Newsletter: VC Breakfast Club

/deals

🏛️ Stotles raised $13M Series A to simplify public sector sales with AI. Backed by Headline, Acton, Seedcamp, and Form Ventures, the platform streamlines bid tracking and tender discovery—already helping firms win over £500M in contracts.

🔌 Volteras raised $11.1M Series A led by USV to expand its EV and energy data streaming platform. Backers include Wex, Edenred, and Exor Ventures. The startup links vehicles, chargers, and energy systems via OEM-authorised, real-time data.

🔋 London-based Applied Computing raised €10.7M seed from Stride.VC and Repeat.vc to scale Orbital, its AI platform for oil, gas and petrochemicals. Orbital blends foundation models with real-time, on-edge deployment to optimise ageing infrastructure.

💸 Velocity, founded by Volt.io’s Tom Greenwood, raised £7.4M pre-seed to streamline fiat and stablecoin payments for enterprises. Backed by Activant, Fuel, and others, it aims to modernise cross-border finance with unified infrastructure.

🏗️ Oxford-based NavLive raised £4M to scale its AI-powered handheld LiDAR scanner for real-time site mapping. Used in major construction, defence, and nuclear projects, the startup aims to become the spatial data “record of truth” for the built environment.

🔐 Sheffield-based SCI Semiconductor raised £2.5M to develop CHERI-based secure microcontrollers. Backed by Mercia and angels, the startup aims to double headcount and deliver memory-safe chips that prevent 70% of cyberattacks — with Google Research onboard.

🌬️ Werover raised £1.25M to scale its AI-powered wind turbine blade monitoring tech. Originally founded in Turkey, the startup’s acoustic sensors detect blade damage with 92% accuracy—cutting repair costs by up to 50%.

🏃‍♂️ RoxFit raised £800K to expand its hybrid fitness platform. Based in York, the startup combines training analytics, workout libraries, and smartwatch pacing tools. Backed by DSW Ventures, York Angels, and international angels, RoxFit already boasts 100K+ downloads.

🏥 Motion has raised £250K to digitise UK care homes, combining workflow automation with tools for family engagement. Already serving 3,000+ residents, the startup targets national growth in the £26.2B care sector with angel and Innovate UK backing.

/spotlight

🧠 Solana-native AI startup Assisterr has raised $2.8M to expand its decentralized AI platform, enabling anyone to build and monetize custom AI agents without coding. Built on Small Language Models (SLMs), Assisterr offers low-cost, customizable alternatives to Big Tech’s LLMs.

With roots in Cambridge and DeepMind, the team has grown a 4.7M user base and deployed over 24,000 AI agents. The platform’s ASRR token underpins a new “AI-as-an-asset” economy, rewarding creators directly. Backed by Google for Startups, Outlier Ventures, and others, Assisterr aims to democratize AI access and ownership across the Web3 ecosystem.

/funds + accelerators

💷 BGF has pledged £500M to back early-stage UK startups in deep tech and life sciences, part of a broader £3B five-year commitment. The fund also earmarked £300M for women-led businesses through the Invest in Women Taskforce.

💼 London CIV becomes the first local gov pension pool to back the British Growth Partnership, joining BBB’s push to unlock VC funding for UK startups. The initiative aims to raise hundreds of millions for high-growth tech.

🛡️ Outlier Ventures and Midnight Foundation have launched an accelerator to back startups using privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs). The programme supports decentralised ID and finance tools that protect data without compromising usability or regulatory compliance.

/tech

• 🛰️ EnSilica opens new Cambridge hub to grow mmWave and RF chip design. Backed by a £10M UK Space Agency contract, the semiconductor firm is expanding its workforce to 190 as demand in satcom and data transfer surges.

/flywheel

• 📊 Cambridge startups raised $2.3B in 2024 — nearly double the previous year - making it the world’s top city for seed-to-Series A conversion, per Dealroom.

• 📊 Just 7 of the UK’s 44 unicorns are based outside London, per Sifted’s latest list. Northern standouts include Castore, Matillion, and Tractable.

• 🤝 Venture Café launched in London with ARIA’s backing, hosting weekly gatherings to spark collaboration across startups, investors, and researchers.

• 🛒 Waitrose is adding 18 new food and drink startups to its shelves via its £2M BrandsNew programme, spotlighting founder-led innovation.

• 💰 Chancellor’s £25B pension “megafunds” could supercharge UK tech. With domestic investment lagging - just 20% of DC assets deployed in 2024 - Russ Shaw argues that consolidated pension capital is the missing link.

/breakfast

• Rebalancing AI: Why Literal Labs is building for the edge

📸 /techbrunch

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

This week, Builder.ai collapses in scandal, accused of faking revenue with India’s VerSe Innovation through a “round-tripping” scheme. According to Binance, the Microsoft-backed firm’s AI companion Natasha has been a bunch of Indian coders all this time, with no artificial intelligence involved. Once valued at $1.5B and backed by Microsoft and Insight, the AI startup now faces bankruptcy and a federal subpoena.

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