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Two Manchester tech businesses named among seven startups receiving investment from new Praetura Ventures and NPIF II startup programme

Press release 09 December 2024

An AI-powered decision intelligence company aimed at the global entertainment sector and the business behind a hospitality app have become the first Manchester-based businesses to receive funding from PraeSeed, a six-week cohort investing programme for early-stage businesses.

Portrait of the team from North AI

North AI helps global media and entertainment companies make smarter commissioning and licensing decisions using AI, enabling companies to avoid costly mistakes and produce more engaging content for fans.

Aquaint, which alongside North AI was selected to take part in PraeSeed from over 200 applications, has created a user-friendly workflow and compliance app to improve communication across around everything from allergens to task management for staff in hospitality and food services.

In total seven businesses have secured investment from PraeSeed, an initiative founded by the Manchester-based VC Praetura Ventures and funded by NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance, which is managed by Praetura as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.

Launched in May, PraeSeed’s mission is to identify startup and early-stage investment opportunities for NPIF II, while providing founders at the pre-seed stage with new opportunities for additional funding and support with investor readiness.

For its inaugural year, PraeSeed hosted 12 businesses from various sectors and regions, with each invited to take part in workshops and presentations on all aspects of scaling a business, including creating a go-to-market strategy, navigating financial modelling and tackling fundraising. As well as Praetura’s investment and portfolio teams, the sessions were hosted by later-stage founders and experts from the business landscape.

Following the PraeSeed programme, which Praetura has confirmed will launch again in March, both companies will continue their mission to scale, with North AI investing in research and development and Aquaint moving to make a new sales hire to help build the company’s customer base.

Rishi Kapoor, co-founder and CEO of North AI, said: 

Securing funding is crucial, but partnering with the right investors makes all the difference. What we loved about PraeSeed was the chance to truly connect with Praetura—learning from their impressive portfolio companies and gaining invaluable feedback through one-to-one sessions with their Investment Directors. We’re incredibly proud to now be part of Praetura’s portfolio and this new funding will enable us to secure new data partnerships for our AI technology and scale our solution to work with larger enterprise clients globally.

Jayden Patel, founder and CEO of Aquaint, said:

Aquaint are thrilled to be selected as one of the best early-stage tech companies in the north to receive funding from the inaugural PraeSeed programme. The sessions with the Praetura team, portfolio companies and external coaches were incredibly valuable for the stage and type of business we are. The investment will enable us to build out the premium version of our app and set the foundations ahead of a further seed round in the next 12 months.

Jessica Jackson, investment manager at Praetura Ventures and PraeSeed lead, said: 

North AI and Aquaint are two Manchester-based businesses with bright futures ahead of them. The two companies may work in very different verticals, but their dedication and the way they engaged with the PraeSeed programme was really inspiring to see and we’re excited to work with them going forward. Overall, we received 200 applications for PraeSeed, with 12 businesses taking part in the final programme and only a proportion of those businesses receiving investment, highlighting how competitive this process has been. Nonetheless, North AI and Aquaint are two businesses that really stood out and we’re excited to see where they go from here.

Simon Cunnington, director at British Business Bank, said:

Equity investment has a powerful effect on the future success of small businesses, which is why it is so important for NPIF II to continue offering it as a finance option. Innovative companies, like these two, continue to showcase the brilliant cohort of technological entrepreneurs that exist in the North of England.

The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIFII), which has funded PraeSeed through NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance, covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.

The next instalment of PraeSeed will launch again in March next year and businesses wishing to take part our encouraged to follow Praetura Ventures on LinkedIn or X for more details.

North AI was advised by Emma Norman-Jones, corporate solicitor at Brabners, Aquaint was advised by Kelly Clarke, legal director, and Jennifer Murphy, senior associate, both in the corporate team at TLT LLP. A team from Irwin Mitchell LLP, led by partner Adam Kaucher, acted on behalf of Praetura Ventures and supported the legal framework for the programme.

Further Information

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Notes to editors

About PraeSeed

PraeSeed is an early-stage investment programme that focuses on deploying equity investment into early-stage businesses in the North to help fill a known funding gap in “preseed” or pre-revenue businesses. Launched in March 2024, with the first-ever cohort starting in June that year, PraeSeed initially welcomed 12 businesses for a series of workshops, mentoring sessions and support from Praetura Ventures’ investment team, external experts and existing founders, with the aim of improving investor readiness among the businesses involved. The programme is funded by NPIF II – Equity North West, which is managed by Praetura as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, and aims to invest over £6m into 35 start-up businesses over the next five years. Find out more here - praeturaventures.com/praeseed.

About Praetura Ventures

Praetura Ventures is a Manchester-based venture capital firm which invests in early-stage, high-growth businesses across the UK, with a particular focus on supporting entrepreneurs across the North of England.          

Praetura Ventures is committed to adding value post-investment and providing the ‘more than money’ support that businesses need to grow, including additional expertise, resources, networks and guidance, to its investee companies.        

Since 2019, Praetura Ventures has backed 45 companies, including North West headquartered businesses Culture Shift, AccessPay and Peak. The business has now grown to over £260m AUM and recently won the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II mandate for the £100m fund dedicated to equity in the North West of England.   
     
Learn more at praeturaventures.com.      

About the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II

  • Operated by the British Business Bank, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) provides a mix of debt and equity funding.  NPIF II will offer a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support the North’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development.
  • The funds in which the NPIF II invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, City of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees, South Teesside, Darlington, Durham, Northumberland, Tyneside, Sunderland.

Smaller Loans from £25,000 to £100,000 – GC Business Finance & River Capital (North West), Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) (Yorkshire and Humber) and NEL Fund Managers (North East)

Business Loans from £100,000 to £2m – FW Capital (North West), Mercia (Yorkshire and Humber) and NEL Fund Managers (North East)

Equity Finance up to £5m – Prateura Ventures (North West), Mercia (Yorkshire and Humber), and Maven Capital Partners (North East) 

Applications for funding are made directly to the relevant fund managers who can be contacted via the NPIF II webpages northernpowerhouseinvestment fund.co.uk.

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