This week’s UK tech funding deals include ad-subsidised BNPL firm Zilch, quantum-proof cybersecurity company PQShield, plant-based meat alternative startup THIS and more.
UKTN tracked £288.6m worth of UK tech investment this week (17 June to 21 June), a 107% week-on-week increase across 15 funding rounds.
Here’s your weekly roundup of UK tech startup funding deals.
Zilch – £100m
Sector: Fintech
HQ: London
Round: Securitisation
Funding type: Debt
Investors: Debt securitisation managed by Deutsche Bank
Founded in 2018, Zilch provides ad-subsidised buy now pay later (BNPL) services.
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Finbourne – £55m
Sector: Fintech
HQ: London
Round: Series B
Funding type: Equity
Investors: Highland Europe and AVP
Founded in 2016, Finbourne provides asset owners and managers with a platform to track investment performances and conduct compliance duties.
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PQShield – £29m
Sector: Cybersecurity
HQ: Oxford
Round: Series B
Funding type: Equity
Investors: Addition, Chevron Technology Ventures, Legal and General, Braavos Capital and Oxford Science Enterprises
Founded in 2018, PQShield is developing post-quantum cryptography (PQC) security solutions that can withstand the additional computational firepower of quantum computers.
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CuspAI – £24m
Sector: AI
HQ: Cambridge
Round: Seed
Funding type: Equity
Investors: Hoxton Ventures, Basis Set Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, LocalGlobe, Northzone, Touring Capital, Giant Ventures, FJ Labs, Tiferes Ventures and Zero Prime Ventures
Founded in 2024, CuspAI is developing a generative AI tool to design advanced materials requested by users.
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THIS – £20m
Sector: Food tech
HQ: London
Round: Series C
Funding type: Equity
Investors: Planet First Partners
Founded in 2019, THIS develops plant-based alternatives to meat products.
Yoto – £18m
Sector: Consumer electronics
HQ: London
Round: Series B
Funding type: Not disclosed
Investors: Chan Zuckerberg Ventures
Founded in 2015, Yoto develops screen-free audio devices for kids to play music and listen to stories.
SurrealDB – £15.7m
Sector: Data
HQ: London
Round: Series A
Funding type: Not disclosed
Investors: FirstMark, Georgian, Crew Capital and Alumni Ventures
Founded in 2022, SurrealDB develops database architecture that developers use to model data.
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iGii – £8.8m
Sector: Materials
HQ: Stirling
Round: Series A+
Funding type: Equity
Investors: Scottish National Investment Bank, Archangel Investors and Par Equity
Founded in 2016, iGii develops 3D carbon nanomaterials usable across numerous sectors such as diagnostics, agriculture and water quality testing.
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Wave Photonics – £4.5m
Sector: Quantum
HQ: Cambridge
Round: –
Funding type: Non-dilutive and grants
Investors: UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, Cambrige Enterprise Ventures, Redstone, QAI Ventures’ Quantum Fund, Kyra Ventures, DeepTech Labs
Founded in 2021, Wave Photonics is developing on-chip photonics designs for quantum technologies.
Apolitical – £3.9m
Sector: Edtech
HQ: London
Round: Grant
Funding type: Grant
Investors: Google (via charitable arm Google.org)
Founded in 2015, Apolitical is an online learning platform and community for public servants.
Wordsmith – £3.9m
Sector: Legal tech/AI
HQ: Edinburgh
Round: Seed
Funding type: Equity
Investors: Index Ventures, General Catalyst and angels
Founded in 2023, Wordsmith is an AI tool that automates time-consuming routine tasks for legal teams.
Spotless Water – £3.6m
Sector: Clean tech
HQ: Dorset
Round: Series B
Funding type: Equity
Investors: YFM Equity Partners
Founded in 2016, Spotless Water is a startup that supplies ultra-pure water (UPW) for cleaning equipment.
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Brainspark Games – £1.4m
Sector: Edtech
HQ: London
Round: Seed
Funding type: Equity
Investors: Angels
Founded in 2019, Brainspark develops educational mobile games based on the UK national curriculum.
Condense – £500,000
Sector: VR
HQ: Bristol
Round: Seed
Funding type: Equity
Investors: BBC Ventures
Founded in 2019, Condense partners with brands to develop live virtual reality events.
Freeaim Technologies – £250,000
Sector: VR
HQ: London
Round: Pre-seed
Funding type: Equity
Investors: Nikolaus Oldendorff
Founded in 2021, Freeaim is developing wearable technology for virtual reality, including shoes that allow users to walk in virtual environments.
The post UK tech funding roundup: This week’s deals from Zilch to Freeaim appeared first on UKTN.