TechCapsules

Quantum Base has been awarded a £700,000 UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship Grant to fund a four‑year research programme, Q‑MAT, focused on developing quantum materials for its Q‑ID authentication technology. The grant, awarded to Dr William Thom, Head of Materials Science, will cover roughly 70 % of the cost of a dedicated research team and is non‑dilutive. The programme will explore glass, metals and polymers as substrates, potentially expanding Q‑ID’s market into aerospace, high‑tech manufacturing and polymer banknotes. Intellectual [...]

Revolut’s secondary share sale has lifted the British fintech’s valuation to $115 billion, a 53% increase from last year’s price. The deal, led by Glade Brook Capital Partners, Coatue, Durable Capital Partners, T. Rowe Price Associates, and Baillie Gifford, did not inject new capital but confirmed investor confidence. Founded in 2015, Revolut now serves over 80 million retail customers in 40+ countries and operates banking licences in the UK, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, France, Colombia, and Argentina. The company has [...]

In May 2026, four Russian military satellites performed a close‑approach maneuver on ICEYE‑X36, a private SAR satellite believed to support Ukraine’s war effort, prompting concerns about hostile actions in orbit. The incident, repeated in October 2026 at a distance of 500 m, has accelerated Western interest in satellite defense. U.K. startup Shield Space is developing swarms of up to 100 attritable cubesats—microwave‑sized, low‑cost spacecraft launched from a car‑sized carrier—that can autonomously intercept threats using lasers, microwaves or kinetic [...]

Fal, a San Francisco-based AI inference platform, secured $1.3 billion in a Series F round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with Nvidia, Sound Ventures, and T. Rowe Price participating. The funding doubles the company’s valuation to $16 billion, up from $8 billion in April, and brings total capital raised to $1.65 billion across Series E and F. Fal’s revenue surpassed $800 million annually, reflecting growing demand for inference services from open‑source model users. The deal underscores Fal’s rapid expansion amid a competitive, high‑margin‑challenged market. [...]

Orbital Matter’s Replicator 2 satellite, launched on a SpaceX rideshare, printed a half‑meter rigid plastic beam in orbit using four onboard UV‑cured resin printers. The printers extrude resin coils that solidify into cylindrical beams, demonstrating the first free‑flying spacecraft to fabricate structural components in vacuum. The successful boom also deployed a flexible solar array despite a printer anomaly, proving the concept for on‑orbit construction. The company, founded in 2022 and backed by a $3 million seed round, works with [...]

Design platform Canva announced a 22% workforce reduction, laying off 1,271 employees as growth slows for the first time in a decade. CEO Melanie Perkins told staff that despite scaling the service to hundreds of millions of users, the company must restructure to sustain future success. The cuts accompany a reorganization that merges product, growth and platform groups, reduces subspecialisation, and shifts to a hybrid‑office model. Canva is also deploying its own AI models to lower reliance [...]

EloElo, the Indian startup behind the Story TV micro‑drama app, closed a $80 million Series C round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, bringing total funding to $130 million and valuing the company at $500 million. Story TV, founded in 2020 by former Flipkart executive Saurabh Pandey, now serves over 33 million active users and hosts more than 5,000 titles in six languages, with users averaging 95 minutes per day. The investment targets expansion in India’s fast‑growing micro‑drama market, which attracts 118 million monthly viewers and [...]

Tello Mobile offers a limited‑time promotion of 10 GB data with unlimited talk and text for $10 per month, down from the usual $15. The carrier operates on America’s largest 5G network, allowing customers to keep their unlocked phones and existing numbers via online eSIM activation. Plans start at $5 monthly, with no contracts or hidden fees, and include free international calls to 60+ countries. Tello’s Trustpilot rating is 4.5 from over 15,000 reviews, underscoring its customer satisfaction.