Nicolai Johan Watzenig

https://lnkd.in/d6M6zQVR Exciting News: Concrete Ventures is proud to announce our investment in AUAR! We're thrilled to back AUAR, a pioneering construction robotics startup transforming homebuilding with timber and automation. AUAR's innovative deployable robotic "Micro-Factory" can produce timber-frame homes on-site, drastically reducing construction costs by up to 40% and labor requirements by an impressive 96%. AUAR recently secured £5.1 million in funding, bringing their total raised to £7.7 million. With a current valuation of £26.1 million, their ambitious plans include supporting over 200 builders and producing 100,000 carbon-negative homes by 2030, projecting over £200 million in revenue. They also aim to expand across Europe and launch a mid-rise timber housing system in 2026. We believe AUAR's technology will play a crucial role in building a more sustainable and efficient future for construction. Read more about this groundbreaking development here: AUAR Secures Over £5 Million #PropTech #ConTech #Innovation #VentureCapital #SustainableBuilding #Robotics #Construction #Investment #AUAR #ConcreteVentures

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Delighted to announce our investment in elyndra. Marcus W. has made it his mission to address one of the UK's most acute societal problems - social care. elyndra is re-inventing how care providers document and deliver support - improving safeguarding, reducing burnout and giving carers more time to actually care. With limited resource and significant hustle, he has already secured commercial contracts and brought on Tristone Group as a strategic partner. This isn't yet another AI platform. This is Vertical AI with a real societal purpose. My colleague Sanchit Dhote has posted a detailed piece on #Whyweinvested below. Worth a read! https://lnkd.in/e8Bz7vX4

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💡 Investment Announcement At the Conduit EIS Impact Fund, our 100-Year Life thesis drives us to back ventures that help people healthier, and more fulfilling lives for longer. We are thrilled to announce Conduit Connect's latest investment in Gladys, an AI-powered home care platform on a mission to fix Britain’s broken care system. Founded by George Robinson and Alex Sorisi, Gladys combines smart technology, logistics know-how, and a relentless focus on better outcomes for both families and carers. The platform matches people in need of support with the UK’s best local carers — offering 5-star care at fairer prices, while helping carers earn up to 65% more than traditional agencies. As George Robinson puts it: “We all know that Britain’s care system is broken. Re-arranging deck-chairs on a sinking ship will not cut it. People are dying unnecessarily, and brilliant carers are undervalued and underpaid. Gladys is using this investment to supercharge its technology, and deliver the service that we would want for our loved ones.” Gladys has already supported tens of thousands of hours of independent living across a 20,000 km area. With this new funding — part of a £1.5m Seed round led by Cornerstone VC — Gladys aims to expand nationwide, delivering hundreds of thousands of hours of quality care by 2026. We believe technology can help rebuild trust and dignity in care — creating meaningful, well-paid work and ensuring that people receive the support they deserve long before they get sick. Rodney Appiah Paolo Pio Exceptional Ventures Gabrielle Morgan Gemma Lakin Conduit Connect The Conduit EIS Impact Fund The Conduit Adam Lawrence #ImpactInvesting #EIS #HealthTech #AIforGood #CareInnovation #ConduitImpactFund #FutureOfCare #StartupInvestment

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Revolutionising the "Invisible Backbone" of our Buildings 🏢 🤖 At Concrete VC, we are constantly looking for the bridge between legacy real estate operations and the next generation of technology. That is why I’m thrilled to share our recent investment in Tyten. Facilities Management (FM) is a $1.4 trillion global industry that keeps the world’s buildings running, yet it has remained largely underserved by modern automation. Tyten is changing that narrative. By applying a sophisticated AI layer to help-desk workflows and providing technicians with real-time diagnostic tools, Tyten isn't just "digitising" a process—they are fundamentally reshaping how the built environment is maintained. Why we backed them: ✅ Deep Empathy: The team spent 400+ hours on the ground shadowing technicians. This isn't a "retrofit" tool; it’s purpose-built for the frontline. ✅ Operational Impact: Reducing administrative burdens by 40% and closing work orders up to 80% faster. ✅ Scalability: Their platform integrates with existing systems (CAFM/CMMS), making it an easy win for large-scale operators. Congratulations to Vladimir Pushmin, Sergey Nasonov, Tom Petrides, and the entire Tyten team. We are excited to partner with you alongside Fuel Ventures and Antler to modernise the backbone of our cities. Read more about the round here: https://lnkd.in/eZw_t8BP #PropTech #RealEstateInnovation #AI #FacilitiesManagement #ConcreteVC #VentureCapital

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🚀 We launched (yet) another fundraising accelerator last week! 💰 This particular investment-ready programme supports under-represented founders in London, and is funded with the support of Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, delivered in partnership with Funding London. 📈 We covered a whole host of topics including types of investors available at different stage, how they think, building FOMO in a fundraise and what best-in-class investor documents look like. 👉 Our mission - to increase the number of funding rounds led by female or ethnic minority founders and have a material impact on the fundraising statistics over the next 12 months.

