Artificial intelligence scale-up Peak has raised £15.2 million in a Series B funding round.
The Manchester-headquartered firm intends to use the investment to make AI ‘available to all businesses’.
The round was led by venture capital firm Oxx, with participation from existing investors MMC Ventures and Praetura Ventures, and new investor Arete.
It takes Peak’s total funding raised to date to $43m.
AI adoption in businesses saw a rapid acceleration in 2020 as companies looked for new ways to boost sales and maximise profits. This is especially true for the many firms prioritising digital transformation in the wake of evolving consumer demands, the continued eCommerce boom and the global pandemic.
Peak’s software enables companies of all sizes across sectors including retail, consumer goods and manufacturing to embed AI into the core of their decision making and operations.
Peak has seen rapid growth over the past 12 months with revenues doubling thanks to new customer wins in Europe, the USA, Middle East, and India. It will open bases in the US and India, creating 130 new jobs globally in the coming year.
As part of the round, Oxx’s Richard Anton also joins the board.
Richard Potter, co-founder and CEO at Peak, said: “It’s becoming impossible to run a business without AI. Modern businesses are complex and operate in an ever-changing world. Making critical decisions without AI would be like driving a Formula 1 car while wearing a blindfold.
“AI enables businesses to make consistently great decisions, faster and more accurately than ever before. Yet until recently this power was only in the hands of a select few.
“Our software empowers day-to-day decision makers across businesses, and we’re proud to be working with household names such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC, and PepsiCo, and other industry leaders like Marshalls and Speedy Hire.
“We’re delighted to have secured this new funding in an oversubscribed round. The financing and Oxx’s support will further catalyse our growth and expansion plans, and will help us empower many more businesses worldwide with Decision Intelligence over the coming years.”
Richard Anton, general partner at Oxx, added: “Richard and the excellent Peak team have a compelling vision to optimise entire businesses through ‘decision intelligence’ and they’re delivering real-world benefits to a raft of household name customers already.
“The pandemic has meant digitisation is no longer a choice; it’s a requirement. Peak has made it easier for businesses to get started and see rapid results from AI-enabled decision making. We are delighted to support Peak on their way to becoming the category-defining global leader in decision intelligence.”
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