There are slam dunks all round with SLAMcore, MLL Telecom, SaaScada and Bluezone getting tech funding.
All are based in London, except for MLL Telecom, which is headquartered in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
SLAMcore, a provider of vision-based location and mapping for robots, autonomous machines and consumer electronics products, has raised $16 million (£13 million) in Series A capital.
Investment manager Triple Point has announced a new £8 million revolving credit facility for MLL Telecom through Triple Point’s Private Credit division.
SaaScada, a cloud-native core banking platform provider, has raised £2.5 million in seed funding from over ten investors.
Insurtech Bluezone has revealed a £1.5 million seed round led by Insurtech Gateway and AV8 Ventures.
SLAMcore Reads the Room
SLAMcore works with firms such as Meta, Synaos and Cyberdyne. Its technology is combined with AI to offer cameras, sensors and processors for mapping and navigating for a range of autonomous machines and devices.
The tech company is all about “helping machines read the room” – and explains that the location process is known as simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM). The technology is also used by producers of VR and AR headsets that require mapping and location to align virtual and physical worlds.
The funding round was led by ROBO Global Ventures and Presidio Ventures who invested alongside Amadeus Capital, Global Brain, IP Group, MMC and Octopus. Samsung Ventures, Toyota Ventures and Yamato Holdings also joined the round.
SLAMcore is out for more and reckons the market for autonomous and spatially aware machines will exceed $100 billion (£80.7 billion) by 2030. In addition, it points to the increasing interest in the metaverse, which could boost the market for wearable and attachable devices.
Cool Contracts for MLL Telecom
According to Triple Point, the new facility will aid network service provider MLL Telecom’s growth by providing capital to meet new and existing large-scale contracts. Life’s not moving at the double, but at the triple it seems.
MLL designs managed network and telecommunications services to private and public sector organisations. It’s been around since 1991 and clients include public sector bodies such as UK local authorities and NHS healthcare trusts.
The company picked up a long-term deal with East Sussex County Council in late 2021. Other recent deals include Portsmouth City Council and Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.
Success at SaaScada
SaaScada, which bagged a SaaS-y deal with Allica Bank in January, is in a good mood.
According to the fintech firm, it has achieved 85% year-on-year growth in FY22. Its clients include other fintechs (e.g., SME-focused lender NEXA Finance in Leicester) and banks. It can help with lending, deposit taking and current account products to both retail and SME customers.
The SaaScada platform provides a hub that is interoperable through open APIs – enabling new banking entrants to launch services and new features, and existing banks to deliver solutions to their customers.
Colourful Times for Bluezone
Bluezone focuses on life insurance for people with chronic illnesses. The insurtech explains that Oxford Capital, Portfolio Ventures and angel investors including a former CEO of AXA, a Chief Transformation Officer of Aegon Group, and a former Chairman of NHS England also participated in the round.
The startup plans to use the investment to expand the team and launch its first product – Type 2 Diabetes life insurance. Its team of doctors and PhD qualified scientists have developed a medical underwriting risk engine using AI/ML techniques and medical datasets.
This core technology will offer customers a “precise” premium, tailored to their unique risk score. Customers will be able to purchase a policy digitally, meaning form filling and medical appointments are not required.
