The Royal College of Art (RCA) and Infinity Asset Management LLP have invested, through its RCA Design & Innovation S/EIS Fund, in PulpaTronics.

TalentMapper, a London-based company whose platform helps identify and develop the skills within an organisation, has raised £2m from Mercia Ventures and Haatch.

Despite being launched just 18 months ago, TalentMapper has already attracted major clients including Dunelm, Danone and Mountain Warehouse and achieved annual recurring revenue of over £700,000. The funding will enable the company to enhance the platform, expand its team and continue its rapid growth.

British Business Investments has provided an initial £20m funding facility to Sprk Capital Limited. The facility will provide capital to smaller businesses in the UK engaged in innovation.

Oxford Capital and Fuel Ventures have co-led a $1 million pre-seed funding round in Egregious, a pioneering company developing advanced technologies to defend humans from AI misuse.

4T2 Sensors, a Birmingham-based company developing real-time fluid analysis technology, has secured £800k in seed funding. The round was led by the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund (WMCO), managed by Midven (part of Future Planet Capital), alongside Waterpoint Lane and a group of angel investors.

Unum has announced the completion of an over-subscribed funding round, backed by existing shareholders, including ACF Investors and Origin Capital Partners.

VitVio, a London-based startup at the forefront of integrating AI into healthcare, has raised €1.8 million in pre-seed funding to transform surgical operating theaters by improving efficiency, enhancing patient outcomes, and reducing costs.

The funding round was led by LDV Capital with participation from Bek Ventures, Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company, and angel investors.

A government programme that was founded half a century ago has reached a milestone at Aston University.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) were established to boost UK businesses through collaboration with universities and other research organisations.

As the KTP scheme turns 50, Aston University has reached its own milestone by managing 40 projects concurrently, more than at any other time in its history. This is the largest KTP portfolio in the UK.

Northstar Ventures has led a £750,000 investment round into OnHand, the innovative social impact platform enabling businesses to become more responsible by empowering employees to drive meaningful change through corporate social responsibility initiatives. £325,000 has been invested by the North East Innovation Fund supported by the European Regional Development Fund and £175,000 from Northstar's EIS Growth Fund, alongside investment by 24 Haymarket. Total investment in OnHand to date now tops over £5m.

Dorset Business Angels first pitch event and investors' dinner of 2025 will be held on February 3rd at the Bournemouth Carlton Hotel.

Five local entrepreneurs have been invited to pitch for investment at the event from across a range of industry sectors.

Building on the success of the inaugural and second-year Seed Capital Investment Fund, The Dyers' Company has launched the Fund for a third year. This initiative is designed to support innovation and the commercialisation of business ideas within the colouration industry. The deadline for applications is 5th March 2025.

CANADA: Aspect Biosystems, a biotechnology company pioneering the development of bioprinted tissue therapeutics as a new category in regenerative medicine, has announced that it has closed a US$115 million Series B financing round. The financing was led by Dimension, a multistage investment firm dedicated to the interface of technology and the life sciences, with participation from existing and new investors including Novo Nordisk, Radical Ventures, an undisclosed leading global investment firm, InBC, Pallasite Ventures, Pangaea Ventures, Rhino Ventures, and T1D Fund: A Breakthrough T1D Venture.