Deals of the Week Sept 12 to Sept 16 – a Growth Business round-up

Deals this week include GPS software to fend off criminals, a fintech which helps firms claim Government finance in minutes and a diamond identification spinout

GPS start-up navigates £15m funding

Cambridge-based GPS software firm FocalPoint raised £15m in a Series C funding round led by Foresight Group.

FocalPoint’s GPS data can improve the accuracy of pedestrian navigation to within centimetres of their location, monitor the distance travelled by a runner, detect “spoofing” – whereby criminals send fake signals to boats, for example – and track moving assets.

Claimer claims £3.7m in seed funding

A fintech making it easier for companies to claim financial incentives from the government raised $4.2m (£3.7m) in seed funding. Project A Ventures led the round, with participation from Moonfire Ventures, Hello World VC, a group of tier one angels and follow-on investors.

Claimer makes applying for incentives such as tax credits and grants simpler and quicker. Claims can be made for benefits ranging from £30,000 to £2m in as little as 10 minutes. Claimer then charges a 5 per cent fee of the claimed relief capped at £10,000.

Finance compliance firm ticks £3.5m box

Ruleguard, a SaaS tech start-up in financial institution regulatory compliance, has raised £3.5m from Foresight Group.

Ruleguard’s platform enables customers to navigate the challenges of increasing regulatory compliance requirements with less effort and lower risk, while enabling them to save on audit compliance costs.

Gemstone identification start-up sparkles with £3.5m

Oxford University spinout Opsydia, a laser tech start-up for gemstones, has raised £3.5m in a funding round led by Foresight Group. Palkwalk Advisors and Oxford Science Enterprise also participated in the round.

Opsydia places surface and sub-surface identification markers not visible with the naked eye on gemstones such as polished diamonds using laser technology. This unique technolog can help reduce fraudulent gemstone sales and supports traceability initiatives.

£2.3m flows into water treatment firm

Birmingham-based start-up I-PHYC has raised £2.3m in a funding round led by Mellby Gaard and the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund.

The company has produced a nature-based wastewater treatment solution which uses microalgae to remove nutrients and other contaminants like phosphorus while locking away carbon to create sustainable wastewater products.

More Deals of the Week

Deals of the Week Sept 5 to Sept 9 – a Growth Business round-up

Deals of the Week August 29-September 2 – a Growth Business round-up

Dom Walbanke

Dom Walbanke

Dom is a feature writer for Growth Business and Small Business, focused on matters concerning start-ups and scale-ups. He has also been published in the Independent, FourFourTwo magazine and various lifestyle...