Dutch artificial intelligence company Sentinels has raised £4.9 million (€5.7 million) in a seed funding round, led by INKEF Capital, complemented by strategic angel investors and industry leaders – including several members of the early Adyen team. The startup has now raised a total of £7.3m (€8.4m) to date.  

A company which has designed a software platform that helps businesses optimise online recruitment has raised £630,000 to support its growth plans.  Smart Recruit Online secured the funding from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), and private investors.

Qualus, the leading provider of sustainable solutions to the leather industry, has secured £1 million of financing in a round led by Irrus Investments, an Ireland based angel syndicate. Co-investors in the round include CPI Enterprises and angels from Cambridge Capital Group and Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of London.  After years of optimising its solution through in-field trials at tanneries, Qualus now has multiple customers transitioning all production to its innovative system and a strong pipeline of potential customers in Asia, Europe, and Latin America that have successfully applied its system at a pilot scale.

Deepbridge Capital, the UK venture capital investment manager, has announces that it has secured a £15m commitment from British Business Investments, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, to fund early-stage businesses across the UK.

A syndicate of significant Welsh investment angels has completed a £950,000 investment in Swansea-based Marine Power Systems.  Led by lead investor Andrew Diplock, the syndicate of 15 investors has invested £700,000 along with £250,000 match funding from the Development Bank of Wales’ Wales Angel Co-investment Fund. A further £750,000 from private investors has brought the total of the latest equity fundraise to £1.7 million.

Bright Star Studios has secured over $2 million in funding from multiple investors for its forthcoming free-to-play MMORPG (massively-multiplayer online roleplaying game) Ember Sword. This investment comes ahead of the game’s first Solarwood land sale of 12,000 plots on May 27th. Bright Star Studios intends to use the funding to further Ember Sword’s development, enabling it to deliver on its vision of a high-quality and immersive player-first gaming experience supported by an innovative play-to-earn economy powered by the blockchain.

eleXsysEnergy has raised £640,000 through Angel Investment Network, the world’s largest online angel investment platform. eleXsys Energy has developed a unique, international award-winning, enabling technology that will drive the transition of global energy grids to a clean energy future. The eleXsys® technology enables large commercial and industrial rooftops to become grid-connected, solar power plants. eleXsys® is the critical enabling technology being installed to build the IKEA eleXsys Microgrid at IKEA Adelaide, which will become 100% powered by renewable generation by 2025.

Green Angel Syndicate  has invested in environmental DNA pioneers NatureMetrics.  The Series A round, led by Acuity Investments, includes funding from both Green Angel Syndicate members and the recently launched Green Angel Syndicate EIS Climate Change Fund as well as investment from Systemiq, a consulting and investment firm that backs system-changing technologies.

Oliver Woolley of Envestors shares his thoughts on the impact that Covid pandemic has had on investment.

With an initial pre-seed investment of £25k as part of a larger £150k SEIS seed round raised through team members, angels and friends, the DadShed application is ready to move onto its second build (v2), incorporating an updated category section, a mobile app version and a round of UI/UX design improvements.

Oceanium, the UK-based seaweed processing and food & material innovation business has announced the first close of a Seed II Round worth £2m led by Green Angel Syndicate with World Wildlife Fund. Oceanium will use the funds to scale up its proprietary biorefinery and processing model to open up the market for the nascent sustainable seaweed farming industry. Oceanium's technical and innovative refinement method has been developed to process seaweed for applications including use in plant-based foods and sustainable packaging material as an alternative to plastic.

Venture Capital investment firm JPIN VCATS has completed a £1.5million raise to drive forward the development of the world's largest investment corridor between the the UK and India. The investment has come from a group of Super Angels, renowned Family Offices and Institutional Investors from the UK, India, Europe, Africa and the Middle East in a raise that spans a global ecosystem of investors. JPIN VCATS will look at backing growth to Series D rounds.