Welcome back to United Kingdom Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in the United Kingdom from last week.
In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of Pollen, Gravity Sketch Limited, TestCard, and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of Ziglu by Robinhood among others.
Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in the United Kingdom raised over $212 million of funding across 20 funding rounds during this week.
In a major funding round, London-based Media & Entertainment startup, Pollen, raised $150 million in a Series C funding round from Lansdowne Partners, Backed, Sienna, and others. Pollen is an online marketplace provider for local events. It enables users to view and book events such as travel, festivals, and nightlife experiences. Pollen includes features like membership-based payments, member support, a ticketing platform, and more. Founded in 2010, Pollen has raised $212 million till date.
Technology startup, Gravity Sketch Limited, raised $33 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel with participation from Forward Partners, GV, Kindred Capital, and others. Gravity Sketch Limited is a provider of a 3D sketching tool for VR applications. The platform comprises a pen and pad specifically designed for sketching in real space through the use of augmented reality glasses and visualizing the product in real-time. The pen and the pad give the physical interaction of drawing in the digital world and by adjusting the plane the user can give volume to the sketch. The virtual model can be printed using a 3D printer. Founded in 2014, London-based Gravity Sketch Limited has raised $40 million till date.
London-based HealthTech startup, TestCard, raised $10 million in a Series B funding round. TestCard is a provider of app-based self-diagnostic urine test kits for testing at home. The prototype diagnostic urinalysis kit is embedded into a postcard with a pop-out urine test panel. The cards come in a pouch that contains the urine test kits to test glucose levels, malaria, and urinary tract infection. TestCard's platform will analyze the test panel and provide a diagnosis of urinary tract infections, glucose levels, sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy testing results instantly that can be viewed by the users. Founded in 2016, TestCard has raised around $18 million till date.
FinTech startup, Ellis, raised over $5 million in a Seed funding round led by Kindred Ventures with participation from Castle Island, Dreamers, The Twenty Minute, and others. Ellis is a digital bank for international students. Its services include digital accounts, prepaid cards for international purchases, bill payments, money transfers, and more. Its features include co-signing services, social security cards, student visas, tax returns, and more. Founded in 2021, London-based Ellis has raised over $5 million till date.
This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. United Kingdom Tech observed 6 exits during the week of 24 Apr 2022.
FinTech startup, Ziglu, was acquired by Robinhood. Ziglu is an internet-first bank focused on cryptocurrencies. Its account allows consumers to hold traditional, foreign, and digital currencies in a single account. Additionally, users can buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Founded in 2018 by University of Cambridge alumni and University of Warwick alumni, London-based Ziglu has raised over $28 million till date from Angel Investment Network, Eterna Capital, Love Capital, and others.
London-based Enterprise Applications startup, Calipsa, was acquired by Motorola Solutions. Calipsa is a cloud-based video analytics solutions provider. Calipsa uses deep learning technology to visually inspect, detect and filter out false alarms through its platform. It provides analytics, and also detects and prevents crime. Calipsa was founded in 2016.
This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcast to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.
