Participated · Series B · Jan 2024

Founded in 2023 in Stockholm, Aira provides vertically-integrated air-to-water heat pump systems, bundled financing options, full-service installation and a 15-year guarantee to households. The company has rapidly expanded beyond Sweden into Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom and now operates 18 regional hubs and four training academies for heat-pump technicians. Management forecasts an annual sales volume of €200 million and the workforce has grown to roughly 1,200 employees. New capital will be channelled into R&D at the Swedish innovation centre, increased manufacturing capacity at its Wrocław, Poland facility and deeper market penetration through strategic energy and housing partnerships. Aira positions itself to tap a European heat-pump market expected to exceed €150 billion by 2030. By replacing gas boilers with its heat pumps, households can cut heating costs by up to 40 % and CO₂ emissions by up to 100 % when using green tariffs.

Led · Equity · Dec 2022

WeWALK develops a patented smart cane and companion smartphone app that use ultrasound to detect above-ground obstacles while preserving the white cane’s ground feedback. The device alerts users through vibrations and automatic voice feedback and also provides contextual information about nearby shops, restaurants and public transportation. The company leverages artificial intelligence in its solutions and plans to integrate NEC’s computer-vision technology into the next generation of its smart mobility products. Led by CEO Gokhan Mericliler, WeWALK focuses on enhancing independence and navigation for visually impaired people. The company is based in London, UK and holds patents on its smart cane technology. WeWalk develops a GPS-enabled smart cane and companion smartphone app that detects sidewalk obstacles and provides turn-by-turn navigation with vibration and sound alerts. The cane retails at roughly $600 and has integrations with local transit data via a partnership with Moovit. The company was founded in London in 2019 and has been recognized by Time for its Smart Cane. With a fresh £2 million in venture funding, WeWalk plans to add computer-vision capabilities—aiming to read road signs, identify bus numbers, and recognise objects—developed with Imperial College London and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). The initiative may leverage Microsoft’s AI for Accessibility program and could integrate with Seeing AI or Azure ML. WeWalk has recruited about 30 people to build and test the new hardware and software and aims to have a market-ready product by 2024 while also expanding into adaptive mobility aids for older people.

Led · Equity · Apr 2020

Empiribox supplies practical science equipment, lesson and assessment resources, and professional development plans for primary school teachers via a subscription service. The company ships kits to subscribers and supports classroom delivery of practical science lessons. It is led by CEO Richard McGrath and is UK-based. Empiribox is launching a new digital product, Empiribox @ Home, offering interactive videos, worksheets, quizzes and hands-on experiments to enable science learning from home. The @ Home service will act as both an add-on to the subscription and a stand-alone product, and will be free for registered users during the Summer Term. The company raised growth funding to support the rollout of its online platform and to expand its reach.

Led · Series A · Apr 2020

BibliU combines proprietary digital technology with end-to-end campus retail operations to deliver course materials and campus store services through a vertically integrated model. The acquisition of Texas Book Company established BibliU Campus and launched its hybrid digital-and-retail approach in the U.S. The company serves over 170 colleges and universities globally and more than 100 institutional partners across 30 U.S. states. BibliU reported surpassing $100 million in annual revenue and compound annual growth exceeding 100% over the past two years. Key recent partnerships include a statewide system deal with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and expansion into North Carolina and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. BibliU plans to deploy the new capital toward inventory, platform development, and expanding operational capacity to support further partner growth.

Led · Equity · Oct 2019

ProFinda provides an AI-driven workforce optimisation platform that aligns organizational work priorities with employee capabilities and preferences. Its service intelligently connects people, skills and work across a full opportunity marketplace to drive operational efficiency and improve the employee experience. Led by founder and CEO Roger Gorman, ProFinda serves multinational clients and is pursuing international expansion. The company intends to use new funding to build on its global multinational clients, accelerate hiring—particularly in sales and marketing—and invest in new product development. The article reports the company received funding reported at £3M from Palatine’s Growth Credit Fund to support these plans. ProFinda provides a workplace optimisation technology platform that uses machine learning to build a dynamic and detailed map to understand the skills and knowledge of the total workforce. Its system is based on a skills ‘ontology’ and leverages semantic parsing and matching to increase understanding of skills. The platform intelligently matches project requirements to ability and knowledge across internal employees, contractors and alumni. ProFinda intends to accelerate deployment of its platform across the private, public and third sectors and to increase social impact. The company also plans to improve its proprietary skills machine‑learning IP. The company is led by CEO Roger Gorman. ProFinda provides an AI-powered expertise-finding platform that uses machine learning to map skills, knowledge, connections and expertise across an organization. The platform matches people who have the right expertise with those who require assistance, giving firms an accurate view of knowledge across their talent pool. Launched in 2011 and based in London, the company reports users in 1,382 cities globally and has client and strategic partnerships across the top six professional services firms and with organizations including Thomson Reuters Elite, LACE partners, Tech London Advocates, Multiplex and CloserStill Media. Led by CEO Roger Gorman, ProFinda intends to use the new funding to strengthen its proposition and refine the technology. The company raised £4.8m in funding to support these plans. No additional financial instruments or prior rounds are disclosed in the article.