Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Peak has raised a $21 million Series B funding round led by venture capital firm Oxx, with participation from existing investors MMC Ventures and Praetura Ventures, and new investor Arete. This brings Peak’s total funding raised to date to $43 million.

AI adoption in businesses saw a rapid acceleration in 2020 as companies looked for new ways to boost sales and maximize profits. This is especially true for the many firms prioritizing digital transformation in the wake of evolving consumer demands, the continued e-commerce boom and the global pandemic.

Ai Build has raised $1m in a funding round led by SuperSeed, a London based VC that specialises in Business Automation and Industry 4.0 investments. Also joining the round is William Tunstall-Pedoe, the British entrepreneur who was one of the inventors behind Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant.

Limitless, the AI-driven gig customer experience platform, has raised $10 million in financing. The Series B investment is led by Redline Capital and features new investment from Genesys, as well as continued participation from AlbionVC and Unilever Ventures.

The financing round will see London-based Limitless continue its dedicated growth in the US market, establishing a new US-based headquarters to focus on its product development, particularly surrounding routing, automation and AI to augment the strengths of humans.

SujiBFR, a health and fitness startup based in Edinburgh, has received a six-figure investment to support the development of a smart fitness device that can dramatically reduce pain and increase muscle strength during exercise. The technology, named Suji Device, improves muscular performance and offers a solution to fitness enthusiasts and elite athletes who experience pain when exercising or playing sport.

Based on blood flow restriction (BFR) training principles, the AI-powered device utilises low-intensity and bodyweight exercise to offer the same training benefits achieved with high-intensity weight training.

Cleantech company Social Energy  has received funding that will allow the business to pursue rapid growth in the UK and Australia, while opening opportunities to scale outwards with its unique offering in new markets.  The green energy supplier uses its artificial intelligence platform and cutting-edge virtual power plant technology to optimise solar-connected battery storage. It learns about a customer’s energy usage and makes informed decisions about how to store, manage and distribute solar energy to minimise their energy bills.  

Perchpeek, the AI-powered relocation agent, has raised £2 million, led by early-growth experts Episode 1.  Founded in 2018 as a UK property marketplace, Perchpeek was originally dubbed ‘Tinder for renting’, but has since developed into a completely unique, global relocation service that is transforming the relocation industry.

The Perchpeek app combines  AI-powered recommendations with relocation experts to curate properties and additional services for the user. As they use the app, recommendations become more tailored until they’ve found the perfect home in the perfect area.

Recycleye, the intelligent waste management start-up, has secured £1.2 million in seed funding, led by venture capital investors MMC Ventures and Playfair Capital, with participation from leading funds Atypical Ventures, Creator Fund, and eolos GmbH. The company has also received grants from InnovateUK and the European Union to develop a computer vision system and affordable robotics that will combine to create the world’s first fully automated and deployable material recovery facility.

On the back of new quantum algorithm breakthroughs, quantum software company Phasecrafthas closed a record seed round for a quantum computing company in the UK. Its new £3.7m seed funding round is led by VC firm LocalGlobe with Episode1 along with previous investors. Phasecraft previously raised a £750,000 pre-seed round led by UCL Technology Fund with Parkwalk Advisors and London Co-investment Fund and has earned several grants facilitated by InnovateUK. Former Songkick founder and prominent angel investor Ian Hogarth has also joined as board chair for Phasecraft. 

Karakuri, the world-leading food robotics company, is bringing the future of food to life as it lifts the lid to unveil the world’s first automated canteen to make meals, the DK-One.  Karakuri’s robotic system will revolutionise how and what we eat in restaurants, canteens, buffets, hotels and supermarkets as demand for personalised nutrition grows and the industry’s looks for new ways to operate in a post-Covid world. 

Swiss SaaS start-up GUURU Solutions Ltd has closed a $5M Series A extension, which brings the total Series A financing to $7.9 million. The funds will be used to expand market reach in Europe and support GUURU's ambitious growth plans. The financing round was led by Spark Invest and joined by existing investors Investiere, EquityPitcher Ventures and Swiss Post Ventures.

Gresham House Ventures, a growth equity investor specialised in scaling businesses driven by technology, customer insight or service excellence, and Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s most active private equity managers, have invested in growing e-commerce deals business RevLifter.

Opteran, the Natural Intelligence company, has raised £2.1 million in seed funding. Opteran will use the funds to pioneer its radical lightweight, low cost silicon-based approach to autonomy called Natural Intelligence and expects its technology will significantly expand the potential addressable market for autonomy in machines and robotics.

The round was led by IQ Capital with Episode1, Join and Seraphim Capital also participating. Following on from a pre-seed round from the Connecting Capabilities Fund of the British Business Bank, the latest funding round also includes angel investors and a CCF grant, a part of the Northern Triangle Initiative.