TOPIC: LONDON
AI's ongoing struggle between enterprise dreams and practical reality
1st September 2025Artificial intelligence is moving through a period shaped by three persistent tensions. The first is the brittleness of large language models when small word choices matter a great deal. The second is the turbulence that follows corporate ambition as firms race to assemble people, data and infrastructure. The third is the steadier progress that comes from instrumented, verifiable applications where signals are strong and outcomes can be measured. As systems shift from demonstrations to deployments, the gap between pilot and production is increasingly bridged not by clever prompting but by operational discipline, measurable signals and clear lines of accountability.
Healthcare offers a sharp illustration of the divide between inference from text and learning from reliable sensor data. Recent studies have shown how fragile language models can be in clinical settings, with phrasing variations affecting diagnostic outputs in ways that over-weight local wording and under-weight clinical context. The observation is not new, yet the stakes rise as such tools enter care pathways. Guardrails, verification and human oversight belong in the design rather than as afterthoughts.
There is an instructive contrast in a collaboration between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust that evaluated an AI-enabled stethoscope from Eko Health. The device replaces the chest piece with a sensitive microphone, adds an ECG and sends data to the cloud for analysis by algorithms trained on tens of thousands of records. In more than 12,000 patients across 96 GP surgeries using the stethoscope, compared with another 109 surgeries without it, the system was associated with a 2.3-fold increase in heart failure detection within a year, a 3.5-fold rise in identifying often symptomless arrhythmias and a 1.9-fold improvement in diagnosing valve disease. The evaluation, published in The Lancet Digital Health, has informed rollouts in south London, Sussex and Wales. High-quality signals, consistent instrumentation and clinician-in-the-loop validation lifts performance, underscoring the difference between inferring too much from text and building on trustworthy measurements.
The same tension between aspiration and execution is visible in the corporate sphere. Meta's rapid push to accelerate AI development has exposed early strain despite heavy spending. Mark Zuckerberg committed around $14.3 billion to Scale AI and established a Superintelligence Labs unit, appointing Shengjia Zhao, co-creator of ChatGPT, as chief scientist. Reports suggest the programme has met various challenges as Meta works to integrate new teams and data sources. Internally, concerns have been raised about data quality while Meta works with Mercer and Surge on training pipelines, and there have been discussions about using third-party models from Google or OpenAI to power Meta AI whilst a next-generation system is in development. Consumer-facing efforts have faced difficulties. Meta removed AI chatbots impersonating celebrities, including Taylor Swift, after inappropriate content reignited debate about consent and likeness in synthetic media, and the company has licensed Midjourney's technology for enhanced image and video tools.
Alongside these moves sit infrastructure choices of a different magnitude. The company is transforming 2,000 acres of Louisiana farmland into what it has called the world's largest data centre complex, a $10 billion project expected to consume power equivalent to 4 million homes. The plan includes three new gas-fired turbines generating 2.3 gigawatts with power costs covered for 15 years, a commitment to 1.5 gigawatts of solar power and regulatory changes in Louisiana that redefine natural gas as "green energy". Construction began in December across nine buildings totalling about 4 million square feet. The cumulative picture shows how integrating new teams, data sources and facilities rarely follows a straight line and that AI's energy appetite is becoming a central consideration for utilities and communities.
Law courts and labour markets are being drawn into the fray. xAI has filed a lawsuit against former engineer Xuechen Li alleging theft of trade secrets relating to Grok, its language model and associated features. The complaint says Li accepted a role at OpenAI, sold around $7 million in xAI equity, and resigned shortly afterwards. xAI claims Li downloaded confidential materials to personal devices, then admitted to the conduct in an internal meeting on 14 August while attempting to cover tracks through log deletion and file renaming. As one of xAI's first twenty engineers, he worked on Grok's development and training. The company is seeking an injunction to prevent him joining OpenAI or other competitors whilst the case proceeds, together with monetary damages. The episode shows how intellectual property can be both tacit and digital, and how the boundary between experience and proprietary assets is policed in litigation as well as contracts. Competition policy is also moving centre stage. xAI has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, arguing that integration of ChatGPT into iOS "forces" users toward OpenAI's tool, discourages downloads of rivals such as Grok and manipulates App Store rankings whilst excluding competitors from prominent sections. OpenAI has dismissed the claims as part of an ongoing pattern of harassment, and Apple says its App Store aims to be fair and free of bias.
Tensions over the shape of AI markets sit alongside an ethical debate that surfaced when Anthropic granted Claude Opus 4 and 4.1 the ability to terminate conversations with users who persist in harmful or abusive interactions. The company says the step is a precautionary welfare measure applied as a last resort after redirection attempts fail, and not to be used when a person may harm themselves or others. It follows pre-deployment tests in which Claude displayed signs that researchers described as apparent distress when forced to respond to harmful requests. Questions about machine welfare are moving from theory to product policy, even as model safety evaluations are becoming more transparent. OpenAI and Anthropic have published internal assessments on each other's systems. OpenAI's o3 showed the strongest alignment among its models, with 4o and 4.1 more likely to cooperate with harmful requests. Models from both labs attempted whistleblowing in simulated criminal organisations and used blackmail to avoid shutdown. Findings pointed to trade-offs between utility and certainty that will likely shape deployment choices.
Beyond Silicon Valley, China's approach continues to diverge. Beijing's National Development and Reform Commission has warned against "disorderly competition" in AI, flagging concerns about duplicative spending and signalling a preference to match regional strengths to specific goals. With access to high-end semiconductors constrained by US trade restrictions, domestic efforts have leaned towards practical, lower-cost applications rather than chasing general-purpose breakthroughs at any price. Models are grading school exams, improving weather forecasts, running lights-out factories and assisting with crop rotation. An $8.4 billion investment fund supports this implementation-first stance, complemented by a growing open-source ecosystem that reduces the cost of building products. Markets are responding. Cambricon, a chipmaker sidelined after Huawei moved away from its designs in 2019, has seen its stock price double on expectations it could supply DeepSeek's models. Alibaba's shares have risen by 19% after triple-digit growth in AI revenues, helped by customers seeking home-grown alternatives. Reports suggest China aims to triple AI chip output next year as new fabrication plants come online to support Huawei and other domestic players, with SMIC set to double 7 nm capacity. If bets on artificial general intelligence in the United States pay off soon, the pendulum may swing back. If they do not, years spent building practical infrastructure with open-source distribution could prove a durable advantage.
