24Haymarket, a private capital firm focused on growth equity and venture capital investments in the UK, and Forward Partners, an early-stage investor focused on applied AI, marketplaces and e-commerce, has made an investment in Clustermarket, the SAAS-enabled marketplace for laboratories and equipment. Existing investors such as industry heavyweights Jonathan Milner and Bruce Barclay also participated in the $3.5m round.

E-commerce start-up Haru has secured just under half a million pounds of investment from the COVID-19 Equity Investment Fund (CEIF), Co Fund NI, part of Invest Northern Ireland’s Access to Finance portfolio, and private investors through the Halo & Business Angel Network (HBAN) Ulster Network.

Deep technology company VividQ, a leading software and IP developer for holography, has announced a seed extension round of £11M. The Cambridge head-quartered business is powering the display revolution with Computer-Generated Holography. Its technology is used in the development of next-generation digital displays and devices, by manufacturers in the US, China and Japan.

Specialist M&A advisory firm Ciesco has confirmed that Chip[s] Board, which develops bioplastics from food waste, has completed fundraising to support the next stage of its development.

Pembroke VCT, the venture capital trust focused on building the brands of tomorrow, has invested £1.75m into OnePlan, the collaborative, real-time platform providing a single source of truth for event planners worldwide. Pembroke is the lead investor in a total fundraise of £2.75m.

Your FLOCK, a remote work tech startup that helps increase employee engagement by discovering a team’s core values, has secured £240k from GC Angels and a private angel to bolster its development team and scale the product’s growth.  Based on pioneering methodology from Stanford University and the University of Manchester, Your FLOCK helps employees become more engaged and businesses to become more productive and successful by helping to develop cohesive and employee engagement driven company cultures. 

BGF – the UK & Ireland’s most active investor – has announced a successful exit from Semafone, a leading provider of data security and compliance solutions for call and contact centres, after it was acquired by Livingbridge.

Insurtech platform Nayms has announced a new cohort of investors who have subscribed to a future listing of the project's native token, NAYM. This new cohort includes some existing investors, including XBTO, Maven11 and Coinbase Ventures, whilst welcoming in the likes of Spartan Ventures, DFG, LD Capital, Cadenza, Woodstock, and Kin Insurance CEO, Sean Harper. These investors are among 20+ funds and angels across the digital asset and insurance market who are partaking in the NAYM token round.

CEMEX Ventures, the corporate venture capital and open innovation unit of CEMEX, has increased its participation in Modulous, a UK based company that exploits technology in a bid to modernise the design and construction of affordable housing, making the process more efficient, scalable, and relying on a strong network of supply chain partners. Modulous received its first investment from CEMEX Ventures in 2020 after winning the firm’s Construction Startup Competition.

DAPV Ltd, trading as Boulevard Online, a Worcester-based e-commerce business has secured a funding package of up to £600,000 to help build its software and expand its operations whilst creating new employment opportunities.

Solihull based RoadHow, an app designed to help drivers to become safer and more aware on the road, while potentially saving them money on their insurance, has secured £500k from Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) WM Equity Finance Fund, managed by venture capital firm Midven (part of the Future Planet Capital group).

The software platform and app, which has been in development for two years, can be used by motorists to test their driving knowledge and aid further learning. Insurers will be able to review and monitor the data collected and offer incentives or discounts on car insurance, adding a new set of data into the insurance pricing and underwriting decision making process.

GoStudent, the Vienna-based Ed-Tech scale-up which provides video-based online tutoring in 1-on-1 format, has hit unicorn status in less than 2.5 years since finding its current business model, following a successful Series C funding round of €205M. This comes just two months after the completion of GoStudent’s €70M Series B round. The Series C investment is led by DST Global with participation from additional new investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tencent, Dragoneer and existing investors Coatue, Left Lane Capital and DN Capital.