Participated · Seed · Dec 2025

Mater-AI has built a physics-informed, AI-powered platform that can design, generate and evaluate 100 new thermoelectric material structures every hour, reportedly speeding discovery up to 438× versus traditional R&D. The technology targets the 70 % of global energy that is currently lost as waste heat, aiming to supply novel materials for thermoelectric generators and coolers across data centres, defence, automotive and industrial IoT markets. By initially focusing on applications such as silent power sources, extended EV battery life and self-powered industrial sensors, the company believes it can unlock £3.4–4.6 billion in new market value. Over the next 6–8 weeks Mater-AI will begin lab testing of its first AI-discovered compounds with the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and the Henry Royce Institute, feeding those results back into its models for rapid iteration. Within 12–18 months it aims to deliver a commercially viable material that outperforms today’s 5–7 % efficient standard while also being less toxic and more scalable. Founded by Dr Nickel Blankevoort (CEO), Gatleen Bhambra (COO) and Chelsea Williams (CTO), the company originates from research done at the University of Warwick. Financially, Mater-AI has secured £1.6 million to date (£100k in an initial cheque and £1.5 million in its main pre-seed round) to fund continued platform development and material validation.

Participated · Equity · May 2024

ekko provides a platform that integrates real-time carbon tracking, carbon offsetting, reforestation, and plastic waste removal into banking and payment services. The company offers an easily deployable solution that lets customers make environmentally conscious decisions instantly and supports impact partners such as Gold Standard, Conservation International, Tusk, and Prevented Ocean Plastic. ekko has established commercial partnerships with Volt, Primis, and Stubben Edge and launched the Planet Saver Account with Akoni Hub and BLME. The startup plans to hire industry experts to support international expansion and product development. ekko’s leadership, including co-founder and CEO Oli Cook, positions the company to push sustainability into mainstream financial products. The recent fundraise will fund product growth and broaden impact partnerships.

Participated · Seed · Aug 2020

Thirdfort builds a big-data platform that helps professional services firms run KYC, AML and fraud-detection checks by aggregating data from sources such as LexisNexis, ComplyAdvantage and Companies House. Its product has two parts: a risk engine for business clients (used for KYC and AML compliance) and a consumer-facing app built on open banking to enable secure payments and bank-statement verification. The company primarily serves legal and property markets, with about 700 businesses using the platform, including DAC Beachcroft, Penningtons Manches Cooper and Mishcon de Reya, and property firms Knight Frank, Strutt & Parker and Winkworth. The consumer app has been downloaded roughly 500,000 times, and Thirdfort says its tools have halted around one dozen dodgy transactions for customers. Thirdfort plans to use the new funding to expand services and to build payment infrastructure directly into its platform to streamline verification and secure payments. Founded in 2017, Thirdfort provides a web and mobile app that combines open banking, document scanning and facial recognition to streamline identity and source-of-funds checks during legal and property transactions. Its product enables lawyers and property professionals to onboard clients quickly, securely and entirely remotely. Adoption accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic: Thirdfort now onboards over 30,000 clients each month—a ten-fold increase on pre-pandemic—and serves more than 500 law firms and property businesses. Headcount grew from 12 to 54 between January 2020 and February 2021, and the company is forecasting a further 65% increase by the end of the year alongside sustainable profitability. The fresh funding will be used to further develop its AML and KYC product, build toward a one-stop compliance solution for law firms, and expand further into the property transaction arena including estate agents, brokers and lenders. Thirdfort, founded in 2017 by Olly Thornton-Berry and Jack Bidgood, builds a user-facing app that verifies identity and source of funds for conveyancers. Users upload photos of documents and selfies (including videos) and complete a questionnaire; open banking integration lets the app retrieve bank statements for anti-money‑laundering checks. The company saw rapid customer growth during lockdown, increasing the number of law firms it works with from 100 to 450 in a few months and expects 1,000 law firm clients within a year. Headcount grew from 15 to 25 across London and Manchester and is expected to reach 35 by year-end. The founders were motivated in part by a friend who lost around €28K to a fraudster posing as a lawyer. Thirdfort plans to use the new funding to capitalise on rising demand and aims to set a new standard in the legal industry. Thirdfort is an MDR LAB 2018 alumni company. The article does not describe the company’s core product. It has raised a £700,000 seed round led by Mishcon de Reya, with a personal investment from Chris Marks, CEO of NatWest Markets, and support from existing investors including Alex Chesterman and Lawyer Checker. The seed brings the company’s total investment raised to £1.3 million. Proceeds will be used to accelerate product development and grow the team. No operating metrics, valuation, or founding year are provided in the article.