Lion Herald's Exclusive UK Tech Week Roundup - What You Missed This Week

Lion Herald Newsletter | Issue #19 - Saturday/ November 11, 2023 | Lincoln, UK

November 11, 2023

Good Evening!

I've got a roundup for you, covering the latest in the UK business and tech landscape as published on lionherald.com over the week.

First up, Barclays has invested £3 million in Sustainable Ventures, an investment firm focusing on sustainability and innovation, aiming to expand its reach from London to Manchester and support climate tech initiatives across the UK.

Monzo has appointed Phoebe Chibuzo Hugh, founder of insurtech startup Brolly, to lead its insurance division, demonstrating Monzo's commitment to enhancing its insurance offerings. On the venture capital front, Ada Ventures' report sheds light on a significant gender divide in the industry, emphasizing the need for reform, transparency, and concrete commitments to support diverse management teams.

In cybersecurity, Risk Ledger has successfully raised £6.25 million for its supply chain risk management platform, bringing their total investment to £9.8 million. Shifting gears to the crypto world, Pimlico, a London-based startup, secures £3.4 million in seed investment from a16z, marking a notable moment as the firm's first investment in a UK-based enterprise.

In the unicorn territory, rebate management platform Enable achieves a valuation of $1.12 billion after a £98 million funding round, while Dubai Investments injects £40 million into Monument, a UK-based challenger bank. Financial AI platform Eilla AI secures $1.5 million in seed funding, and real-time video analysis startup Fyma raises $2.1 million.

Lastly, Newcastle-based Luminous Group secures an additional £1 million for its metaverse-ready training platform, extending its technology to a broader audience and creating job opportunities.

This diverse array of funding and strategic moves reflects the dynamic landscape of innovation and growth across various sectors in the UK. Let me know if you need more details on any specific aspect!

Thanks for Reading,

I am Fabrice Iranzi, Editor in Chief at Lion Herald, please find below the key headlines on stories we published.

Tech Headlines this Week

Sustainable Ventures, an investment firm focused on sustainability and innovation, has received a substantial £3 million investment from Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital. This funding will enable the firm to expand from its London base to Manchester, a crucial step in supporting climate tech initiatives across the UK. This investment, Sustainable Ventures' first external funding round, will help them establish a presence in various locations across the UK. The move to Manchester strategically positions them in the country's second-largest tech ecosystem, aiming to strengthen the growth of climate tech initiatives and advance the UK's sustainability efforts.

Phoebe Chibuzo Hugh, the founder of insurtech startup Brolly, has joined Monzo as the head of its insurance division, aiming to expand the bank's insurance offerings. Monzo introduced insurance services in its premium account in 2020, and this move reflects the bank's commitment to enhancing its insurance capabilities as it strives to become the platform for customers to manage their financial lives seamlessly. Hugh expressed enthusiasm for Monzo's mission to make money work for everyone and sees a significant opportunity for innovation in the insurance industry. Her experience at Aviva, founding and exiting Brolly, and working with Direct Line Group positions her well for this role within the UK's favorite challenger bank.

A report titled "Women in UK Venture Capital" by Ada Ventures reveals a significant gender disparity in the venture capital industry. Male-owned venture capital funds have received nearly ten times more investment from limited partners (LPs) than their female-owned counterparts over the past six years, highlighting the gender divide. The report also uncovers the practice of "gender washing" within the VC industry, where firms hire women for junior roles, perpetuating gender imbalances at higher leadership levels. The report emphasizes the need for reform to break down barriers obstructing women's advancement within the industry. Beyond VC, startups founded by women received just 2% of total equity investment in 2022, underscoring the pervasive nature of this issue. The report calls for more transparency, concrete commitments from LPs to support diverse management teams, and efforts to bridge gender pay and carried interest gaps within firms to create a more equitable and prosperous future in the world of venture capital and private equity. This is crucial not just for social justice but also for economic performance and societal change.

Risk Ledger, a platform focusing on supply chain risk management, has successfully raised £6.25 million in a series A funding round, with Mercia Ventures leading the investment and participation from other notable investors. This funding brings their total investment to £9.8 million and will be utilized to further develop their product offering. Risk Ledger's platform acts like a social network, enabling member organizations to share control profiles covering 12 security domains within their supply chains. Their unique approach helps clients understand and manage the risks presented by third-party suppliers, which is an increasingly critical aspect of cybersecurity. The platform's real-time network allows for a constantly updated and comprehensive view of the supply chain security ecosystem. Ultimately, Risk Ledger aims to enhance online security by enabling organizations to understand and respond to security incidents within their supply chains, making the online world safer for everyone.

