Mid-Week Tech News Roundup – October 20th to October 24th 2025
22 Oct, 20259 minutesLondon’s Saturn raises €12.9m Series A to make financial advice more accessibleLondon-based ...
London’s Saturn raises €12.9m Series A to make financial advice more accessible
London-based AI FinTech startup Saturn has raised €12.9 million in Series A funding to expand its compliance-focused platform that aims to reduce the cost of financial advice by up to 90%.
The round was led by Singular, with participation from Shapers, Y Combinator, and Zeno Ventures. Founded in 2023 by Amal Jolly, Michael Ettlinger, and Rohit Vaish, Saturn’s mission is to make human-led financial advice accessible to one billion people by automating the most time-consuming parts of the process — from compliance to client onboarding.
CEO Amal Jolly said the company’s vision is centred on empowering financial advisers, not replacing them: “Behind every financial plan is a human story. Advisers and their teams quietly change lives... Our job is to empower the humans in the financial advice process. By doing the heavy admin lifting and making compliance much more reliable and less painful, we can help financial advice professionals offer their life-changing services to more people at a significantly lower cost.”
Saturn’s platform is already used by over 600 advisory and wealth management firms, including Progeny, Hoxton Wealth, Perspective Financial Group, and Insight Financial Associates.
The funding comes amid growing investor interest in AI-enabled wealth management, following notable rounds for Finary (France), Flanks (Spain), Zango AI (UK), and Resistant AI (Czechia).
Singular’s co-founder and GP Jeremy Uzan commented on the firm’s potential: “We have rarely seen such an ambitious, high-velocity founding team that combines deep technical expertise with real industry insight... We are excited to partner with the team to build a category-defining company that transforms wealth management.”
Saturn claims its AI can cut paraplanner workloads from four hours to 20 minutes by automating documentation, suitability reports, and regulatory workflows — built to align with FCA and Consumer Duty standards from the outset.
With this latest investment, the company plans to scale its AI, engineering, and research teams while deepening partnerships across the industry as it continues to tackle what it calls one of society’s biggest challenges: the advice gap, where fewer than one in ten UK adults received financial advice last year.
Cyclana Bio raises £5m to advance endometriosis drug discovery
Women’s health startup Cyclana Bio has raised £5 million in pre-seed funding to accelerate development of its AI-enabled platform for tissue-level drug discovery, starting with treatments for endometriosis — a chronic condition affecting one in ten women globally.
The round was co-led by NfX and Eka VC, with additional backing from Cocoa VC, Wilbe, and several angel investors. Founded by Léa Wenger (CEO) and Kevin Chalut (CSO), Cyclana Bio is pioneering a new approach to women’s health research by developing physiologically relevant tissue models and using AI-driven data integration to uncover novel, druggable targets.
Wenger said the company’s mission goes beyond tackling a single disease: “Our mission at Cyclana is not just to close the gender health gap, but propel women to the forefront of drug discovery. We are redefining how therapies are developed, starting with the basic science by zooming out and studying disease at the level where it truly emerges: the tissue itself.”
Cyclana Bio’s early research has identified the extracellular matrix (ECM) as a key driver of endometriosis, where its dysregulation leads to inflammation and tissue dysfunction. Most existing treatments focus on intracellular mechanisms, often with limited success. By shifting focus to cell–ECM interactions, Cyclana hopes to deliver more effective and targeted therapies.
The company is building whole-tissue disease models using menstrual fluid and lab-based systems, with the aim of identifying early biomarkers and new therapeutic targets.
CSO and co-founder Kevin Chalut added: “Our goal is not just to develop new treatments, but to change the framework of biomedical discovery itself. By starting with women’s health, we’re addressing one of the greatest unmet needs in medicine. In doing so, we will not only cure a debilitating disease many women suffer from, we will also set the stage for a broader transformation in how we understand and treat chronic disease.”
Cyclana Bio’s £5m raise marks a growing wave of investment into women’s health innovation and AI-driven biomedical research, as investors increasingly back startups working to close the gender data gap in drug development.
RiskSmart appoints new CTO to drive product innovation
Risk management platform RiskSmart has appointed Tom Keble as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), marking a key step in the company’s mission to modernise governance, risk, and compliance (GRC).
Keble, formerly CTO at Risk Ledger, brings deep experience in scaling technology and leading product-led transformation across sectors. His career includes roles at BAE Systems, Infinity Works, and X-Lab, where he helped design the UK’s central COVID-19 testing infrastructure — a project that processed millions of results during the pandemic.
