News by David Johnson
écrit le 17 January 2025, MÀJ le 17 January 2025
17 January 2025
Temps de lecture : 15 minutes
15 min
0

Synthesia 2.0, traveltech, quantum and fintech for immigrants in this week's MaddyMoney

Every week, Maddyness brings you the latest investment news from the UK startup ecosystem. Here's a recap of this week's investments.
Temps de lecture : 15 minutes
Total
£247.81M
Number of deals
11

Synthesia secures £147M in Series D funding to advance AI video for enterprise communications

Synthesia, the leading AI-powered video communications platform, has successfully closed a £147M Series D funding round led by NEA, with participation from notable investors such as GV, MMC Ventures, and PSP Growth. This funding, which values Synthesia at $2.1B, will fuel the development of Synthesia 2.0, an innovative enterprise AI video platform designed to transform video production and distribution. The platform boasts advanced features like personal AI avatars, multilingual dubbing, and AI video assistants, enabling businesses to create scalable, localised, and engaging video content for learning, sales, and marketing.

The funding will also support Synthesia’s global expansion into markets such as Japan, Australia, and North America, where it serves over 60,000 customers, including 60% of Fortune 100 companies. Leaders from NEA and other investors highlighted Synthesia’s transformative impact on enterprise communication, noting its ability to streamline content creation and improve global engagement. With strategic hires like new CTO Peter Hill and a focus on security and compliance, including ISO 42001 certification, Synthesia is setting benchmarks in responsible AI innovation.

Synthesia’s solutions are already driving measurable results for companies like Siemens, IKEA, SAP, and Korn Ferry, helping them enhance communication and learning through cost-effective and multilingual video content. By leveraging AI to democratise video creation, Synthesia is empowering organisations worldwide to deepen engagement, improve efficiency, and adapt content to diverse audiences, cementing its role as a pioneer in generative AI.

RocketPhone raises £8.6M to commercialise AI-native voice platform

RocketPhone.ai, a leading voice processing system for Salesforce, has raised £8.6M in non-VC funding to enhance its AI-native platform, which improves business velocity by 10 times. The company’s flagship product, RocketCell, integrates mobile call recording and transcription directly into Salesforce without additional apps and is already gaining traction across multiple sectors.

In line with its growth, RocketPhone.ai appointed Professor Michael Wooldridge of Oxford University to its advisory board. His expertise will be key as the company develops its upcoming video analysis tool, which will extend real-time intelligence to platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams by analysing facial and body expressions to improve engagement insights.

Co-founder and CEO Muj Choudhury highlighted that the funds will drive continued innovation, including new AI-driven tools for sales and customer service. With a strong advisory team and unique offerings, RocketPhone.ai is positioned to lead advancements in enterprise communication solutions.

TalentMapper raises £2M to drive growth and expand skill development platform

TalentMapper, a platform that helps businesses identify and nurture workforce skills, has secured £2M in funding from Mercia Ventures and Haatch. Launched just 18 months ago, the company has already attracted clients like Dunelm, Danone, and Mountain Warehouse, achieving over £700,000 in annual recurring revenue. The new funding will fuel platform enhancements, team expansion, and further growth.

Designed for organisations with more than 250 employees, TalentMapper provides HR teams with a comprehensive view of workforce capabilities, helping reduce recruitment costs and promote fair career progression. For employees, it serves as a career development guide, linking them to learning resources to maximise potential. Notably, companies using TalentMapper report double the gender diversity and a four-fold improvement in ethnic diversity in new appointments.

Co-founded by Martin Mason, a former HR leader frustrated by outdated talent management processes, and Carl Tucker, the company’s CTO, TalentMapper leverages AI and machine learning to analyse over 675 million career histories. Mason highlighted that the platform helps businesses put the right people in the right roles while ensuring promotions are merit-based. Investors believe TalentMapper is a pioneer in the emerging SkillTech sector, with significant potential to transform workforce management in a rapidly evolving job market.

Unum secures funding to innovate in aircraft seating

Unum Aircraft Seating (Unum) has completed an over-subscribed funding round, backed by existing investors ACF Investors and Origin Capital Partners. The funding, which exceeded expectations by over 50%, comes amid growing demand in the business class seating market. The new investment will accelerate Unum’s team expansion and support the TSO certification of upcoming seating solutions.

