London-based ETF Partners has closed its third Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF3) at £167m, to grow the most innovative companies in the UK and Europe that help deliver long-term and sustainable economic prosperity.

The announcement comes as Covid-19 has highlighted the urgent need to address one of society’s greatest challenges – climate change, solutions to which can help power a strong economic recovery.  

Machine Labs has raised a Seed Extension round of £1 million ($1.25 million) lead by Techstart Ventures alongside the founders, the angel investors Bill Dobbie and Richard Freedman, and the British Business Bank. An additional £100,000 was provided in grant funding by Amazon and Scottish Enterprise.

BrainWaveBank Limited, an artificial intelligence (‘AI’) company focused on developing a machine learning-enabled neurocognitive platform for in-home assessment and remote monitoring of central nervous system disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and psychiatric conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, has closed a £1.1m financing round led by Par Equity and supported by current investors Techstart Ventures, Co-Fund II managed by Clarendon Fund Managers, Angel CoFund, and new investment from British Business Investments. This is the second investment that Par Equity has made in BrainWaveBank.

British Business Investments Ltd, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, had made a commitment to LGT Capital Partners through its £500m Managed Funds Programme.

The commitment will be split across two funds and is the largest to date from the Managed Funds programme, which acts as a cornerstone investor into large scale venture and growth capital funds of funds.

Traplight, the Finnish mobile game studio focused on highly accessible mid-core games, has announced the global launch of its new mobile gaming title Battle Legion alongside an €8 million funding round. Lead investor in the round is the EQT Ventures fund, with participation from Play Ventures and existing investors Initial Capital and Heartcore Capital. The funding will be used to double down on Battle Legion, which merges qualities from both mid-core and casual titles and has already secured exceptionally high engagement metrics and a positive community response.

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has published new research[1] which reveals that the COVID-19 crisis has fuelled the appetite of insurers 

Permutive, the publisher-focused data management platform, has raised $18.5 million Series B funding, led by Octopus Ventures with participation from EQT Ventures and earlier investors. The company, which works with global publishers, tripled revenue growth last year. The funding announcement comes at an unprecedented time for publishers, as web traffic continues to spike due to coronavirus yet struggles to monetize this readership persist.

Investment in Northern Ireland tech companies increased by over 50% last year, with both the number of deals and average value of each investment rising, according to new data published by Catalyst.

The third annual NI Deal Tracker report showed that in 2019 £44.3m in new share capital was invested as part of 61 deals in 55 locally based tech companies, a 54% increase in the value of transactions completed in the previous year.

Nearly four fifths (79%) of private equity fund managers expect investors to demand more transparency in reporting on portfolio company performance over the next 12 months, reflecting growing concerns over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kelvin Capital backed ProFactor Pharma Ltd (PFP), has completed an important development milestone in its research that will transform the treatment of ‘Haemophilia A’.

Based outside Edinburgh at the Easter Bush Campus, the company has received £1.1m (the second tranche of funding from its £2m funding round announced in September 2019) to advance its R&D programme, which is moving closer to toxicology studies for its low cost recombinant human factor VIII (rhFVIII) for the treatment of ‘Haemophilia A’.

A team of healthcare experts who developed a fast and low-cost way to protect carers working with Covid-19 patients has raised a £100,000 investment.

Mat Campbell-Hill and his colleagues who created the AerosolShield mini-isolation tent have secured the funding from the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network’s (WMAHSN) SME Health Innovation Fund, which is managed by Mercia, and MidTECH Innovations.

Draper Esprit has participated in the latest £25m Series C funding round in Cazoo, the UK's leading online car retailer. Cazoo allows customers to buy a used car entirely online and have it delivered to their door in as little as 72 hours.