John Reynolds

London

Journalist-Covering fintech for https://t.co/Gu3Jd9sTAN part-time & general news. Always on hunt for stories. Contact me on [email protected] or DM me. DJ at weekends

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Articles

We have spent “millions” on AI training data, says Photoroom CEO, who wants to make the internet “more beautiful”

1 week ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

France and the US are the two countries which have shaped the career of Matthieu Rouif (known as “Matt”), the co-founder and CEO of Photoroom, one of the most talked-about startups in the European AI firmament in recent times. Born in France, the Y-Combinator and Stanford University alum spent time in the French Air Force (over 100 parachute jumps to his name) before a career which has seen him yo-yo across the Atlantic, by way of teaching jobs, founding startups, or working at US tech firms.
Synthesia scores Adobe investment as hits $100m ARR "milestone"

1 week ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

Hyped UK AI unicorn Synthesia has grabbed "strategic investment" from Adobe, as the eight-year-old startup says it has surpassed $100m in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Synthesia, founded in 2017, makes AI-powered corporate videos and has become something of a talismanic company in the UK's burgeoning AI scene. In January this year,it doubled its valuation to $2.1bn, following a $180m funding round.
Recharge moves into B2B digital rewards market with Giftcloud purchase

1 week ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

Amsterdam-based fintechRecharge has acquired UK digital gift company Giftcloudas it expands into the B2B digital rewards market. Recharge is a digital voucher and prepaid card fintech that employs around 150 staff. Its partners include Apple and Spotify. It recently secured a €45m debt acquisition facility to help fuel its international M&A activity.
Banked snaps up Nick Candy-backed VibePay

1 week ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

London payments fintech Banked has acquired a fintech rival backed by property mogul Nick Candy, as it looks to drive up the adoption of an alternative to traditional card payments. Banked, which is backed by Bank of America, has snapped up VibePay, the peer-to-peer payments and messaging fintech founded by Luke Massie, who grew up on a deprived council estate in Preston, England.
Health startups spur UK VC investment to top $4BN in Q1

1 week ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

UK health and life sciences startups raised $1.8bn in VC investment in Q1 2025, more than double the amount of the second-placed sector, as UK VC investment grew on the year, new data shows. HSBC Innovation Banking and Dealroom data shows that VC investment in health and life sciences was powered by two mega-rounds: Isomorphic Labs’ $600m raiseand Verdiva Bio’s $411m round.
Revolut slapped with €3.5M fine by Lithuania's central bank over money laundering prevention failings

2 weeks ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

Revolut has been hit with a €3.5m fine by Lithuania’s central bank, after it was found to have flouted money laundering prevention rules. The Bank of Lithuania carried out a scheduled inspection of Revolut, during which it identified “violations and shortcomings in the monitoring of business relationships and operations”, the bank said.
“Lot of work to be done” to achieve open banking success, says Volt CEO

2 weeks ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

The interim CEO of open banking fintech Volt says there is still a “lot of work” to be done for open banking to achieve success in the UK. Steffen Vollert, co-founder and interim CEO of Volt, was speaking on the Tech.eu podcast, where he talked about his new role, Volt’s offering and how open banking is developing across Europe. Volt, founded in 2019 and which now has around 150 staff, specialises in open banking. It was valued at around $350m in 2023.
US AI firm Anthropic beefs up European presence, creating 100-plus new roles

2 weeks ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

US AI firm Anthropic, which is behind ChatGPT rival chatbot Claude, is beefing up its presence across Europe, creating more than 100 new roles and appointing a former Stripe executive to head up its efforts across EMEA. Anthropic said it planned to expand its existing Dublin and London offices, creating jobs in sales, engineering, research and business operations.
French unicorn Pennylane scores €75M funding, as Capial G joins investor roster

2 weeks ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

Pennylane, the French accounting software unicorn, has raised €75m in a funding round co-led by Sequoia Capital, Alphabet’s Capital G, and Meritech Capital Partners, with DST Global also participating. Capital G, which is Alphabet’s venture unit, and Meritech are first-time investors in Pennylane. Pennylane hit unicorn status last year after raising $43 million. Pennylane's valuation has now doubled to around $2.2bn.
Running a startup with your wife is “draining”, says co-founder of Tom Blomfield-backed Gen H

2 weeks ago | tech.eu | John Reynolds

The co-founder of a fintech mortgage lender backed by Monzo’s Tom Blomfield says working with your co-founder wife is “draining”, reflecting on the five and a half years they ran the startup together. Gen H, previously known as Generation Home, was co-founded by husband and wife Will Rice and Sophia Guy-White, who are both in their thirties. The startup, founded in 2019, is backed by Blomfield as well as Peter Thiel’s investment firm Mithril Capital.