Participated · Seed · Nov 2025

Founded in 2020, Ilimex designs, supplies and validates cutting-edge air-treatment technologies that achieve Log-6 (99.9999%) pathogen reduction in a single pass. Its newest product, Flufence, continuously detects airborne pathogens and applies high-intensity UVC light to neutralise viruses such as Avian Influenza, targeting intensive poultry production and medicinal mushroom cultivation. Trials in mushroom facilities showed an overall drop in contaminant pathogens when the Ilimex system was operating. Management estimates the initial global poultry air-cleaning market at roughly £4 billion and the mushroom-sector opportunity at about £3.5 billion across the UK, US and EU. The company’s strategy is to deploy Flufence with key customer partners to gather independent performance data that links air sterilisation to production efficiency and profitability. Demand for its high-level biosecurity solutions is expanding as airborne contamination threatens regulatory compliance and bottom-line results in agri-food settings. Ilimex positions its technology as providing market-leading biosecurity and aims to capitalise on significant local and global opportunities. The recent seed financing strengthens its balance sheet and supports validation and commercial rollout of Flufence.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2022

CV6 Therapeutics is a drug development biotechnology company led by CEO Dr Robert Ladner that specializes in innovative small-molecule therapeutics for cancer and inflammatory diseases. Its lead oncology candidate, CV6-168, has completed all pre-clinical development milestones. The company plans to use recent funding to progress CV6-168 into a Phase 1a first-in-human trial in advanced cancers and to perform further scientific development work. CV6 aims to start the Phase 1a clinical trial in 2023. An inflammatory-disease asset, CV6-1271, remains in preclinical development. Mechanistically, CV6-168 induces cancer-cell DNA uracilation, which—especially when combined with thymidylate synthase inhibitors—leads to uracil-based DNA damage, cell death, and stimulation of the immune response to enhance anticancer effects.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2020

StormHarvester is an Ireland-based company that develops an automated water management software platform for wastewater utilities. Its AI platform, launched in 2019, uses machine learning and rainfall forecasting with prediction and anomaly detection to help utilities prevent flooding and pollution. That prediction and anomaly detection approach is now used by 75% of wastewater utilities in the UK. Founded in 2017 by civil engineer Brian Moloney, the company began by modelling relationships between rainfall and drainage networks and won its first formal project with Wessex Water in 2019. The company has seen continuous growth since the platform launch and will use new funding to expand its product range and sales and marketing capabilities. StormHarvester plans to double its workforce over the next three years and accelerate expansion into Australasia and North America while strengthening its UK presence. StormHarvester develops predictive and proactive water-management control systems that use rainfall prediction, forecasting tools and machine learning to optimise network performance, reduce urban flooding and facilitate rainwater reuse. Its technology is used by residential and commercial developments and is being trialled by major utilities in the UK, Belgium and Germany. The company expanded into 19 new markets in 2019 through a partnership with Dutch infrastructure firm Wavin and now operates in 20 countries. Founded and launched in 2017, StormHarvester is backed by venture fund Techstart Ventures and has won multiple industry awards. The company is launching a major recruitment drive to hire software engineers, drainage engineers and expand global sales and marketing, with plans to create 30 new jobs over the next three years. Management plans to accelerate international roll-out, targeting entry into the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Participated · Series A · May 2018

SiSaf is a UK-headquartered biotech startup that develops drugs using Bio-Courier technology. The company focuses on drug development leveraging its Bio-Courier platform. It has raised $13.2 million in a Series B round. The Series B was led by Singapore-based Vickers Venture Partners. The funding details were reported via an announcement; no additional financial terms or participants were specified in the article. SiSaf is a UK-headquartered commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering ProSilic, a patented bio-courier technology that combines porous silicon and liposomes. ProSilic is designed to improve stability, solubility, bioavailability, release and routes of administration for a wide range of molecules. The company has a dermatology-focused pipeline and also operates subsidiaries in cosmetic skincare and nutraceuticals. SiSaf says it does not discover new drugs but formulates existing ones to enhance efficacy and reduce limitations such as poor solubility or stability. The company recently showcased ProSilic at the South Beach Symposium and plans to use new funding to accelerate development of its dermatology programs. No revenue or user metrics are disclosed in the article. SiSaf develops next-generation silicon nanotechnology for drug delivery. The company is described in the article as a silicon nanotechnology drug delivery specialist. The fundraise was reported from Singapore. Vickers Venture Partners, a VC firm with a global footprint, led the financing. Exen Capital participated in the round, and Invest Northern Ireland, an earlier investor, followed on. No operating metrics or uses of proceeds were disclosed in the article.

Participated · Equity · Mar 2017

BrainWaveBank develops a machine-learning-enabled neurocognitive platform for in-home assessment and remote monitoring of central nervous system disorders, including Alzheimer’s, depression and schizophrenia. The system pairs a proprietary wireless dry EEG headset with a suite of gamified neurocognitive tests played on a mobile tablet to enable unsupervised, repeated measurement of neurological and cognitive parameters. Those objective longitudinal measurements are intended to track disease progression and the direct therapeutic effects of drugs, helping to reduce timescales, risks and costs in drug development. The company has secured contracts with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to evaluate cognition and gain mechanistic drug insights in early-stage clinical evaluations. It has also received R&D grant support from Invest Northern Ireland and Innovate UK. BrainWaveBank is led by CEO Ronan Cunningham and CTO Brian Murphy and is based in Belfast and Dublin; it closed a £1.1m financing round to develop its technology, scale commercial activities and roll the platform into the global clinical trials market. BrainWaveBank, founded in 2015 and led by CEO Ronan Cunningham, develops data-centric solutions and a neuroscience platform that lets consumers track cognitive health from home. Its product combines a wearable device with a smartphone or tablet app that records brain activity while users play cognitive-challenging games. The system applies advanced analytics and machine learning to detect early signs of cognitive decline and promote lifestyle changes for healthy brain aging. The company also applies its platform in contact sports to profile players’ brain fitness and monitor day-to-day performance across a season. BrainWaveBank intends to use newly raised funds to invest in technology, build out its neuroscience platform and develop affordable hardware for mass consumer markets. The company is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.