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A few weeks ago, we announced our plans to launch PXN Group. Subject to FCA approval, Par Equity and Praetura Ventures will merge to create PXN. PXN is about scale. Scale to help us do more for the North of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. We want to build world-class investment programmes that match this region’s ambitions. Whether it’s delivering groceries more sustainably or getting pharmaceuticals to those who need them, we’re here to help founders build the best businesses they can. We’re bringing together the best of both investors to power the North. From pre-seed to scale-up, PXN will be able to support more founders across more sectors and stages. We can’t wait to get started! You can find out more via our new site: https://www.pxngroup.com/ The merger is subject to FCA approval.

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Vertical AI for the enterprise is quickly establishing a foothold across the built world. I explore how this is impacting early stage investing, from underwriting investments to pricing rounds alongside Ashkán Z. of CRETI · Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation. Read our article here: https://lnkd.in/gGjr9uwk

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Excellent piece by my colleague Sanchit Dhote, outlining why it is a no brainer for Outward VC to be backing Marcus W. and elyndra. Can't think of many industries more critical than Social Care where AI can make a transformative difference.

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In the past two weeks, hundreds of startups worked with experts from our ecosystem to address the BIGGEST challenges they face - head on. Here’s what I learned: US expansion is front of mind for UK startups at the moment - incorporating as a Delaware C-corp is becoming a really popular route for them to raise and expand into the biggest market in the world. I was also struck by how startups are using AI agents to go-to-market with lighting speed - emerging standards (MCP, knowledge graphs) are being leveraged to achieve scale without endless custom builds. And on the fundraising side, revenue growth is the no. 1 thing to show investors - and it has to be recurring and repeatable - not a one-off. The market may have shifted - but selling is the same. Now more than ever, framing sales around solving urgent business pain in cost, risk, and revenue terms is KEY. We've got one more session coming up in September and I'm super excited for it! Denys Prysukhin from Corewide LLP will be sharing how to build fast -without making expensive mistakes. If you’re looking to build your first production-ready cloud infrastructure, or you have a live product and are facing scaling and performance issues - this session is for you. Link to sign up in the comments. 👇

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I’m pleased to share that Keyzy has secured £130 million in PropCo funding from Crayon Partners to expand our rent-to-own platform across Greater London. When Simon Groll and I founded Keyzy in 2021, it was clear the system was no longer working. House prices were rising much faster than wages, first-time buyers were being pushed into their 40s, and essential workers and young professionals were increasingly locked out of homeownership. We knew a more accessible, realistic path was needed. This new funding will enable us to acquire more than 250 additional homes by 2027, supporting hundreds more aspiring homeowners. Through Keyzy, residents can convert their rent into a deposit and purchase their home in as little as two years, rather than the 14 years it typically takes to save for a London property. But what matters most to us is seeing this impact become real. Our first cohort of residents is now transitioning from renting to owning—the very outcome we set out to make possible. These are key workers, families—people who had been told that homeownership was beyond reach. They are now buying the homes they live in, using the rent they have already paid. For any young professional or key worker who has been told that owning a home in the UK is unrealistic: there is another way. We are building it so that more people can move from renting to owning with confidence and clarity. Here’s to breaking the rent cycle and opening up homeownership to those who deserve a fair opportunity. 🏡 #Keyzy #PropTech #Homeownership #RentToOwn #UKProperty #FirstTimeBuyers

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740 UK startups announced funding rounds in 2025. Where are they based? 🔎 It comes as no surprise that London dominates UK tech 📌 but it's great to see that over a third of firms were based outside the M25 last year. Which VC funds and angels are backing startups outside the capital? We keep seeing... Mercia Ventures The FSE Group Maven Capital Partners PXN Group BGF Foresight Group SFC Capital Scottish Enterprise Northern Gritstone Fuel Ventures 🚀 Parkwalk ACF Investors Haatch ...who have I missed? Soapbox insights brought to you with K&L Gates | Venture Comet LTD | Sage

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Excellent update from Carlos Eduardo Espinal MBE on the evolution from founder reporting using the PPP (progress, plans, problems) format to a punchier and more concise mechanism that provides better visibility and less task reporting

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Navigating SEIS/EIS can be complex—but it doesn’t have to be.  We’ve just published a step-by-step guide on Quoroom that covers everything from eligibility to tax relief. It’s designed to help founders make fundraising easier and build investor trust. Take a look—and feel free to drop any questions in the comments. Happy to chat. 👇

