HumanForest is the first free shared electric bike system. The first twenty minutes are free, supported by the rider viewing ads on the HumanForest app and each additional minute is only 12 pence. London TechWatch caught up with Head of Growth and Cofounder Caroline Seton to learn more about how shared mobility is improving life in London, the company’s plan to deploy 2K e-bikes this year, and the company’s recent funding round from investors that include Juan de Antonio, Vicente Pascual, and Stefan Tilks.
London Startups
Log my Care Raises £600K to Enable Care Homes to Improve Care With Software
Approximately 70%-80% of care homes are reliant on pen and paper and manual processes to run their operations and record data. Log my Care is the free care management software platform that features an intuitive interface that enables care providers to deliver exceptional care and record plans with a few clicks. Founder Sam Hussain shares some more insight on the inspiration for the company, how the pandemic led to the rapid development of new features, and the company’s latest funding round.
Lick Home Raises £3M to Disrupt Legacy Paint Brands with its DTC Décor Approach
The global decorative paint and wallpaper market alone is worth $93B. The global paint market is dominated by incumbents, with the top 5 global paint brands owning 50% of market share. Lucas London launched Lick Home, a direct-to-consumer home décor brand focused on wall treatments, on the very same day that the UK was put into lockdown. The pandemic has given people a new appreciation for their homes. Lucas shares more on the company’s launch, product line, and seed funding round from investors that include Felix Capital, Magnas Rausing, Alex Chesterman, Piton Capital, Talis Capital, and Samos Investments.
OPTIMIZ Makes The Cargo Claims Process Fruitful through Its Multisided Platform
$990B worth of food is wasted every year and 14% of that occurs in transit. 45% of all food wasted consists of fruits and vegetables. Much of this wastage is due to problems with shipping. OPTIMIZ, founded by Kingsly Kwalar Kongnyuh, is a cargo claims management platform built for cargo owners, shipping lines, and insurers.
The July 2020 London Venture Capital Funding Report
Farewill Raises £20M to Make it Easy to Deal With Death
Dealing with death is never easy and it often adds stress at a time when a family needs it the least. Farewill provides efficient, affordable, and simple will writing service online as well as probate and direct cremation options. Cofounder and CEO Dan Garrett walks us through how the company transforms an industry that has been doing things the same ways for 150+ years, the company’s future plans, response to COVID deaths, and recent funding round led by Highland Europe.
These 12 London Startups Raised the Most Capital in July 2020
Plum Raises Another $10M to Automate Personal Finances and Increase Savings
Ideally, we’d all like to save more and spend less. In reality, that’s not as easy as it sounds. However, Plum is an automated personal finance saving assistant and app that analyzes your finances by connecting to your bank accounts and setting aside an amount that you can comfortably set aside. These savings can then be invested in themed funds or even earn interest through the app. CEO and Cofounder Victor Trokoudes shares more on the popular app that is soon expanding to Ireland, France, and Spain, the app’s thoughtful automated features for savings that work, and the company’s latest round of funding from investors that include Global Brain Corporation, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, VentureFriend, and the UK government’s Future Fund.
Verne Global Raises $27M to Expand its Icelandic Data Campus That Supports High Performance Computing
In 2016, Iceland was voted the world’s safest location to host a data center, Strategically placed mid-way between the world’s two largest data markets, Europe and North America, Verne Global is located on a secure former NATO Base. We caught up with CEO Dominic Ward to learn more about Verne Global, its expansion plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Wellcome Trust, Novator Partners, General Catalyst, and Sefnir.
Carbon Clean Solutions Raises $22M for its Next Gen Carbon Capture Technology That Decarbonises Heavy Industry
Power plants, boilers, kilns, and chemical facilities and discharging an incredible amount of CO2, endangering the earth and our habitats. Carbon Clean Solutions Limited has developed a lost cost carbon dioxide capture and separation technology that captures CO2 prior to it entering the earth’s atmosphere. CEO and Cofounder Aniruddha Sharma walks us through the novel technology that’s significantly cheaper than existing solutions, the company’s expansion plans, and recent $22M funding round from investors that include Equinor Ventures, ICOS Capital, WAVE Equity Partners, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Marubeni Corporation.