Chris Brady, Founder and CEO of Unum, expressed enthusiasm about the milestone, emphasising that the funding reflects investor confidence in Unum’s mission to deliver reliable, comfortable, and sustainable business class seating. With its agile supply chain and localised manufacturing, Unum offers airlines adaptable, high-quality seating solutions designed to reduce delivery delays and improve customer experience.

Unum’s multi-award-winning Unum One seating family provides luxurious, lightweight lie-flat business class seats for both single and twin-aisle aircraft. The company’s focus on innovation, sustainability, and transparency in carbon reporting has positioned it as a leading alternative in the premium aircraft seating industry.

nsave Raises £14.7M and launches investment product to empower customers from High-Inflation economies

nsave, a London and Geneva-based financial services provider, has secured £14.7M in Series A funding led by TQ Ventures, with additional backing from Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, ACE Ventures, and Proton Foundation. The funding will accelerate the company’s mission to offer trusted, compliant financial solutions for people facing financial exclusion due to high inflation or outdated banking practices.

Founded by former Rhodes Scholars Amer Baroudi and Abdallah AbuHashem, nsave enables customers to open safe and compliant offshore accounts in partnership with regulated financial institutions in the UK and Switzerland. With the launch of its new investment product, customers can now access US equities, ETFs, and soon, professionally managed funds, helping them protect and grow their wealth.

“Our goal is to give everyday people safe financial services, no matter their country of birth,” said CEO Amer Baroudi. Schuster Tanger of TQ Ventures praised nsave’s innovative approach, highlighting the founders' personal connection to the issue and their commitment to creating an inclusive financial ecosystem.

Lupa secures £3.27M to transform veterinary practice management with AI

Lupa, an AI-native veterinary practice management platform, has raised £3.27M in a seed round led by firstminute capital, 2100 Ventures, and Vento by Exor Ventures, alongside high-profile angel investors from McKinsey, BCG, JP Morgan, and Nexi. The funds will accelerate Lupa’s product development and expand its commercial footprint in the veterinary sector, addressing the growing demand for efficient solutions amid increasing pet ownership and a UK vet shortage.

Founded by Nicolò Frisiani, Matei Bjola, and ex-Meta engineer Raul Lozano Martin, Lupa aims to reduce the administrative burden on veterinary staff by providing an intuitive, AI-powered Veterinary Operating System. Key features include the AI Co-Pilot assistant, Lupa Notes for automated clinical documentation, and user-friendly interfaces for pet owners. The platform has already onboarded clinics and secured an exclusive partnership with Vetsure, with early trials showing significant time savings for vets and faster adoption compared to legacy systems.

Backed by investors who see its potential to reshape the veterinary landscape, Lupa plans to evolve beyond practice management by creating a comprehensive ecosystem connecting clinics and pet owners. With the $320B global pet spend market in sight, Lupa is set to revolutionise how veterinary care is delivered and monetised. The company’s ongoing expansion is supported by a growing number of clinics and enthusiastic endorsements from veterinary professionals.

TRIBE secures £2.4M to expand and launch new protein range

TRIBE, the natural energy snack brand known for its vegan, gluten-free products, has raised £2.4M in a funding round led by Mercia Ventures, with additional support from Yeo Ventures, Crowdcube, and private investors. The investment comes as TRIBE launches its new ‘Protein + Focus’ range featuring lion’s mane mushroom, and plans to make key senior appointments to support its rapid growth.

Founded in 2015 by Robert Martineau and Tom Stancliffe, TRIBE has gained widespread recognition for its commitment to using only natural ingredients and for its involvement in combating modern slavery through the TRIBE Freedom Foundation. The company’s products are now available in major UK supermarkets like Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose, with a revenue target of over £20M by 2027.

The new funding will enable TRIBE to continue expanding its product offering and community-driven initiatives, while benefitting from the expertise of newly appointed Chair Steve Rich, former Managing Director of FulFil. With the rising demand for healthy, natural snacks, TRIBE is poised for continued success in the rapidly growing market for alternative, minimally processed foods.

