Founders Factory

"With this new funding, we want to scale our business and maximise the disruptive potential of our ultra-thin and lightweight solar solutions by facilitating a new generation of solar users ready to have a positive impact on the planet."

"Umazi is a fantastic example of the kind of regtech innovation needed to transform an all too unglamorous but vital function – corporate due diligence. As a partner, we’re delighted to be trialling Umazi’s technology, and early indications show it will help make our own supplier onboarding process much more efficient."

"Increasing access to the right diagnostic imaging and testing is vital to saving lives. It offers preventive healthcare that, if delayed, can cause significant problems to the patient and put even greater pressure on the healthcare system. In my role as an osteopath I've seen how the deterioration of patient wellbeing can be impacted by the cost and access of such tests. With this new investment we can continue to grow our network to get the tests that help to direct patients to the optimal therapy for the best outcome."

"Our tech-driven approach to slow travel is not just about providing holiday experiences grounded in travelling through, rather than flying over, but about accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable travel. The past year saw the world forced to slow right down. Emerging from lockdown, many people are now choosing slower, more sustainable holidays that take them away from the crowds and help them enjoy the journey as much as the destination.We’re taking the time, and the work, out of planning and booking off the beaten path trips by train, boat and bike – and the reception we’ve had has been glowing. Our personalised, experience-based approach and on-demand WhatsApp support means holidaymakers get to spend a whole lot of time enjoying their trip and none at all managing multiple tickets, complicated timetables, and changing travel restrictions."

"The search for the ideal home is no longer reliant on the preconceived notion of location being everything. People’s priorities have shifted to lifestyle needs and the market is not yet accounting for this. Thanks to our unique technology we are flipping the traditional property search process on its head: by considering our users’ budget, commute, and location requirements, we help our users uncover the homes and neighbourhoods that are going to be the right fit for their needs. We are focussed on using the benefits of AI technology and data to push our matchmaking capabilities even further, to help uncover the hidden data that renters and buyers care a lot about."

"The idea for Scale XP came when – particularly once the pandemic hit – we identified a huge demand among the small business community for an easy-to-use tool that can support them on their growth journey. We wanted to give them an easier way to oversee their business performance, holistically, so that they can thrive. I’m delighted by the huge interest and support from the VC community and female founder networks like Angel Academe to help us realise this mission. It’s fantastic to have Alex on the Advisory Board to help us scale the business quickly."

"Our sole focus at Peptone is to embrace experimental failure and, in fact, acknowledge it as an absolutely vital stage in the process of getting the design of protein-based medicines right. Great science is always born out of failure. The reality is that drug discovery in Big Pharma sees only a small fraction of protein based drugs pass the preclinical stages due to their complexity. Pharma, just like any industry, is subject to the ‘power law’. A small number of innovative drugs generate disproportional benefits to patients and outsized capital returns. We are working on shifting this failure-to-success ratio in a meticulously predictable and repeatable way using the best computational methods and scalable data science. Only last week one of our clients produced a monoclonal antibody for which our platform suggested seven radical mutations. The said therapeutic protein got vastly improved. The probability of a human researcher being able to engineer this type of change is equal to 1/1,280,000,000. In layman terms you are four times more likely to win the Powerball lottery than to spontaneously find the solution our platform has identified in less than ten days. The business of protein therapeutics is a huge industry and as we grow and further develop our supercomputing capacity we can help make significant progress in the time to market for much sought-after protein-based treatments."

"We are thrilled to see how quickly Creator Fund is gaining ground in universities. We are constantly looking at new ways to unlock and support entrepreneurial talent and promote the UK and Europe as a centre of tech excellence. As we bounce back from Covid, universities are the number one institution across Europe that have the potential to drive our recovery. This is where some of the greatest ideas emerge from and we want to find and support that undiscovered talent that can change the world."

"My doctor didn’t identify the early symptoms of perimenopause. I didn’t fit the profile. I was ‘too young’ and still having a regular cycle. I was advised to take ‘time out’ to address exhaustion and upweight my vitamin intake. My experience isn’t unusual. Menopause simply isn’t well enough understood or researched. It is presented as an end-of-life category when it should be a midlife empowerment category."

"Our goal is to ensure consumers do not have to sacrifice their anonymity to have a great brand experience,"

"Information overload is everywhere, and it is making users disengage. Our unique technology empowers users by telling them how much they already know about any given topic and how to best increase their knowledge. Empowered users engage more and achieve better results. By objectively quantifying knowledge we are creating the currency for a true future knowledge economy."

"Our vision is for Caper to become the home of original content that enables families to spend quality, active time together. With our team’s extensive background in game design, and being parents ourselves, we make it easy for adults to have adventures with their kids out in nature or at home – which has proven popular during the recent lockdown. We also understand parents’ concerns over screen time and want to show that there is a positive way to use technology through shared experiences."

"We’ve developed a service in the last 2 months that is available to provide coronavirus disinfection. Our original goal for the business remains to help the planet – originally focussing on the eco-friendly nature of our tech compared to traditional laundry options. However, in recent weeks it’s become apparent that our help is needed in keeping people safe. In light of the current coronavirus situation, we are working closely with NHS and vulnerable groups to provide support when needed as well as doubling down on our software development, including our app, and rolling out the service to London later this year while continuing to focus on our original locations – Oxford and Cambridge."

"At Zipabout we envision a future where every transport decision is based on genuine knowledge and true insight. This significant investment from MEIF, supported by First Derivatives and Founders Factory, will enable us to offer invaluable knowledge and insight to policy-makers, transport operators and travellers through a range of innovative, easy-to-use products."

"This is a massive achievement for us. When we came to market 2 years ago we were probably the only technology company talking about fairness and diversity. Fairness has been our core purpose from day one, it’s in our DNA, and we are so grateful to our investors and clients who saw how important our message was. For me this represents an investment in diversity, not just our company. This latest round will allow us to grow our capability in our core markets, levelling the playing field and breaking the cycle of exclusion that still chronically prevalent in the world of work. It is also a huge vote of confidence in the team who have worked so hard over the past 2 years to bring our purpose to life."