The Rundown: Edition 43 – Spotify, BioOrbit, and an invisible British unicorn
Welcome to The Rundown, a snapshot of news, views and intel from the fast-growth tech and investment scene.
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Big Tech forecasts AI spending boost
Big tech earnings reports saw capital expenditure forecasts surge – and some share prices fall – amid heavy AI spending commitments, with Meta’s stock dropping 6.5%. Elsewhere, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon reported strong cloud computing growth, with Google’s cloud computing revenue jumping 63%. FT
Tech Secretary unveils new AI hardware plan
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has announced there will be a new AI hardware plan, arguing that the technology is the “defining currency of the age”. The plan aims to secure the semiconductors and other necessary infrastructure to underpin the UK’s AI capabilities. UKTN
China blocks Meta’s $2bn purchase of AI start-up Manus
Amid ongoing competition for AI dominance between Washington and Beijing, China has intervened to prevent Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of the artificial intelligence app Manus. BBC
Spotify launches system to verify human artists
Spotify has unveiled a new artist verification system to distinguish artists from AI-generated content, following a surge in AI-generated synthetic tracks on the music streaming platform. Guardian
Ineffable Intelligence raises record $1.1bn Seed round
Ineffable Intelligence, an AI startup focused on superintelligence, has raised $1.1 billion in a Seed round led by Sequoia and Lightspeed, with participation from Nvidia, DST Global, Index, Google and the UK’s Sovereign AI Fund. The financing values Ineffable, which was founded by former DeepMind researcher David Silver, at $5.1 billion. CNBC
Seraphim Space to raise £350m
Seraphim Space has announced plans to raise £350 million through an issuance of new shares. The UK‑listed investment trust, which counts the Finnish satellite communications company ICEYE as its biggest holding, is aiming to capitalise on the booming space market. Times
Earlybird VC closes €360m fund
Berlin-based Earlybird VC, which has backed British companies including Tilt, Payable and Cerbos, has closed its eighth early-stage tech fund at €360 million. Investors in Fund VIII included large institutions and family offices. UKTN
BioOrbit secures £9.8m to manufacture drugs in space
BioOrbit, a pharmaceutical manufacturing startup that produces biological drugs in space using microgravity, has announced a £9.8 million Seed round co-led by LocalGlobe and Breega, with additional funding from Auxxo, Seedcamp, Type One and 7 percent. Soapbox.VC
Curb your enthusiasm for the EU
UK technology ministers fear Sir Keir Starmer’s EU reset could halt innovation by forcing alignment with stricter EU rules on everything from AI to lab-grown meat. Officials worry this could weaken UK tech competitiveness, limit flexibility with the US, and deter investment. FT
The new, improved Pension Schemes Bill
The watered-down bill removes heavy mandates and caps forced investment, which will ultimately ease industry concerns. According to Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, more pension money should flow into VC, but through alignment, expertise, and incentives, not Government compulsion. City AM
That’s the Asda price for legaltech
The supermarket has partnered with Definely and will utilise the London-based legaltech’s technology to “speed up complex contract reviews”. Definely’s AI tool can automate document review, identify inconsistencies, and ensure accuracy. The Grocer
Reviving UK manufacturing
Tim Mills, Managing Partner at ACF Investors, argues that manufacturing in the UK is undervalued, despite its critical role in fostering economic growth. Investment, skills and innovation are key to reviving the sector’s competitiveness. The Manufacturer
Aurora shines a light on female founders
Spun out of the Aurora Tech Award, the new Aurora Ventures will invest in female founders. Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, Head of Aurora Ventures, believes that increasing investment into female-led businesses has “never been a talent problem. It’s just an architectural problem.” Pathfounders
Have you ever seen a unicorn? Not on TV or a book, but in the real world? Of course you have, if you’re familiar with Granola, Luma AI, or more recently, Legora. While tech unicorns are rare (hence the name), 100 new ones popped up last year. Unsurprisingly, this may have something to do with AI. Worldwide, the average headcount at companies that reached unicorn status has fallen from 1,128 in 2023 – the first full year after ChatGPT emerged – to 544 in 2025 and just 323 in 2026, so far. Another unicorn (or is it?) with a small headcount is Roark Aerospace. Despite its CEO, Patton French, claiming that the British defencetech has reached unicorn status and employs nearly 50 people in the UK, no such evidence of this has been found. Ingrid Lunden at Resilience Media did some digging, and while the secrecy could be chalked up to security and privacy within the defence sector, very few – if any – of the claims made by Roark could be verified. No employees other than French are listed on LinkedIn, and even weirder, many of the contacts Resilience Media reached out to said they weren’t working with Roark and/or had never heard of it or French. So is it a unicorn or isn’t it? Forget the cat, we think we know what happened to Schrödinger’s unicorn.
Something else that may not be visible is water in the US. West America is suffering from a water crisis, exacerbated by two human-made phenomena: climate change and industrial overuse. The Colorado River is drying up thanks to poor snowfall and extreme heat, while Corpus Christi in Texas is set to reach a Level 1 drought emergency – 180 days of water demand outpacing supply – by September. Like always in times of crisis or dire constraints, people innovate. There are a number of startups focused on water innovation – here are 17 – but one we’d like to spotlight is WAVR Technologies. Founded in the Nevada desert, the company can turn air into water. It might sound quite fantastical, but WAVR generates water from the atmosphere using waste heat from AI data centres. Following a $5 million raise last year, the team plans to commercialise its technology, which can harvest up to 10,000 gallons daily from the atmosphere, even at humidity as low as 10%. Now, that is something we’d like to see.