Barclays and British Business Bank Anchor £130M First Close for ‘Women Backing Women’ Fund
In a major push to address gender disparities in venture capital, Barclays and the British Business Bank have anchored a £130 million first close for the “Women Backing Women” fund. The initiative is designed to increase investment in female entrepreneurs by reshaping how capital is distributed across the startup ecosystem.
Structured as a fund of funds, the initiative will invest in venture capital firms led by women or those actively supporting female founders. These firms will then channel funding into early-stage startups, creating a ripple effect aimed at boosting women-led businesses across industries.
The first close represents a strong commitment from both public and private sector investors, with the fund targeting a total size of £250 million. It forms part of a wider effort to tackle the persistent imbalance in venture funding, where female founders continue to receive a disproportionately small share of investment.
By focusing on backing diverse fund managers, the initiative seeks to address bias at its root. Studies have shown that more inclusive investment teams are more likely to support a broader range of entrepreneurs, making this approach a strategic intervention rather than a symbolic one.
For Barclays, the move aligns with its broader focus on inclusive growth and supporting underrepresented founders. Meanwhile, the British Business Bank reinforces its role in deploying capital to correct market gaps.
As the fund moves toward full deployment, its success will be measured by its ability to expand access to funding and drive meaningful change in the venture capital landscape.
WHOOP Lands $575M at $10.1 Billion Valuation to Scale Healthspan Platform
WHOOP has raised $575 million in a new funding round led by Collaborative Fund, pushing its valuation to $10.1 billion. The investment marks a major step in the company’s evolution from a fitness wearable brand into a broader health technology platform focused on improving long-term well-being.
Founded in 2012, WHOOP is known for its screenless wearable device that tracks key physiological metrics such as sleep, recovery, and strain. Combined with a subscription-based app, the platform provides users with personalized insights designed to optimize performance and health. Its products have gained widespread adoption among professional athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and increasingly, everyday users seeking data-driven wellness solutions.
The latest funding will support WHOOP’s expansion into what it calls a “healthspan” platform—aimed at extending the number of years individuals remain healthy and active. The company plans to invest in advanced research, artificial intelligence capabilities, and new health monitoring features that move beyond fitness into preventive healthcare.
This shift reflects a broader trend in the digital health industry, where companies are leveraging continuous biometric data to offer proactive and personalized medical insights. WHOOP has already begun integrating more advanced health features and is expected to deepen its focus on medical-grade analytics.
The round also highlights continued investor confidence in the wearable health sector, despite a competitive landscape that includes major technology players and emerging startups. WHOOP’s subscription-driven model and strong brand identity have helped it stand out in an increasingly crowded market.
As it scales globally, WHOOP aims to position itself not just as a device maker, but as a comprehensive health platform—one that empowers users to better understand and improve their long-term health outcomes.
Allbirds to Sell Assets for $39M in Sharp Fall from $4B IPO Valuation
Allbirds has agreed to sell its assets to American Exchange Group for $39 million, marking a dramatic decline from its $4 billion valuation at the time of its 2021 IPO.
The deal includes key intellectual property and select operational assets, signaling the end of Allbirds as an independent company. Once completed, the transaction is expected to lead to a wind-down of existing operations, with any remaining value distributed to stakeholders.
Founded in 2016, Allbirds quickly gained popularity for its eco-friendly footwear made from natural materials like merino wool and sugarcane. Its minimalist design and sustainability-driven branding attracted a loyal customer base and high-profile investors, positioning it as a leader in ethical fashion.
However, the company struggled to sustain its early momentum after going public. Expansion into new product categories, including apparel, and a growing retail footprint increased costs without delivering consistent returns. At the same time, intensifying competition and shifting consumer spending patterns weighed heavily on performance.
Over the past few years, Allbirds faced declining sales, mounting losses, and a sharp drop in its stock price, eroding investor confidence. The company’s challenges reflected broader difficulties faced by direct-to-consumer brands navigating post-pandemic market conditions.
For American Exchange Group, the acquisition presents an opportunity to revive the Allbirds brand by leveraging its sustainability credentials and integrating it into a larger portfolio of lifestyle products.
The deal underscores the volatility of startup success stories in public markets. Allbirds’ rise and fall highlights how quickly valuations can shift when growth expectations are not met, offering a cautionary tale for emerging consumer brands aiming to scale sustainably.
Fractile in Talks to Raise $200M at $1B Valuation as UK Eyes NVIDIA Alternative
UK-based AI chip startup Fractile is reportedly in talks to raise over $200 million in a funding round that could value the company at around $1 billion. The round is expected to be led by Accel, signaling strong investor interest in emerging alternatives to dominant chipmakers like NVIDIA.
Founded in London, Fractile is focused on developing advanced chips tailored for AI inference—the stage where trained models are deployed in real-world applications. This distinguishes it from many competitors that primarily target AI model training. By optimizing for inference, the company aims to deliver faster, more efficient, and cost-effective performance for businesses deploying AI at scale.
At the core of Fractile’s innovation is its approach to integrating memory and computation more closely, reducing latency and energy consumption. This addresses one of the key bottlenecks in modern AI systems, where data transfer between memory and processors can slow performance.
The funding talks come amid a global surge in demand for AI infrastructure, as companies across industries invest heavily in machine learning capabilities. While NVIDIA continues to dominate the market, rising costs and supply constraints have created opportunities for new entrants offering specialized solutions.
A successful funding round would mark a major milestone for the UK’s deep-tech ecosystem, positioning Fractile as a potential homegrown challenger in the semiconductor space. It also reflects broader efforts in Europe to reduce reliance on overseas chipmakers and strengthen domestic innovation.
As Fractile moves toward scaling its technology, its ability to compete will depend on translating technical breakthroughs into commercially viable products in an increasingly competitive global market.
SMEY Unveils AI ‘Periodic Table of Oils’ to Rival Palm and Cocoa
Biotech startup SMEY has introduced an AI-powered platform described as a “periodic table of oils,” aiming to disrupt traditional commodities like palm oil and cocoa butter. The innovation positions the company at the forefront of a growing shift toward sustainable, lab-based alternatives to agricultural products.
The platform uses artificial intelligence to map and predict lipid compositions, enabling the creation of tailored oils through fermentation rather than farming. By leveraging a vast library of natural yeast strains, SMEY can identify organisms capable of producing specific fats with desired characteristics, from texture to nutritional value.
This approach addresses long-standing challenges in the global oils market, which relies heavily on a few crops such as palm and cocoa. These supply chains are often linked to environmental concerns, including deforestation and climate vulnerability. SMEY’s technology offers a way to produce similar or improved oils without the need for large-scale land use.
Unlike conventional production, which can take years to develop and scale, SMEY’s AI-driven system significantly accelerates the process. Companies can potentially design and test new oil formulations in weeks, opening opportunities across industries such as food, cosmetics, and specialty chemicals.
The startup has already begun developing application-specific oils, highlighting the versatility of its platform. By combining biotechnology with machine learning, SMEY aims to create a more resilient and customizable supply of essential materials.
As demand grows for sustainable alternatives, SMEY is positioning itself as a key player in redefining how oils are produced—shifting the industry from agriculture-dependent systems to precision fermentation and molecular design.
