Ascension vs Atomico

Ascension to acquire QVentures, bringing together two leading UK early-stage investment funds

QVentures has agreed to be acquired by Ascension, combining QVentures' First Cheque strategy and portfolio with Ascension's 150+ company portfolio and 10-year track record.

UK Launches Refugee Venture Fund with £300K Initial Capital

The Refugee Venture Fund (RVF) launched in the UK with an initial £300,000, aiming to invest in high-growth businesses founded by refugees. The fund plans to increase capital to £500,000 and deploy £50,000–£100,000 into three to five companies, establishing a track record for a planned £10 million fund. Research by TERN and Square shows refugee entrepreneurs contribute £520 million to the UK economy, with potential for £5.1 billion more. TERN established the fund with support from Atomico, and founding investors include Dominus, This Day Foundation, and Future Leaders. The fund targets software, AI, and climate tech startups with majority-refugee ownership, offering coaching and access to a network of 700+ refugee founders. Applications open October 14, 2026.

• The Refugee Venture Fund (RVF) launched with £300,000 initial capital, planning to increase to £500,000.
• RVF will invest £50,000–£100,000 in three to five refugee-founded companies.
• Research by TERN and Square estimates refugee entrepreneurs contribute £520 million to the UK economy.

Abacum launches Modeler for agentic financial modeling

Abacum, an AI-native financial planning and analysis platform, has launched Modeler, an AI agent that enables finance teams to create business models using natural language or existing spreadsheets. Modeler transforms initial inputs into fully functional real-time models, building them in minutes instead of weeks. The agent selects structures from proven model plans, matches them with connected company data, and exposes the complete logic for review. It allows teams to describe a plan, upload an Excel file, approve variables, and trust the deterministic calculation engine. Modeler is available to all Abacum clients at no extra cost. The company has over 500 clients in 40+ countries and is backed by over $100 million in investments.

• Abacum launched Modeler, an AI agent for financial modeling.
• Modeler builds models in minutes from natural language or spreadsheets.
• Modeler is available to all Abacum clients at no extra cost.

Callosum Raises $100M Seed Round for Multi-Chip AI Infrastructure

UK AI startup Callosum has raised $100 million in a seed round led by European VC Atomico, with significant participation from Plural, DCVC, and the UK's Sovereign AI, alongside angel investors. The company, founded by Cambridge neuroscientists, builds software infrastructure that allows AI workloads to run across different chips and AI models. Callosum challenges the industry's prevailing 'monoculture' belief that superintelligence will come from a single AI model running on identical chips. The startup argues that real-world problems are heterogeneous and require diverse computing capabilities. It also announced a partnership with US chip company Cerebras to integrate ultra-low-latency inference into its platform. Callosum previously raised $10.25 million in February 2026 when it came out of stealth.

• Callosum raised $100 million in a seed round led by Atomico.
• Plural, DCVC, and Sovereign AI participated in the round, along with angel investors.
• Callosum previously raised $10.25 million in February 2026 when it exited stealth.