Innovate UK is a government-backed agency supporting business-led innovation across the United Kingdom.
The MedTech start-up received its second award from the UK innovation agency via the Biomedical Catalyst scheme.
"Sleep is vital both to our mental and physical health. As mental health experts we need to find ways to help people improve their sleep quality, especially those with sleep problems."
The funding round was led by 24 Haymarket with participation from Innovate UK.
"I was shocked that despite being a treatable condition, pneumonia kills one million children under-five every year – more than HIV, malaria, and TB combined. When I realised these deaths can be avoided through early diagnosis, I became obsessed with finding a way to solve the problem."
EarthSense has secured grant funding from Innovate UK to deliver a partnership air quality project in Wolverhampton.
"Using the information from the app, users can choose to avoid certain high pollution areas, reducing the amount of emissions inhaled, and hopefully divert traffic away from those areas, thereby reducing the levels of pollution – a positive result for everyone."
The Lincoln technology start-up raised the capital through Minerva Business Angels and Innovate UK.
"After seeing Tended pitch a couple of times at Minerva events, one of Blackfinch Ventures directors expressed an interest in investing. Initially, I thought it was just him acting as an individual Angel, so when I heard the investment was to be through Blackfinch and they were interested in investing £810k, it came as quite a shock! It also came at just the right time as we had a number of very exciting opportunities opening up, which required a much larger cash injection than previously anticipated."
The grant will fund an online platform providing researchers with access to AI models and algorithms.
"This partnership and funding clearly indicate the importance and value of artificial intelligence as a new approach to support UK SMEs and reinvigorate drug discovery. Our aim is to help deliver a platform which is of high value to UK SMEs to advance their own drug discovery projects faster and more efficiently by accessing otherwise inaccessible, complex technical expertise"
