The week in London technology, read and picked by hand. No algorithm, nothing in here because someone paid for it.
Tuesday · · 5 minute read
CloudNC secures $20 million for automated CNC machining plans
CloudNC, a UK-based manufacturing software startup, announced a $20 million Series B extension round on September 8. This funding brings the company’s total amount raised to $128 million. CloudNC’s last major raise was four years ago.
The company offers AI-powered CAM Assist software, which automates parts of computer numerical control (CNC) machining. CAM Assist integrates
Reported by StrictlyVC, 2026-09-10
Chinese crypto investor identified as seller of £190m Regent’s Park home
The seller of The Holme in Regent’s Park, one of London’s most expensive homes, has been identified as Chinese crypto investor Leon Li. The property is set to be sold for £190m to a Dubai real estate developer.
Reported by The Londoner, 2026-09-14
Revolut secures conditional US banking licence approval
Fintech giant Revolut has received conditional approval for a US banking licence. This development is described as a consequential step. It is also seen as strengthening the company’s narrative ahead of its anticipated public debut.
Reported by City AM, 2026-09-09
Southwark to host capital’s largest factory since WWII
A start-up is opening a plant in Southwark. This facility will manufacture parts for the defence and energy industries. It is claimed to be London’s largest factory to open since the second world war.
Reported by The Londoner, 2026-09-14
Dust, an AI platform, takes former OpenAI office in London
AI platform Dust, founded by former OpenAI and Stripe engineers Stanislas Polo and Gabriel Hubert, has leased space at the Fora Building on 221 Pentonville Road in King’s Cross. The company aims to serve UK fintechs from its new London office.
Reported by City AM, 2026-09-11
US lawmakers to advance legislation on AI data center power strain
US lawmakers are expected to advance legislation focused on the strain that AI data centres are placing on power grids. This proposed bill is noted to have direct implications for British energy policy, highlighting the growing infrastructure demands of artificial intelligence.
Reported by City AM, 2026-09-13
U.S. Senate negotiators propose "duty of care" for AI labs
U.S. Senate negotiators are drafting a proposal for AI labs to have a "duty of care" liability, requiring them to design and test AI systems to prevent catastrophic harm. The proposal would grant the federal government power to block new AI model releases, with companies able to challenge the decision in federal court.
Reported by MTS, 2026-09-12
Researcher warns of AI superintelligence race
Jacob Coxon, a former pretraining researcher at OpenAI and Anthropic, resigned from Anthropic. He stated that both companies are "racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives." His tweet on September 9, 2026, received 162 million views.
Reported by Exponential View, 2026-09-09
London driverless taxi rollout delayed due to complex issues
On 3 September, Uber and British autonomous vehicle start-up Wayve celebrated the arrival of 12 autonomous Wayve vehicles on the Uber app. These vehicles operate with a driver in the front seat. The event took place in Lindley Hall, Westminster.
This launch follows a government pledge for robo-taxi services to arrive in London by spring this year. Delays were previously attributed by anonymous sources to TfL’s refusal to produce necessary guidelines. However, reporting suggests the reasons are more complex, involving internal disagreements at TfL, technological limitations, and a Green Party power struggle at City Hall. These factors could reshape the future of the city’s taxi and robo-taxi industries.
Reported by The Londoner, 2026-09-10
1000 optimists walk into a park. Then a ‘war on fun’ begins
On Friday, Royal Parks warned organisers of the "optimistic picnic" that their event in Hyde Park could not proceed without a licence. The gathering was billed by organisers as the "most optimistic gathering London has ever seen", with 1,072 listed attendees. Organisers had planned the event for Saturday.
The event was organised by London’s optimist movement, a burgeoning group orbiting the city
Reported by The Londoner, 2026-09-09
Report warns of significant London tree population decline
A recent report from the Greater London Authority concluded that over 72% of London’s current public realm tree population will struggle under future climatic conditions. This assessment follows a summer that saw withered saplings in parks such as The Closes in West Drayton.
Trees across London are experiencing increased stress from heatwaves and drought. Rosie Fyles, head of gardens at Chiswick House and Gardens, observed
Reported by The Londoner, 2026-09-09
OpenAI resolves Navier-Stokes problem
OpenAI resolved the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem, one of the Millennium Prize Problems. The company proved a fluid flow evolves into a finite-time singularity. This was achieved using 10,000 agents powered by an unreleased internal model, described as significantly more powerful than GPT-6 Astra. The process took 88 hours and cost millions of dollars.
Reported by MTS, 2026-09-08
Cognition releases Fusion for multi-model coding workflows
Cognition has released Fusion, a multi-model coding harness available in Devin Desktop and CLI. It pairs two models in one workflow. A frontier model handles project planning and review, while a sidekick model manages implementation and testing. This reduces costs by as much as 40% across frontier benchmarks.
Reported by MTS, 2026-09-12
One-person billion-dollar company will not be an AI firm
The first one-person, billion-dollar company is expected to be a "normal company" powered by AI, not an AI firm itself. Sam Altman stated this could be achieved by "one person + 10,000 GPUs." This strategy involves applying AI in novel areas, avoiding the already competitive AI market.
Reported by Product Market Fit, 2026-09-13
Re-evaluating common assumptions about VC fund math
An article by Ruben Dominguez, published on February 2, challenges conventional wisdom regarding venture capital fund mathematics. The piece re-examines established assumptions and widely held beliefs about how these funds are structured and perform financially.
Reported by The VC Corner, 2026-09-08
Editor’s note
Plenty of noise out there as usual but what stood out to me most was the 1 Billion company will not be an AI company, never has a truer word been said, the financials for the major players in the field make any Financial controller weep, the route to profit is still unknown.
Mean while businesses who work to position themselves to be able to make meaningful additions with AI have the potential to outperform their competition with the focus on ‘meaningful’
What that looks like on the ground isn’t AI led projects it’s the underpinnings required, very few existing companies are ready for AI, old data, poor working practices ill defined architecture cannot be solved with a sprinking of AI, like painting it’s the preparation that counts!
