Eight North of England startups have become the latest to receive investment from the PraeSeed programme.
The summer programme for early-stage businesses lasts six weeks and is led by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) and PXN Ventures, created by a merger between Praetura Ventures and Par Equity.
Now eight of the 12 businesses have each won £200,000 funding.
They include ADTechOptima, a Lancaster University spinout bringing vital efficiencies to the anaerobic digestion space, where specialist plants convert organic waste, such as food waste, into energy.
Also occupying the anaerobic digestion space is Future Greens, a Sheffield company helping food and drinks manufacturers, including breweries, to monetise their waste by turning it into energy via onsite microdigesters.
Manchester’s Crediflow AI received investment from PraeSeed after impressing the team with its AI-driven FinTech solution, designed to automate time-intensive steps in the credit analysis, due diligence and risk monitoring processes for banks, business lenders and credit teams.
This is also the second year in a row that PraeSeed is backing a company in the maritime space. NeuWave Technologies, also based in Manchester, combines AI with historical data to help maritime professionals assess whether it is safe to travel out to sea to complete operational tasks offshore.
Investment has also been made into Durham-based Feasibly, a geospatial AI solution that will allow engineers to swiftly and accurately assess whether various sites are suitable for solar installations, and Liverpool-based Respiosa which has created a cost-effective and minimally invasive medical device to tackle sleep apnoea and replace CPAP masks, often seen as uncomfortable and noisy.
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In Leeds, PraeSeed is backing AUDITSU, a regulatory tech (or RegTech), business that generates actionable reports for businesses whose apps are not compliant with new EU regulation and directives surrounding accessibility guidance.
The final company receiving investment from PraeSeed this year is Revela, which has recently rebranded from Spotlight Health. The Newcastle-based MedTech company is developing technology to shorten the time it takes to diagnose endometriosis by performing AI analysis on ultrasound scans to spot the subtle signs of a condition the World Health Organisation predicts affects 190 million women and girls globally.
PraeSeed invested in seven businesses last year.
It says this year’s investee companies are 50% female-founded and 50% BAME-founded.
Jess Jackson, PraeSeed lead at PXN Ventures, said: “The second year of PraeSeed yet again surpassed all expectations in terms of the quality of businesses that took part.
“The companies that have received investment are those that we are backing as the next in the North. This investment reflects not only their commitment to the programme but our belief in the technology and solutions they’ve built, which span a diverse range of sectors from women’s health to green energy.
“In addition, two of the businesses who have received investment this year applied for PraeSeed last year but weren’t quite at the right stage to benefit from the programme at the time. We would therefore encourage founders who have previously applied to PraeSeed to do so again next year and highlight the progress they’ve since made, as building relationships with investors is essential.”