The Rundown: Edition 46 – Antler’s UK fund, tech culture wars, and Elon Musk
Welcome to The Rundown, a snapshot of news, views and intel from the fast-growth tech and investment scene.
How would you feel if someone, namely your employer, referred to you as “lower-value human capital”? Well, that’s exactly what Standard Chartered did, as the bank plans to replace 15% of its workforce with AI. That will certainly do wonders for its Glassdoor reviews…
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Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans biggest IPO in history
SpaceX filed its highly anticipated prospectus, with the AI and satellite company preparing to list on the NASDAQ. While the size of the offering remains unconfirmed, it is expected to raise about $75 billion at a $1.75 trillion valuation. FT
Ministry of Defence backs British businesses
The MoD has announced a new scheme to boost the number of contracts awarded to innovative British companies. This scheme is designed to boost rapid procurement and deliver cutting-edge technology for the UK Armed Forces. UKTN
Nvidia announces $80bn share buyback
The US-based chip manufacturer has beaten sales projections, reporting revenue of $81.6 billion, up 85% on the previous year. The figures come as the world’s most valuable chipmaker also announced an $80 billion share buyback programme. Times
EU-Anthropic talks stall over Mythos testing request
Spain’s Economy Minister announced that little progress has been made in talks with Anthropic over access to its powerful AI model, Mythos. European officials want to use Mythos to test banks and companies for hidden cyber vulnerabilities before criminals exploit them. Bloomberg
Primer raises $100m Series C
Primer, a London-based payments infrastructure company, has raised a $100 million Series C funding round led by Sofina, with further investment from Peak XV Partners, Balderton, Accel, ICONIQ, Tencent, and Speedinvest. Tech Funding News
CircuitHub raises £21m with Plural backing
CircuitHub, which builds automated electronics manufacturing systems that let hardware engineers upload designs, has raised £21 million from Plural, the fund started by Wise Co-Founder Taavet Hinrikus. It will use the cash for expansion in the US and Europe. Soapbox.VC
British Business Bank anchors Antler’s UK fund
The British Business Bank (BBB) has committed £25 million to Antler’s UK Fund II, the European VC firm’s biggest single-location fund. The BBB joins UK LPs, including Lloyds Banking Group, in backing the new fund, which invests up to £500,000 into startups. UKTN
ICEYE secures €300m in new funding
Finnish space tech giant ICEYE has secured a €300 million credit facility from a seven-bank syndicate including Nordic, regional, and global relationship banking partners. The funds will improve liquidity and support growth. Tech.EU
Gov-backed investment scheme has its ups and downs
The Government’s two main tax-efficient schemes for backing startups had mixed years, with EIS flat and the smaller SEIS up 14%. Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, Director-General of the EIS Association (EISA), and Tim Mills, Managing Partner at ACF Investors, explained the numbers. Times
A Nobel prize for AI
An AI system will collaborate with humans on a discovery worthy of a Nobel Prize within the next year, according to Jack Clark, Co-Founder of Anthropic. Meanwhile, within two years, bipedal robots are expected to assist tradespeople in their work. The Guardian
London’s calling a decade later
In this week’s ‘Square Mile and Me’, Russell Brown, CEO at SCC UK, discusses how he’s rediscovering London after 10 years living abroad, when he knew he wanted to build a career in tech, and why “stay in your lane” was the worst business advice he’s ever been given. City AM
Musk’s reward for a million people on Mars
SpaceX plans to reward Elon Musk with a massive pay package tied to building a Mars colony of one million people. The payout depends on SpaceX hitting a reported $7.5 trillion valuation and achieving major Mars milestones. The proposal highlights Musk’s push to make humanity multi-planetary, but critics say the timeline is highly unrealistic. Bloomberg
How to create a leading tech supercluster
A West Midlands report by Project MADE has outlined a new strategy to transform the region into a global centre for advanced manufacturing. Following extensive collaboration across the public and private sectors, Project MADE sets out a clear action plan to add £44 billion in economic value and create 50,000 new jobs over the next decade. The Manufacturer
We’ve spoken a lot about cybersecurity – and for good reason. Fraud and cyberattacks are on the rise, largely due to AI, and companies and individuals alike are under fire. A hacking group called TeamPCP is carrying out massive software supply chain attacks by poisoning trusted open-source tools and developer plugins. Its latest victim was GitHub, and experts have warned that the attacks are escalating rapidly, exposing major weaknesses in how developers trust and update open-source software. Another hacking victim (by different perpetrators) was M&S. Its cybersecurity breach cut profits by a third, prompting the retailer to scrap staff bonuses. Such repercussions are felt by the UK as a whole – cyberattacks cost the nation’s businesses £3.7 billion in litigation last year alone.
Something else under attack is European working culture. A viral post mocking Spain’s slow Sundays reignited the US-and-Dubai-vs-Europe culture war over hustling and productivity. Critics argue Europe’s relaxed pace, closed co-working spaces, and offline cafés are features, not failures. The debate exposed a growing backlash against nonstop “grind culture” and Silicon Valley’s obsession with constant work. Let’s circle back to all this after the sunny bank holiday.