Founded by Ryan Swann, RiskSmart officially launched in October 2025 to provide a simpler, more scalable alternative to traditional risk management tools. The platform, described internally as “Xero for Finance, HubSpot for Marketing, and RiskSmart for GRC,” was designed by risk managers frustrated by complex, outdated systems that made compliance costly and time-consuming.
Commenting on the appointment, Ryan Swann, CEO and founder of RiskSmart, said:
“Tom’s track record of delivering technology that genuinely changes how industries operate speaks for itself. His experience in building scalable, secure systems will be instrumental as we continue to make risk management simpler, smarter, and more accessible for businesses everywhere.”
Keble’s arrival underscores RiskSmart’s focus on accelerating product innovation and expanding its footprint across the UK and European markets.
Stallard Kane and oneHR partner to enhance digital health & safety offering
HR and Health & Safety consultancy Stallard Kane has announced a new partnership with software provider oneHR, uniting consultancy expertise with digital innovation to strengthen workplace safety and compliance solutions.
Over the past year, the two businesses have collaborated to develop oneSAFE, an online platform designed to help organisations implement and maintain robust health and safety systems while receiving tailored consultancy support.
The partnership aims to bridge the gap between traditional advisory services and technology-led compliance, offering clients a more personalised, end-to-end experience.
“The market is saturated with large organisations that provide a call centre-style service, where software is offered with little real interaction,” said Victoria Brown, Managing Director of oneHR. “Employers want to be more than just a number. This partnership allows us to deliver a bespoke, personable approach that truly meets client needs.”
Katie Guiller, Development Director at Stallard Kane, added: “By blending the best of consultancy with the best of technology, we’re able to deliver exceptional value to our clients. This is not just about compliance, it is about empowering businesses to create safer, stronger workplaces, supported by expertise and tools that make a real difference.”
Together, Stallard Kane and oneHR say the collaboration represents a new standard for HR and Health & Safety services in the UK — combining trusted consultancy insight with powerful, user-friendly software to help employers build safer, smarter workplaces.
Cera CEO Dr. Ben Maruthappu named among global Meaningful Business 100 leaders
Dr. Ben Maruthappu, Founder and CEO of Cera, has been recognised in this year’s Meaningful Business 100 (MB100), a global community celebrating leaders who combine profit and purpose to drive positive change.
Cera, a digital-first home healthcare company, leverages technology to deliver care directly to patients’ homes, transforming the healthcare landscape with higher quality services at a fraction of the cost. Its carers and nurses now provide 60,000 patient appointments a day across the UK and Germany, serving a population of 30 million people for governments, insurers, and the NHS — equivalent to the capacity of nearly 100 hospitals.
The company has experienced 150-fold growth over the past four years, generating over $300 million in annualised revenues, and has built one of the largest home healthcare datasets globally. This data powers AI-driven tools that have reduced hospitalisations by up to 70%, improving outcomes while keeping healthcare delivery efficient.
Cera’s pioneering approach has earned it numerous awards, including Home Care Awards’ Most Outstanding Home Care Provider, a top-ten Deloitte Fast 50 ranking for three consecutive years, and the Great British Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2023. Its Advisory Board is chaired by Sir David Behan, former CEO of the Care Quality Commission.
Dr. Maruthappu said the MB100 recognition reflects Cera’s mission to empower carers and nurses, improve patient outcomes, and deliver sustainable healthcare solutions, combining social impact with business growth.
UK tech startups hit record high as new incorporations surge
The number of new technology companies founded in the UK reached a record high for the second consecutive quarter, according to analysis from RSM UK.
A total of 15,470 new tech businesses were incorporated in Q3 2025, marking a 36% increase compared with the same period last year and an 8% rise from the previous quarter, which had already set a record. Growth was widespread, with every UK region seeing an uptick in tech incorporations. London, the East of England, the North West, the South West, Wales, and the West Midlands all recorded their highest quarterly numbers since 2019.
Ben Bilsland, RSM UK’s head of technology industry, highlighted the potential for continued growth in Q4, citing positive government messaging and the US-UK Tech Prosperity Deal announced during the US President’s recent visit. “The deal points to significant investment in AI, civil nuclear energy, quantum technologies, and other frontier innovations,” he said, noting that leading US tech companies had pledged multi-billion-pound investments into the UK.
Bilsland also stressed the need for supportive conditions to ensure these new startups can thrive. “Funding, access to talent, and a regulatory environment that balances innovation with protection are crucial,” he said. “As we approach the Autumn Budget, all eyes will be on the Chancellor to unveil growth-friendly tax incentives and safeguard the R&D tax scheme, which is vital for supporting innovation.”
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