Capital Pilot has made its first five investments from its recently launched £5m automated high-volume equity fund.
Boost Fund 1, funded by private investors, plans to complete 100 investments in less than six months, aimed at high-growth-potential UK-based start-ups. Achieving that would make it the UK’s leading start-up investment fund by volume.
The first investments include DabbaDrop, the world’s first sustainable takeaway delivering plant-based meals in reusable stainless-steel containers, and ORB Innovations, the first smart mouthguard to monitor combat sport player welfare and performance.
Investments are selected using the firm’s data-driven “investability” rating system, which combines data analytics and human assessment of a business model and team.
The fund was launched to provide access to capital for businesses that have traditionally been underrepresented in the UK start-up scene. The fund’s first five investments feature two female founders, one founder from a BAME background, and two businesses based outside London.
Richard Blakesley, founder and CEO of Capital Pilot, said: “I’m delighted that the first cohort of investments in the Boost Fund is reflective of Capital Pilot’s vision to ensure equal access to funding for companies and founders from all backgrounds.
“We are confident the Boost Fund will supercharge start-ups across the UK, and I encourage founders to explore the objective, transparent and rapid application process that we have helped design for the Boost Fund.”
Anshu Ahuja, co-founder of DabbaDrop, added: “As a female founder from the BAME community, I’ve felt like an outsider in the world of investment and funding as the people I’ve come across are from a more traditional background.
“Capital Pilot’s Boost Fund 1 has allowed us quick access to investment based on the traction we have worked so hard to build within the business… Access to investment on equal terms is something all founders need and can get behind.”
Further reading
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