The Venture Codex

Participated · Series A · Aug 2018

Phrasee is a London-headquartered marketing technology company that uses artificial intelligence to generate and optimize marketing copy at scale. Its AI combines Natural Language Generation and deep learning to write email subject lines, Facebook and Instagram ads, and push notifications that the company says outperform human-written versions. Phrasee's team of data scientists, computational linguists and developers serves enterprise clients including Virgin, Domino’s, Superdry and The Times. The company reports performance uplifts such as a 57% click increase for Domino’s, a 35% open uplift for Gumtree, and millions of pounds in incremental revenue for Virgin Holidays. Phrasee launched an AI ethics policy and was recognized by CB Insights as 2017’s Most Innovative AI Company. It is expanding internationally, scaling a new US operation in San Francisco while growing its UK team. Phrasee is a cloud-based SaaS marketing software that uses a proprietary AI algorithm to generate and iteratively optimize email subject lines and other marketing language. Its technology produces trillions of brand-compliant, human-sounding language variants and, according to the company, has outperformed human-generated copy more than 90% of the time. The company was founded in early 2015 by Parry Malm, Dr. Neil Yager and Victoria Peppiatt and is based in London with an office in Vancouver. Phrasee says its product boosts email response rates and drives greater revenue for senders. The company plans to use new funding for research and development and to expand its reach in the UK and US MarTech markets. No revenue or user figures are disclosed in the articles.

Led · Seed · May 2017

OnePulse is an online platform that gives global brand and product leaders instant access to verified respondents and delivers results in real time via a mobile app. The service enables rapid insight gathering to narrow research, speed innovation, and focus product and marketing efforts. It has established a large community of mobile app members in over 50 countries and serves clients including Netflix, TikTok, Coca-Cola, M&S and Channel 4. Run by CEO Mike Billingsley and founder/CTO Cameron Gordon, the company plans to use new funding to grow teams in both continents and continue its global expansion. Financially, OnePulse secured a follow-on investment of £420k from Blackfinch Ventures; the firm had previously invested £1.5m in 2021 and £2.1m in March 2022. The company intends to build on its existing international client base as it scales. OnePulse operates a platform that converts market research into real-time conversations between brands and consumers via micro-market surveys of up to three questions. It targets Millennials and Gen Z, delivering instantaneous feedback through a gamified app where consumers earn micro-payments. Brands can ask follow-up questions on the platform to iterate products quickly and maintain product agility. OnePulse counts Coca-Cola, TikTok, Marks & Spencer, Channel 4, Zenith, SC Johnson, and Boohoo among its clients. The company operates across the UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, India, Australia, Canada, and Kenya, with plans to expand into Russia, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Ireland. It has raised £2 million to fuel global expansion; the round was led by Blackfinch with follow-on investment from Nexus Investments. OnePulse operates a mobile and web platform that lets companies ask groups of highly targeted people up to three questions and receive instant responses. To respondents, OnePulse is positioned as a lifestyle app where users give opinions on news, products, interests and hobbies and earn micro-payments and experience points. The company already has a significant presence in the U.K. and North Africa and serves over 300 international clients, including Aviva, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, Marks & Spencer, Coca-Cola and KFC. Led by CEO Atul Choudrie, OnePulse combines consumer-facing incentives with a B2B insight product for brands and agencies. The company plans to use the recent funding to launch in the United States in Summer 2017. No revenue or user-count figures are stated in the article. OnePulse operates a mobile and web platform that lets companies ask people around the UK questions and receive instant consumer feedback, with results available online for analysis and export. The app rewards users with micro-payments for answering “pulses” from brands. The company serves over 300 clients, including Aviva, CGA Strategy, Coca-Cola, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and LBi Digitas. Led by CEO Atul Choudrie, OnePulse offers on-demand insights to brands and businesses of any size or stage. The company plans to use recent funding to grow its user base, release a new version of its client tool, and begin international expansion.