Led · Equity · Oct 2020

Duel offers an Advocate Relationship Management platform that lets retail brands such as Lush, ELEMIS, Victoria’s Secret, and Abercrombie & Fitch recruit, activate, and manage large networks of customer-advocates, creators, and ambassadors in a single system of record. The software tracks, rewards, and scales authentic advocacy behaviors, giving brands a measurable, always-on alternative to traditional performance advertising. Duel’s product roadmap includes deeper enterprise AI capabilities to automate the identification, segmentation, and activation of brand fans with hyper-personalized experiences. Fresh Series A capital will support the company’s U.S. expansion following its recent move into New York and fuel category thought-leadership through its Building Brand Advocacy podcast and community. Long term, Duel aims to establish Brand Advocacy as the default growth strategy not only in retail but also in sectors like B2B, music, hospitality, professional services, and entertainment. The company reports that 20–33% of a typical brand’s customers are already active creators and that its platform can manage tens of thousands of advocates with the resources traditionally needed for only a few hundred. Including the new round, Duel has raised more than $21 million to date.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2020

LettUs Grow, founded in 2015, develops a patent-pending, nozzle-free aeroponic system and an integrated farm-management software called Ostara to automate and optimise indoor farms. Their nozzle-free systems are easy to clean, fully automatable, run without pesticides and reportedly deliver an average 70% increase in growth rate versus hydroponics across multiple crops. Ostara collects plant data, oversees inputs and enables seed-to-sale traceability to improve operational efficiency. The company positions its technology as a step-change to help indoor farms scale and compete with traditional agriculture while addressing CO2 emissions, waste, ecosystem collapse and food security. LettUs Grow plans to build a second aeroponic research centre, scale existing technology, fulfil a growing sales pipeline and accelerate new product lines to market. The business is expanding into new markets and pursuing wider commercial deployment of its systems.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2019

CytoSeek is a discovery-stage biotech commercialising its proprietary Artificial Membrane-Binding Protein (AMBP) platform to enhance the functionality of cell therapies for solid tumours. The AMBP technology is designed to improve tumour-killing performance without the need for genetic modification of cells. The company is pursuing a business model that includes internal cell therapy programs and development and out-licence of its AMBP technology. CytoSeek launched in late 2019 with an initial £1.1M ($1.5M) of financing, including an Innovate UK award and funding from UKI2S and angel investors, and has since secured additional grant funding. The newly completed £3.57M ($5M) raise will support development of the AMBP platform and expansion of the scientific and operational team. Board and leadership have been strengthened since launch, and new investor representatives will join the board as part of the round. Cytoseek is a University of Bristol spin-out developing a membrane augmentation technology for cell therapies aimed at treating cancer. The company is based at the UnitDX incubator in St Philips, Bristol and was founded by Professor Adam Perriman. Cytoseek is developing a protein-based cellular 'paint' that can be applied to cells to improve their performance. Its research seeks to extend cell therapy use beyond blood cancers like leukaemia to solid tumours. The recent funding will be used to accelerate pre-clinical validation of the technology and help progress it toward clinical testing. The company has positioned itself within Bristol's growing biotechnology cluster and has local investor backing.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2019

I-Phyc is a Birmingham-based green water treatment company that develops nature-based wastewater treatment solutions using algae. Its core system removes phosphorus, ammonia and other contaminants while locking away carbon and creating sustainable by-products from the biomass. The technology is already deployed at plants in Weston-super-Mare and Broadwindsor and is slated for a new installation at Croxton Kerrial. The company intends to use newly raised funds to establish itself as the technological leader in circular wastewater treatment solutions. I-Phyc has seen a major increase in enquiries over the past year and is in discussions with all major UK water companies as well as operators in the US and Scandinavia. The business currently employs 15 staff, operates a laboratory in Bristol, and plans to add five jobs in the next six months; it raised £2.3M in the reported funding round. I-Phyc develops a chemical-free water-treatment system that uses microalgae and cutting-edge technology to remove phosphorus, ammonia and other contaminants while locking away carbon and creating sustainable by-products such as biomass. The system is already installed and operating at a number of sites and the company says it is in discussions with all other major operators. The latest funding is intended to support roll-out at more municipal water plants and to aid internationalisation. I-Phyc employs 15 staff across its headquarters in Birmingham and a laboratory in Bristol. The raise comes as regulators introduce stricter limits on phosphorus and other contaminants, increasing demand for nature-based, lower-carbon solutions. To date the company has raised over £2m. Industrial Phycology has developed an eco-friendly wastewater treatment system that uses algae to remove nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from sewage and wastewater. The recovered algal biomass can be used to generate biogas or fertiliser, and the process captures and retains carbon emissions to help reduce operators' carbon footprints. The company has completed a trial with Wessex Water at Avonmouth sewage works and is demonstrating the technology at a plant in Weston-super-Mare. Laboratories are based in Bristol and the company recently established new headquarters in Birmingham, where it is creating 19 new jobs. Industrial Phycology intends to use the funds to build its team in Birmingham and to launch its new system.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2016

Micrima has developed the MARIA® radio-wave breast scanning system, a non‑ionising, no‑compression imaging method intended to improve early breast cancer diagnosis. The company is at commercial stage with initial sales of its technology and distribution agreements in Germany, Austria and Switzerland through Hologic, Inc. A seventh-generation MARIA® system is planned for launch later this year, bringing improved accuracy, ergonomics and a new density‑scoring functionality. Management says the device has proven effective at accurately identifying cancer in diagnostic clinic trials and performs well in dense tissue versus the gold standard. The recent financing is intended to fund the next stage of product development, commercialisation and resumption of clinical data collection. Leadership also plans to work on automated classification of findings using the system's rich dataset. Micrima develops MARIA, a patented, CE-marked radiowave breast imaging system intended as an alternative to mammography. The system uses harmless radio-waves and requires no breast compression, and has been trialled in over 400 women in the UK. Trials at leading European centres are about to commence and the technology has proven effective in dense tissue. The company plans to move MARIA into full commercial launch later in 2018 and to expand the team with strategic hires. Micrima is led by Executive Chairman Roy Johnson and is based in Bristol, UK. The company recently raised additional equity to support product development and commercialization. Micrima is a Bristol, UK–based breast imaging company that has developed a CE Mark–approved radiowave imaging technology. The company’s core product is the MARIA system, which aims to make breast screening safer, more comfortable and more accessible. Micrima closed a £2.6m funding round to accelerate development and begin commercialization toward the end of this year. Backers in the round included Technology Venture Partners LLP, Swarraton Partners and the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund. The company is advancing a second version of the MARIA system due early next year, which will offer enhanced functionality including the ability to automatically distinguish between different types of lesion. Micrima is led by Executive Chairman Roy Johnson. Micrima develops a radiowave radar medical imaging system aimed at improving breast cancer detection. The company is led by executive chairman Roy Johnson and is based in Bristol, UK. It raised a further £600k in funding to advance the imaging system’s performance and validation. Proceeds will fund targeted performance improvements, the collection of validating clinical data at Bristol’s Southmead Hospital, hires for product development, and early work toward regulatory approval. Micrima’s primary interest is providing the first truly alternative breast‑cancer screening modality in decades. The firm had previously raised £900k in April 2012.