UK Startup Funding Report: £186.2m raised across AI, Fintech and Healthtech (30 Mar–3 Apr 2026).
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It's Friday, 3 April, and this is your Startupmag Weekly Briefing.
UK startups raised a total of £186.2m this week across several late and early-stage rounds. AI, fintech and healthtech deals accounted for the largest shares of activity between 30 Mar and 3 Apr 2026.
AI moves into enterprise workflows
Startups are pushing AI beyond chatbots and into core enterprise workflows. This week’s funding rounds favoured tools that automate scheduling, payroll and knowledge work as businesses seek efficiency gains rather than only improved customer engagement.
Sona raised £34.01 million to accelerate its AI workforce platform, bringing a decade of planned features to market and supporting US expansion and product rollout for scheduling, payroll and demand forecasting used by frontline customers such as Popeyes. Riplo secured £2.3 million in a pre‑seed round led by Cherry Ventures to build an agentic operating system for consultants and AI agents to collaborate. Rivulo closed £375,000 in pre‑seed funding led by SFC Capital to develop a conversational no‑code automation platform that lets non‑technical staff create and run automations across support, HR and finance.
Taken together, the rounds underline investor interest across stages — from sub‑£1m bets to double‑digit millions aimed at scaling. It remains unclear how quickly some firms will sequence international expansion, but the activity points to a broader push to embed AI into enterprise operations.
This week's AI deals:
Sona raised £34m in a series B to accelerate its AI workforce platform and bring a decade of planned features to market quickly. The funding will speed US expansion and product rollout for scheduling, payroll and demand forecasting used by frontline customers such as Popeyes.
Riplo raised £2.3m pre-seed in a round led by Cherry Ventures to build an agentic operating system that lets consultants and AI agents collaborate in a shared environment. The product aims to modernise consulting workflows by embedding agent automation directly into delivery tools.
Rivulo raised £375k pre-seed led by SFC Capital to develop a conversational no‑code automation platform for operations teams. The startup aims to let non‑technical staff create and run automations through natural conversation, reducing repetitive work across support, HR and finance.
Financial infrastructure attracts late‑stage capital
Investors favoured financial infrastructure this week, directing late‑stage capital into credit platforms, bank connectivity and compliance tooling. The emphasis was on AI‑enabled data platforms and products that automate enterprise finance tasks, reflecting a focus on reducing friction in lending and compliance at scale.
9fin closed £128.82 million in a series C led by HarbourVest to scale its AI‑driven credit platform and expand its proprietary dataset into the US. REG Technologies secured growth finance from CIBC Innovation Banking following a recent majority investment by Accel‑KKR to support product development and international roll‑out of its compliance and onboarding platform for insurers and financial services firms. AccessPay accepted a majority investment from Accel‑KKR in a series D with terms undisclosed; the Manchester fintech says the partnership will accelerate product development, support enterprise scaling and create scope for strategic acquisitions.
The pattern is clear: investors are backing infrastructure that helps banks and corporates automate core finance operations, prioritising scalability and regulatory resilience. Whether these rounds lead to rapid international roll‑outs or more measured, compliance‑first expansion remains to be seen.
This week's Fintech & Regtech deals:
9fin closed a £128.8m series C to scale its AI-driven credit platform and expand its proprietary dataset. The London fintech will use the capital to deepen AI capabilities and push further into the US; the round was led by HarbourVest with participation from CPP Investments and earlier backers.
REG Technologies secured growth finance from CIBC Innovation Banking following a recent majority investment by Accel‑KKR. The financing will support product development, commercial expansion and international roll‑out of its compliance and onboarding platform for insurers and financial services firms.
AccessPay accepted a majority investment from Accel‑KKR in a series D deal with terms undisclosed. The Manchester fintech says the partnership will accelerate product development, support enterprise scaling and create scope for strategic acquisitions.
Funding targets diagnostics and lab automation
Capital flowed to companies addressing clinical bottlenecks and automating laboratory workflows. Investors backed diagnostic AI, cell‑assay platforms and online services operating in regulated markets, attracted by the prospect of faster diagnosis and improved lab throughput.
Lucida Medical raised £8.7 million in growth funding led by IW Capital to accelerate deployment of its AI MRI prostate‑diagnosis tool with the aim of same‑day diagnosis across the NHS, while planning to pursue US FDA approval and expand to other cancer types. Semarion secured £2.88 million to scale its SemaCyte optically barcoded microcarrier platform for automated cell assays, increasing manufacturing and commercial adoption after pilots with large pharma. Aura closed a growth round backed by YFM Equity Partners to expand its online funeral‑planning service and national provider network, with proceeds for marketing, product development and senior hires as it scales in a regulated market.
These deals suggest investors are comfortable funding both deep technology and consumer‑facing health services, showing patience for regulatory timelines. The mix of UK clinical pilots alongside plans for US approvals points to a two‑track commercial strategy.
This week's Healthtech & Biotech deals:
Lucida Medical closed £8.7m in growth funding to speed deployment of its AI MRI prostate‑diagnosis tool and push towards same‑day diagnosis across the NHS. The round, led by IW Capital with XTX Ventures and Macmillan Cancer Support, will also support US FDA approval and expansion to other cancer types.
Semarion raised £2.9m seed funding to scale its SemaCyte optically barcoded microcarrier platform for automated cell assays. The funding will increase manufacturing and commercial adoption after pilots with large pharma and integrations with imaging and liquid‑handling vendors.
Aura closed a growth round backed by YFM Equity Partners to expand its online funeral‑planning service and national provider network. The funding will be used for marketing, product development and senior hires as the company scales distribution in a regulated market.
Consumer brands opt for hybrid financing
Consumer and direct‑to‑consumer brands took a cautious approach this week, securing hybrid financing packages designed to steady cash flow and sharpen margins. Investors appear to favour deals that combine credit with equity to support operational improvements and measured expansion.
Perfect Moment agreed a £9.09 million financing package comprising a £7.6 million revolving credit facility and a £1.5 million equity investment intended to shore up liquidity, support product development and back category expansion. The package is designed to provide runway for sustained profitability while allowing strategic inventory and marketing moves to improve margins.
The deal underlines how established consumer brands are using hybrid capital to stabilise growth. It remains to be seen how quickly such packages will translate into better margins and whether this approach becomes more widespread across the sector.
This week's Consumer & Ecommerce deals:
Perfect Moment secured a £9.1m financing package combining a £7.6m revolving credit facility with a £1.5m equity investment to shore up liquidity. The capital is intended to support product development, category expansion and the company’s path to sustained profitability.
🎧 That's this week's Startupmag Weekly Briefing.
See you next Friday for another look at the UK startup scene.