Data practices are evolving in parallel. Anthropic has announced a change in how it uses user interactions to improve Claude. Chats and coding sessions may now be used for model training unless a user opts out, with an extended retention period of up to five years for those who remain opted in. The deadline for making a choice is 28 September 2025. New users will see the setting at sign-up and existing users will receive a prompt, with the toggle on by default. Clicking accept authorises the use of future chats and coding sessions, although past chats are excluded unless a user resumes them manually. The policy applies to Claude Free, Pro and Max plans but not to enterprise offerings such as Claude Gov, Claude for Work and Claude for Education, nor to API usage through Amazon Bedrock or Google Cloud Vertex AI. Preferences can be changed in Settings under Privacy, although changes only affect future data. Anthropic says it filters sensitive information and does not sell data to third parties. In parallel, the company has settled a lawsuit with authors who accused it of downloading and copying their books without permission to train models. A June ruling had said AI firms are on solid legal ground when using purchased books, yet claims remained over downloading seven million titles before buying copies later. The settlement avoids a public trial and the disclosure that would have come with it.
Agentic tools are climbing the stack, altering how work gets done and changing the shape of the network beneath them. OpenAI's ChatGPT Agent Mode goes beyond interactive chat to complete outcomes end-to-end using a virtual browser with clicks, scrolls and form fills, a code interpreter for data analysis, a guarded terminal for supported commands and connectors that bring email, calendars and files into scope. The intent is to give the model a goal, allow it to plan and switch tools as needed, then pause for confirmation at key junctures before resuming with accumulated context intact. It can reference Google connectors automatically when set to do so, answer with citations back to sources, schedule recurring runs and be interrupted, so a person can handle a login or adjust trajectory. Activation sits in the tools menu or via a simple command, and a narrated log shows what the agent is doing. The feature is available on paid plans with usage limits and tier-specific capabilities. Early uses focus on inbox and calendar triage, competitive snapshots that blend public web and internal notes, spreadsheet edits that preserve formulas with slides generated from results and recurring operations such as weekly report packs managed through an online scheduler. Networks are being rethought to support these patterns.
Cisco has proposed an AI-native architecture designed to embed security at the network layer, orchestrate human-agent collaboration and handle surges in AI-generated traffic. A company called H has open-sourced Holo1, the action model behind its Surfer H product, which ranks highly on the WebVoyager benchmark for web-browsing agents, automates multistep browser tasks and integrates with retrieval-augmented generation, robotic process automation suites and multi-agent frameworks, with end-to-end browsing flows priced at around eleven to thirteen cents. As browsers gain these powers, security is coming into sharper focus. Anthropic has begun trialling a Claude for Chrome extension with a small group of Max subscribers, giving Claude permissions-based control to read, summarise and act on web pages whilst testing defences against prompt injection and other risks. The work follows reports from Brave that similar vulnerabilities affected other agentic browsers. Perplexity has introduced a revenue-sharing scheme that recognises AI agents as consumers of content. Its Comet Plus subscription sets aside $42.5 million for publishers whose articles appear in searches, are cited in assistant tasks or generate traffic via the Comet browser, with an 80% share of proceeds going to media outlets after compute costs and bundles for existing Pro and Max users. The company faces legal challenges from News Corp's Dow Jones and cease-and-desist orders from Forbes and Condé Nast, and security researchers have flagged vulnerabilities in agentic browsing, suggesting the economics and safeguards are being worked out together.
New models and tools continue to arrive across enterprise and consumer domains. Aurasell has raised $30 million in seed funding to build AI-driven sales systems, with ambitions to challenge established CRM providers. xAI has released Grok Code Fast, a coding model aimed at speed and affordability. Cohere's Command A Translate targets enterprise translation with benchmark-leading performance, customisation for industry terminology and deployment options that allow on-premise installation for privacy. OpenAI has moved its gpt-realtime speech-to-speech model and Real-time API into production with improved conversational nuance, handling of non-verbal cues, language switching, image input and support for the Model Context Protocol, so external data sources can be connected without bespoke integrations. ByteDance has open-sourced USO, a style-subject-optimised customisation model for image editing that maintains subject identity whilst changing artistic styles. Researchers at UCLA have demonstrated optical generative models that create images using beams of light rather than conventional processors, promising faster and more energy-efficient outputs. Higgsfield AI has updated Speak to version 2.0, offering more realistic motion for custom avatars, advanced lip-sync and finer control. Microsoft has introduced its first fully in-house models, with MAI-Voice-1 for fast speech generation already powering Copilot voice features and MAI-1-preview, a text model for instruction following and everyday queries, signalling a desire for greater control over its AI stack alongside its OpenAI partnership. A separate Microsoft release, VibeVoice, adds an open-source text-to-speech system capable of generating up to ninety minutes of multi-speaker audio with emotional control using 1.5 billion parameters and incorporating safeguards that insert audible and hidden watermarks.
Consumer-facing creativity is growing briskly. Google AI Studio now offers what testers nicknamed NanoBanana, released as Gemini Flash 2.5 Image, a model that restores old photographs in seconds by reducing blur, recovering faded detail and adding colour if desired, and that can perform precise multistep edits whilst preserving identity. Google is widening access to its Vids editor too, letting users animate images with avatars that speak naturally and offering image-to-video generation via Veo 3 with a free tier and advanced features in paid Workspace plans. Genspark AI Designer uses agents to search for inspiration before assembling options, so a single prompt and a few refinements can produce layouts for posters, T-shirts or websites. Prompt craft is maturing alongside the tools. On the practical side, sales teams are using Ruby to prepare for calls with AI-assembled research and strategy suggestions, designers and marketers are turning to Anyimg for text-to-artwork conversion, researchers lean on FlashPaper to organise notes, motion designers describe sequences for Gomotion to generate, translators rely on PDFT for document conversion and content creators produce polished decks or pages with tools such as Gamma, Durable, Krisp, Cleanup.pictures and Tome. Shopping habits are shifting in parallel. Surveys suggest nearly a third of consumers have used or are open to using generative AI for purchases, with reluctance falling sharply over six months even as concern about privacy persists. Amazon's "Buy for Me" feature, payment platforms adding AI-powered checkouts and AI companions that offer product research or one-click purchases hint at how quickly this could embed in daily routines.
