Octopus wraps around £8m insurtech Series A

Octopus Ventures has a led a £8m Series A round for Sprout.ai, the insurtech which enables insurers to settle claims within 24 hours. Other investors in the round were Amadeus Capital Partners, Playfair Capital and Techstars. Sprout.ai clients include insurance giant Zurich.

Fixr boogies with £6.5m investment

Fixr, the digital events and ticketing platform, has raised £6.5m from investors for its white-label advance ticketing service. Investors include FSE Group, Armajaro Holdings, Smith & Williamson and Carlisle Commerce Group. Rekom UK, Britain’s biggest nightclub operator in terms of floorspace, has signed up for Fixr’s ticketing solution as the country prepares for nightclubs to reopen.

iSIZE TV technology streams £5m funding round

And Octopus Ventures has also led a $6.3m (£4.5m) funding round for London-based iSIZE, whose technology tackles the environmental impact of streaming. This brings total funding raised by iSIZE to $8.2 million.

Video is projected to reach 82 per cent of total global internet traffic by 2022, with research indicating that it already contributes to more than 1 per cent of global emissions^.

iSIZE’s technology optimises video streaming quality while reducing bitrate requirements, so less energy is needed to stream. This means streaming companies can be more environmentally friendly and reduce costs without compromising on video quality.

ContentCal marketing platform shops £4.5m Series A

ContentCal, the marketing technology platform for SMEs, has closed $6.2m (£4.5m) in Series A from Fuel Ventures and Guinness Asset Management. The money will be used to open a new US headquarters as well as developing its platform and hire 40 new staff. The marketing platform currently has over 2,000 customers worldwide and expects to triple its revenues over the next 12 months.

ITV AdVentures finds £2m fit with SPOKE

ITV AdVentures Invest, ITV’s media-for-equity initiative, has closed its second investment in Respoke Limited, the company behind menswear brand SPOKE. ITV has subscribed for up to £2m worth of convertible loan notes in three tranches. Co-investors include the British Growth Fund, Forward Partners, Oxford Capital and 24Haymarket.

AeroCloud lands £1.2m seed round

AeroCloud Systems, the cloud-based airport management system, has closed a $1.7m (£1.2m) seed round led by Playfair Capital. Airports that already use AeroCloud Systems include US destinations Tampa International and John Wayne Airport in California. Many airports operate at as little as 65 per cent occupancy, potentially losing millions in revenue.

ICG double-clicks on tech consultancy 6point6

Intermediate Capital Group has bought a minority stake in technology consultancy 6point6, valuing the company at around $100m (£72m). 6point6, whose specialisms include digital transformation and cybersecurity, lists clients including the Home Office, the BBC and Clear Bank.

Lyre’s raises glass to third seed round

Lyre’s, the non-alcoholic spirits brand, has closed another seed round valuing the business at £100m. Lyre is available in 43 countries and expects to hit £35m worth of sales by the end of this year. Investors introduced in this seed round, Lyre’s third since inception, include Morgan Creek Capital Management and Bitburger Ventures. Existing investors include DLF Venture, VRD Ventures, SFO, Maropost Ventures and Döhler Ventures.

More Deals of the Week

Deals of the week April 26 to April 30 – a GrowthBusiness roundup