6 June 2024
Mindflair
plc
("Mindflair" or the "Company")
New investment by Sure Valley
Ventures UK Software Technology Fund
Sure Valley Ventures leads
£1.5 million investment in Ittybit
Mindflair plc, the company investing
in next-generation technology focused on AI, notes the announcement
made by Sure Valley Ventures ("SVV") of a new investment by Sure
Valley Ventures UK Software Technology Fund ("SVV2"), in which it
has an investment.
SVV and Mercuri, an early stage
venture capital firm, have led a £1.5 million funding round
for Ittybit Ltd ("Ittybit"), a pioneering developer tools company. This funding will
provide the necessary capital for Ittybit to further its mission of
making world-class AI-led media pipelines accessible to developers
worldwide. The funding round was also supported by Oxford Capital,
angel investors and Baltic Ventures.
Ittybit provides cutting-edge APIs
(application programming interface) and tools designed to simplify
the uploading, storing, and delivery of large video, image, and
audio files. Leveraging state-of-the-art computer vision models,
Ittybit empowers developers to filter unsafe uploads, enhance
content searchability, and automate tagging and transcription
processes. A standout feature of Ittybit's offering is its
innovative AI-based compression tool (akin to those used by
industry giants like Netflix and Meta) which ensures faster
downloads and reduced storage costs without compromising visual
quality. With this new funding, Ittybit plans to expand its
engineering and enterprise sales teams.
SVV2 is a venture capital fund,
investing in a range of private UK software companies with a focus
on companies in AI and ML, Immersive Tech, Metaverse and
Cybersecurity sectors. The fund is run by the same SVV team which
has been highly successful in achieving a number of cash
realisations from, and upward revaluations of, companies in the SVV
portfolio.
SVV2, which includes a cornerstone
£50 million investment from the British Business Bank through its
Enterprise Capital Funds programme, was launched in March
2022. The Mindflair commitment to this fund is 6%.
Nicholas Lee, Director of Mindflair,
commented:
"We are pleased to see another
exciting investment being made by SVV in order to further develop
our AI-focused investment portfolio. An investment in an innovative
company like Ittybit underscores our commitment to advancing AI
technology and supporting high-growth enterprises."
The Directors of the Company are
responsible for the release of this announcement. The person who
arranged for the release of this information is Nicholas Lee, a
director of the Company.
Enquiries:
|
Mindflair plc
Nicholas Lee, Director
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3368 8961
|
|
Broker
Peterhouse Capital
Limited
Duncan Vasey/Lucy
Williams
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0935
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0936
|
Notes to Editors
Mindflair plc (AIM: MFAI) is an
investment company providing investors with access to a portfolio
of next generation technology businesses focused on AI with
significant growth potential. The Company is building an investment
portfolio of high-tech businesses focused on Artificial
Intelligence, across such areas as Internet of Things, Cyber
Security, Machine Learning, Immersive Technologies and Big Data,
which the Board believes demonstrate evidence of traction and the
potential for exponential growth, due to increasing global demand
for development in these sectors. For further information,
visit: http://www.mindflair.tech/.
Sure Valley Ventures
(www.surevalleyventures.com)
("SVV") is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage AI
software companies in the UK and Ireland. Investing in AI since the
firm's inception in 2017, SVV has a strong track record of
accelerating the growth of private AI companies through to Series A
and beyond.
Ittybit, based in Salford,
Manchester, is a developer tools company focused on simplifying
media file management for developers. Their technology has shown
impressive results, including an 80% reduction in bandwidth costs
for Strength:Lab and enhanced search functionality for a large
podcast client. For further information, visit:
https://ittybit.com
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