London-based crypto startup Pimlico has secured £3.4 million ($4.2 million) in a seed investment round, led by American venture capital firm a16z, marking a significant moment as the firm's first investment in a UK-based enterprise. Pimlico, founded by Kristof Gazso earlier this year, is dedicated to improving the user experience in the crypto world, offering services like gas fee sponsorship, ERC-20 token payments, social recovery schemes, batched transactions, and more. The company's developer library, used for creating smart account wallets and applications, has already powered nearly three million user operations. Pimlico's success comes amidst a broader cryptocurrency market downturn, reaffirming the growing impact of innovative startups in the cryptocurrency sector.

UK-founded rebate management platform, Enable, has achieved unicorn status with a valuation of $1.12 billion after a successful funding round that raised £98 million ($120 million). The Series D round attracted investments from renowned firms like Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Insight Partners, and Sierra Ventures. Enable's software facilitates B2B rebate management and plays a crucial role in businesses across the supply chain. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, Enable has expanded globally, with over 600 employees and notable clients like Advanced Auto Parts and Douglas Dynamics. The company, co-founded by CEO Andrew Butt and Denys Shortt, provides automated workflow tools for managing rebate negotiations and plans to introduce new features, such as inventory rebate accounting and special pricing agreements. This marks Enable's fourth funding round since 2020, bringing their total capital raised to $276 million.

Dubai Investments has injected £40 million into Monument, a UK-based challenger bank, in a Series B funding round, increasing its stake to nearly 17%. Monument, granted a banking license in 2021, caters to "mass affluent" clients and has attracted 4.8 million investors and entrepreneurs. This funding brings Monument's total raised capital to over £100 million, with plans to raise an additional £100 million for its upcoming Series C round. Monument's CEO, Ian Rand, sees this as a pivotal milestone, allowing the bank to serve the "mass affluent" segment in the UK and eventually expand beyond the UK. Dubai Investments' CEO, Khalid Bin Kalban, highlights Monument's growth trajectory and commitment to innovation.

London-based Eilla AI, a generative AI platform designed to streamline financial tasks for M&A, venture capital (VC), and private equity (PE) professionals, has secured $1.5 million in seed funding led by Eleven Ventures with support from Fuel Ventures. Eilla AI's innovative technology automates mundane tasks, providing superhuman productivity and enabling professionals to focus on value-added activities. With AI's rapid transformation of the financial industry, Eilla AI is well-positioned to refine the sector. Its platform has already been adopted by over 50 M&A banks and VC and PE funds, delivering insights and accelerating decision-making by aggregating and analyzing extensive data sources. This funding will facilitate further growth, expansion of the technical team, and product development, ensuring Eilla AI's continued impact in M&A, venture capital, and private equity markets.

London-based AI startup Fyma has successfully secured $2.1 million in funding led by Quadri Ventures and Second Century Ventures. Founded in 2019 by Karen Burns and Taavi Tammiste, Fyma specializes in real-time video feed analysis through its universally compatible software. The funding will be used to bolster the company's go-to-market strategy and support further product development in facilities management and real estate. Fyma's software seamlessly integrates with any IP camera worldwide, converting them into sensors for comprehensive real-time video analysis. The applications cater to commercial real estate developers, offering insights from monitoring and occupancy analysis to precise footfall tracking and efficient parking management. Fyma's environmentally friendly approach reduces the need for additional hardware, aligning with their commitment to minimizing the carbon footprint associated with sensor systems. The company aims to revolutionize the industry by making its software compatible with existing camera networks, minimizing the necessity for costly infrastructure upgrades. Overall, Fyma's innovative AI solution is positioned to transform visual data into actionable insights, saving time and money for clients globally.

Newcastle-based business Luminous Group, specializing in 3D digital technology, is set to expand and create 10 new jobs after securing an additional £1 million in funding from the North East Venture Fund. The virtual reality specialist, known for its immersive training programs, plans to use the funds to extend its technology to a broader audience and establish a third office in the Middle East. Luminous XR, the company's extended reality platform, incorporates augmented, mixed, and virtual reality for efficient training program creation. The system is particularly suitable for energy companies and manufacturers, allowing the recreation of real-life scenarios safely. Luminous aims to become a global leader in XR training, with plans to open offices in Saudi Arabia, launch a global marketing campaign, and introduce a self-service platform and a marketplace for training providers. The funding marks the third investment round, bringing the total to over £1.9 million. CEO Ben Bennett is optimistic about the future of VR and XR technologies, citing the expected boost from Apple's upcoming mixed-reality headset.

Thanks for joining us in this edition of the Lion Herald Newsletter. We hope you've found inspiration and valuable insights to fuel your tech and innovation journey. Remember, every idea counts, and together, we can turn them into real-world solutions. Stay curious, stay innovative, and stay tuned for more exciting stories in our next issue!

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