Weekly Briefing: fintech and healthtech drive £530m in UK startup funding (2–6 Feb 2026)
🎧 Prefer to listen? Play this week's Startupmag Briefing below:
It's Friday, 6 February, and this is your Startupmag Weekly Briefing.
UK startups raised £530m this week across a mix of large AI rounds and steady fintech and healthtech activity. Deals ranged from major Series Ds to seed investments backing specialist clinical and construction tech.
AI funding splits between platform giants and targeted tools
Investment into generative, agentic and enterprise AI this week emphasises a clear divide: large platform plays pulling headline rounds alongside smaller, highly targeted seed bets. The standout was ElevenLabs, which raised £365.3 million in a Series D led by Sequoia to expand conversational voice agents, advance research into emotional and dubbing models, and scale its ElevenAgents for enterprise use and international growth.
Smaller but strategically significant rounds underline where applied AI is being deployed. Lawhive took £43.9 million to scale an AI operating system for consumer legal services across the US; AppFactor secured £2.9 million in seed funding for an agentic orchestration platform to automate enterprise software maintenance and refactoring; and Refute raised £5 million in a seed round led by Amadeus Capital Partners to scale tools that detect and neutralise disinformation for governments and commercial customers. Together these deals show top-tier VCs and specialist investors backing both flagship platforms and sector-specific solutions for regulated customers.
This week's AI deals:
ElevenLabs has raised £365.3m in a Series D led by Sequoia to expand its conversational voice agents and research into emotional and dubbing models. The London-based AI company will use the funding to scale ElevenAgents for enterprises and accelerate international expansion.
Lawhive has raised £43.9m in Series B funding to scale its AI operating system for consumer legal services as it expands across the US. The company will use the proceeds to grow operations, hire lawyers and accelerate product development for automated case handling.
AppFactor raised £2.9m in seed funding to develop an agentic orchestration platform that automates enterprise software maintenance and refactoring. The London startup will expand go‑to‑market efforts and product capabilities including autonomous Rust rewrites.
Refute has raised a £5m seed round led by Amadeus Capital Partners to scale AI capabilities that detect and neutralise disinformation. The funding will expand its detection models and response tools for governments and commercial customers across Europe.
Fintech & insurtech: bets on orchestration and regulatory scale
Funding in fintech and insurtech this week favours orchestration, hedging and platforms that serve brokers and enterprise customers, with capital aimed at scaling products and meeting regulatory requirements as much as feature innovation.
Bound raised £17.9 million in a Series A led by AlbionVC to commercialise its automated FX hedging platform and pursue EU regulatory authorisation while expanding perpetual hedging products. Artificial Labs closed a £33 million Series B led by CommerzVentures to digitalise broking and underwriting in specialty and commercial insurance and to scale into the US. OneDome secured £18.3 million in a Pre-Series C to develop a housing and mortgage platform that bundles discovery, origination and services and to grow its UK broker network. APEXX Global received a strategic investment of up to £7.31 million from Finch Capital to accelerate international expansion of its payment orchestration platform and support enterprise merchant payments.
Taken together, these rounds point to investors backing scale and regulatory work as much as product innovation, with capital flowing to firms that bridge banking, payments and insurance workflows across borders.
This week's Fintech & Insurtech deals:
Bound has raised £17.9m in a Series A led by AlbionVC to commercialise its automated FX hedging platform for businesses. The London fintech will use the capital to pursue EU regulatory authorisation and expand its product for perpetual hedging amid higher currency volatility.
Artificial Labs closed a £33m Series B led by CommerzVentures to digitalise broking and underwriting in specialty and commercial insurance. The London startup will scale its platform and expand into the US to help brokers and carriers modernise trading workflows.
OneDome has secured £18.3m in a Pre-Series C to continue building its housing and mortgage platform that bundles discovery, origination and services. The funding will back technology investment and expansion of its broker network across the UK.
APEXX Global received a strategic investment of up to £7.3m from Finch Capital to accelerate its payment orchestration platform internationally. The capital and board appointment will support product innovation and scale for enterprise merchant payments.
Healthtech & biotech: manufacturing scale and new care models
This week’s health rounds range from clinical manufacturing to consumer care, reflecting demand for NHS-scale supplies and new business models for ageing populations and sustainability-minded consumers.
