The Rundown: Edition 12
Edition 12: 5 Sep 2025
Welcome to The Rundown, a snapshot of news, views and intel from the fast-growth tech and investment scene.
Quantinuum hits $10bn valuation after Nvidia investment
The UK-US business, founded by British entrepreneur Ilyas Khan, has raised $600m from investors including chip maker Nvidia and US VC QED, the latest in a series of mega funding rounds for quantum firms. Guardian
Quantum developer Phasecraft raises $34m Series B
The UK startup, which develops algorithms for quantum computers, has raised a Series B round co-led by Plural, Playground Global and Novo Holdings, the investment arm of Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. Sifted
Honeywell-led AI manufacturing project bags £14.1m
US giant Honeywell – majority owner of Quantinuum (see above) – has received £14.1m in government funding to transform how aerospace technologies are made in the UK as part of a consortium that also included BeyondMath, 3T Additive Manufacturing and Qdot Technology. The Engineer
Medtech firm Cyted Health secures $44m Series B round
Cyted Health, a diagnostic platform to detect oesophageal disease early, has secured funding from EQT Life Sciences, Advent Life Sciences, the British Business Bank, Morningside and BGF. Tech.eu
Camera Intelligence closes £1.4m seed funding
The AI photography startup has received backing from Digital Catapult, Betaworks, F4 Fund, Next Wave via Flybridge and 7percent Ventures to speed up product development. UKTN
Google survives monopoly review
Google will not be required to sell its Chrome web browser, but it must share information with competitors, a US federal judge has ordered. BBC News
Kyle sets out growth plan as UK AI sector hits £2.9bn
The Technology Secretary Peter Kyle outlined plans for an “AI Assurance” industry and said investment in British AI companies hit record levels last year. The sector is now estimated to contribute £11.8bn to the UK economy, double the figure recorded in 2023. City AM
Indian deep tech startups pledged $1bn
Eight US and Indian venture capital and private equity firms have formed a coalition to fund India’s deep tech startups, pledging over $1bn. TechCrunch
Pound falls as borrowing costs spike
UK long-term borrowing costs hit their highest level since 1998 in wake of Starmer’s reset. If sustained, this will further erode the Chancellor’s headroom against her key fiscal rules. FT
Ukraine must reap rewards for its battlefield innovation
Andriy Dovbenko, Founder of UK-Ukraine TechExchange, argues that Ukraine must secure intellectual property sovereignty amid growing demand for its battlefield-tested technologies, or risk becoming “an exporter of raw ideas while others capture the long-term industrial and economic rewards”. FT
Pragmatic Co-Founder: “It is good to be a little brave”
Richard Price, Co-Founder and CTO of Pragmatic Semiconductor, speaks to The Times as the business, backed by Cambridge Innovation Capital, steps up high-volume production of its ultra-thin, low-cost chips at its Durham factory. Times
Concerned about the Employment Rights Bill? You’re not alone
The Bill had its third reading in the House of Lords this week, but many SMEs are sharing their issues with the “most significant upgrade to workplace protections in a generation”. City AM
Mind the (innovation) gap
Germany is an undisputed engineering hub, with a significant portion of investment allocated to R&D. However, most of this capital remains within corporations, leaving little for startups. Charlotte Goggin, Director at CIBC, discusses the financial pitfalls. Tech Funding News
It’s all about the leather lining
“Developing a scalable, sustainable alternative for vehicle interiors underpins the strength of the technology behind our entire platform.” Stephanie Downs, CEO and Co-Founder of UNCAGED Innovations, speaks about why her company is creating plant-based leather for Hyundai vehicles. edie
UK fintech darlings Revolut and Starling are looking into buying US banks to speed up their licence processes. Such acquisitions of nationally chartered banks would enable the fintechs to lend across all 50 states. The Revolut news doesn’t stop there. Its valuation has jumped to $75bn after the launch of a secondary shares sale, in which employees can sell up to 20% of their shares to new and existing investors. This would make Revolut worth more than Barclays, create scores of employee millionaires, and propel the founder and CEO, Nik Storonsky, into the UK’s top 10 richest businesspeople.
The fintech news continues. As does Klarna’s journey to IPO. Last week, we covered how the Swedish fintech was set to restart its plans for an IPO in the US next month. Now that we’re firmly in September, the company has announced that it will list on the NYSE as ‘KLAR’ and will raise up to $1.27bn, with shares priced between $35 and $37.
President Trump’s opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has caused misogyny to spread through the technology industry, according to Martha Lane Fox. While the president’s attitude has caused seismic shifts in companies around the world, some are fighting back. We’ll leave the final word on this to Martha: “It’s just dumb because I believe there are so many more people we could be backing, and so many problems we could be solving, if we were more wide-ranging in how we thought about including people at that kind of entrepreneurial level.”