Mid-Week Tech News Roundup – November 24th to November 28th 2025
26 Nov, 20256 minutesIsomorphic Labs names Max Jaderberg as incoming PresidentIsomorphic Labs has announced that ...
Isomorphic Labs names Max Jaderberg as incoming President
Isomorphic Labs has announced that Max Jaderberg will become President of the company from January 2026. Jaderberg, currently Chief AI Officer and a founding member of the organisation, will take over the role as Colin Murdoch steps down following a successful period guiding the company through its breakout phase.
Founded by Demis Hassabis, Isomorphic Labs is Alphabet’s AI-first drug discovery company, a commercial venture spun out of DeepMind, created to redesign the entire drug discovery process using cutting-edge computational biology. The team aims to model complex biological systems with high accuracy, accelerating how new medicines are discovered and developed.
Jaderberg has been central to building Isomorphic Labs’ AI-led approach to drug design, leading the development of its drug design engine. The platform enables scientists to explore new chemical space, investigate difficult biological targets and design drug candidates with greater speed and accuracy.
Reflecting on the journey so far, Jaderberg said he was proud of seeing ideas that once felt like science fiction become part of everyday workflows. The company’s AI-driven methods now routinely produce novel molecular designs that impress chemists and support progress on some of the toughest challenges in pharmaceutical research.
As incoming President, Jaderberg will focus on scaling the company’s internal and partnership drug programmes, advancing new generations of its AI drug design engine and supporting the fundamental science and engineering needed to push the technology forward. He emphasised a holistic approach that brings together domain experts, high-quality data, compute resources and strong partnerships.
Isomorphic Labs continues to work closely with major collaborators including Novartis, Lilly, the UK Biobank and the OpenBind Consortium. Jaderberg noted that partnerships bring scientific rigour, ambitious problems and shared learning, helping drive progress across the field.
Looking ahead, Jaderberg said the company remains committed to its long-term mission to help solve disease through advanced AI-driven drug design, a goal that will require continued innovation, collaboration and the ability to scale breakthroughs to create real-world impact.
Plinth acquires Matter of Focus’ OutNav software
Plinth, the AI platform used by more than 1,500 organisations to help funders and fundraisers understand and evidence social impact, has announced the acquisition of Matter of Focus’s OutNav software.
Matter of Focus, founded by Ailsa Cook and Sarah Morton, is widely respected for its approach to evaluating outcomes and capturing complex social change. Their thinking has shaped much of the sector’s understanding of how organisations measure and communicate impact — and Plinth acknowledged that these methods have influenced its own approach over the years.
By bringing OutNav into the business, Plinth aims to continue and expand on this work, helping shift how the wider sector evaluates impact, understands complexity and illustrates meaningful change. Both teams share a commitment to supporting organisations in navigating the challenges of evidencing outcomes in a clear, structured and accessible way.
Plinth said the acquisition reflects its belief in partnering with like-minded organisations to advance shared goals. The intention is to build on the thoughtful foundations created by Cook and Morton, ensuring their work continues with purpose while strengthening the tools available to the social impact ecosystem.
Concirrus and Diesta partner to streamline quote-to-cash in specialty insurance
Concirrus, the AI-first insurance technology provider founded by Andrew Yeoman and Vinod Singh, has partnered with Diesta, the dedicated payment operations platform for intermediated insurance, to create an integrated quote-to-cash workflow for specialty insurers and MGAs.
The collaboration connects Concirrus’ end-to-end risk processing platform — spanning data ingestion, underwriting, and policy administration — directly with Diesta’s automated premium processing and financial transparency tools. The integration is designed to reduce manual steps, accelerate premium remittance, and provide insurers with real-time visibility across both risk and finance operations.
For insurers and MGAs, the partnership bridges the gap between underwriting and financial settlement. By embedding policy and financial data into Diesta’s platform, insurers can automate reconciliation, align reporting instantly with risk performance, and gain stronger control over portfolios.
Julian Schoemig, CEO of Diesta, said: “A transaction is only truly complete when cash is in the bank. This partnership removes friction from the quote-to-cash process, enabling clients to operate more efficiently and confidently.”
Ruth Polyblank, Executive Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Concirrus, added: “Our platform digitises the entire insurance lifecycle, and this integration closes the final gap between an accurate invoice and actual cash movement. Customers can now turn superior underwriting and risk assessment into accurate, timely financial operations — driving growth and operational excellence.”
The partnership builds on Concirrus’ AI-first platform, which supports insurers, MGAs, and brokers across specialty, delegated authority, binder, and reinsurance markets. Diesta complements this with its payment operations system, connecting bank accounts, policy systems, and third-party data sources to provide automated reconciliation, clear reporting, and real-time cash visibility.
The integrated solution is now available, setting a new benchmark for efficiency and control in the specialty insurance market.
Counter appoints Tom Legg as new Tech Lead
Counter, the specialist tech consultancy arm of Northcoders, has appointed Tom Legg as its new Tech Lead. Legg brings experience across web apps, machine learning, and leading high-performing engineering teams.
Previously at Aiimi and Sykes Holiday Cottages, Legg has played key roles in building innovative digital solutions. He studied at Liverpool John Moores University and completed a leadership development course at Harvard Business School.
In his new role, Legg will set the technical direction for Counter’s client-facing engineering teams, ensuring code quality, consistency, and strong collaboration between technical, product, and UX stakeholders.
“I was drawn to Counter’s approach of embedding with clients to solve complex technical problems,” Legg said. “My goal is to build collaborative teams with the tools, clarity, and confidence to deliver excellent work.”
Counter MD Amul Batra added: “Tom’s technical expertise and focus on engineering culture will strengthen our delivery capabilities and mentor the next generation of tech talent.”
Bellrock acquires MW Lift Services to strengthen in-house engineering
Bellrock has acquired MW Lift Services, a trusted lift engineering specialist, to expand consulting expertise, enhance regional reach, and deliver a broader range of intelligent property services across the UK.
MW Lift Services provides installation, refurbishment, maintenance, and 24/7 call-out support, working with both commercial and public sector clients. The company has built a strong reputation for reliability, safety, and quality, making it a natural fit for Bellrock’s growing Critical Engineering business unit.
Critical Engineering, led by Managing Director Collette Fellows, delivers technical services that keep buildings safe, compliant, and efficient, including fire safety systems, HVAC, and mechanical maintenance. Integrating MW Lift Services strengthens Bellrock’s self-delivery model, adding a dedicated in-house lift capability and enabling the group to offer more integrated, end-to-end solutions for clients.
Mick Winter, Managing Director of MW Lift Services, said: “Joining Bellrock gives us the platform to grow faster and deliver even more value to our customers. We’ve always been proud of the relationships we’ve built and the quality of our engineering, and now we have the scale, systems, and support to take that to the next level.”
Bellrock CEO Carlo Alloni added: “Welcoming MW Lift Services is an important step in strengthening our self-delivery model within Critical Engineering. Their proven lift expertise adds a vital piece to our end-to-end building services offer, helping us deliver greater quality, consistency, and value for every client.”
The acquisition builds on Bellrock’s strategy to combine technical expertise with intelligent data insights and a national delivery network, supporting more consistent, efficient, and high-quality service across the property sector.
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