During a stellar year for VC investment and start-ups across Europe, many businesses embarked on Series A funding rounds to support their ambitious growth plans and go-to-market strategies across their various industries.
Following a 2021 which saw more exits and businesses reaching unicorn status than ever it can be easy to focus on the more mature businesses receiving multi-million funding rounds. However, there is an equally exciting generation of start-ups emerging with ambitious plans and crucially ideas, business models and founding teams that position them well to continue their upwards trajectory.
In this piece we shine a spotlight on the businesses who have successfully raised in the last year and have the potential to grow way beyond Series A.
Based in Warwick, England, Eatron Technologies are a software technology company aiming to redefine automotive software as part of the industry’s transition towards de-carbonisation and electric vehicles. Founded in 2018, the company has built its purpose on creating a greener future, combining AI and cloud computing to drive efficiencies for OEMs and manufacturers globally.
As the automotive industry transitions towards electric vehicles the importance of software is increasing exponentially as vehicles essentially become computers on wheels. Eatron’s proprietary technology is helping support this transition and enabling manufacturers to better manage the performance of their EVs, notably also improving battery life, a significant barrier to adoption for many consumers.
In November 2021, the company announced that it had raised $11M in its Series A funding round and with mass adoption of electric vehicles edging ever closer it will be fascinating to see how Eatron continue to develop.
Hinterview is an award-winning 360 video recruitment software company which is accessible in 30 countries globally. The company aims to streamline the hiring process and improve the overall candidate experience in the transitioning world of remote work, developing strong relationships and building a personal experience between the candidate and recruiter.
In December 2021, Hinterview announced it had successfully raised £3M in a Series A funding round bringing the total raised by the company to £6M. Having seen a huge increase in demand for their services throughout lockdown these next few months in the wake of ‘The Great Resignation’ will be vital with candidate numbers fluxing rapidly.
As lockdown measures lift and face-to-face interviews return the business will be considering how to position itself in this new world of work and communicating this externally will be vital.
Pomelo Pay is a payments solution company founded in 2018 with offices based in London and Singapore. With 2000+ businesses currently signed up to the platform and over 35+ types of accepted payment methods. Pomelo Pay allows businesses to take payments via QR code technology and payment links, streamlining the experience for both the business and consumer to enjoy a faster and efficient method of payment processing.
In November 2021, Pomelo Pay announced it had raised $10M in Series A funding round led by Inference partners with investment being used to expand into other territories across Europe and Asia.
Fly Now Pay later is a ‘buy now pay later’ travel company which allows travellers to split costs of a trip abroad into affordable monthly payments over a two-to-twelve-month period at 0% APR based on eligibility. The company is backed by travel brands such as previous PHA client TravelUp, as well as Malaysia Airlines and LycaFly.
In January 2022, the company announced it had successfully secured a $75M debt funding package (in addition to previous funding of £45M from two previous equity funding rounds) with the recent injection of funds to be used as part of the brand’s strategy of expansion into the US.
Founded in 2015, Cervest is a London-based certified B Corporation which quantifies climate risk. Through the use of Cervest’s advanced technology businesses and organisations will be able to access climate intelligence data to appropriately identify potential risks to their assets and will be able to create strategic plans in order to limit the impact, update business processes and discover new business propositions that will be a direct consequence of climate change.
In May 2021, the brand announced a successful $30M Series A round raising their total funding to $36.2M. The funding will be used to expand in the US and European territories. With the unpredictability of weather and growing efforts to support the fight against climate change, businesses will be aware of the huge risk and threats to their business, hence driving the demand for Cervest and its offerings higher than ever before.
Is your business looking to maintain momentum following a recent fundraise? If so, get in touch with our award-winning team today to discuss how we could help.