The increased use of heat pumps in line with the EU’s REPowerEU plan will create 3 million net additional jobs by 2030. The reason: GreenTech heating is much more energy-efficient than fossil fuel boilers. This will lower energy bills (with fair energy prices), enable spending elsewhere and benefit employment. This is according to a new study by the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA). 

Statement, the platform comparing card payment providers for small businesses, has launched in the UK with £1.5m in pre-seed funding from global VC investor Northzone with participation from Notion Capital, Triple Point Ventures and TinyVC. Angels involved include fintech regulars Charlie Songhurst and Chris Adelsbach.

Haia Communications, a leading online and hybrid events platform, has announced its remarkable success at the esteemed Startup Awards Wales held in Cardiff last Thursday. The company emerged victorious, securing two highly prestigious awards: the coveted title of Overall Winner of the Wales Startup Awards 2023 and the esteemed Digital Startup of the Year.

Helsinki: Algorithmiq, a scaleup developing quantum algorithms to solve the most complex issues in life sciences, has raised $15 million. The Series A round is led by Inventure VC, one of the most experienced Nordic venture funds. Also participating in the round is Tesi, the state-owned Finnish investment company, Presidio Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, and London-based Thames Trust, together with existing backers, including a number of angel investors.

NewComma, a groundbreaking social media platform empowering African and Black creatives, has successfully closed its pre-seed funding round in partnership with SFC Capital, the UK's leading early-stage investment firm. The funding will accelerate NewComma's tech development, and empower African/Black creatives to reshape the global creative industry.

Mike Lebus, co-founder Angel Investment Network considers the key trends in the angel market.

Eos Advisory, an impact investment firm based in St Andrews, has received a £10 million committment from British Business Investments, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, via its Regional Angels Programme. The funding will be allocated to invest alongside Eos’s Angel Syndicate and EIS Innovation Fund. 

USA: Eze, a wholesale marketplace for used and new electronics, has secured $3.7 million in seed funding to develop its technology infrastructure, broaden its product offering and expand into new markets in Africa, Europe and South America. The funding round was led by Right Side Capital Management, with participation from C2 Ventures, Boro Capital, EVPI Investments and other angel investors.

Oliva, a healthtech platform offering specialist, on-demand mental health and wellbeing support to employees, has announced a €5 million fundraise in a round led by Molten Ventures and joined by existing investors Stride VC and new backers Alumni Ventures. Angels including Kieran Flanagan, CMO at Zapier, also participated.  

Ten of the most promising start-ups in Northern Ireland have each been awarded £10,000 proof of concept (POC) grants following their involvement in Catalyst’s early-stage entrepreneurship programme Co-Founders.

Green Angel Ventures has completed an investment in Halocycle, a Hull-based advanced recycling company. 

A new fintech platform is shaking-up angel investing in the UK by aiming to address the current gender gap. The Obu Angel Investment Platform launched this week, connecting eligible angels with female-founded businesses. 

The Obu Angel Investment Platform is open to all eligible investors who support its mission to close the gender investment gap. It will focus on female-founded businesses in the fintech, edtech, femtech, AI, food and drink, health and beauty sectors, who are seeking up to £250,000 via the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).