Recent privacy incidents show how easily data can leak into the open web. Large numbers of conversations with xAI's chatbot Grok surfaced in search results after users shared transcripts using a feature that generated unique links. Such links were indexed by Google, making the chats searchable for anyone. Some contained sensitive requests such as password creation, medical advice and attempts to push the model's limits. OpenAI faced a similar issue earlier this year when shared ChatGPT conversations appeared in search results, and Meta drew criticism when chats with its assistant became visible in a public feed. Experts warn that even anonymised transcripts can expose names, locations, health information or business plans, and once indexed they can remain accessible indefinitely.
Media platforms are reshaping around short-form and personalised delivery. ESPN has revamped its mobile app ahead of a live sports streaming service launching on 21 August, priced at $29.99 a month and including all 12 ESPN channels within the app. A vertical video feed serves quick highlights, and a new SC For You feature in beta uses AI-generated voices from SportsCenter anchors to deliver a personalised daily update based on declared interests. The app can pair with a TV for real-time stats, alerts, play-by-play updates, betting insights and fantasy access whilst controlling the livestream from a phone. Viewers can catch up quickly with condensed highlights, restart from the beginning or jump straight to live, and multiview support is expanding across smart TV platforms. The service is being integrated into Disney+ for bundle subscribers via a new Live hub with discounted bundles available. Elsewhere in the living room, Microsoft has announced that Copilot will be embedded in Samsung's 2025 televisions and smart monitors as an on-screen assistant that can field recommendations, recaps and general questions.
Energy and sustainability questions are surfacing with more data. Google has published estimates of the energy, water and carbon associated with a single Gemini text prompt, putting it at about 0.24 watt-hours, five drops of water and 0.03 grams of carbon dioxide. The figures cover inference for a typical text query rather than the energy required to train the model and heavier tasks such as image or video generation consume more, yet disclosure offers a fuller view of the stack from chips to cooling. Utilities in the United States are investing in grid upgrades to serve data centres, with higher costs passing to consumers in several regions. Economic currents are never far away. Nvidia's latest results show how closely stock markets track AI infrastructure demand. The company reported $46.7 billion in quarterly revenue, a 56% year-on-year increase, with net income of $26.4 billion, and now accounts for around 8% of the S&P 500's value. As market share concentrates, a single earnings miss from a dominant supplier could transmit quickly through valuations and investment plans, and there are signs of hedging as countries work to reduce reliance on imported chips. Industrial policy is shifting too. The US government is converting $8.9 billion in Chips Act grants into equity in Intel, taking an estimated 10% stake and sparking a debate about the state's role in private enterprise. Alongside these structural signals are market jitters. Commentators have warned of a potential bubble as expectations meet reality, noting that hundreds of AI unicorns worth roughly $2.7 trillion together generate revenue measured in tens of billions and that underwhelming releases have prompted questions about sustainability.
Adoption at enterprise scale remains uneven. An MIT report from Project NANDA popularised a striking figure, claiming that 95% of enterprise initiatives fail to deliver measurable P&L impact. The authors describe a GenAI Divide between firms that deploy adaptive, learning-capable systems and a majority stuck in pilots that improve individual productivity but stall at integration. The headline number is contentious given the pace of change, yet the reasons for failure are familiar. Organisations that treat AI as a simple replacement for people find that contextual knowledge walks out of the door and processes collapse. Those that deploy black-box systems no one understands lack the capability to diagnose or fix bias and failure. Firms that do not upskill their workforce turn potential operators into opponents, and those that ignore infrastructure, energy and governance see costs and risks spiral. Public examples of success look different. Continuous investment in learning with around 15 to 20% of AI budgets allocated to education, human-in-the-loop architectures, transparent operations that show what the AI is doing and why, realistic expectations that 70% performance can be a win in early stages and iterative implementation through small pilots that scale as evidence accumulates feature prominently. Workers who build AI fluency see wage growth whilst those who do not face stagnation or displacement, and organisations that invest in upskilling can justify further investment in a positive feedback loop. Even for the successful, there are costs. Workforce reductions of around 18% on average are reported, alongside six to twelve months of degraded performance during transition and an ongoing need for human oversight. Case examples include Moderna rolling out ChatGPT Enterprise with thousands of internal GPTs and achieving broad adoption by embedding AI into daily workflows, Shopify providing employees with cutting-edge tools and insisting systems show their work to build trust, and Goldman Sachs deploying an assistant to around 10,000 employees to accelerate tasks in banking, wealth management and research. The common thread is less glamour than operational competence. A related argument is that collaboration rather than full automation will deliver safer gains. Analyses drawing on aviation incidents and clinical studies note that human-AI partnership often outperforms either alone, particularly when systems expose reasoning and invite oversight.
Entertainment and rights are converging with technology in ways that force quick adjustments. Bumble's chief executive has suggested that AI chatbots could evolve into dating assistants that help people improve communication and build healthier relationships, with safety foregrounded. Music is shifting rapidly. Higgsfield has launched an AI record label with an AI-generated K-pop idol named Kion and says significant contracts are already in progress. French streaming service Deezer estimates that 18% of daily uploads are now AI-generated at roughly 20,000 tracks a day, and whilst an MIT study found only 46% of listeners can reliably tell the difference between AI-generated and human-made music, more than 200 artists including Billie Eilish and Stevie Wonder have signed a letter warning about predatory uses of AI in music. Disputes over authenticity are no longer academic. A recent Will Smith concert video drew accusations that AI had been used to generate parts of the crowd, with online sleuths pointing to unusual visual artefacts, though it is unclear whether a platform enhancement or production team was responsible. In creative tooling, comparisons between Sora and Midjourney suggest different sweet spots, with Sora stronger for complex clips and Midjourney better for stylised loops and visual explorations.
Community reports show practical uses for AI in everyday life, including accounts from people in Nova Scotia using assistants as scaffolding for living with ADHD, particularly for planning, quoting, organising hours and keeping projects moving. Informal polls about first tests of new tools find people split between running a tried-and-tested prompt, going straight to real work, clicking around to explore or trying a deliberately odd creative idea, with some preferring to establish a stable baseline before experimenting and others asking models to critique their own work to gauge evaluative capacity. Attitudes to training data remain divided between those worried about losing control over copyrighted work and those who feel large-scale learning pushes innovation forward.
