Swoop and Earth Blox Scoop Up Tech Funding

Heavenly delight for an SME financing firm and a no-code earth observation software company.

The English and Scottish capitals are doing well with SME financing firm Swoop and no-code earth observation software provider Earth Blox getting funding.

London-headquartered Swoop has raised £5.4 million in a Series A funding round for its international expansion ambitions.

Earth Blox in Edinburgh has secured £1.5 million funding from Archangels as it seeks out more action across planet Earth.

Swoop Seeks US Sweep

Swoop says the funding announcement follows a “surge in demand” for SME financing, with its revenues forecasted to increase by 450% this year.

The Series A funding round includes investment from venture capital group Velocity, Arab Bank Ventures, IAG and WeHo Ventures in California.

Andrea Reynolds, CEO and Co-Founder of Swoop, explains that the funding would be used to expand into new markets, with a particular focus on North America.

The fintech firm is targeting the US through its existing operations in Canada and this follows the recent establishment of an Australian operation, in addition to its offices in the UK and Ireland.

More than 75,000 businesses have used Swoop’s software platform to investigate and access a range of funding sources, including equity, grants, loans and tax credits.

Founded in 2017, Swoop will have 80 staff by the end of the summer, up from 60 at present.

Swoop works by aggregating banking, accounting and credit data so that business owners, advisors and brokers can apply for the products available to them.

Partners listed on its website include NatWest, HSBC, Hiscox, Ulster Bank, Bank of Ireland and AIB.

Archangels Adore Heavenly Earth Blox

Earth Blox will use the funding to develop its cloud-based SaaS; increase the volume of data sources; and to expand into new markets including, agriculture, urban development, finance for asset management, and ESG.

The Scottish tech firm enables users to create insights from satellite and geospatial data, which in turn allow companies and organisations to make decisions.

The company states: “Ordinarily, harnessing satellite imaging data requires technical coding capabilities, but Earth Blox’s platform offers access to Google Earth Engine’s petabytes of planetary scale data with an easy-to-use ‘drag and drop’ interface.”

The themes (and news stories) about net zero and ESG have been trending across the tech world for some time, and Earth Blox naturally wants to tap into all that.

Companies from across the energy, insurance and environmental sectors, as well as some international NGOs use Earth Blox to get info on climate and security risks, environmental degradation and adaptation to climate change.

Its customers include Shell Nature Based Solutions, the United Nations, Globe Underwriting and ADM Capital Foundation.

Archangels is a business angel investment syndicate, which specialises in supporting emerging Scottish SMEs in the life sciences and technology sectors.

Antony Peyton
Antony Peyton
Antony Peyton is the Editor of eWeek UK. He has 18 years' journalism and writing experience. His career has taken him to China, Japan and the UK - covering tech, fintech and business. Follow on Twitter @TonyFintech.
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