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With lots of opinion about VC funding, and lots of varying data aggregating VC across stages, merged VC and private equity data, it is confusing to understand what's really going on with venture capital in the UK right now. That's why we analyse the real data, broken down by life stage, and publish this regularly. Below is the summary of our Q1 #VentureBulletin report. Series A investment is down again, to its lowest level in 7 years. However £370m+ was invested in Series A in the last 3 months, roughly 25 companies backed pcm. So its not impossible to access, but as only 1 in 14 seed-funded companies is able to go on to achieve a successful subsequent Series A round, companies definitely need help to access it. This is the kind of help we provide through our scaleup investment platform; guiding companies on their investment strategy, outreach and dealmaking. We don't work alone, we have numerous trusted partners to help address any challenge of a UK tech business as it scales revenues, in that £1-20m+ phase. Through The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission work, we continue to invite Government & its delivery agents to align with us, and our partners, to help make this kind of support available nationwide, and with special emphasis to under-represented regions and founders, for whom this kind of help can't come quick enough. Collectively we can create more UK venture-backed successes. 🚀

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The UK raised more startup capital than any other European country this year. £16 billion. While headlines focus on economic gloom, Saul Klein's Observer piece lays out the reality: Britain ranks third globally in innovation despite being only the sixth largest economy. The data is stark 📊 The UK has more unicorns than France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands combined. We're home to 240 "thoroughbreds" (companies with £75M+ revenue) worth £452 billion. Deeptech investment has tripled to 31% of VC funding. When operators ask, "Should I start in London or move to SF?" they're asking the wrong question. The UK now has the alignment that matters: world-class universities, domestic capital, progressive regulation, and proven scale-up pathways. You don't need permission to build here. You need conviction that the ingredients are in place. If you've got real 0-1 experience and you're ready to move at pace, this is your moment. Link to full Observer article:

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Deep tech is no longer a niche corner of the market; it now accounts for 28% of all VC funding in Europe, more than any other sector (Dealroom 2025). This includes areas like AI, clean energy, semiconductors, and quantum — but the bigger lesson is how investor appetite has shifted towards technologies and business models that can fundamentally transform industries. At Rex Capital, this resonates strongly. We back companies working in advanced areas like AI and biotech, but also those developing innovations that might seem simple yet have the power to disrupt entire industries. For us, it’s not about complexity for its own sake — it’s about the ability to change markets and scale impact. https://lnkd.in/eFfjFukF

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In 2024, early-stage rounds made up a third of all UK VC deals, with seed rounds averaging £4.1 million and Series A at £17.9 million – the highest since 2021. But every successful fundraising journey starts with one critical document: the term sheet. Every term sheet is essentially a negotiation – but only if you know what to look for. 📄 In this latest article, Jas Bhogal highlights the red flags founders should look out for, including: 🚩 Loan terms that seem 'standard' but carry costly strings 🚩 Valuations that flatter upfront but erode long-term value 🚩 Giving away too much equity too early 🚩 Fundraising restrictions that limit future growth Read the full article linked below to understand how to protect your position and keep your business on track for growth. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/enY4ssZc #startupfunding #termsheets #venturecapital #corporatefunding #corporatelaw

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Green Street News: GREYKITE buys controlling stake in truck parking platform driving €600m growth path. TP Network represents a landmark initiative to close a vital infrastructure gap across Europe. With demand for secure parking rising due to regulatory shifts and systemic undersupply, we are building a scalable, differentiated IOS platform that we believe will provide a strong outcome for our investors while supporting the freight economy and driver welfare. We are excited to partner with TIIC, Padrosa Management, and JV20 Investment & Advisory to leverage their long-standing platform and infrastructure expertise and be an early mover in this nascent, compelling IOS truck parking sector. This acquisition marks GREYKITE’s seventh investment strategy for the Fund, which also includes investments in data centers, logistics, multi-let industrial, student housing, and two single-family rental strategies. This IOS platform is operated under the NECTION brand. Read more: https://lnkd.in/efDgEmFd Michael Abel, Dan Valenzano, GREYKITE

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💡Emerging GP Fundraising Insight #9: Portfolio Construction Questions Will Come Early LPs will press you on: • Follow-on strategy • Pro-rata participation • When you don't follow on • How much concentration risk you'll tolerate You don't need perfect answers but you do need thoughtful ones. If you haven't considered these scenarios, LPs will question your ability to manage a portfolio. Takeaway: Even hypothetical scenarios deserve a thoughtful response. Lack of prep reads as lack of capability. What's the toughest portfolio construction question you've gotten from an LP?

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