IN-PART raises £300k seed funding from Mercia Fund Management to drive international expansion
Mercia Fund Management backed the academic research platform in its first external funding round.
IN-PART connects academic researchers with industry professionals through an online matchmaking platform designed to commercialise university discoveries. The company employs 28 people across offices in Sheffield and London.
IN-PART has secured £300k in seed funding from Mercia Fund Management. The capital will be deployed to expand the team, accelerate international growth, launch new marketing campaigns, and further develop the company product offering.
Operating from bases in Sheffield and London, the platform connects university technology transfer offices with commercial enterprises ranging from small businesses to multinational firms. The company plans to use the fresh funds to build out its presence in overseas markets including the US, Asia, and Australia following rapid domestic growth.
Mercia Fund Management made the investment to back scalable academic technology originating from the UK regions. The funding follows IN-PART being named among Tech North's Northern Stars earlier in the year.
From the founder
"This investment marks the next chapter in our business’s history, and heralds not only our expansion, but also the development of new and current core services for our university and company clients. We’re looking to maintain our traction, and are excited to excel expectations as we take our company overseas with our new partners at MFM."
Robin Knight
Co-founder at IN-PART
Investor perspective
"This investment also complements Mercia’s commitment to support the wealth of scalable technology that universities can provide, particularly in our focus regions of the Midlands, the North and Scotland."
Brijesh Roy
Investment Manager, Mercia Fund Management
Use of funds
- 01Grow the team
- 02Expand into international markets
- 03Invest in sales and marketing
- 04Continue product development