United Kingdom

Veriff Research Reveals Americans Struggle to Detect Deepfakes, Exposing Identity Verification Vulnerabilities

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Veriff conducted a survey with Kantar among 3,000 respondents in the US, UK, and Brazil revealing that Americans score only 0.07 on a deepfake detection scale (where 0 represents random guessing). The research shows only 63% of US adults are familiar with deepfakes compared to 74% in the UK and 67% in Brazil. Approximately 7% of users are overconfident in their ability to detect deepfakes while remaining inaccurate, creating a significant fraud vulnerability. The research emphasizes the need for automated, AI-powered identity verification systems rather than relying on human visual inspection alone.

London Beauty Tech Startup Fresha Raises $80m from KKR to Achieve Unicorn Status

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London-based Fresha, a beauty and wellness software startup providing appointment booking, payments and business management solutions for salons, spas and wellness operators, raised $80m from KKR at a valuation exceeding $1bn, achieving unicorn status. The company is already profitable and plans to use the capital for international expansion and AI tool development.

Starling Bank Reports Profit Decline Amid Interest Rate Pressures, But SaaS Unit Engine Surges

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Starling Bank, a UK challenger bank with over 6 million customers, reported pre-tax profits fell 3% to £217m and revenues fell to £887m for the year ending March 2026, primarily due to lower interest income from reduced interest rates. However, the bank’s SaaS subsidiary Engine doubled its client base to 4 and grew revenue 25% to £10.9m, signing a 10-year agreement with Tangerine (Scotiabank subsidiary) marking its first North American client.

London-based AI performance marketing platform Searchable secures €11.9 million Series A funding

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Searchable, a London-based AI performance marketing platform, raised €11.9 million in Series A funding led by Headline at a €72.1 million valuation. The platform helps brands understand, track and improve their visibility across AI-led search engines. Since launching in January 2025, the company reached €2.2 million in annual recurring revenue and works with major enterprise clients.

Airbnb Expands Beyond Accommodation with AI Travel Features and Multi-Service Platform

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Airbnb announced new functionalities including car rentals, grocery delivery through Instacart partnership, airport transfers via Welcome Pickups, baggage storage through Bounce, boutique hotel integration in 20 cities (including Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, New York), FIFA 2026 World Cup experiences, and AI-powered features for trip planning and customer support in 11 languages.

London Payments Platform Primer Secures $100m Series C to Expand AI Capabilities and US Market Presence

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London-based payments infrastructure provider Primer raised $100m in Series C funding led by Sofina. The company, founded in 2020 by ex-PayPal employees, provides a platform allowing large e-commerce merchants to connect their entire payments stack and manage multiple payment service providers. Primer will use the funding to expand AI capabilities of its Primer Companion agent and accelerate US expansion, targeting US revenue to exceed one-third of total business by 2028.

CircuitHub Secures $28 Million Series B to Expand Automated Electronics Manufacturing Across US and Europe

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CircuitHub, a UK-based electronics manufacturing company with R&D roots in Cambridge and operations in London, raised $28 million led by Plural to expand its automated manufacturing facilities across the US and Europe. The company operates the Grid, an automated 5,000-square-foot factory that uses robotics, computer vision, and AI to produce circuit boards from design files in days rather than months. CircuitHub has delivered 2 million+ boards to 20,000 engineers and is positioned as the fastest-growing electronics manufacturer in the US.

Charlotte Tilbury Founder Threatens Contract Renegotiation as Puig Acquisition Talks Complicate

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Charlotte Tilbury’s founder is threatening to renegotiate her contract with Puig, which owns 78.5% of the British makeup brand. The founder holds the remaining 21.5% stake and is invoking a change of control clause ahead of potential acquisition by Estée Lauder. In 2024, Puig valued the entire brand at approximately 4 billion euros when it purchased an additional 5.4% stake for 215 million euros. The founder’s remaining stake could be worth around 850 million euros at current valuations, which may deter Estée Lauder from proceeding with the acquisition of Puig.

UK Healthtech Startup NEX Health Intelligence Raises €1 Million to Expand AI-Powered Infection Prevention Platform

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NEX Health Intelligence, a healthtech startup, has raised €1 million in pre-seed funding to develop an AI-powered infection intelligence platform designed to help hospitals detect, predict and prevent healthcare-associated infections. The platform has already supported infection safety across more than 40,000 patient admissions internationally and is currently working with NHS organisations in the UK and hospitals in Southeast Asia.