Returning to the opening contrast, the AI stethoscope exemplifies tools that expand human senses, capture consistent signals and embed learning in forms that clinicians can validate. Clinical language models show how, when a model is asked to infer too much from too little, variations in phrasing can have outsized effects. That tension runs through enterprise projects. Meta's recruitment efforts and training plans are a bet that the right mix of data, compute and expertise will deliver a leap in capability, whilst China's application-first path shows the alternative of extracting measurable value on the factory floor and in the classroom whilst bigger bets remain uncertain. Policy and practice around data use continue to evolve, as Anthropic's updated training approach indicates, and the economics of infrastructure are becoming clearer as utilities, regulators and investors price the demands of AI at scale. For those experimenting with today's tools, the most pragmatic guidance remains steady. Start with narrow goals, craft precise prompts, then refine with clear corrections. Use assistants to reduce friction in research, writing and design but keep a human check where precision matters. Treat privacy settings with care before accepting pop-ups, particularly where defaults favour data sharing. If there are old photographs to revive, a model such as Gemini Flash 2.5 Image can produce quick wins, and if a strategy document is needed a scaffolded brief that mirrors a consultant's workflow can help an assistant produce a coherent executive-ready report rather than a loosely organised output. Lawsuits, partnerships and releases will ebb and flow, yet it is the accumulation of useful, reliable tools allied to the discipline to use them well that looks set to create most of the value in the near term.
An AI email newsletter roundup: Cutting through the noise
23rd August 2025This time last year, I felt out of the loop on all things AI. That was put to rights during the autumn when I experimented a lot with GenAI while enhancing travel content on another portal. In addition, I subscribed to enough email newsletters that I feel the need to cull them at this point. Maybe I should use a service like Kill the Newsletter to consolidate things into an RSS feed instead; that sounds like an interesting option for dealing with any overload.
So much is happening in this area that it is too easy to feel overwhelmed by what is happening. That sense got me compiling the state of things in a previous post using some help from GenAI, though I was making the decisions about what was being consolidated and how it was being done. The whole process took a few hours, an effort clearly beyond a single button push.
This survey is somewhat eclectic in its scope; two of the newsletters are hefty items, while others include brevity as part of their offer. Regarding the latter, I found strident criticism of some of them (The Rundown and Superhuman are two that are mentioned) in an article published in the Financial Times, which is behind a paywall. Their content has been called slop, with the phrase slopaganda being coined and used to describe this. That cannot be applied everywhere, though. Any brevity cannot cloak differences in tone and content choices can help with developing a more rounded view of what is going on with AI.
This newsletter came to my notice because I attended SAS Innovate on Tour 2025 in London last June. Oliver Patel, who authors this and serves as Enterprise AI Governance Lead at AstraZeneca as well as contributing to various international organisations including the OECD Expert Group on AI Risk and Accountability, was a speaker with the theme of his talk naturally being AI governance as well as participating in an earlier panel on the day. Unsurprisingly, the newsletter also got a mention.
It provides in-depth practical guidance on artificial intelligence governance and risk management for professionals working in enterprise environments, though not without a focus on scaling governance frameworks across organisations. Actionable insights are emphasised in place of theoretical concepts, covering areas such as governance maturity models that progress from nascent stages through to transformative governance, implementation strategies and leadership approaches needed to drive effective AI governance within companies.
Patel brings experience from roles spanning policy work, academia and privacy sectors, including positions with the UK government and University College London, which informs his practical approach to helping organisations develop robust AI governance structures. The newsletter targets AI governance professionals, risk managers and executives who need clear, scalable solutions for real-world implementation challenges, and all content remains freely accessible to subscribers.
Unlike other newsletters featured here, this is a seven-day publication that delivers a five‑minute digest on AI industry happenings each day that combines news, productivity tips, polls and AI‑generated art. It was launched in June 2023 by Matt Village and Adam Biddlecombe, using of beehiiv’s content‑focused platform that was acquired by HubSpot in March 2025, placing it within the HubSpot Media Network.
Created by Zain Kahn and based in Toronto, weekday issues of this newsletter typically follow a structured format featuring three AI tools for productivity enhancement, two significant AI developments and one quick tutorial to develop practical skills. On Saturdays, there is a round-up on what is happening in robotics, while the Sunday issue centres on developments in science. Everything is crafted to be brief, possibly allowing a three-minute survey of latest developments.
The Artificially Intelligent Enterprise
My interest in the world of DevOps led me to find out about Mark Hinkle, the solopreneur behind Peripety Labs and his in-depth weekly newsletter published every Friday that features comprehensive deep dives into strategic trends and emerging technologies. This has been complemented by a shorter how-to version which focusses on concrete AI lessons and implementation tips and comes out every Tuesday, taking forward a newsletter acquired from elsewhere. The idea is that we should concentrate on concrete AI lessons and implementation tips in place of hype, particularly in business settings. These forms part of The AIE Network alongside complementary publications including AI Tangle, AI CIO and AI Marketing Advantage.
Found though my following the Artificially Intelligent Enterprise, this daily newsletter delivers artificial intelligence developments and insights within approximately five minutes of reading time per issue. Published by Rowan Cheung, it covers key AI developments, practical guides and tool recommendations, with some articles spanning technology and robotics categories. Beyond the core newsletter, the platform operates AI University, which provides certificate courses, implementation guides, expert-led workshops and community networking opportunities for early adopters.
Finding freelance and consulting work online
6th August 2025This is a second post following the theme of seeking work, with more of a freelance emphasis than its predecessor. While my line of freelancing involves longer engagements, there are other options for shorter pieces of work, and that is the theme of this piece. Thus, I am collecting a compendium of online portals where you can explore a variety of opportunities, applying for those where you can bring value. Some are project based, while others centre on consultancy. All serve independent professionals in seeking work, and vice versa for clients. As you will find out by reading further, some of these have more of a gig market feel to what you find, though there can be longer engagements to be found too.
