Klydo, the innovation research assistant that uses advanced machine learning technology to help consumer brands accelerate their product innovation, has announced a £1m funding round, led by Episode 1. Paul McNabb, Managing Partner of Episode 1, commented, "this was one of those where everything came together. A strong technical founding team, truly innovative technology and a clear customer use case."  The round, which also included investment from retail and consumer sector specialist True and prominent angel investor William Tunstall-Pedoe (Founder of AI assistant "Evi", acquired by Amazon to create Alexa), will be used to expand the core team and accelerate Klydo's reach in the consumer brand space.

Research finds the Entertainment, E-commerce and Media sector has the highest valued startups with companies such as Uber ($68 billion) and AirBnb ($29.3 billion)

Comment by Mark Browridge, Director General of EISA

The Modern Industrial Strategy and its varying facets serve as a vital vein of progression for the nation’s network of self-start businesses. Pockets of innovation and entrepreneurial prowess in new-age sectors extend well beyond the capital, the traditional dominance of sectors such as Manufacturing in the Midlands, Financial Services in London and Technology and Media in London and the South East are by no means the complete picture.

Specialist provider of medical devices and equipment, IQ Medical, has received a £250,000 funding package through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, WM Debt Finance fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners.  The funding will be used to fuel the development of new, high-performance products – allowing it to diversify its NHS Hospitals and Care Home portfolio and strengthen its sales and marketing team.

Global technology investor Amadeus Capital Partners has announced the addition of two UK-based partners, Nick Kingsbury and Volker Hirsch, to its team of early stage venture capital investors. Nick’s investment focus will be on cyber security, AI and B2B software businesses while Volker’s expertise is in artificial intelligence & machine learning, human-machine interfaces, enterprise SaaS, autonomous systems, digital health and medical technologies.

Two award-winning inventors with a mission to develop more sustainable batteries have secured £150,000 to help launch their latest product from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund’s Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, managed by Mercia Fund Managers.

Amrit Chandan and Carlton Cummins of Aceleron have achieved a world first by developing a lithium battery which can be fully serviced to give it a much longer lifetime. The Circa battery has already made pilot sales for domestic energy storage and electric vehicles and gained approvals to be sold in the EU. Aceleron has also found a way to turn waste battery components into second-hand batteries.

When founders share the same vision, ambition and dedication for a great business idea, the sky is the limit. The flip side is that when founders are at war, their business will be lucky to survive no matter how great the idea.

Foresight Group has made a £1m investment into Nottingham-based Alpkit Limited on behalf of the Foresight Nottingham Fund, alongside bank funding provided by HSBC.

Alpkit is a fast-growing designer and retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment. Targeting the outdoor adventure enthusiast, Alpkit provides high quality clothing and equipment at an affordable price and offers over 500 lines across clothing, equipment and bikes. All products are designed at the Company’s HQ in Newthorpe, Nottingham, with a focus on technical performance, providing their customers with “gear that costs less but works harder.”

Kindaba, a private visual messenger for families, has secured investment from Gareth Williams ahead of their CrowdFunding Campaign. Kindaba helps customers stay connected with the promise of no adverts and a commitment to respect privacy and protect their data. 

The company aims to globally launch their new visual intelligent messenger for families and establish themselves as thought leaders in the FamTech (family technology) space over the next 12 months.

Master Investor's "Investing in the age of Longevity" takes place on 1st November 2018 at the Wellcome Collection in London

Maven Capital Partners, a leading UK property and private equity manager, has sold Marketgait Apartments, a 116 bed purpose built student accommodation development in Dundee to 90 North Real Estate Partners LLP. The asset has been sold for £9.5 million generating a return in excess of 2x Multiple of Money for Maven’s clients in little over three years.

Maven purchased the property for £1.55 million in April 2015 and, following a comprehensive £5 million internal refurbishment, Marketgait Apartments opened in time for the start of the 2016/17 academic year. The property enjoyed 100% occupancy last year and is fully let again for the 2018/19 student year.

London-based investment fund, Fuel Ventures, has invested £500,000 in Manufacturingsource.com, an on-demand manufacturing platform, which connects design and production engineers with suitable and trusted manufacturers to create custom parts. The site, which has attracted a global network of engineers and manufacturers, allows customers to get instant quotes and place orders, from prototypes to full scale production, on a single platform.