EQT Ventures checks out Standard Cognition

EQT Ventures, the UK-based venture capital fund, has participated in a $150m (£107m) Series C funding round for Standard Cognition, a San Francisco-based autonomous checkout scaleup. Softbank Vision Fund 2 led the round.

Oxx pulls along £15m Series B into Peak

Peak, an artificial intelligence developer, has raised a $21m (£15m) Series B funding round led by SaaS venture capital fund Oxx, with participation from existing investors MMC Ventures and Praetura Ventures, and new investor Arete. This brings Peak’s total funding raised to date to $43 million.

Peak’s AI aims to bring technology within the grasp of smaller businesses previously only accessible to enterprise-level businesses, such as tech giants Google, Amazon and Netflix.

This latest funding will fuel global expansion with 130 new jobs being created in the coming year and new offices opening in both the USA and India, as well as continued R&D investment.

ThinCats schools THE with £5m CBILS loan

Times Higher Education, the education data and publishing company, has raised £5m in debt through ThinCats, the finance provider for mid-sized SMEs. ThinCats has arranged a coronavirus business interruption loan (CBIL) to help buy The Knowledge Partnership, a strategy, marketing and communications consultancy for universities.

Bibby opens door for Modular Group

Bibby Financial Services has arranged a £4m invoice discounting facility for Modular Group Investments to help it buy window and door manufacturer Euramax Solutions. Euramax employs 160 staff at its Barnsley, South Yorkshire facility.

Colossi slays £2m for mobile Ancient Rome game

Colossi Games, the Cyprus-based games studio, has closed a $2.5m ($1.8m) seed round led by EQT Ventures alongside early stage gaming VC fund Play Ventures. The games develop will use the money to market its first release, a mobile game set in Ancient Rome. Mobile gaming revenue was expected to hit $77bn in 2020, a 12 per cent year on year increase.

Vinehealth grows another £1m through Innovate UK

Vinehealth has secured a £1m grant from Innovate UK to deliver its cancer app to four NHS trusts across Britain in a randomised controlled trial. Playfair Capital was an early investor in the mobile cancer app. Vinehealth’s digital platform uses behavioural science and AI to improve the quality of life and survival of cancer patients.

Solid Bond interested in three Manchester start-ups

Solid Bond Venture Builder, the investment vehicle of Shaz Sulaman, has invested £460,000 into three start-ups based in Manchester’s media, tech and creative hub Enterprise City. Solid Bond Venture Builder has invested £250,000 in PixelMax, a 3D events and conferencing software solution; £150,000 in Veo World, an online marketplace for connecting conscious consumers to sustainable brands; and £40,000 in Mapmate, an app for discovering new friends nearby and exploring your area. The investor will also give one-on-one advice on how each of the start-ups can scale up.

Further reading

Deals of the Week February 8 to February 12, GrowthBusiness roundup