Green Angel Ventures has made a follow-on investment in PES Technologies, which has just closed a £1.3m pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by TSP Ventures, with participation from Green Angel Ventures, Kero Development Partners, and Moorhampton Investments Limited.

Carbon Cell, a materials innovation company, has raised £1.2m in a pre-seed round to scale its novel, plastic-free foam made from biochar and natural polymers. This round was led by Green Angel Ventures and Counteract, with participation from HERmesa, RCA Design and Innovation S/EIS Fund, and One Planet Capital.

At the core of Carbon Cell's solution is biochar, a carbon-rich material made from agricultural waste that would otherwise be burned or left to decompose. Combined with natural polymers, this creates a high-performance, fully compostable foam that not only avoids plastics and petrochemicals but also boasts a negative carbon footprint because of the carbon captured within the biochar used to make the material.

Tended, the company behind a wearable safety solution, which helps to improve the safety of railway staff and prevent avoidable incidents, has raised £2m from Praetura Ventures and Blackfinch Ventures, as it aims to expand into new sectors and global markets.

Lincoln-based Tended has created an innovative geospatial positioning device to alert rail workers when they exit designated safe zones, allowing them to maintain a safe distance from onsite hazards, such as open lines and in-use heavy machinery.

Oxford Innovation Finance's EIS Growth Fund and OION Angel Network have invested in Gardin, the first real-time, remote and autonomous crop phenotyping SaaS platform, alongside LDV Capital, MMC, Navus Ventures and other investors.

Loxa, a UK-based Insurtech firm focused on revolutionising product protection, has successfully raised £125,000 through Angel Investment Network (AIN) as part of a £1.69 million Seed Round.

MindSpire, the neurotech start-up dedicated to helping people regulate stress and unlock peak performance, has raised £850,000 in pre-seed funding. This investment will support the launch of MindSpire's first device: SONA^TM, a medical-grade wearable that delivers precision-coded electrical pulses to the vagus nerve, activating brain circuits for calm, focus and enhanced learning.

The round was led by SFC Capital, with participation from SyndicateRoom and non-dilutive innovation funding secured via Innovate UK's Investor Partnership Programme. The £850,000 investment will enable MindSpire, based at the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE), to complete the development and launch of SONA^TM.

Solena Materials, a biomaterials company developing novel protein fibres for high-performance, intrinsically sustainable clothing, has secured $6.7 million in investment in a seed funding round backed by Sir David Harding, SynBioVen and Insempra.

Using artificia

Following initial investment in 2022, Clothes Doctor, leader in premium eco-friendly laundry care products, has secured a £500,000 follow-on equity from the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF). The funding comes via appointed Fund Manager, The FSE Group, as part of a £1 million round that includes funding from private investors.

The investment aims to fuel the company's global expansion and further its commitment to sustainable innovation, creating several new jobs across the business.

Hampshire based startup, Zeus Sleep, has secured a £150,000 investment from British Design Fund to help accelerate the development of its groundbreaking solutions designed to alleviate the symptoms of snoring and sleep apnoea.

Platter, a UK-based all-in-one wholesale food platform connecting buyers and sellers, has just raised a £350,000 pre-seed round. By consolidating all food ordering, sales and purchasing tools within one digital platform, Platter is tackling food sourcing inefficiencies for the 3 in 4 businesses that still manage their food orders offline.

Simpli, an insurtech startup building AI agents for the insurance industry, has closed a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by SFC Capital, with participation from a select group of strategic angel investors.

A new intelligence-led startup, AVIEL Intelligence, has emerged from stealth with an ambitious mission: to stop financial scams before they happen. Founded by ex-Google operators, the former UK director of what3words, and leading intelligence experts, AVIEL Intelligence has secured a £350,000 pre-seed investment round led by Fuel Ventures, one of the UK's leading early-stage venture capital firms. The round also includes backing from Cambridge Angels and a range of other angel investors including respected experts across the cybersecurity industry.