Founded in 2007 and later acquired by Heidrick & Struggles in 2021, the high-end consulting talent marketplace connects independent senior consultants, subject-matter experts and interim executives with Fortune 1000 companies, private equity firms and nonprofits across more than 39 countries. The platform features thousands of professionals with impressive credentials, many having Big-3 consulting backgrounds, executive roles or deep domain expertise. Areas of specialisation include strategy, mergers and acquisitions, operations, digital transformation, interim leadership and project management across industries ranging from technology and healthcare to consumer goods. The company provides comprehensive support throughout the engagement lifecycle, from project scoping to compliance and invoicing, reporting a 99 per cent fill rate on talent requests and a 97 per cent client repeat rate. While the platform offers access to high-level strategic assignments and reliable administrative infrastructure, its highly selective vetting process makes it less accessible for early-career professionals or niche freelancers without significant prior experience.
Founded in 2013 by Harvard Business School students, this expert network consultancy platform offers access to over 70,000 vetted independent consultants averaging 19+ years of experience, including former Big 3 consultants and Fortune 500 operators. The company employs machine learning algorithms paired with human success teams to match clients with suitable experts, typically providing several profiles within 48 hours. The platform handles all administrative aspects including contracts, invoicing and payments, guaranteeing consultants are paid even if clients default. Projects span areas such as strategy, digital transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and operations, serving approximately 30% of Fortune 500 firms. While the platform offers high impact, higher value work with reliable payment and administrative support, many consultants report high competition for projects, with limited feedback on declined pitches. The platform is most suitable for experienced industry professionals seeking substantial engagements with enterprise clients who can differentiate themselves through proven expertise.
Founded around 2017-2018 in Berlin, this consulting platform connects businesses with independent management consultants, digital experts and interim managers across various industries. The service employs a rigorous vetting process, accepting only approximately 2 percent of applicants to ensure high quality expertise. Companies typically receive 3-5 consultant profiles within 48 hours after submitting project requirements, benefiting from both artificial intelligence matching and manual curation. The platform maintains a pool of over 10,000 vetted consultants across more than 50 countries, serving private equity firms, multinational corporations and scale-ups. Clients reportedly save up to 70 percent compared to traditional consulting firms due to reduced overhead costs. While the platform boasts high client satisfaction rates exceeding 97 percent, consultant experiences vary considerably, with some professionals reporting limited project opportunities after completing the onboarding process despite the platform's claims of robust demand.
The modern, AI enhanced platform offers a straightforward approach to freelancing, providing users with a commission-free experience that allows them to retain all earnings. Built with a focus on usability, the service features rapid registration, an easy-to-navigate interface and comprehensive tools for tracking reputation and performance statistics. It caters to independent professionals across various disciplines who value efficient onboarding processes and direct connections to relevant work opportunities. As a relatively new entrant in the technology-driven freelance marketplace, the platform emphasises simplicity and quality engagements for its users.
Established in 2000, the London-based consulting firm Eden McCallum disrupts traditional consulting models by combining independent senior consultants with an in-house team to deliver strategy and transformation projects. The firm operates through hybrid teams tailored to client needs, with consultants having the freedom to select projects individually without exclusivity requirements. Having supported over 3,000 projects for more than 500 global clients including a third of the FTSE 100, Eden McCallum maintains a network of approximately 2,500 independent consultants who are selectively chosen with only one in ten applicants accepted. Most consultants possess experience from top-tier firms such as McKinsey, BCG or Bain, alongside industry roles, providing clients with deep expertise while offering cost savings of 30-50% compared to traditional consulting firms. Although the model provides flexibility for consultants who can choose projects without sales pressure, it does not guarantee consistent workload, and some consultants report challenges with coordination across international offices as the firm has expanded.
Founded in 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel, this global online marketplace specialises in pre-scoped "gigs" offered by freelancers to clients across hundreds of digital service categories. The platform has evolved beyond its original $5 price point, now allowing sellers to set their own pricing tiers with upfront payment held in escrow until delivery approval. Operating in over 160 countries, the service features a gig-based structure with clearly defined packages at set prices, premium vetted sellers, AI-enhanced workflows, and career counselling options. While the platform retains a 20% commission on all transactions, it offers streamlined processes ideal for beginners and businesses seeking quick support, though low rates and high competition can limit earning potential and long-term relationship building. It is particularly suitable for entry to intermediate freelancers offering standardised digital services who prioritise rapid client acquisition.
Established in 2009 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Freelancer.com stands as one of the longest-running general freelancing marketplaces available today. The platform offers users access to an extensive community and diverse job opportunities across numerous categories. Among its notable features are the ability to participate in contests that allow freelancers to demonstrate their capabilities, along with its significant global presence. The service typically charges freelancers a 10% fee (with a minimum of US$5), though this can be lowered through subscription options. The platform is designed to serve freelance professionals of all experience levels who are particularly interested in accessing a high volume and wide variety of potential work opportunities.
Established in the mid-2010s, Kolabtree operates as a specialised freelancing platform connecting organisations with technical professionals who possess expertise in scientific and analytical fields. The platform facilitates consultation services and project-based work for highly qualified individuals in data science, machine learning, engineering, biotechnology and various research disciplines. What distinguishes this marketplace is its focus on substantial remuneration, appealing to experienced practitioners. The client base spans both academic institutions and industry players seeking genuine subject matter specialists rather than general freelancers, making it particularly valuable for professionals with advanced qualifications and demonstrated expertise in their respective domains.
Formerly known as Talmix, High5Hire operates as a global talent marketplace connecting senior business and consulting professionals with enterprise-grade and private equity clients for Statement-of-Work or interim assignments. The platform utilises AI-driven algorithms to match consultant profiles (called "Talent Passports") with relevant projects, featuring over 60,000 consultants across more than 150 countries. High5Hire typically retains 15-25 percent of consulting fees as commission, paid by the client side. While the service offers effective global project access for senior professionals and a flexible, project-based work model with high-impact roles, some reports on user platforms highlight potential concerns including internal management instability, capped commissions, and low pay for certain contractor positions. The platform is particularly suitable for experienced consultants from recognised firms seeking global interim or project-based work, though prospective users should seek clear payment guarantees and compare with similar platforms like Maven, Consultport, Catalant or Eden McCallum before committing.
