News
Since the EU referendum, UK tech companies have received over £5bn in venture capital funding, with London taking in 80% of that.
Over the last two years, the UK has earned more than the next three top-earning European countries combined - France (£1.55bn), Germany (£2.15bn) and Sweden (£644m).
London has also come top for funding in some sectors including AI and cybersecurity, with fintech being the sector that attracted the most investment at more than £1.79bn. The capital’s biggest deals included fintech unicorn Transferwise, which raised £211m in November 2017, and digital banking players Revolut (£177m) and Monzo (£71m).
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SkinNinja, a skincare app that allows users to find out what ingredients their skincare products consist of, has raised £750,000 in funding. The round was led by investors Voulez Capital, as well as Firestartr and the London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF). It brings the total SkinNinja have raised to £1m and their value to £3.4m.
The funds will be used to continue developing the startup’s proprietary tech stack, including machine learning and AI, as well as to invest in key hires and expand the company’s B2B offering.
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General Atlantic, a New York-based private equity house, has taken a stake in French online fashion brand Sézane.
Sézane was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Morgane Sézalory and has been growing rapidly. Although it launched online, it has now expanded to having stores in Paris, New York and is due to open a store in London later this year.
General Atlantic has a diverse portfolio of investments including stakes in other fashion companies such as Tory Burch and Zimmerman.
Two of General Atlantic’s executives Gabriel Caillaux and Melis Kahya have taken seats on the Sézane’s board.
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Hotel Chocolat, a luxury confectionery retailer, has paid off bondholders who purchased “chocolate bonds” with £6.4 million worth of luxury chocolate.
The investors received the equivalent of 6.72% interest, so customers who bought a £2000 bond would receive six boxes worth £18.95 a year.
The funds were used to create 600 UK jobs by contributing to growth and new store opening across the country, as well as increasing support for cocoa growers in Ghana and Saint Lucia.
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Kirsten Ward and Saher Naumaan, BAE Systems threat intelligence analysts, have just launched the first cyber security conference of its kind in Europe, featuring an all-female speaker line-up.
The cyber security conference has been titled RESET, in reference to other conferences in this field which are male-speaker heavy, something the two analysts are keen to change. As well as the fact that women make up only 11% of cyber security professionals worldwide.
RESET will take place on 14th June at University College, London (UCL).
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Airtime Rewards, a Manchester-based company that offers phone bill discounts for shopping with their retail partners, has raised £1m in Seed round. The majority of the investment - £750,000 - came from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
The company has currently partnered with Waitrose, Missguided, Groupon, Jack Wills & Byron. It also has agreements in place with all of the UK’s major mobile network operators.
This latest investment will be used to expand the business and create 12 new jobs in the next year as well as developing the company’s sales and marketing functions.
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Ocado, the online-only grocer, is on the verge of being promoted into the FTSE 100 for the first time thanks to a successful year that saw its share price treble.
Shares in Ocado rose 44% on the day its tie-up with US grocery giant Kroger was announced, adding £1.6bn to its stock market value. Other deals have been struck with grocery chains in France, Sweden and Canada to license out its market-leading online delivery technology.
This hike has led to Ocado now being worth more than retailer Marks & Spencer, which had been valued at £4.8bn prior to its full-year report that included poor results and an announcement on store closures.
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MedicSpot, an online GP service, has managed to raise a total of £1m in funding from Henley Business Angels.
The company's main aim is to use tech, such as their MedicCam, to provide a CQC approved private GP service, which is offered via telehealth connection. This will allow people to have more appointment options in terms of time and place, making it easier to fit into a busy schedule.
MedicSpot will use the funds to help boost its expansion to 300 pharmacies in major cities across the UK as well as increase patient numbers ten-fold in the next 12 months.
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Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has offered up his annual summer reading list:
1. Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson
Top Takeaway: Follow your sense of wonder, but don't go overboard.
2. Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved, by Kate Bowler
Top Takeaway: Don't get stuck on finding a reason - bad things do happen to good people.
3. Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
Top Takeaway: Look carefully at the human consequences of decisions.
4. Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian
Top Takeaway: Our world is interconnected, and its not too late to learn about it.
5. Factfulness, by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund
Top Takeaway: Don't panic! At least not until you've broken down why you're scared.
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Ultromics, a UK-based startup which uses AI to diagnose coronary heart disease, has raised £10 million in a Series A round. The investment was led by Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), with participation from Neptune, RT Ventures, GT Healthcare, Tanarra, Fushia, and angel investors Andre Crawford-Brunt and Dieter Spälti.
With heart disease affecting almost 50% of people over the age of 40 and the biggest cause of death globally Ultromics aims to significantly increase accuracy in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease using its AI technology.
The investment will be used to bring the technology to market in the USA and make it available in the UK early 2019.
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