Welcome to your Week in Tech. We filmed this episode from the Trampery’s TravelTech Lab, a co-working space that brings together tech startups and corporates within the travel industry.
In this week’s episode, BGF Ventures backs e-commerce startup Paddle, Newcastle’s Screach raises £1.13m, Twitter is at the centre of acquisition rumours, and, finally, Snapchat has created a wearable tech device.
Watch the video, or read on, for all this and more.
Investments
This week, e-commerce startup Paddle closed a $3.2m funding round. The Series A, led by BGF Ventures, also drew support from Spring Partners.
ThisWay Global, a machine learning platform for the recruitment industry, received £1.6m. The Cambridge-based startup plans to use the money to develop its platform and expand internationally.
Medherant, a spinout from Warwick University, raised £1.5m. The firm will use the funding to advance pre-clinical studies of its TEPI® Patch, which aims to provide consumers with up to 24 hours of pain relief.
Data-driven broadcast and marketing company Screach raised £1.13m. Based in Newcastle, the firm drew in new investment from Max Capital Partners, the Angel CoFund and others.
Best of British
Us Brits are more addicted to our smartphones than ever, according to a recent study by Deloitte. The research indicated one in ten smartphone owners reach for their phone as soon as they open their eyes in the morning.
Some 30% of respondents also said they wake up in the middle of the night to check their messages, and one in three said that their mobile phone usage has caused arguments with their partner.
International story
Twitter has been at the centre of speculation this week. Following acquisition rumours, the firm’s shares have taken off, rising 21% on Friday on the New York stock exchange.
This was after CNBC reported the firm had received interest from multiple technology and media companies. Those rumoured to be eyeing up Twitter include Google, Salesforce and Disney.
Download
Our download of the week is Pariti – a mobile banking app that allows you to keep on top of your finances, pay off debts and save money.
Multiple bank accounts and cards can be connected to the app, meaning all your finances are easily visible in one space. The app has received backing from the investors behind TransferWise, Facebook, Funding Circle, Innocent Drinks and Slack, and claims to have analysed more than £1bn in transactions.
Elevator Pitch
Today is the application deadline for this year’s elevator pitch.
UK-based startups working in AdTech/MarTech, FinTech, HealthTech, PropTech and Cybersecurity are encouraged to apply here – before it’s too late!
And Finally…
And finally, Snapchatters can now take their picture-taking to the next level – with Snapchat Spectacles!
The company has created sunglasses with an inbuilt camera, which will go on sale later this year, priced at £100.
And as if your Snapchat story wasn’t already long enough, the wearable device will be able to record up to 30 seconds of footage in a circular format.
Great for those in sunny climes, but they might not be so good for those over here during winter.
That’s it for this episode of The Week in Tech, for more technology news, head over to our homepage and follow us on Twitter.