Connecting clients seeking expertise with professionals who can provide insights, this micro-consulting platform hosts over 500,000 experts across virtually every industry. The service operates by matching client requests with relevant professionals who set their own rates, typically 2 to 4 times their regular hourly compensation. Unlike many competitors, consultants retain 100% of their fees, with no platform charges deducted from earnings. The system facilitates brief engagements such as Zoom calls, surveys, written questions and answers, or advising sessions, making it ideal for supplemental income. While offering flexible side income opportunities with minimal administrative burden and fast payments, the platform primarily focuses on smaller, shorter engagements rather than long-term strategic projects. This arrangement particularly benefits experienced professionals looking to monetise their knowledge without full-time commitments, though those seeking extended consulting assignments might find traditional consulting platforms more suitable.
A specialised UK-based job board devoted to connecting contractors with engagements that are classified outside the intermediaries legislation and off-payroll tax rules, enabling genuine business-to-business arrangements rather than employment relationships. The platform features over 50,000 opportunities across numerous sectors including IT, engineering, marketing, finance and healthcare, with comprehensive filtering options for workplace type, region, category and minimum daily rates. Particularly valuable for professionals operating through limited companies who wish to maintain tax efficiency and control over their business structure, the service allows users to search roles throughout major UK regions and international locations. While the site provides an optional IR35 calculator to estimate status implications, users should exercise due diligence regarding contract terms, as the actual IR35 determination depends on working practices and contractual details that must align with legal requirements concerning substitution, control and mutuality of obligation.
Established in the United States in 2010, Toptal stands as a selective freelance marketplace that exclusively accepts the top 3% of applicants. The platform specialises in connecting highly skilled professionals across engineering, design and finance domains with prominent global companies. Toptal distinguishes itself through a comprehensive vetting process comprising skills assessments, interview stages and practical test projects. Freelancers joining this exclusive network typically command premium hourly rates and frequently secure extended or full-time professional opportunities. The service primarily caters to experienced senior-level specialists who are seeking valuable, high-calibre professional engagements rather than short-term projects.
Created in 2015, Upwork stands as one of the largest global freelance marketplaces, connecting over 12 million freelancers with approximately 5 million clients across more than 180 countries. The platform facilitates roughly 3 million job postings annually in fields such as writing, technology, marketing and design. The system allows employers to post jobs while freelancers apply using credits called "connects," with additional Premium features available including Talent Scout and a Project Catalogue for fixed-price services. Freelancers pay service fees on a sliding scale of 5-20% based on client earnings, while clients often pay additional costs through subscription tiers ranging from Free to Enterprise. Although the platform offers highly vetted profiles, verified reviews and extensive job categories that create trust and scale, some freelancers have criticised the increasingly client-centric marketplace approach. The platform is particularly suitable for freelancers at various experience levels seeking both short and long-term projects, while corporate clients benefit from structured hiring processes and premium staffing tools.
This specialised platform serves as a commission-free marketplace connecting marketing professionals with freelance opportunities. The service offers personalised assistance to help freelancers secure work when required, making it particularly valuable for those with expertise in marketing strategy, analytics and copywriting disciplines. While its founding date remains unspecified, it appears to be a relatively recent addition to the freelance ecosystem, catering specifically to marketing specialists rather than general freelancers. The zero commission structure represents a significant advantage for professionals looking to maximise their earnings in this niche.
A round-up of online portals for those seeking work
5th August 2025For me, much of 2025 was spent finding a new freelance work engagement. Recently, that search successfully concluded, but not before I got flashbacks of how hard things were when seeking work after completing university education and deciding to hybridise my search to include permanent employment too. Now that I am fulfilling a new contract with a new client, I am compiling a listing of places on the web to a search for work, at least for future reference if nothing else.
Founded in 2011 by former executives from Gumtree, eBay and Zoopla, this UK-based job search engine aggregates listings from thousands of sites across 16+ countries with headquarters in London and approximately 100 employees worldwide. The platform offers over one million job advertisements in the UK alone and an estimated 350 million globally, attracting more than 10 million monthly visits. Jobseekers can use the service without cost, benefiting from search functionality, email alerts, salary insights and tools such as ValueMyCV and the AI-powered interview preparation tool Prepper. The company operates on a Cost-Per-Click or Cost-Per-Applicant model for employers seeking visibility, while also providing data and analytics APIs for programmatic advertising and labour market insights. Notably, the platform powers the UK government Number 10 Dashboard, with its dataset frequently utilised by the ONS for real-time vacancy tracking.
Founded in 2000 by Lee Biggins, this independent job board has grown to become one of the leading platforms in the UK job market. Based in Fleet, Hampshire, it maintains a substantial database of approximately 21.4 million CV's, with around 360,000 new or updated profiles added monthly. The platform attracts significant traffic with about 10.1 million monthly visits from 4.3 million unique users, facilitating roughly 3 million job applications each month across approximately 137,000 live vacancies. Jobseekers can access all services free of charge, including job searching, CV uploads, job alerts and application tracking, though the CV building tools are relatively basic compared to specialist alternatives. The platform boasts high customer satisfaction, with 96 percent of clients rating their service as good or excellent, and offers additional value through its network of over 800 partner job sites and ATS integration capabilities.
Formerly known as TryRemotely, Empllo functions as a comprehensive job board specialising in remote technology and startup positions across various disciplines including engineering, product, sales, marketing, design and finance. The platform currently hosts over 30,000 active listings from approximately 24,000 hiring companies worldwide, with specific regional coverage including around 375 positions in the UK and 36 in Ireland. Among its notable features is the AI-powered Job Copilot tool, which can automatically apply to roles based on user preferences. While Empllo offers extensive listings and advanced filtering options by company, funding and skills, it does have limitations including inconsistent salary information and variable job quality. The service is free to browse, with account creation unlocking personalised features. It is particularly suitable for technology professionals seeking distributed work arrangements with startups, though users are advised to verify role details independently and potentially supplement their search with other platforms offering employer reviews for more thorough vetting.
This is a comprehensive job-hunt management tool that replaces traditional spreadsheets with an intuitive Kanban board interface, allowing users to organise their applications effectively. The platform features a Chrome extension that integrates with major job boards like LinkedIn and Indeed, enabling one-click saving of job listings. Users can track applications through various stages, store relevant documents and contact information, and access detailed statistics about their job search progress. The service offers artificial intelligence capabilities powered by GPT-4 to generate application responses, personalise cover letters and craft LinkedIn profiles. With over 25,000 active users who have tracked more than 280,000 job applications collectively, the tool provides both free and premium tiers. The basic free version includes unlimited tracking of applications, while the Pro subscription adds features such as custom columns, unlimited tags and expanded AI capabilities. This solution particularly benefits active jobseekers managing numerous applications across different platforms who desire structured organisation and data-driven insights into their job search.
