Fundraising Fox

Mercuri.vc

Venture capital

London · Pre-Seed–Seed · 11 people tracked

Also known as GMG Ventures · Guardian Ventures Limited

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Investment thesis

Mercuri.vc invests exclusively in UK media technology companies at the pre-seed and seed stage, typically as a first-cheque and lead investor. It focuses on startups at the intersection of media, entertainment and AI across the full content and data value chain, including generative AI, creator economy, gaming, next-generation advertising, AI inference compute and live experiences. The firm makes 6-8 new investments per year and treats each as a long-term partnership rather than a transaction, taking board seats, making introductions, supporting hiring and helping with follow-on fundraising. As a British Business Bank-backed fund, it reserves 40% of the fund for follow-on investment to support portfolio companies through later rounds.

Source: firm website, verified Aug 27, 2026.

Stage
Pre-Seed–Seed
Check
$630K – $1.3M
HQ
London, GB
Leads rounds
Leads
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2017
AUM
$118.5M
Tracked investments
55

Team · 11 people

from the firm's website
Tyler Lawes· Finance Director

What they invest in

from 40 of 55 portfolio companies

AI & Machine Learning ×29SaaS ×10Deep Tech ×9Marketing Tech ×9Media & Entertainment ×9Developer Tools ×7Enterprise Software ×7Creator Economy ×6

HQs:United Kingdom×6United States×3Austria×1

Who they back

founder profiles across 29 portfolio companies
45%
solo founders
13 of 29 mapped founding teams
38%
repeat founders
of 24 founders with career history

Founding team size:solo founder×132 founders×93 founders×34+ founders×4

Where their founders studiedfrom 24 founders with education data

University of Oxford ×5University of Cambridge ×3King's College London ×2

Where their founders worked beforefrom 24 founders with career history

Founders Factory ×2UK Civil Service ×2

5 founders hold a PhD · 1 hold an MBA (of 25 with degree data)

Investments · 55 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path
Ambleamble.appDefunct

Amble was a language learning app offering daily immersive lessons in French, Spanish, and Italian through personalized articles, real-time conversation practice, and culturally grounded content.

AI & Machine LearningConsumerEdTech

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Amillionadsamillionads.comin𝕏

A Million Ads builds dynamic, personalized audio and digital advertising, working across creative, engineering, and sales functions to produce and manage ad campaigns.

AdTechMarketing TechSaaS

Steve Dunlop(Founder)inPaul Kelly(CEO)Joanne Grindrod(CFO/COO)

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Axioaxio.aiin

Axio is an AI-native learning platform built for universities and higher-education institutions to design, deliver, and improve education through personalized learning.

AI & Machine LearningEdTechSaaS

Mark Naufel(Board Director and Founder)Todd Zipper(Board Director and CEO)

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Blackballadblackballad.co.uk

UK membership-based digital lifestyle platform publishing content, podcasts and events for, by and about black British women.

Tobi Oredein(Founder)in

Co-investorsGMG VenturesThe Fund

Bywaybyway.travel

London-based travel platform selling flight-free holiday packages by train, bus and ferry across Europe.

Cat Jones(Founder)in

Co-investorsEka VenturesFounders FactoryFounders Factory NYGMG VenturesHeartcore Capital

Chatterboxchatterbox.ioin

Chatterbox provides enterprise language learning that combines app-based, AI-powered self-study with live 1:1 video coaching from native-speaking coaches, offering courses in Dutch, German, French, English, Arabic and Spanish.

AI & Machine LearningEdTechEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkImpact & Social Good

Co-investorsBethnal Green VenturesGMG VenturesMSM

Decodeddecoded.comin

Decoded provides training programmes in data and AI, ranging from workshops to full apprenticeships, aimed at leaders and teams across governments, enterprises and fast-growing organisations.