NuVision Biotherapies raised £4.8 million to scale manufacturing of amniotic membrane eye therapies used across NHS centres and clinics and to boost production and international distribution for surgical wounds and chronic eye conditions. Lateral secured £2.5 million in seed funding to launch nurse-led healthcare and financial products for people over 60, including a combined Lateral Health Plan offering care navigation, private cover and preventative services. On the consumer side, My Skin Feels received a £50,000 investment from Dragons’ Den backers Deborah Meaden and Gary Neville to commercialise fermentation-led, rescued-food skincare and to expand retail distribution after early US listings and awards.
The mix of funding shows investors backing both manufacturing scale for clinical products and new care and sustainability-focused consumer models.
This week's Healthtech & Biotech deals:
NuVision Biotherapies raised £4.8m to scale manufacturing of amniotic membrane eye therapies used across NHS centres and clinics. The Nottingham company will boost production and expand international distribution for products treating surgical wounds and chronic eye conditions.
Lateral raised £2.5m in seed funding to launch nurse‑led healthcare and financial products for people over 60. The London business plans to roll out its Lateral Health Plan combining care navigation, private cover and preventative services.
My Skin Feels secured £50k investment on Dragons’ Den from Deborah Meaden and Gary Neville to commercialise fermentation‑led, rescued‑food skincare. The founder will scale product launches and build retail distribution after early US listings and awards.
Deeptech & materials: sustainability meets industrial tooling
Investors are focusing on materials science and hardware that promise sustainability gains alongside improvements in industrial performance and manufacturability.
Sparxell raised £2.3 million in seed funding to develop plant-cellulose pigments as replacements for synthetic colourants, with funds earmarked for pilot manufacturing, brand partnerships and product trials across cosmetics, textiles and paints. Polaron secured £6 million to build AI tools that link microscopy images to manufacturability and material performance and to roll out generative design tools for industries including automotive and energy. SmartyPlants took £190,000 from the British Design Fund to develop smart sensors for houseplant care and to advance product development and distribution options.
These investments combine early product validation with tooling for industrial adoption, signalling backers’ interest in both sustainability and manufacturability.
This week's Deeptech & Materials deals:
Cambridge-based Sparxell raised £2.3m in seed funding to develop plant‑cellulose pigments that replace synthetic colourants. The round will support pilot manufacturing, brand partnerships and further product trials across cosmetics, textiles and paints.
Polaron secured £6m to build AI tools that link microscopy images to manufacturability and material performance. The London spin‑out will scale engineering and roll out generative design tools for industries including automotive and energy.
SmartyPlants raised £190k from the British Design Fund to develop smart sensors for houseplant care. The London startup will use the funds to advance product development and explore distribution opportunities.
Sector-specific rounds underline ecosystem breadth
A clutch of sector-specific early-stage rounds this week underlines that the ecosystem extends well beyond AI and fintech, with corporate strategic deals and mainstream investor interest visible across proptech, martech, HRtech and foodtech.
Qflow secured a £2 million strategic investment from Autodesk to connect construction site material data with design intent and deepen integration with Autodesk Construction Cloud to reduce rework and waste. Decima2 raised £480,000 in pre-seed backing from Haatch and Y Combinator to cut SME ad waste using causal modelling and AI and to optimise Google Ads and high-conversion landing pages. Veremark took £19 million in a Series B led by Gresham House Ventures to scale continuous global background screening and workplace trust products, investing in AI, new products and international growth after strong revenue and acquisitions. Flavour Bombs won a £50,000 investment from Peter Jones on Dragons’ Den to scale ready-use meal bases into supermarkets and to leverage advisory support for retail distribution.
These rounds highlight continued strategic corporate partnerships alongside broadcast-backed angel investments, reflecting a diverse funding landscape.
This week's Other (Proptech, Martech, HRtech, Foodtech) deals:
Qflow secured a £2m strategic investment from Autodesk to link construction site material data with design intent. The funding will accelerate product development and deepen integration with Autodesk Construction Cloud to reduce rework and waste.
Decima2 raised £480k in pre‑seed backing from Haatch and Y Combinator to cut SME ad waste using causal modelling and AI. The Oxford startup will deepen its optimisation tools for Google Ads and high‑conversion landing pages.
Veremark raised £19m in a Series B led by Gresham House Ventures to scale its continuous global background screening and workplace trust products. The company will invest in AI, new products and international growth following strong revenue and recent acquisitions.
Flavour Bombs secured a £50k investment from Peter Jones after appearing on Dragons’ Den to scale its ready‑use meal bases into supermarkets. The founders will use the capital and advisory support to grow retail distribution.
🎧 That's this week's Startupmag Weekly Briefing.
See you next Friday for another look at the UK startup scene.