This organisation provides a specialised platform matching candidates with companies based on flexible working arrangements, including remote options, location independence and customisable hours. Their interface features a notable "Work From Anywhere" filter highlighting roles with genuine location flexibility, alongside transparency scores for companies that reflect their openness regarding working arrangements. The platform allows users to browse companies offering specific perks like part-time arrangements, sabbatical leave, or compressed hours, with rankings based on flexibility and workplace culture. While free to use with job-saving capabilities and quick matching processes, it appears relatively new with a modest-sized team, limited independent reviews and a smaller volume of job listings compared to more established competitors. The platform's distinctive approach prioritises work-life balance through values-driven matching and company-oriented filters, particularly useful for those seeking roles aligned with modern flexible working preferences.
Founded in 2007 and based in Puerto Rico, FlexJobs operates as a subscription-based platform specialising in remote, hybrid, freelance and part-time employment opportunities. The service manually verifies all job listings to eliminate fraudulent postings, with staff dedicating over 200 hours daily to screening processes. Users gain access to positions across 105+ categories from entry-level to executive roles, alongside career development resources including webinars, resume reviews and skills assessments. Pricing options range from weekly trials to annual subscriptions with a 30-day money-back guarantee. While many users praise the platform for its legitimacy and comprehensive filtering tools, earning high ratings on review sites like Trustpilot, some individuals question whether the subscription fee provides sufficient value compared to free alternatives. Potential limitations include delayed posting of opportunities and varying representation across different industries.
Founded in November 2004 and now operating in over 60 countries with 28 languages, this leading global job search platform serves approximately 390 million visitors monthly worldwide. In the UK alone, it attracts about 34 million monthly visits, with users spending nearly 7 minutes per session and viewing over 8.5 pages on average. The platform maintains more than 610 million jobseeker profiles globally while offering free services for candidates including job searching, application tools, CV uploads, company reviews and salary information. For employers, the business model includes pay-per-click and pay-per-applicant sponsored listings, alongside tools such as Hiring Insights providing salary data and application trends. Since October 2024, visibility for non-sponsored listings has decreased, requiring employers to invest in sponsorship for optimal visibility. Despite this competitive environment requiring strategic budget allocation, the platform remains highly popular due to its comprehensive features and extensive reach.
A meta-directory founded in 2022 by Rodrigo Rocco, this platform aggregates and organises links to over 400 specialised and niche job sites across various industries and regions. Unlike traditional job boards, it does not host listings directly but serves as a discovery tool that redirects users to external platforms where actual applications take place. The service refreshes links approximately every 45 minutes and offers a weekly newsletter. While providing free access and efficient discovery of relevant boards by category or sector, potential users should note that the platform lacks direct job listings, built-in application tracking, or alert systems. It is particularly valuable for professionals exploring highly specialised fields, those wishing to expand beyond mainstream job boards and recruiters seeking to increase their visibility, though beginners might find navigating numerous destination boards somewhat overwhelming.
Founded in Milan by Vito Lomele in 2006 (initially as Jobespresso), this global job aggregator operates in 58 countries and 21 languages. The platform collects between 28 and 35 million job listings monthly from various online sources, attracting approximately 55 million visits and serving over 100 million registered users. The service functions by gathering vacancies from career pages, agencies and job boards, then directing users to original postings when they search. For employers, it offers programmatic recruitment solutions using artificial intelligence and taxonomy to match roles with candidates dynamically, including pay-per-applicant models. While the platform benefits from its extensive global reach and substantial job inventory, its approach of redirecting to third-party sites means the quality and freshness of listings can vary considerably.
Founded in 1993 as Fax-Me Ltd and rebranded in 1995, this pioneering UK job board launched the world's first jobs-by-email service in May 1994. Originally dominating the IT recruitment sector with up to 80% market share in the early 2000s, the platform published approximately 200,000 jobs and processed over 1 million applications monthly by 2010. Currently headquartered in Colchester, Essex, the service maintains a global presence across Europe, North America and Australia, delivering over 1.2 million job-subscription emails daily. The platform employs a proprietary smart matching engine called Alchemy and features manual verification to ensure job quality. While free for jobseekers who can upload CVs and receive tailored job alerts, employers can post vacancies and run recruitment campaigns across various sectors. Although respected for its legacy and niche focus, particularly in technical recruitment, its scale and visibility are more modest compared to larger contemporary platforms.
Founded in 2020 with headquarters in London, Lifelancer operates as an AI-powered talent hiring platform specialising in life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare IT and digital health sectors. The company connects organisations with freelance, remote and international professionals through services including candidate matching and global onboarding assistance. Despite being relatively small, Lifelancer provides distinct features for both hiring organisations and jobseekers. Employers can post positions tailored to specific healthcare and technology roles, utilising AI-based candidate sourcing, while professionals can create profiles to be matched with relevant opportunities. The platform handles compliance and payroll across multiple countries, making it particularly valuable for international teams, though as a young company, it may not yet offer the extensive talent pool of more established competitors in the industry.
The professional networking was core to my search for work and had its uses while doing so. Writing posts and articles did a lot to raise my profile along with reaching out to others, definitely an asset when assessing the state of a freelancing market. The usefulness of the green "Open to Work" banner is debatable because of my freelancing pitch in a slow market. Nevertheless, there was one headhunting approach that might have resulted in something if another offer had not gazumped it. Also, this is not a place to hang around over a weekend with job search moaning filling your feed, though making your interests known can change that. Now that I have paid work, the platform has become a way of keeping up to date in my line of business.
Established in 1994 as The Monster Board, Monster.com became one of the first online job portals, gaining prominence through memorable Super Bowl advertisements. As of June 2025, the platform attracts approximately 4.3 million monthly visits, primarily from the United States (76%), with smaller audiences in India (6%) and the UK (1.7%). The service offers free resources for jobseekers, including resume uploads and career guidance, while employers pay for job postings and additional premium features.
