Kuano.ai, a software platform for rapid, cost effective quantum modelling of enzymes, has raised £1 million in seed funding from ACF Investors, o2h Ventures and a syndicate of Cambridge-based angel investors. The funding will accelerate the company’s growth as it moves further towards commercialisation.

byrd, the tech-driven digital logistics and fulfilment platform, has raised a €16 million Series B funding round. The round was led by new investors Mouro Capital, an autonomously managed venture capital fund focused on fintechs and adjacent businesses that is backed by Banco Santander, joining Speedinvest, Verve Ventures, Rider Global and VentureFriends. This latest round follows on from byrd’s €5m Series A round in July 2020, bringing the total amount raised to date to €26 million.

BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor, has announced a successful exit of its investment in Click Travel, the fast growth business travel management company. The business has been acquired by leading global travel management platform, TravelPerk. 

It has been a record first half of the year for VC investment into London’s fintech sector, with new research from Dealroom.co and London & Partners revealing London-based fintech firms have already raised more VC investment than any other year, in only six months.

London’s strong performance has also helped to drive record levels of investment into Europe’s fintech sector, with European fintech firms raising $13.9bn, up 51% on full year 2020 investment levels. London was at the heart of this growth, with its fintech firms accounting for over a third of all European fintech funding.

Foresight Group, the award-winning listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has announced a £1.5m follow-on investment into portfolio company Biotherapy Services Ltd, a leading pharmaceutical biotech company.  The funds will be used to support the clinical development of RAPID^TM Biodynamic Haematogel, currently in phase 2b/3 clinical trials in the treatment of DFUs.

CAPZA, an independent management company and leading player in private investments in European SMEs – has invested in the French HR Tech AssessFirst, an SaaS platform for predictive recruitment and talent development focused on soft skills.

Toqio has announced a seed round of €8M from Seaya Ventures, Speedinvest and SIX FinTech Ventures, to scale its global financial SaaS platform. The company makes it easier for any business to quickly launch financial solutions, removing the need to build and manage complex software solutions through its platform and marketplace. 

After a year of record growth, national courier company Speedy Freight has announced investment from BGF – the UK’s most active growth capital investor – to accelerate its ambitious expansion plans.  

The British Business Bank has published data that gives a final comprehensive picture of how the Future Fund has supported businesses during the pandemic. 

Nottingham-based Boditrax Technologies Ltd has received a £500,000 loan from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) East & South East Midlands Debt Finance fund, backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), managed by Maven Capital Partners.

Fair By Design & GC Angels have backed death tech start-up Guardian Angel in a £1.1m Seed round.  Guardian Angel is a London-Manchester based death tech company that helps people plan for and manage death.The fresh funding comes off the back of a hot 6 months, with revenue and team tripling and customers growing to 100k across their services.This round brings Guardian Angel’s total funding to £1.6m in the last 24 months.

QV Bioelectronics – a medical device start-up pioneering a first of its kind electric field therapy implant for the treatment of the most common and aggressive type of brain tumours, has closed a £735,000 seed funding round to advance the development of its innovative GRACE implant.