Beckley Psytech doses up on £58m funding

Beckley Psytech, an experimental psychedelic medicines start-up, has raised £58m through an oversubscribed venture capital round to fund clinical research. Integrated, a healthcare-focused VC led round, which included Boston-based institutional investor Adage Capital Management. Angel investors who came in on the round included Innocent Drinks co-founder Richard Reed.

The funds will partly be used for an early proof-of-concept study with King’s College London using a low dose of psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms, in patients with short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks, a debilitating condition estimated to affect 45,000 people in the US and Europe.

Beckley Psytech is also studying the effects of a novel formulation of intranasal 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic agent found naturally in the Sonoran Desert Toad, on treating deep depression.

Keebo credit card taps £5m in seed funding

Keebo, the only credit card company to use open banking to help build customers’ credit ratings, has raised £5m in seed funding. Breega and Connect Ventures led the round. The UK government has already awarded Keebo three technology grants totalling £425,000. The credit card brand, which is supported by MasterCard, uses all of a customer’s open-banking records to help build their credit rating while offering them the best available real-time credit rate. Keebo will launch in October.

Investors spray £1.3m over bioinsecticide spinout

Solasta Bio, a Glasgow University spinout specialising in the next generation of green insecticides, has secured £1.3m in seed funding. The spinout will use the money to support development of its unique nature-inspired pesticides, the first of their kind to be developed worldwide. Solasta Bio develops environmentally friendly products that meet the global need for new and effective crop protection. These biopesticides also preserve the ecosystem by protecting beneficial insects such as bees.

Diem seizes £660,000 pre-seed funding

British entrepreneur Emma Bates has raised $900,000 (£661,000) in pre-seed funding for Diem, a US-based social platform for women and “non-binary folks”. XFactor Ventures and Acrew led with round with participation from angels including Create & Cultivate founder Jaclyn Johnson and fellow Brit Amber Atherton from Discord. The platform has been in beta since January 2021 and currently has a waiting list of over 20,000 ahead of launch later this year.

Revvies get £150,000 crowdfunding kick

Revvies Energy Strips, tabs of caffeine you put in your mouth to boost athletic performance, has busted its £150,000 crowdfunding target. The start-up sports nutrition brand will use the money to drive its distribution onto the UK high street. UK marathon runner Charlotte Perdue and Australia’s two-time Olympian runner Eloise Wellings from Australia already brand ambassadors.

More Deals of the Week

Deals of the week August 9 to August 13 – a GrowthBusiness roundup