Deepbridge Capital and Boundary Capital backed diagnostics firm Glyconics® has been awarded an internationally recognised quality certification for the development of its diagnostic medical devices product range.

Ceryx Medical, a bioelectronics startup working towards the world’s first curative therapy for heart failure, has secured a £575,000 seed round.

The funding, which comprises a £250,000 commitment from the Development Bank of Wales, £225,000 from angel investors, and £100,000 from the University of Bristol’s Enterprise Investment Fund, managed by leading UK university spinout investor ParkWalk, will enable the company to grow its management and technology teams.

The Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre (ATTC) network has been awarded a total of £9.5 million to fund an additional 12 months of the programme. £6.5 million has been granted from the Government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and an additional £3 million from its Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), managed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The funding will support additional initiatives through to March 2022 and continuation of certain centre and network projects which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This award builds upon the significant success of the ATTC network to date. The UK accounts for 12% of global advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) clinical trials and the network supports half of those.

Global venture capital firm 500 Startups released new survey findings that reveal how startup investors are responding to the new challenges brought on by COVID-19 and their plans for 2021. The survey of 160 investors found that many respondents reported that investment activities have remained the same as planned before COVID-19, or even increased. Many respondents also believe that valuations have been as expected or higher than anticipated.

Booking.com CEO Kees Koolen has invested more than €4 million in Holidu, one of the fastest-growing travel tech companies worldwide, from his personal fund as part of a €5 million extension to the €40 million Series C round of the previous year.

The Insights People, the Manchester-based company which is a global leader in kids, parents and family market intelligence, has secured a £500k investment from DSW Angels, the business angel network focused on UK regional scale-up companies.

The investment will allow The Insights People to boost its international growth and follows its expansion into Brazil, Mexico and Canada in recent months. The company expects to create around eight new jobs in Manchester in the next six months.

The Insights People surveys 200,000 children and parents a year, providing clients with valuable insights into kids' attitudes, behaviours, and consumption. Its award-winning market intelligence and portal enables users to tailor the results to their own requirements to inform their marketing strategy, identify market trends and evaluate return on investment.

AccelerComm, a Southampton University spinout supercharging 5G, satellite and other wireless communications with IP which increases spectrum efficiency and reduces latency, has raised £5.8m in Series A funding in a round led by IQ Capital alongside  existing investors Bloc Ventures and the IP Group. The funding will be used to expand the current team, drive US and global expansion, and develop the technology further as demand for the company’s cutting-edge digital signal processing IP grows among mobile operators, telecoms equipment vendors, satellite operators and connected device manufacturers.

Praetura Ventures, the VC fund that targets high-value sectors in the north of England, is investing £1m in a tech company that helps businesses defend themselves against customer-focused cyberattacks and improve the digital experience their websites offer to consumers.

The funding secured by Leeds-based RapidSpike will allow it to enhance and scale its product and expand its client base to add to its stable of blue-chip customers that includes William Hill, Npower and major US brand retailer Helen of Troy (owner of Revlon, Braun and Honeywell among others).

Tribosonics, whose smart sensing technology helps industry to reduce costs, has raised £1.1m from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

Tribosonics embeds sensors within bearings and other moving parts to create ‘intelligent components’ which can monitor friction and wear and tear. The results help companies to extend plant life, prevent critical failures and reduce energy use.  Tribosonics’ technology can be used in manufacturing, power generation and transport – for example to create smart factories, or in critical parts such as the bolts on wind turbines and the bearings within a ship’s propeller.

Lincolnshire-based cyber security firm KryptoKloud Limited is pursuing new growth following a £500,000 investment from Foresight Group using finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund.

The Company is the latest in a number of female co-founded firms supported by MEIF, with the Foresight managed fund investing over 25% in mixed gender founding teams thus far, well above the 10% share of venture capital funding that normally goes to mixed gender teams.

British Business Investments Ltd, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has made a new £30m subscription in specialist lender Shawbrook Group plc’s £75 million Tier 2 note issuance. The investment follows an original £30m subscription to Shawbrook Bank’s previous Tier 2 note issuance in 2015, which has now been repaid.

BGV's Paul Miller explains why now, more than ever, the case for investing in Tech for Good is so compelling.