Funding

Ori, a UK-based provider of cloud infrastructure for AI, has secured a key strategic investment from Wa’ed Ventures, Saudi Aramco’s venture capital arm, as it eyes up explosive growth in the Middle East market over the coming 12 months. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Noxus has raised $1.5 million in pre-Seed funding. Led by SFC Capital, the round also saw participation from Antler, Bynd VC, Caixa Capital, AltaIR Capital, I2BF Global Ventures, Yellow Rocks, and Smart Partnership Capital plus prominent business angels from the European ecosystem. The funding will help further develop and scale Noxus’ platform and expand operations.

Funding and support are now available for the next generation of great ideas to take silicon photonics from research to implementation.

Bluebook, the AI-powered software specifically designed for savvy accounting firms eager to embrace AI innovation and transform traditional accounting practices, has announced it has raised $3 million in funding including $2.5 million pre-seed round led by EQT Ventures and a separate capital injection from Y Combinator. Angel investors in the pre-seed round include Huey Lin (Founding COO of Affirm), Laura Modiano (OpenAI) and Carles Reina (Eleven Labs).

Fintech scaleup Revving, which is reshaping digital media payments through innovative invoice factoring, has secured a £107 million investment led by global asset manager DWS.

Edmund, a Czech-based startup specialising in AI solutions for manufacturing, has closed a €500,000 pre-seed round led by Lighthouse Ventures, with Czech Founders VC,  Borovicka Capital, and deeptech investor Tensor Ventures joining. This round of fundraising will be used to enhance Edmund’s platform and expand its presence throughout the EU and US markets.

HowNow – the AI-powered learning and skills platform, has announced the completion of its Series A funding having raised a total of £7.5 million. Following an initial £4 million Series A investment from Mercia Ventures and FTSE 100 education firm Pearson in February 2023, HowNow recently secured a further £3.5 million from the same two investors, along with Fuel Ventures.

Nina Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to healthcare transformation through technology, has announced the first close of its €50 million Fund III. The new fund will propel Nina Capital’s total assets under management to over €100 million, reinforcing its position as a leading international investor driving impactful healthcare innovation.

MarketLeap, the fully integrated AI-driven platform to simplify and scale D2C ecommerce, has announced an $8 million Series A funding round led by Smedvig Ventures, with participation from Expon Capital, Motier Ventures, and prominent business angels including former executives from Amazon, SoftBank, and Unilever. This capital injection will allow the company to accelerate platform development and invest in top talent to support its rapid growth trajectory.

Breakthrough, an AI self-learning B2B sales messaging startup that launched at the end of 2024, has already secured $600,000 in a pre-seed round, and secured customers including Fortune 500 companies.

A couple of Manchester-based graduates have successfully launched the B2B travel-tech platform Arcube, with Etihad Airways as its first customer. In conjunction with the launch, Arcube is announcing a $1.5 million seed round to further develop the platform and its services, co-led by Fuel Ventures and Oxford Capital.

Building trust between founders and investors is essential for securing investment and support through various growth stages. Honest, clear, concise, and transparent communication creates this trust, especially when founders present realistic plans and projections, and openly discuss risks.

The UK has long been a beacon of scientific and technological innovation. With its tech ecosystem valued at $1.2 trillion and $16.2 billion raised in 2024 alone, the UK continues to lead Europe in venture capital investments. A significant driver of this success is the robust support from international investors, particularly from the United States. In 2024, US investors accounted for 42% of the total funding and 58% of all late-stage funding over $100 million. This substantial influx of US capital is crucial in maintaining the UK’s status as a global innovation leader.

London based firm, High-Velocity Startups which was established in 2012, through its STRIVE Acceleration Fund has awarded the founder of Jim, Isham Broer, a University of Exeter student, with a £2,000 grant and accelerator support, for his startup business.

Let’s talk about money. More specifically, let’s talk about why women struggle to secure it for their businesses.

VISARUN.AI, an AI-powered visa-as-a-service platform, has raised $700,000 in pre-seed funding from Swiss and UAE-based angel investors with extensive experience in e-commerce and trading. The investment will fuel the company’s platform development, sales team expansion, and strategic market penetration initiatives.

Northcote Equity, a newly established private equity firm, has announced the first and final close of its maiden fund, ‘Northcote Fund I’, at its hard cap of £160 million, only 16 weeks after launching the fundraise.

MacroCycle Technologies – the startup using upcycling tech to cut the costs, energy, and carbon demands of the $700 billion plastic waste industry – has announced it has raised $6.5 million in seed funding.

In its very first days, the new US administration has confirmed its intentions to draw back on some of the key environmental commitments made by the previous government. President Donald Trump immediately signed to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, to end “the electric vehicle mandate,” and to increase oil and gas extraction in order to tackle an energy shortage.

With global supply chains facing mounting pressures and costs continuing to rise, manufacturing is at a critical juncture. Industries like aerospace, automotive, and construction face long lead times and high costs for large-format components, relying heavily on fragmented supply chains and labour-intensive processes. Manufacturing automation business SAEKI announced a $6.7 million funding round to address these challenges through its innovative approach to digital manufacturing.