HutanBio, a bio-tech company founded by scientists from Cambridge University, based in Cambridge (UK) and in Malaysia, has secured a £2.25m investment from Clean Growth Fund, a leading UK clean-tech venture capital fund to accelerate the commercial use of its HBx bio-fuel oil and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Having raised circa £500k from Angels in late 2022 and the first half of 2023, further angel investment was also made in this latest round.

Calculus, a leading provider of tax efficient investments, has announced the launch of its HMRC-approved Knowledge Intensive Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) Fund 2. The new offering follows the first successful Knowledge Intensive EIS Fund, which closed in April 2023 and is on track for full investment within the coming weeks.

Turquoise, the UK merchant bank specialising in energy, environment and efficiency, has announced an investment by Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 (LCIF2) in Weeding Technologies. This forms part of a £800,000 second-closing of a capital raising to be completed over the coming months.

Mesenbio, a University of York spin-out that is developing a novel treatment for arthritis created from engineered human stem cells, has raised £1.4m in an investment round co-led by DSW Ventures and NG Bio alongside grant funding from Innovate UK.

The treatment will initially target rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that impacts nearly half a million adults and children in the UK alone, causing debilitating joint pain and inflammation of the hands, knees, elbows, ankles, and wrists.

Oxford Innovation EIS Growth Fund 3 and the OION Angel Network have invested in Deep Planet, an Agri-tech start-up using AI technology to help winemakers and growers tackle the challenges of climate change.

SFC Capital and the University of Birmingham's Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA) have agreed a landmark investment partnership to support promising HealthTech and MedTech companies.

The Venture Capital Trust Association (VCTA), which campaigns for the vital role played by Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) in supporting the UK’s entrepreneurial economy, has appointed Chris Lewis as Chair.

Edinburgh-based investment syndicate, Archangels, invested more than £13.8m during 2023 in eleven of Scotland’s best early-stage tech and life science companies.

FA Bio, the British bio-tech company with a vision to protect natural ecosystems by identifying superior microbial bio-products that will improve soil health and boost crop production, has secured a £5.3 million tranche of investment from three European venture capital investment funds as well as existing shareholders and new private investors.

SCF Capital has led a £950k pre-seed investment in Furbnow, a new UK climate-tech start-up tackling home decarbonisation at scale, has raised to bring to market its revolutionary end--end home decarbonisation platform to get more homes to Net Zero, without the hassle. 

The investment round included participation from Norrsken Accelerator, and angel investor Daniel Luhde-Thompson. 

The investment comes as Furbnow plans a trial with Birmingham City Council’s Route to Net Zero team in early 2024 to improve the energy efficiency of those households ineligible for grant funding.

Dorset Business Angels will hold its first pitch event and investors' dinner of 2024 on February 5th.

2024 could be the year of recovery after UK venture capital turned a corner in H2 2023 according to new analysis from HSBC Innovation Banking and Dealroom.