Mercia

"CitizenMe enables people and brands to co-create better digital products and services. We are delighted that Mercia and 1818 share our belief in a sustainable digital future and our lead in the new Zero Data category."

"We’re on a mission to help businesses transform their data from an expensive, time-consuming challenge into a powerful goal-achieving asset. In Mercia we have found the perfect partner to expand our product and accelerate the growth for Distil and its customers."

"Online learning now plays a key role in education but nothing can replace the benefits of one to one tuition. Tutorful offers the best of both worlds – it offers students easy access to some of the best teachers in the UK while leveraging the power of technology to make learning more fun and engaging. The platform has potential for use worldwide and this latest investment will help us to expand into other overseas markets."

"The past year has been one of the most difficult in living memory for hospitality operators and we have done all we can to help them survive. However, there is now a strong sense of optimism and operators are expecting a boom in business. The funding will help us to further develop the products and take advantage of the opportunities ahead."

"Sometimes out of adversity comes opportunity, and SnapDragon is testament to that. We are helping brands to remove fakes from sale online: protecting revenues, reputations and, most importantly, the end consumer. What brands may not realise is that sales made from counterfeits fund organised crime, such as trafficking – and nobody wants a fake of their brand funding illicit trade. In identifying fakes online, and removing them from sale on the pertinent platforms, we prevent their visibility and subsequent purchase, export, import and distribution."

"Bubo.AI is the only AI-driven pricing software that takes the perceived value to customers into account. We have been delighted by the awards and other recognition we have received so far. This funding will allow us to maintain our position at the leading edge of AI and establish the software as the world leader in its field."

"For decades, memories were captured on formats which are now inaccessible and deteriorating."

"I am delighted to welcome DSW Ventures and Mercia on board at this exciting time for the company. The raise was oversubscribed by 60%, helped by the continuing support of SFC Capital and our angel investors. This puts us in a strong position as we move into the next phase of taking our products to market."

"Trench Networks has made great progress since our first investment two years ago. Its award-winning technology and rapid deployment times have enabled it to build a strong track record in the construction industry. As businesses of all types become increasingly dependent on internet connections, this latest funding will allow it to take advantage of opportunities in other sectors."

"When everyone is working from different locations, it can be hard to manage and motivate sales teams. OneUp harnesses the power of data and brings greater visibility on performance, which in turn helps engage and motivate staff. It also injects an element of fun. This investment will enable us to further develop the system and reach a wider audience."

"The world of work is changing, with many people working remotely and using video calls or emails to communicate. WorkBuzz helps companies to navigate these challenges and build great cultures. Our vision is to improve the working lives of 1 million people, and this investment round will help us to make it happen sooner."

"It is not often that you meet a founding team that has advised heads of state alongside Facebook and Google: in Vidhya and Ross, we are working with entrepreneurs that provide world-leading perspectives on the global trends shaping the future of online threats. As Moonshot scales its presence in Washington D.C., Beringea will be working closely with the team to leverage our transatlantic footprint and build an international success story together."

"I have spent my working life involved in developing products to improve total knee surgery. It is exciting to be part of a small med tech start up with a big vision to deliver accessible innovation to improve patient outcome for total knee patients across the globe."

"Our technology provided the perfect way to facilitate secure home-working for key organisations at a critical time using our ‘Gatekeeper for Office 365’ remote working solution. Since then, we have applied the same concepts and technology to protect numerous other applications for large organisations, from remote working solutions to securing cloud computing and handling highly sensitive information."

"The pandemic has had a major impact on supply chains and the haulage industry. By improving efficiency and enabling them to recruit drivers remotely, our platform has helped firms to keep going in these uncertain times. With continued pressure on costs, it is all the more important for operators to minimise unnecessary expenses like recruitment fees to enable them to maintain profits and improve drivers’ wages."

"Our technology is already making a significant impact within counter terror and child sexual abuse investigations in the UK, and we're excited to build on this momentum in mainland Europe and the US. We've built a great network of partners to support our ambitious growth plans, and our team will double in size during each of the next two years to support this growth."

