departments and agencies will face stricter limits and oversight when using automated AI systems to deliver public services. The changes come after an illegal Robodebt Scheme, an automated government scheme that incorrectly demanded that welfare recipients repay benefits. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also announced the creation of an AI office at the heart of government to manage standards for the technology. It also requires data centres to be net energy producers and to limit their water usage. Water limits are very much on our mind at home, with many regions in the UK facing hosepipe bans. Thames Water, the latest provider to announce a ban, has seen ‘40% of average rainfall, and more days at or above 34°C this year than ever recorded before’. With more of the same forecast for next week, please join us in a collective Rundown rain dance.