Crypta Labs, an innovative Internet of Things security company that is developing the world’s first portable quantum hardware security device for improving encryption protocols, is finalising £1.5m of funding, with one Henley Business Angels member participating in the funding round.

AI-based technology startup Liopa has completed a very successful fund-raising campaign on the SyndicateRoom crowdfunding website. The company raising 2.5 times the target amount in a 4 week period. It received strong backing from a number of angel investors and the Fund Twenty8 EIS fund.

New research by SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk has revealed how much CEOs earn compared to their employees around the world. 

Simudyne, a simulation technology company, has announced that it has closed a $6 million Series A fundraise, led by Barclays alongside a distinguished set of institutions.

The new funding round includes Graphene Ventures, an early investor in Snap and Lyft, and Gauss Ventures, whose team were early investors in Revolut and Tandem, bringing total capital raised since Simudyne was formed to $10 million.

Nauta Capital, a pan-European VC investing in capital-efficient B2B software companies and lean consumer plays, has announced the closing of a new €55M fund dedicated to backing its existing later-stage portfolio companies. 

The VC firm which has offices in London, Barcelona and Munich, invests in early-stage technology companies from late Seed and Series A and will use the new later-stage fund - dubbed ‘Sidecar Fund’ - to inject follow-on capital primarily from Series C in its portfolio as they mature for later-stage funding. 

A British entrepreneur has seen his company achieve its £500,000 crowdfunding target, giving it the green light to roll-out technology to reduce the 16 million metric tonnes of Nitrous Oxide produced by the US transportation sector annually.

Daniel Mitchell’s company addvantage USA Ltd says the technology, which has already been proven in Europe, can help American haulage companies reduce the diesel consumption of their vehicles by up to 17.6% and reduce NOx emissions by up to 83%. Mitchell is a former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and his last company was part of the Virgin Fast Track 100.

The commercial magic of the Spice Girls remains as strong as ever, as Emma Bunton’s ethical baby product business Kit & Kin, was responsible for the fastest raise in Angel Investment Network’s (AIN) 14 year history. It achieved its target of £420,000 in just one week on the UK’s largest online platform connecting start-up businesses with investors.

AIN has revealed more than £1m was offered in total for her eco-friendly nappies, wipes and skincare business but Kit & Kin decided to only accept £420k at this time, an amount which included a key strategic investor.

Nikki Howes is Investment Associate at Heartwood Investment Management, the asset management arm of Handelsbanken in the UK

Tech Nation, the UK network for ambitious digital tech entrepreneurs, has revealed the 24 dynamic, fast-growing, late-stage technology companies selected to join its prestigious Future Fifty cohort in 2019.

Future Fifty, established in 2013 to champion and support British tech businesses as they scale up their operations nationally and internationally – offering a window into the UK’s digital future. The programme supports these companies in creating jobs and opportunities across the UK, and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Quilam Capital, which provides both debt and equity solutions to companies in the speciality finance sector, has announced its seventh investment since it launched late 2017. 

Quilam has made a multi-million-pound investment into Propensio Finance Limited, a technology-led niche consumer finance platform, which provides unsecured loans to home owners to fund home improvements. The business has a strong network and relationships with home improvement product providers throughout the UK.

Maven Capital Partners has provided a £450,000 debt funding package to Reed Thermoformed Packaging Ltd (trading as “iPac”) via the North East Development Capital Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund. The funding will enable the company to continue to invest in its state-of-the-art facility to deliver on its ambitious expansion plans.

iPac is a manufacturer of thermoformed packaging supplying bespoke and standard packaging for the food and non-food packaging sectors. The business offers innovative solutions to packaging challenges, combining ingenuity with extensive process, tooling and design expertise to deliver aesthetically and functionally superior packaging to food processing businesses, packers and retailers.

Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the world’s most innovative businesses, enterprises and their investors, has appointed Erin Platts as Head of EMEA and President of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK Branch.

Platts’ appointment was approved by the FCA today. She replaces Phil Cox, who has taken the Chief Operating Officer role with the parent company, SVB Financial Group, at its headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Simon Bumfrey will take over Platt’s previous role, Head of Relationship Banking, Europe.