Tech Nation, the growth platform for tech companies and leaders, has appointed Jo Johnson as a new Board Director.

Iventis, a company whose events software platform is used by organisers of international sports competitions has raised £400,000 to support its further growth.

Iventis has secured investment from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), and the government’s Future Fund. The Lincoln-based company, which has been bucking the industry trend, is planning to use the funding to create seven new jobs.

NPIF Maven Equity Finance has led a £250,000 funding round for fissara, a software platform that enables its clients to plan, manage, schedule and track their mobile workforce as they move, improving business efficiency and reducing costs.

NPIF Maven Equity Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and managed by Maven Capital Partners, originally invested £500,000 in fissara in January 2020. The investment, which also includes £125,000 from the UK Government’s Future Fund, will help the Wythenshawe-based business capitalise on new market opportunities created by the increasing importance of digital transformation projects for UK business decision-makers, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The £5m investment, made on behalf of the Baronsmead VCTs, is in addition to further investment from existing shareholders and will support the expansion of eConsult Health into the secondary care market.

Beyond maintaining its position as the leading digital triage services in GP surgeries, eConsult Health will continue the rollout of its Urgent and Emergency Care triage solution, eTriage, and outpatient referral software, eSpecialist.

NatWest and ITV have today announced the launch of a new competition where three of the UK’s brightest small businesses will win their own TV advert worth £150,000, produced by acclaimed London-based advertising agency Pablo, with guaranteed, tailored airtime on ITV and through NatWest’s owned channels.

GC Angels’ Jess Jackson has joined 28 of the North’s most high-profile female investors from Northern Investment firms and angel groups to launch a new investment collective designed to break down the barriers faced by female-led businesses when securing investment and drive the number of female investors in the North.

Oliver Woolley, CEO of Envestors, talks about why incubators, accelerators and networks matching investors and startups need to be regulated and the grey areas such organisations need to be aware of.

Tech Nation, the growth platform for tech companies and leaders, announces the 32 companies that have been selected to join the Applied AI Growth programme and reveals new data that shows the UK leads Europe for AI investment. 

The Running Channel, the YouTube channel and content brand for a global audience of runners, has raised over £1 million in a private investment fundraise to help capitalise on international growth opportunities.

Ori Biotech Ltd (Ori), a leading innovator in cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing, today announced the successful close of a $30 million Series A financing round, bringing the company’s total funding to date to $41 million. The new funding will be used to help bring Ori’s innovative manufacturing platform to the market. The Ori platform delivers scalable solutions to flexibly address the critical clinical and commercial manufacturing needs of CGT developers.

Praetura Group, the Manchester-based debt and equity capital provider to Northern SMEs, has announced a series of organisational and board changes.

JAXJOX, the global fitness technology company known for its innovative workout equipment and platform, today announced that it has secured £7.7M in a Series A round of funding with investorsDowgate Capital Ltd. and entrepreneur Nigel Wray, bringing total funding raised to date £13M. The funding is set to expand  development of the highly anticipated JAXJOX InteractiveStudio, the world’s first digital at-home fitness platform with connected free-weight equipment that creates personalised data points based on the user’s performance, and hits the UK market early 2021.