Fuel Ventures leads £800K investment round in Juno AI to revolutionise loan processing

UK-based venture capital firm, Fuel Ventures, has led a £800K investment round in Juno Technologies, the developer of Juno AI, an advanced generative AI-powered operating system for financial services. Juno AI aims to streamline the loan processing experience for lenders and brokers, particularly in business and property loans, by significantly reducing costs, speeding up lead processing, and automating tasks traditionally handled manually.

This investment will enable Juno AI to launch its innovative system into the market, targeting faster, more accurate loan processing. By automating loan origination and packaging tasks, Juno AI enhances efficiency, improves success rates, and eliminates much of the human intervention in the loan lifecycle. The system’s first product, Juno, is a loan packaging AI agent that helps small businesses navigate the loan application process, ensuring all required data is collected and accurate for lenders' decision-making.

Max Chmyshuk, co-founder of Juno AI, expressed excitement about the backing from Fuel Ventures, noting that the funding will accelerate the company’s development and help improve access to capital for small businesses. Mark Pearson, founder of Fuel Ventures, praised Juno AI’s potential to transform the small business loan market, underscoring the firm’s commitment to supporting technologies that innovate traditional industries.

SEEQC raises £24.5M to advance quantum computing platforms with the world's first full-stack processor for quantum computers

SEEQC, a leader in quantum computing infrastructure, has raised £24.5M to accelerate the development and rollout of its innovative digital chip platform. The funding round, led by NordicNinja and Booz Allen Ventures with participation from SIP Capital, EQT Ventures, and others, will help SEEQC enhance its chip-based solution, which integrates quantum and classical functions onto a single processor. This approach addresses key challenges in quantum computing, including high costs and power consumption, by replacing complex analogue/digital hardware with a digital chip that operates at ultra-low temperatures alongside qubits.

The company's proprietary Single Flux Quantum (SFQ) technology is already compatible with superconducting hardware, and SEEQC plans to expand this to support spin silicon, photonics, and trapped ions. The platform dramatically cuts costs by up to 97% and reduces energy usage by up to 100,000 times compared to classical chips, positioning SEEQC as a crucial player in the push for scalable quantum computing. SEEQC's technology has already attracted major industry players, including NVIDIA, BASF, and NASA, establishing the company as a leader in quantum infrastructure.

The funding will enable SEEQC to further its development of next-generation chips, expand error correction capabilities, and accelerate its commercial deployment. With its advanced chip foundry and partnerships with leading institutions, SEEQC is poised to transform quantum computing into a scalable, enterprise-grade solution, moving the industry closer to practical applications in fields such as AI, cryptography, and materials science. CEO John Levy emphasized that SEEQC’s innovations bridge the gap between quantum and classical computing, bringing quantum technology closer to real-world use.

LemFi, the trusted financial services platform designed for immigrants, secures £43.3M in Series B funding led by Highland Europe

LemFi, a platform revolutionising financial services for immigrant communities, has raised £43.3M in Series B funding, bringing its total raised to $85 million. Led by Highland Europe, with participation from Left Lane Capital, Palm Drive Capital, and Y-Combinator, the funding will help LemFi expand its services beyond remittances into a full-stack financial hub. The platform currently serves over one million users across Europe and North America, enabling low-cost, fast, and reliable cross-border payments to emerging markets, including India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Pakistan, and is growing 30% month-on-month.

Founded in 2021 by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran, LemFi’s initial focus on payments and remittances has already seen the platform handle over $1B in monthly transactions. The company aims to challenge traditional remittance services, which often involve high fees and delays, by providing faster, more affordable alternatives. With over $120B in remittances flowing into India in 2023 and the African remittance market expected to reach $500B by 2035, LemFi is positioning itself as a key player in a growing market.

The Series B funding will be used to expand LemFi’s financial services, scale payment network partnerships, and grow its global team. CEO Ridwan Olalere highlighted that the company is on track to offer a comprehensive financial services hub for immigrants, addressing a critical need within these communities. With continued international expansion, LemFi is poised to become a leading global fintech provider, transforming how immigrants access financial services and support their families.

