The Rundown: Edition 37 – Revolut, AI writing, and the Rage Cage

 

Welcome to The Rundown, a snapshot of news, views and intel from the fast-growth tech and investment scene.
Please do share our sign-up page with colleagues and friends – and don’t forget to send us any stories you think we should cover at [email protected]. Thanks for your support.

Revolut receives long-awaited banking licence

After a five-year wait for regulatory approval, Revolut can now launch as a fully fledged UK bank. The approval paves the way for the fintech giant to branch out into more lucrative products such as loans and mortgages. Guardian

Government encourages women to enter tech industry

In a bid to combat the male-dominated tech industry, the UK Government has announced a programme of paid tech placements and support for women returning after career breaks. UKTN 

Oracle plans AI-enabled redundancies

Oracle has credited efficiencies from AI coding tools for allowing the company to assess opportunities to streamline its teams in the upcoming quarter. The database giant has established a restructuring fund totalling $2.1 billion for the fiscal year. FT

Under-16s social media ban rejected in Commons

MPs have rejected plans to follow Australia’s lead and ban all social media for under-16s – the Government has instead decided to launch a consultation to assess potential restrictions. City AM

Nscale raises $2bn and appoints Sandberg, Clegg to board

Nvidia-backed Nscale has raised Europe’s largest-ever Series C round – led by the Norwegian industrial group Aker ASA – and appointed the former Meta executives Sheryl Sandberg and Nick Clegg to its board. The UK business is now valued at $14.6 billion. FT

Isembard raises $50m to open AI-powered factories

Isembard, which manufactures high-precision components for aerospace, defence and robotics, has raised a $50 million Series A round led by Union Square Ventures. It will use the funding to accelerate plans to open 25 factories by the end of the year. The Manufacturer

Sovereign AI platform Augur raises $15m

Augur, an AI platform which uses existing cameras and sensors to detect abnormal behaviours and track unfolding incidents , has raised $15 million led by Plural, with participation from First Kind, SNR, Flix and Tiny VC. UKTN

University of Sheffield spinout AmpliSi raises £2m

AmpliSi, a University of Sheffield spinout developing silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries, has raised £2 million in a pre-seed round led by Northern Gritstone and Clean Growth Fund. Soapbox.VC

Cue the waterworks – is nationalisation next?

The water industry is in crisis and faces “issues of environmental neglect, underinvestment in critical infrastructure, the limits of privatisation and the role of shareholders in utility companies that operate an effective monopoly”, according to Brett Israel, Partner at Marriott Harrison. City AM

Finding your perfect entrepreneurial match

In a recent ‘Founder in Five Q&A’ interview, Daniel Callaghan, CEO and Co-founder of Veremark, discusses the importance of a strong co-founder and why he believes that blockchain is still one of the most misunderstood technologies. UKTN

A fact-finding mission

Generic large language models like ChatGPT or Claude Cowork can struggle with nuance, high-stakes investigations, or simply get things wrong. Gregory Mostyn, CEO and Co-founder of Wexler, shares how he and the team are building an architectural solution that is grounded in fact. Non-Billable

Patience is a virtue

Mike Smeed, Managing Director of InMotion Ventures, explains why innovation often requires experimentation, endurance, and trust. Corporate venture capital (CVC) firms understand that “patience is a principle that goes beyond capital”, enabling them to resist “hype” in favour of ‘fundamentals and long-term value’. Startups Magazine

Rage against the (legal) machine

At Legalweek in New York, the British-headquartered Series B legaltech, Definely, hosted a ‘Rage Cage‘, where attendees could alleviate contract rage and let off some steam to regain control – a physical manifestation of how Definely helps in the corporate world. LinkedIn

Can you tell the difference between human and AI-written content? Turnitin, a tool utilised by universities, certainly can. An academic opinion piece on ‘The homogenizing effect of large language models on human expression and thought‘ in the Cell Press journal’s Trends in Cognitive Sciences discusses some of the telltale signs. For instance, the “homogenisation” and “cognitive flattening” of language and writing – we’re all sounding the same and rather dull because of AI. People are picking up writing patterns, reasoning methods and even opinions from the large language models (LLMs) they use, which will soon filter to non-AI users too. Lisa Haycox, CEO of Explore Learning, argues that AI in classrooms must be evidence-led, with tools rigorously tested like any educational intervention before being widely adopted. She warns that poorly designed AI can create “false mastery,” where students seem to make progress while using the technology but fail to retain real understanding once it’s removed. If you fancy a game of spot the difference between human and machine-made content, try this quiz in The Times. Not to toot our own horn, but The Rundown team got 100%. Right. Not wrong.

Something else people are getting right, or wrong, are the bets they’re hedging on war, death and destruction. Crypto-powered prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi are providing a platform for people to hit the jackpot on what (if we’re to put it lightly) could be described as ‘morally questionable’ bets – such as air strikes and the likelihood of nuclear war. Someone who lost big – to the tune of $550,000 – is a former aide to the leader of the Reform Party, Nigel Farage MP. George Cottrell bet “no” on “US strikes Iran by February 28, 2026”, which certainly took place.