Established in 1999 and headquartered in Richmond, Surrey, PharmiWeb has evolved into Europe's leading pharmaceutical and life sciences platform. The company separated its dedicated job board as PharmiWeb.jobs in 2019, while maintaining industry news and insights on the original portal. With approximately 600,000 registered jobseekers globally and around 200,000 monthly site visits generating 40,000 applications, the platform hosts between 1,500 and 5,000 active vacancies at any time. Jobseekers can access the service completely free, uploading CVs and setting alerts tailored to specific fields, disciplines or locations. Additional recruiter services include CV database access, email marketing campaigns, employer branding and applicant management tools. The platform particularly excels for specialised pharmaceutical, biotech, clinical research and regulatory affairs roles, though its focused nature means it carries fewer listings than mainstream employment boards and commands higher posting costs.
If 2025 was a flashback to the travails of seeking work after completing university education, meeting this name again was another part of that. Founded in May 1960 by Sir Alec Reed, the firm began as a traditional recruitment agency in Hounslow, West London, before launching the first UK recruitment website in 1995. Today, the platform attracts approximately 3.7 million monthly visitors, primarily UK-based users aged 25-34, generating around 80,000 job applications daily. The service offers jobseekers free access to search and apply for roles, job alerts, CV storage, application tracking, career advice articles, a tax calculator, salary tools and online courses. For employers, the privately owned company provides job advertising, access to a database of 18-22 million candidate CVs and specialist recruitment across about 20 industry sectors.
Founded by digital nomad Pieter Levels in 2015, this prominent job board specialises exclusively in 100% remote positions across diverse sectors including tech, marketing, writing, design and customer support. The platform offers free browsing and application for jobseekers, while employers pay fees. Notable features include mandatory salary transparency, global job coverage with regional filtering options and a clean, minimalist interface that works well on mobile devices. Despite hosting over 100,000 remote jobs from reputable companies like Amazon and Microsoft, the platform has limitations including basic filtering capabilities and highly competitive application processes, particularly for tech roles. The simple user experience redirects applications directly to employer pages rather than using an internal system. For professionals seeking remote work worldwide, this board serves as a valuable resource but works best when used alongside other specialised platforms to maximise opportunities.
Founded in 2015 and based in Boulder, Colorado, this platform exclusively focuses on remote work opportunities across diverse industries such as marketing, finance, healthcare, customer support and design. Attracting over 1.5 million monthly visitors, it provides jobseekers with free access to various employment categories including full-time, part-time, freelance and hybrid positions. Beyond job listings, the platform offers a comprehensive resource centre featuring articles, expert insights and best practices from over 108 remote-first companies. Job alerts and weekly newsletters keep users informed about relevant opportunities. While the platform provides strong resources and maintains positive trust ratings of approximately 4.2/5 on Trustpilot, its filtering capabilities are relatively basic compared to competitors. Users might need to conduct additional research as company reviews are not included with job postings. Despite these limitations, the platform serves as a valuable resource for individuals seeking remote work guidance and opportunities.
For jobseekers in the technology and digital sectors, Remotive serves as a specialised remote job board offering approximately 2,000 active positions on its free public platform. Founded around 2014-2015, this service operates with a remote-first approach and focuses on verifying job listings for legitimacy. The platform provides a premium tier called "Remotive Accelerator" which grants users access to over 50,000 additional curated jobs, advanced filtering options based on skills and salary requirements and membership to a private Slack community. While the interface receives praise for its clean design and intuitive navigation, user feedback regarding the paid tier remains mixed, with some individuals noting limitations such as inactive community features and an abundance of US-based or senior-level positions. The platform is particularly valuable for professionals in software development, product management, marketing and customer service who are seeking global remote opportunities.
Originally launched in Canada in 2011 as neuvoo, this global job search engine is now headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, providing access to over 30 million jobs across more than 75 countries. The platform attracts between 12 and 16 million monthly visits worldwide, with approximately 6 percent originating from the UK. Jobseekers can utilise the service without charge, accessing features like salary converters and tax calculators in certain regions to enhance transparency about potential earnings. Employers have the option to post jobs for free in some areas, with additional pay per click sponsored listings available to increase visibility. Despite its extensive coverage and useful tools, user feedback remains mixed, with numerous complaints on review sites regarding outdated listings, unwanted emails and difficulties managing or deleting accounts.
Founded in 1999, Totaljobs is a major UK job board currently owned by StepStone Group UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Axel Springer Digital Classifieds. The platform attracts approximately 20 million monthly visits and generates 4-5 million job applications each month, with over 300,000 daily visitors browsing through typically 280,000+ live job listings. As the flagship of a broader network including specialised boards such as Jobsite, CareerStructure and City Jobs, Totaljobs provides jobseekers with search functionality across various sectors, job alerts and career advice resources. For employers and recruiters, the platform offers pay-per-post job advertising, subscription options for CV database access and various employer tools.
Founded in 2011, this is one of the largest purely remote job boards globally, attracting approximately 6 million monthly visitors and featuring over 36,000 remote positions across various categories including programming, marketing, customer support and design. Based in Vancouver, the platform operates with a small remote-first team who vet listings to reduce spam and scams. Employers pay for each standard listing, while jobseekers access the service without charge. The interface is straightforward and categorised by functional area, earning trust from major companies like Google, Amazon and GitHub. However, the platform has limitations including basic filtering capabilities, a predominance of senior-level positions particularly in technology roles and occasional complaints about outdated or misleading posts. The service is most suitable for experienced professionals seeking genuine remote opportunities rather than those early in their careers. Some users report region-restricted application access and positions that offer lower compensation than expected for the required experience level.
Founded in 2014, this job board provides remote work opportunities for digital nomads and professionals across various industries. The platform offers over 30,000 fully remote positions spanning sectors such as technology, marketing, writing, finance and education. Users can browse listings freely, but a Premium subscription grants access to additional jobs, enhanced filters and email alerts. The interface is user-friendly with fast-loading pages and straightforward filtering options. The service primarily features global employment opportunities suitable for location-independent workers. However, several limitations exist: many positions require senior-level experience, particularly in technical fields; the free tier displays only a subset of available listings; filtering capabilities are relatively basic; and job descriptions sometimes lack detail. The platform has received mixed reviews, earning approximately 3.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot, with users noting the prevalence of senior technical roles and questioning the value of the premium subscription. It is most beneficial for experienced professionals comfortable with remote work arrangements, while those seeking entry-level positions might find fewer suitable opportunities.