Welcome to our weekly South West Tech News roundup, where you can get all the headlines from the past week in one place.
What has our busy tech and digital community been up to this week? From award wins and innovative breakthroughs to unmissable events and capital raised, take a moment to reflect on the hive of daily activity taking place in our region.
If you have a story to share, wizz it over to will@techspark.co – I look forward to hearing from you!
Graphcore’s Nigel Toon to launch new UK deeptech VC fund
Nigel Toon, co-founder and CEO of Bristol-based AI chipmaker Graphcore, is preparing to launch a new growth-stage VC fund to support deeptech startups across the UK and Europe.
The new fund, BlankPage Capital, is expected to launch in 2025 and will focus on backing science-based companies scaling out of world-class research environments. Toon is launching the fund alongside Ekaterina Almasque, former general partner at Finnish VC OpenOcean, according to Companies House filings.
German defence-tech startup Stark raises $to 62M to scale AI drone systems
Stark, a Munich-based startup building next-gen AI-powered weaponised drones, has raised $62 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital, boosting its valuation to $500 million.
The round also attracted investment from 8VC, Thiel Capital, the NATO Innovation Fund, In-Q-Tel (the CIA’s venture arm), Project A, and Döpfner Capital. It brings Stark’s total funding to $100 million, following an early $15 million cheque from Sequoia in late 2023. Earlier this year, the company also announced its expansion into the UK with a new drone production facility in Swindon as part of a broader international growth strategy.
PhovIR raises £4M seed round to miniaturise chemical sensing
Manchester-based PhovIR has secured £4 million in seed funding to commercialise its next-gen optical sensor. This game-changing deep tech innovation is backed by Bristol’s very own Science Creates Ventures (SCVC) and co-led by Northern Gritstone.
The oversubscribed round marks PhovIR’s first institutional raise and brings a pioneering technology closer to mass adoption: a 4×4 mm Near Infra-Red (NIR) sensor that fits on a silicon chip. It’s small enough to integrate into smartphones or wearables, and powerful enough to detect the molecular makeup of solids, liquids, and gases.
BTF+ Event Registrations & Tickets Are Now Live
Manchester-based PhovIR has secured £4 million in seed funding to commercialise its next-gen optical sensor. This game-changing deep tech innovation is backed by Bristol’s very own Science Creates Ventures (SCVC) and co-led by Northern Gritstone.
The oversubscribed round marks PhovIR’s first institutional raise and brings a pioneering technology closer to mass adoption: a 4×4 mm Near Infra-Red (NIR) sensor that fits on a silicon chip. It’s small enough to integrate into smartphones or wearables, and powerful enough to detect the molecular makeup of solids, liquids, and gases.
Cyber Con Early Bird Tickets Close On Monday
If you’re planning to join the South West’s biggest cyber security gathering, now’s the time to act. Cyber Con early bird tickets close next Monday. After that, general admission pricing will kick in.
Taking place on Monday 7 October at Watershed, Cyber Con is your front-row seat to the future of cyber. This year’s theme explores how AI is changing the way we work, grow and defend, and what the next era of cybersecurity might look like in an AI-powered world.