Veem secures £24.3m in funding round

Veem, a global payments network built for businesses, closed a $31m (£24.3m) funding round led by Truist Ventures with participation MUFG Innovation Partners, CVC, and AB Ventures.

This investment will go towards the development of a channel partner programme that will widen Veem’s geographic reach and expanding its product suite and capabilities.

Truist Ventures is the corporate venture capital division of Truist Financial Corporation, its investment focus mixes an interest in traditional financial technology and adjacent, disruptive technologies.

Lyre primed for expansion after sobering £9m investment

Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Spirit Co., a non-alcoholic beverage company, has closed a £9m seed round funding. Major participants in the round include VRD Investment, Doehler Ventures, DLF Venture and Maropost Ventures.

This investment will accelerate Lyre’s core product growth, category innovation and new market expansion.

Awell Health in good shape after raising £1.9m

Awell Health, a healthcare technology platform startup, has raised £1.9m from early stage VC investor LocalGlobe and others including Moonfire.

The investment will help Awell Health, an NHSX approved supplier, better implement its software platform that introduces collaboration and productivity tools to the healthcare industry.

Dexam heats up growth plans with £1.6m loan

Dexam International Ltd, a family-run kitchenware distributor, has secured a £1.6m asset-based loan from Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending which involves a flexible funding package comprising of a £1.1m confidential invoice discounting line and a £500,000 revolving stock facility.

The loan is intended to support its future growth plans and drive further operational efficiencies.

EasySend codify £8.6m Series A round

EasySend, a no-code AI-powered financial services platform, has secured an $11m (£8.6m) Series A funding round, raising its overall investment total to $16m (£12.6m).

The round was led by Hanaco with participation from Intel Capital and will enable the company to double its current staff, optimise its product development and expand its customer base in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Hanaco Venture Capital backs early-stage technology companies with Israeli entrepreneurs aiming for significant markets with disruptive technologies including Moovit, Digital Ocean and Yotpo.

Intel Capital invests in innovative startups targeting artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, datacenter, cloud, 5G, and a range of disruptive technologies.

£575,000 seed round walk in the park for Ceryx Medical

Ceryx Medical, a bioelectronics start-up that spun out from Bristol University, has secured a £575,000 seed round. The funding comprises of a £250,000 commitment from the Development Bank of Wales, £225,000 from angel investors, and £100,000 from the University of Bristol’s Enterprise Investment Fund, which is managed by UK university spinout investor ParkWalk.

The funds will enable the company to grow its management and technology teams.

As a result of the commitment from angel investors, Ceryx Medical is also eligible for an additional £150,000 grant from Innovate UK as part of its Regional Angel Investment Accelerator (RAIA) scheme.

Parkwalk is the largest growth EIS fund manager, backing technologies emerging from UK universities and research institutions.

OkHi delivered £1.4m in funding by Angel Investment Network

OkHi, a Kenyan/UK start-up addressing system for logistics, has raised more than £1.4m, supported by Angel Investment Network to enable further expansion of its services.

Angel Investment Network is an online platform connecting startups with a global network of angel investors with investments ranging from £10,000 to £1m.

AccelerComm receives £5.8m to speed up development

AccelerComm, the Southampton University spinout which is helping to reduce latency in wireless communications, has raised £5.8m in Series A funding in a round led by IQ Capital alongside existing investors Bloc Ventures and the IP Group.

The funding will be used to expand its workforce, drive US and global expansion, and develop its technology further.

Bloc Ventures is a permanent venture capital company providing expert-led funding of European deep technology.

IP Group is a intellectual property commercialisation company that focuses on evolving spinouts, mainly from its partner universities, into businesses in the life sciences and technology sectors.

IQ Capital is a venture capital firm, which invests in “deep tech” across sectors including machine learning, AI, robotics, and advanced engineering with initial investments ranging from £300,000 to £5m.

Holidu books extra £4.6m investment

Holidu, a search engine for holiday rentals, gained a €4m (£3.6m) boost from former Booking.com CEO Kees Koolen as part of a €5m (£4.6m) follow-on extension to its 2019 €40m (£36.6m) Series C round led by Prime Ventures.

Qureight breathes easy with £500,000 seed funding

Qureight, the imaging analytics company has secured £500,000 in seed funding from CMS Ventures, a move that will enable the startup to launch the second iteration of its platform assisting healthcare professionals to assess respiratory diseases.

CMS Ventures is an early-stage investor based in Cambridge investing in Biotech & Life Sciences startups in the UK.

Further reading

Deals of the Week, September 11 to 18 – Growth Business roundup