"Over the last two years Newcells has made great progress in bringing innovative products and services to market that have delivered value to our global pharmaceutical customers. Whether it be in understanding how new drugs interact with the kidney or the retina, our scientists have produced data that has helped lower the risk of early drug discovery projects. The input and support of Mercia and NorthStar has been invaluable in driving forward the business. Our vision is to bring the best in vitro biology to market, improving the productivity of drug discovery and development"

"I am really pleased to work with ACF for a second time to bring their support to Axis Spine. It is a great example of the UK ecosystem supporting fantastic entrepreneur-led medtech companies and I am delighted to assist Jon and the Axis team take their superior products to market and to build out the underlying platform."

"We welcome this exciting collaboration with Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures as we step up the global response to CUI through the adoption of digital solutions. This investment demonstrates a surge of confidence from the sector in the use of real-time data systems that will accurately predict leakages and the onset of structural failure. With the worldwide cost of corrosion at $2.5 trillion, a co-ordinated effort cannot come soon enough. CorrosionRADAR is showing that a sustainable path to increased safety and dramatically reduced costs is achievable right now, using new technology and wireless connectivity."

"Understanding student engagement and ensuring they have the right support has always been difficult for universities, but at a time when learning is moving online and students are spending more time alone, it is even more important. Solutionpath provides real-time feedback on how new practices are being received and enables them to spot vulnerable students or those at risk of dropping out."

"There has been growing recognition amongst businesses of the importance of employee health and wellbeing and the pandemic has brought this into even sharper focus. As we move into 2021, monitoring, measuring and having the ability to respond to the needs of employees will be critical as we transition back to work."

"We are delighted with the considerable support we have received from our investors. With the opportunities that are available to us across our key industry verticals and armed with the technology to realise them, we anticipate an incredibly exciting period in the business’s development next year and beyond."

"We’ve been extremely busy supporting our credit union partners during Covid-19. The lockdown not only escalated the need for credit unions to offer their members digital access, but also to communicate with them more regularly and effectively, something our technology also enables them to do. Credit unions have been at the forefront of supporting financially excluded and often vulnerable individuals and families over recent months, so we are delighted to offer them technology which not only better supports existing members in a digital world, but also enables them to promote their message of ethical, supportive banking to a wider audience."

"I’m delighted to see Iventis make huge leaps forward in its growth. The company is recruiting talent from within the events industry, which has suffered immensely during the pandemic. We already have high-profile early adopters of the Iventis software, many of which are relying on its capabilities to reschedule and redesign their events."

"3D animation has traditionally been reserved for big budget TV commercials and is prohibitively expensive for digital channels. Our mission is to make 3D visual effects more accessible and affordable, empowering companies to generate their own 3D animation in-house, at speed and at scale."

"Financial services are one of our key industries here in Leicester and Leicestershire, so I’m very pleased that the MEIF was able to support a business that is taking an innovative approach to helping businesses manage profitability. The LLEP is committed to supporting our businesses through COVID-19, so it’s great to see such a streamlined solution to rebates that will be of great benefit to the wider business community."

"We’re delighted and excited to secure this investment to deliver our long-term ambition of digitising and ‘humanising’ building information to help create safer, healthier places for people to live, work and spend their leisure time."

"This investment round represents a significant endorsement of our technology. The conversational AI market is very noisy with many big players. Our unique approach has made us the platform of choice for many global players and has allowed us to roll out our technology. This investment enables us to further establish ourselves in the market as a leading provider of conventional AI for enterprise and take the business to the next level."

"I have a big passion for renewable and clean energy, and having grown up experiencing regular blackouts through the collective peak time usage of energy, I wanted to do something about it. I wanted to create a cleaner way of using energy for everyone, which is also more affordable, and build a community to be able to achieve that,"

"We are delighted to receive the backing of Mercia and NPIF. Mercia has a great track record in backing innovative tech companies. We are a proud Sheffield business, flying the flag for Northern innovation, cutting edge engineering, and transformational IOT solutions."

"Worldwide, 26,000 people die from cancer each day. Early detection is critical for effective treatment, but many cancers go undetected for too long. This funding is another significant step forward for ClinSpec Dx in our mission to detect cancer earlier and help to increase patient survival and quality of life."

"MyPathway has really proved its worth during the lockdown. With routine appointments having to be cancelled, it has made it so much easier for hospitals to communicate with patients and keep track of their condition."

"Technologies such as AI and robotics have revolutionised manufacturing in recent years, yet agriculture has suffered from a lack of investment and still relies on traditional techniques. At a time when we face the challenge of feeding a growing population with limited land and labour supplies, it is time for agriculture to undergo the same transformation. At Earth Rover we aim to play a leading role in the digitisation of farming to make the industry more productive and sustainable."

