Newsletter: VC Breakfast Club

/espresso

• Relay lands $35M to scale AI-powered e-bike delivery, reshaping logistics.

• Ignota Labs raises $6.9M to rescue abandoned drug candidates using AI.

• Opine, a Y Combinator-backed startup, redefines AI-driven social media with customizable virtual influencers.

Are you raising? Founders, pitch here.

/deals

🚲 Relay raised $35M to scale its AI-powered, asset-light delivery model, inspired by Asia’s logistics innovations. Backed by Plural, Project A, and Prologis Ventures, the company optimizes parcel logistics with e-bikes, mini-depots, and computer vision, serving clients like Vinted, TikTok, and Temu.

🐶 Napo secured a €14.4M Series B to enhance AI-driven pet insurance, ensuring comprehensive coverage beyond low-cost policies. Backed by Mercia Ventures, DN Capital, and Helvetia Venture Fund, Napo aims to scale to 100K insured pets with AI-powered claims automation.

🧪 Ignota Labs, a Cambridge-based biotech startup, raised $6.9M in seed funding to advance AI-driven drug safety analysis. Using its SAFEPATH platform, the company rescues abandoned drug candidates by identifying and resolving toxicity issues, accelerating clinical trials. Investors include Montage Ventures, AIX Ventures, and Blue Wire Capital.

⚖️ London-based WilsonAI raised €1.6M pre-seed to develop the world’s first AI paralegal for in-house legal teams. Backed by Nomad Ventures and Entrepreneur First, its AI automates 50% of legal queries, streamlining contract reviews and improving efficiency across corporate legal departments.

📜 Atria AI secured £720K pre-seed funding led by Fuel Ventures to enhance AI-driven legal solutions. Its Pathfinder platform streamlines legal workflows, automating deadlines, compliance, and document management to boost efficiency for law firms and in-house teams.

💳 ClearScore secured €36.1M in debt financing from HSBC Innovation Banking UK to expand its credit marketplace and open banking services. Founded in 2015, ClearScore helps users manage credit scores and access financial products through data-driven insights.

🏋️ Manchester-based Prorizon secures £400K pre-seed funding led by GC Angels to enhance AI-driven digital-twin technology for mental and physical performance management. The startup aims to expand into sports, education, and high-performance sectors with real-time predictive insights and personalised interventions.

/funds

💰 US private equity giant Thoma Bravo, backer of Cambridge-based Darktrace and Abingdon’s Sophos, has launched its first dedicated European fund. With £1.5B, the firm aims to scale top regional software businesses into global leaders, expanding its UK and European footprint.

🔬 Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) has launched a £100M ($126M) Opportunity Fund to support later-stage deep tech and life sciences startups in the UK. Backed by Aviva Investors and British Patient Capital, the fund aims to address the UK’s growth funding gap, preventing startups from relocating overseas. Early investments include Pragmatic Semiconductor and Riverlane.

🩺 Heather Preston, a seasoned healthcare investor and Oxford alum, joins Oxonian Ventures as General Partner. The Oxford-focused early-stage VC, now on its third fund, has backed 30+ startups, including biotech and AI ventures. Fund III targets $15M for Oxford-founded companies.

/tech

• 🎭 Opine, an AI-native social media app, lets users create AI-generated characters for video content. Co-founder Manuj Mishra, an Imperial London and Oxford CS graduate, teamed up with Diogo to launch the platform. Backed by Y Combinator, Opine is redefining AI-driven content creation.

/flywheel

• 🍻 Nestworking! Join Oxford Said Entrepreneurship Centre & EnSpire on March 27 at The Nest, SBS for networking, drinks, and 30-second startup pitches. Connect, share insights, and grow your entrepreneurial network!

• 📢 Oxford's Startup Huddle recorded its highest attendance yet, with 140 attendees gathering at Westgate Library to connect, pitch, and network. Running since 2022, the monthly event has become the largest of its kind worldwide, fostering a diverse and supportive startup ecosystem.

• 🚀 The Impulse Programme at Cambridge’s Maxwell Centre is accepting applications for its 2025 cohort. Aimed at PhDs, postdocs, and early-stage entrepreneurs, the three-month hybrid programme helps transform innovations into commercial ventures. Apply by March 3, 2025, for Fellowship opportunities.

• 🔥 SPARK 1.0, a four-week residential incubator at King’s College, Cambridge, helps students, researchers, and alumni transform ideas into ventures. With mentorship, masterclasses, and investor access, participants can pitch for £20K investment. Apply by March 21, 2025.

• 🏆 Join Oxford’s premier idea competition on March 7 at Reuben College. Meet finalists, hear pitches, and see the £500 funding winners announced. Open to all in the Oxford entrepreneurial ecosystem.

• 💻 The Oxbridge Women in Computer Science Conference 2025 takes place on May 3rd at Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science. Featuring keynotes, research presentations, and networking, with free registration, meals, and transport from Oxford. Abstract submissions close March 10th; registration deadline is March 28th.

/breakfast

• Oxbridge: Don’t call it an Arc, call it a Flywheel

• 8 Cambridge founders raised $2.85b to build robots

• Build the East West Rail, fast(er)

📸 /techbrunch

Every week I use Midjourney to reimagine a TechCrunch story from the week.

This week, Microsoft hangs up on Skype. Microsoft is shutting down Skype on May 5, 2025, shifting focus to Teams. Users can migrate contacts and chats or export data. Once a leader in internet calls, Skype’s decline aligns with Teams’ rising adoption.

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