UK startups closed the final week of January on a strong note, raising £321.3 million across 19 companies, as investors backed applied AI, healthtech platforms, climate solutions and ecommerce infrastructure. Growth-stage and late-Series rounds dominated activity, reflecting confidence in businesses scaling proven products and international expansion.
Weekly snapshot
19 startups funded
£321.3M raised
40 founders backed
91 VCs and angel investors involved
Enterprise AI Pulls in the Largest Checks
Applied AI once again accounted for the biggest rounds, with capital flowing into platforms embedding automation directly into enterprise workflows—across learning, legal operations and advertising.
Synthesia led the week with a £150 million growth round, backed by Google Ventures, to scale conversational AI agents for workplace learning and expand agent-based tools across sales, marketing and training.
Summize raised £40 million to accelerate international expansion of its AI-driven contract lifecycle management platform, with funding directed toward product development and team growth as recurring revenue scales.
Dragonfly AI secured over £5 million to advance its neuroscience-led predictive AI for advertising, supporting US expansion and deeper enterprise integrations.
Investor signal: Capital is consolidating around AI platforms that deliver clear productivity gains and measurable ROI, rather than experimental model development.
Fintech Shifts Toward Stablecoins and AI-Native Wealth Tools
Fintech activity this week focused on cross-border infrastructure and AI-driven professional workflows, blending regulated finance with emerging technology rails.
Bleap raised approximately £4.36 million in seed funding to build stablecoin-based payments and self-custodial accounts, with expansion planned across Europe and Latin America.
WealthAi closed a £724,000 pre-seed round to develop an AI-native operating system for wealth managers, private banks and family offices, targeting automation across front-, middle- and back-office functions.
Investor signal: Backers are favouring fintech infrastructure that can scale across jurisdictions while serving high-value, regulation-aware customers.
Healthtech and Biotech Balance Services with Automation
Funding across healthcare spanned NHS-facing services, preventive care platforms, and AI-enabled lab automation, highlighting a dual focus on near-term clinical impact and long-term R&D efficiency.
Evaro raised £18.3 million in Series A funding, led by AlbionVC, to expand its NHS-licensed healthcare-as-a-service platform embedding prescription services into consumer apps.
Automata secured around £4.5 million to scale AI-ready lab automation for pharma and biotech customers.
SOLVE Chemistry raised £4 million in seed funding to expand AI-driven ultra-high-throughput chemical research.
Emerald closed a £1.5 million pre-seed round to build a GP-led preventive care platform integrating unified health records and clinician-led coaching.
Investor signal: Capital is flowing both to platforms easing pressure on healthcare systems today and to tools accelerating scientific discovery tomorrow.
Climate and Energy Bets Focus on Deployment and Verification
Greentech investment this week leaned toward early deployment and the measurement systems needed to validate impact.
Gigablue raised around £14.49 million in the first close of its Series A to scale marine carbon removal using microalgae, alongside investment in monitoring and verification capabilities.
LUX secured £280,000 pre-seed funding to develop on-site hydrogen production, storage and dispensing technology.
Investor signal: Climate capital is increasingly tied to solutions that combine real-world deployment with robust verification frameworks.
SaaS, Proptech and Ecommerce Infrastructure Gain Traction
Operational software, property digitisation and ecommerce platforms rounded out the week, with funding focused on productisation and geographic scale.
Oribtal raised approximately £44.03 million in Series B funding to expand its AI platform digitising real-estate legal processes, supporting UK and US growth.
Flowla closed a £1.8 million seed round to scale no-code digital sales rooms and automate buyer journeys.
Levellr raised £1.8 million to transform online community conversations into real-time product and sentiment insights.
Raylo secured £30 million in combined equity and debt funding, alongside a partnership with LG, to expand device subscription infrastructure and prepare for a US launch.
Investor signal: Platforms that reduce friction in transactions and operations continue to attract strong backing.
