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Sky is anchoring a new £100 million ‘operator-first’ venture capital fund powered by Founders Factory that will champion early-stage entrepreneurs launching planet positive technologies.
Hoping to plug the funding gap that exists for seed stage climate startups, Planet Fund offers entrepreneurs Founders Factory’s robust approach to company building with high-conviction capital, execution support and unparalleled network. The new fund will focus on broad sustainability themes including decarbonisation, resource preservation, climate resilience and the circular economy.
Sky will support Planet Fund building on decades of successful environmental initiatives including its ongoing net zero commitment – Sky Zero. Sky plans to move
Nottingham-based BatFast Cricket Centres (BatFast) has secured a loan from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (‘MEIF’) Debt Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners, and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS).
The funding will enable the company to invest in its sales and marketing resources, undertake further product development, expand internationally and create 15 new jobs.
BatFast is a global sports technology and entertainment business that has developed a patented augmented reality sports simulator for cricket, tennis and baseball. The simulator aims to make team sports more accessible by re-engineering pitches to fit inside urban entertainment or training spaces.
ISF (Israel Secondary Fund) has raised $312 million for its third fund focussed on investments in the Israeli agh-tern market.
In 2017, ISF raised its second fund of $100 million and currently manages over half a billion dollars focused on secondary transactions in the Israeli technology market.
Several of Israel’s largest institutional investors have committed capital new fund including Migdal Insurance, Altshuler Shaham, Bank Hapoalim, as well as leading institutions, pension funds, endowments and family offices from Europe and the USA.
GeniusX, an e-learning, virtual reality start-up has closed a $1.68 million seed funding at a $20 million market cap.
As an indie development studio in the frenzied virtual reality ecosystem with a concentration in VR Education, the CEO & Co-Founder, Nick Janicki, says, “Our mission is to create experiences that have utility, longevity, and uplift the human spirit. Our first VR title, Retreat, is basically an immersive hero’s journey for tangible real-world skills.” Co-Founder, Lyle Maxson, adds, “We are creating the first social VR platform centered around educational influencers.”
The company’s title is Retreat, a virtual reality education application that
Foresight Group (Foresight), an infrastructure and private equity manager, has acquired the technology ventures division of Downing LLP (Downing) including management of the Venture Capital Trust and Ventures Enterprise Investment Scheme businesses of Downing.
Foresight is expected to acquire the Funds for an initial consideration of £13.6 million. The funds are deployed across venture capital, AIM-quoted investee companies and a small number of legacy asset-backed debt investments.
Downing is a privately owned, UK-based asset manager and Foresight will acquire three funds with a combined AUM of £275 million. The funds are Downing ONE VCT Plc, Downing FOUR VCT Plc
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Funds in England and Wales are set to increase their allocation to private markets, according to new research from Alpha Real Capital (Alpha).
Over the next five years, 91% of LGPS professionals surveyed believe the funds they work for will increase their allocation to private markets with the majority, 60%, thinking their allocation will rise by between 5% and 10%.
Alpha says this is part of a trend of institutional investors increasing their allocation to illiquid assets, which are providing increasingly attractive returns and diversification benefits in an ever more uncertain world.
A study
Family offices have increased their allocation to private equity, according to the UBS Global Family Office Report 2022, which surveys 221 single family offices around the world with total net worth of USD2.2 billion.
The report reveals that while family offices are reducing fixed income allocations, investments in private equity, real estate, and private debt, are all on the increase. Forty-two per cent plan to increase direct private equity allocations, while 38% intend to raise investments in private equity funds and funds of funds. Real estate is favoured by 37%, while 27% are turning to private debt.
Eighty per cent
Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP), a private equity firm based in St Louis, has acquired Zethcon via TSCP portfolio company Made4net.
Zethcon is a North American warehouse management system (WMS) software company with a robust cloud-based product platform designed specifically for the unique requirements of the third-party logistics (3PL) market. Made4net is a global leader in cloud-based supply chain execution and WMS software.
Combining Zethcon’s multi-decade track record of delivering premier 3PL WMS solutions with Made4net’s WMS product leadership across a broad diversity of end markets that extend beyond 3PL, creates a best-of-breed warehouse software company that serves an impressive
Qubit Pharmaceuticals, a deeptech company specialising in molecular simulation and modelling using quantum physics, has raised €16.1 million from XAnge, Omnes, Quantonation and Octave Klaba, founder of OVH.
This seed round with investors specialised in Life Sciences and Deep Tech brings the total amount raised since the company’s creation in 2020 to more than €23 million.
The transaction aims at strengthening Qubit Pharmaceutical’s proprietary Atlas software platform, capable of leveraging the computing power of supercomputers and quantum computers to accelerate the development of more effective and safer drug candidates.
The Oregon Investment Council has allocated a total $1.6 billion to private equity, real estate, energy and co-investment strategies in the first four months of 2022, according to a Report by AlternativesWatch.
The council oversees investment for the $95 billion Oregon Public Employees’ Retirement Fund which currently has a 10 per cent allocation to private equity.
Funds included in this latest allocation include Aquiline Financial Services Fund V ($200 million); Union Square Venture 2022 Funds ($40 million); TPG Partners IX and Healthcare Partners II ($350 million).
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