In other international investment news

Klearly raises €6M seed funding to revolutionise in-person payments

Klearly, a fintech company revolutionising in-person payments, has raised €6M in seed funding to expand into new European markets. The company replaces outdated bank-supplied hardware with data-driven technology that works on any device, enabling SaaS partners to offer seamless payment solutions to SMB merchants. By eliminating legacy systems and complex pricing, Klearly simplifies payment processing for businesses.

In just two years, Klearly has onboarded 4,000 merchants and seen a 500% increase in payment volume in 2024. Its flagship product, Tap to Pay, allows merchants to accept payments on everyday devices like smartphones, with global processing volume projected to reach €11.8B by 2028. The funding round, led by Global PayTech Ventures, Antler Elevate, and Shapers, positions Klearly to disrupt the European in-person payment market with flexible, integrated solutions for merchants.

Nelly Announces €50M Series B Funding Round to Revolutionize Financial Operations in Healthcare

Berlin-based health and fintech company Nelly has raised €50M in Series B funding to accelerate the digitalisation of the European healthcare sector. Led by Cathay Innovation, Notion Capital, and existing investors, this round will enable Nelly to expand its market share and strengthen its position as the leading Financial Operating System (FinOS) for medical practices. With over 1,200 practices already using its platform, Nelly streamlines key workflows such as patient intake, document management, and payment processing.

The funding will help Nelly expand its presence across Europe, including its recent entry into Italy. With over 2 million patients benefiting from its solutions, Nelly aims to set a new standard in healthcare by automating administrative and financial processes, addressing the sector’s need for digital transformation. The company’s innovative approach is poised to make it a leader in healthcare fintech, with plans to scale further across Europe and beyond.

LetsData raises $1.6M to combat Information Operations and synthetic identities

LetsData, a real-time security radar that protects corporations and governments from information operations and synthetic identities, has raised $1.6M in pre-seed funding. Led by SMOK Ventures, Wayra (Telefónica), Tilia Impact Ventures, and others, the funding will help scale LetsData’s technology and expand into the US and Europe. Trusted by organisations like the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), NATO armed forces, and corporations across the US, UK, and Europe, LetsData has gained significant traction in the cybersecurity space.

Using advanced AI, LetsData detects and responds to information operations, identifying threats across over 100 million websites and social media platforms. The technology outperforms traditional tools by detecting 80% more threats at their inception and analysing patterns and intent across multiple languages and regions. The funding will support LetsData’s mission to integrate actionable threat intelligence into workflows, enabling organisations to respond to InfoOps in real time without complex training.

HYPERLINE secures further $10M seed investment led by INDEX VENTURES as international demand for a new way to automate billing soars

HYPERLINE, a next-generation monetization platform, has raised $10M in a seed extension round led by INDEX VENTURES to help small and medium-sized businesses streamline revenue management. As the subscription economy grows and businesses adopt hybrid revenue models, managing complex pricing and billing has become a challenge for many. Hyperline offers a simplified platform designed to handle modern pricing structures, positioning itself as a key player in a market previously underserved by legacy providers.

The platform provides end-to-end monetization, from contracts and quotes to invoicing, subscriptions, and payments reconciliation. With its swift integration and flexibility, Hyperline supports businesses with various pricing models, including AI and usage-based pricing. Already serving over 150 SMBs, Hyperline plans to scale its distribution and expand to businesses generating up to $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). The new funding will help accelerate its growth and expand its reach.

Capital D invests in revolutionary social commerce platform, GoWish

Capital D, a next-generation private equity fund manager, has acquired a significant stake in GoWish, a leading social commerce platform. This investment includes a capital increase and a partial buy-out of existing investors, who are reinvesting in the company’s growth. Founded in 2015, GoWish has become the market leader in Scandinavia with over 4 million users and is now expanding into global markets like the US, UK, and Germany, with 3.7 million users in the US alone.

GoWish enables users to create and share wishlists, reducing unwanted gifts and gift wastage. Its AI-powered personalisation and community-driven commerce model have spurred rapid international growth. The company reported a 50% increase in EBITDA in 2023, reaching €2.8M. Capital D’s investment will support GoWish’s global expansion, aiming to make it a leader in the social shopping space while revolutionising the gifting experience and reducing waste.

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