"The games business, and especially the highly social world of server-based games, have been growing rapidly for years. We make it easy for developers and server owners to monetise their services, leaving them to concentrate on making the best entertainment."

"With the rise of the internet and social media, falsehoods travel faster than the truth. Misinformation can polarise societies and has become a serious threat to democracy. Logically aims to stop the spread of disinformation, ensure people see both sides of the story and keep elections free and fair. Following on from our early successes in India and Europe, we are looking to establish Logically as a partner for governments, businesses and consumers around the world."

"Pricing has previously appeared like a dark art, and traditional approaches are problematic and not very effective. Trying to price match with competitors can lead to price erosion, especially in a downturn, while sales staff often resort to discounting to meet targets."

"With 3.5 billion smartphones worldwide, mobile apps are an effective way for public and private sector businesses to roll out their services to a wide audience. Nutshell makes mobile app development easy and will help businesses large and small to drive innovation and growth."

"OXGENE has once again more than doubled its revenue, with less than a 50% increase in headcount. This is testament not only to the hard work and effective management of our team here, but also to the strength of our automation platform, and our focussed, but flexible, approach to business and technology development."

"Sales is no longer about the 'gift of the gab'. It is a repeatable and structured process and technology can help to achieve results faster. Allegrow allows companies to increase sales dramatically by eliminating repetitive processes, allowing sales people to spend more of their time having conversations with prospects and turning cold leads into customers."

"StaffCircle clearly has tremendous potential and we’re delighted to be backing it at such an early stage."

"We are delighted at the continued support from Mercia and the North East Fund."

"Our goal is to bring much-needed improvement to the lives of three million dialysis patients. This investment allows us to take a big step towards this, and we are delighted to have won the backing of a consortium of smart, well-funded investors."

"We help organisations of all sizes, from sole traders to busineses with multi-million turnover to identify genuine live opportunities, rather than those which have already been awarded to other parties. The funding will allow us to scale up the business and expand our support team which is key to our customer-led approach."

"There are over 400,000 substations in the UK and most are still accessed via old-fashioned keys which are easily lost, stolen or not returned. CentraLock offers a step change in security for the utilities industry. Not only does it help prevent unauthorized access, but it also helps safeguard maintenance staff who often work alone on sites in remote locations. We believe there could be a huge potential market worldwide."

"We’ve seen a real upsurge in interest from both existing users and from HEIs we don’t yet work with"

"There is a wealth of technical talent in the Midlands, which is clear from the leading research that repeatedly comes out of the region. We are clear at CyberOwl that we need to go where the talent is. We were born out of research at Coventry University and are excited about the prospect of building up a research and development base in the MIdlands."

"We are delighted to have secured this latest funding round, which demonstrates investors’ confidence in the potential of our technology. Authenticate is changing the way the food industry looks at supplier compliance. We live in an ever more transparent world and technology means that so much more information can be monitored in real time – reducing the burden on all parties, and delivering genuine insight into the way our food is grown and processed."

"PHARMASEAL aims to give customers increased control over their clinical trials and product development. This second round of investment demonstrates the confidence that investors have in our product and will enable us to scale up our commercial operations."

"From our work in the property sector and experience as landlords, we recognised that there was a gap in the market for a platform that could bring together all the different aspects of property investment and management. We are looking forward to the launch of Rent Chief and working with our investors as we continue to develop and enhance the product."

"This significant investment round will enable Oxford Genetics to further secure its market-leading position in the expanding fields of CRISPR, gene therapy and antibody engineering. Through our continued investment in automation and optimising our commercialisation strategy, we aim to maximise shareholder value and exceed our ambitious growth targets. Throughout our journey, Mercia’s investment model has been pivotal to Oxford Genetics’ current success. The ability to leverage capital and continued support from Mercia via seed stage through to later investment rounds has enabled us to attract excellent syndicate investors onto our share register. We are excited to welcome Canaccord Genuity onto our share register alongside Invesco Asset Management and look forward to working with all of our investors to grow the business over the coming years."

"Mercia is the perfect partner for us, as their 'Complete Capital Solution' will be able to meet our needs as a personalised healthcare technology start-up. We need an investor that understands our journey ahead and can help us plan for future growth."