With summer now over, we’re moving closer to our next fund soft close and the last Venture View before the release of our October Investor Update. As well as award nominations for Praetura and several of our portfolio companies, the past month has seen new milestones, new products and even an appearance on the BBC.
Praetura Investments nominated for four Growth Investor Awards
Praetura Investments has been nominated for four Growth Investor Awards at one of our industry’s most prestigious events, which will take place in the capital on November 23rd. Praetura Investments, which is responsible for our award-winning investment solutions as a division of Praetura Ventures, is shortlisted for Emerging BR Investment Manager – Unlisted and Best EIS Investment Manager – Up and Coming.
BlueSkeye AI interviewed for BBC Panorama AI episode
BlueSkeye AI’s founding CEO Michel Valstar took part in the debate around artificial intelligence in August, contributing to a BBC Panorama documentary on the technology. The episode, which is available on BBC iPlayer, gave Michel an opportunity to relay how the Nottingham-founded company analyses face and voice data to help improve people’s mental health, quality of life and wellbeing.
ScubaTx record 68-hour milestone for organ transplant device
ScubaTx has reached a significant milestone after being able to preserve a donated human pancreas for 68 hours using its Voyage device. The company, which received backing from the GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura earlier this year, specialises in a process called persufflation, which oxygenates human organs with humidified gas so they can be used in transplant surgery. The team will use the system data and user experience findings to continue developing its Voyage device, which is currently under development.
XR Games and Sticky named finalists in Barclays’ Entrepreneur Awards
XR Games has been nominated in the Games category of this year’s prestigious Barclays Entrepreneur Awards, taking place in November. The nomination follows another busy period for XR, which has also coincided with the company’s CEO Bobby Thandi making the Top 5 in Business list at this year’s Asian Stars in UK Tech rankings for 2023. Elsewhere, Sticky, who joined the portfolio earlier this year, has also been named a finalist for the Eagle Labs Innovation Award in recognition of its work with NFC stickers, which unlock shoppable experiences etc. when activated with a smartphone.
Patchwork announces its third annual charity cycle – 310km across two countries
In their bid to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and support £100m worth of research annually, an 18-strong Patchwork peloton will ride an impressive 310km from Brussels to Amsterdam. The ride will start on September 1st and anyone who would like to donate is invited to do so here. Good luck, Team Patchwork!
Peak CEO and co-founder Richard Potter interviewed by Amazon
Peak’s CEO Richard Potter was a recent guest on Amazon Web Services’ ongoing webinar series. Richard’s talk, which you can watch back here, focused on the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning and the benefits this can have on businesses. The webinar also follows Peak being namechecked in Beauhurst’s report detailing the top raisers by equity investment in Manchester, with Peak raising £85.4m to date, including from Praetura Ventures, which was also credited by Beauhurst as ‘dominating the investment arena’ in Manchester. You can read that report here.
Futr launch new Pulse Surveys functionality for instant user feedback
Futr has launched Pulse Surveys so that businesses who use Futr’s intelligent self-serve chatbot services can gather instant feedback from their customers. The tool enables clients to use pre-made templates, custom-build questionnaires and schedule surveys, giving businesses and organisations a better view of what their customers think about a service or experience. You can see the new tool in action here.
