Participated · Equity · Jun 2018

MiAlgae cultivates microalgae on by-products from whisky distillation to produce sustainable omega-3s for aquafeed, pet food and human health markets. Its NaturAlgae product is positioned as a drop-in omega-3 alternative to reduce reliance on wild fish. The company is based at Heriot-Watt University and launched a demonstrator site in 2023 that validated its technology at scale. MiAlgae is now preparing to develop an industrial-scale production facility in Scotland to fully commercialise NaturAlgae. The business recently secured £14 million in fresh funding to support that scale-up and to help create green jobs. Management says the investment will be used to build the infrastructure needed to meet growing global demand while continuing biotechnology innovation. MiAlgae, founded in 2016 and led by Managing Director Douglas Martin, applies biotechnology to produce a sustainable source of omega-3 for animal and human consumption. The company’s platform uses low-value coproducts from the food and drink industry as a feedstock to grow microalgae rich in omega-3 oils. MiAlgae is initially focused on the pet food sector with planned near-term expansion into aquaculture, the largest global consumer of fish oil. It also intends to commercialise other high-value compounds and pigments through expansion of its platform. The recently raised funds will be used to expand the team and complete a commercial demonstrator facility near Stirling to drive commercial traction. Financially, the company secured a £2.3M funding package from new and returning investors to support these commercialisation efforts. MiAlgae is a biotech company that produces microalgae using co-products from the whisky distillation process. The microalgae are high in omega-3 and other nutrients and can be used to sustainably feed fish and create animal food. The company targets the global aquaculture and pet food industries. MiAlgae plans to use the £1m funding to commercialize its product, double the size of its business premises, commission a demonstrator plant in East Lothian and make five new appointments in the next 12 months. The round was backed by Equity Gap, Scottish Investment Bank, Old College Capital and new investor Hillhouse Group. Founded by Douglas Martin in 2016 and based in Edinburgh, Scotland, the company intends to scale operations to serve international markets. MiAlgae produces a new kind of nutritious animal feed made from microalgae grown using co-products from Scotland’s whisky distillation process. The microalgae is rich in omega-3 and other vital nutrients and is aimed initially at the aquaculture industry. The company says the product is economical and environmentally friendly and can serve as an alternative raw material for agricultural feed. MiAlgae plans to use the new funding to scale and expand production capacity 30-fold, expand its team, and build a new plant at a whisky distillery. The company is led by founder Douglas Martin and is based in Scotland. The article does not report revenue or user metrics.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2018

Mallzee offers Product Future, a retail-data service that lets retailers leverage its engaged app audience as a testing zone to assess product sales potential and inform buying and merchandising decisions. The company says this approach improves sell-through by using real consumer preference data before orders are made. Mallzee's app has garnered 1.4 million downloads to date and the company reported more firms tested products in the latest quarter than in the rest of 2017 combined. The startup raised £1.9 million in its latest financing from SIB, Par Equity, Equity Gap, and London Scottish Investment Group, bringing total funding to £5 million. The new funds will be used to boost sales of Product Future. Mallzee has appointed Peter Robinson, former executive head of ecommerce at Marks & Spencer, to its board to help build its retail insights capabilities. Mallzee offers a Tinder-esque swipe interface on Android and iOS to browse and purchase fashion from more than 100 retailers. Its personalization technology builds unique style profiles and sends alerts when liked items drop in price. For retailers it provides an anonymized data insight tool that surfaces real-time engagement and demographic signals. The app combines consumer-facing discovery with retailer analytics to improve merchandising and targeting. Founded in 2013 and based in Edinburgh, Scotland, the company has grown its user base to just under 300,000 and is targeting 1 million users by year-end. CEO and founder Cally Russell previously said the startup would reach 500,000 users with prior funding; that milestone has not been reached yet. Mallzee is a fashion-finding app led by CEO Cally Russell that aggregates more than one million items of clothing from roughly 200 top fashion brands. Described as a “personal shopper in your pocket,” the app has a user base in the tens of thousands and aims to grow to 250,000 shoppers by the end of the year. Mallzee has signed partnerships with brands and retailers including ASOS, Topshop, Urban Outfitters, River Island, Liberty London, Glassworks and Oki-Ni. The company is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It secured $850K in funding to scale the business and bring the product to more consumers across the globe.