AI & Machine LearningEdTechFuture of WorkLondon, GB

Kathryn Parsons(Founder)in

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Electric Twinelectrictwin.comin

Electric Twin builds synthetic audiences—large-scale simulations of real people generated from a client's customer data and validated against real-world benchmarks—that businesses query directly to get research answers in seconds.

AI & Machine LearningMarketing TechSaaS

Ben Warner(Founder)in

Co-investorsGMG VenturesSamos InvestmentsAtomicoLocalGlobe

Ergodicergodic.aiin𝕏

Ergodic builds the Enterprise World Model, a model of a business designed to predict outcomes before AI systems act, aimed at enabling AI to carry out high-stakes enterprise work under human direction.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply Chain

Co-investorsGMG VenturesOxford

Facultyfaculty.aiin𝕏

Faculty is an artificial intelligence company that helps organizations apply AI to operational problems, with a focus on AI safety and red teaming for large-scale AI models.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise Software

Angie Ma(Founder)inMarc Warner(Founder)in

Co-investorsGMG VenturesMetaplanet

Feedrfeedr.coAcquired

Feedr provides workplace catering and meal solutions, operating across the UK, Ireland, and Europe, with associated operations under the EatFirst brand in Australia.

FoodTechLogistics & Supply ChainLondon, GB

Co-investorsEpisode1Founders FactoryFounders Factory NYGMG Ventures

Flourishflourish.studioin𝕏Acquired

Flourish is a no-code platform for creating interactive charts, maps, and data visualizations, with a focus on narrative "scrollytelling" and data storytelling for presentations and digital publications.

Data & InfrastructureMedia & EntertainmentSaaS

Duncan Clark(Co-founder)Robin Houston(Co-founder)

Co-investorsFounders FactoryFounders Factory NYGMG VenturesCherryrock Capital

Fluidstackfluidstack.ioin𝕏

Fluidstack develops infrastructure for AI by rapidly deploying compute capacity, enabling delivery of gigawatts of computing power in six months compared to industry standards of 18-24 months, with focus on data center acquisition, design, operation, and supporting major AI infrastructure projects.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingLondon

Gary Wu(Founder & CEO)inCésar Maklary(Founder)Cesar Maklary(Director & President)Peixian Wu(Director and CEO)Jason Kichen(Chief Infomation Security Officer)inMalachi Price(Chief Business Officer)

Co-investors7GC & Co91 VenturesAlso CapitalDuke Capital PartnersEpisode1Founders Factory+9 more

Founders Factoryfoundersfactory.com

Venture studio and accelerator that co-founds, funds and supports early-stage startups alongside corporate partners.

George Northcott(Founder)in

Co-investorsfirstminute capitalGMG Ventures

Geometricgeometric.soin

Geometric automatically discovers and verifies optimized CUDA kernels to improve GPU utilization, delivering performance improvements as GitHub pull requests.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDeveloper Tools

Co-investorsBetaworksGMG VenturesGV (Google Ventures)Sequoia CapitalTiger Global Management

Getmozartgetmozart.aiin

London-based Mozart AI builds a browser-based, AI-assisted digital audio workstation that co-produces music track by track.

Gibran AIgibran.aiin

Gibran is developing a general-purpose discovery engine that uses AI modeled on evolutionary biology and collective, population-based intelligence to generate its own data and solve problems where information is sparse or causally opaque.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechLondon, GB

EdgarGovindSrikantSuzanneEdgar Duéñez-Guzmán(Founder)

Co-investorsGMG VenturesOctopus VenturesTogether Fund

Granolastudiosgranolastudios.com

Granola Studios builds rhythm-based games that blend music and gameplay, including virtual concerts featuring animated artists as real-time 3D characters on platforms like Fortnite and its own virtual venue.

Creator EconomyGamingMedia & Entertainment

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Gvtlabsgvtlabs.comin𝕏

GVTLabs builds a multimodal video intelligence platform that preprocesses large video libraries into searchable, structured timelines and deploys agents to find patterns, events, and evidence across thousands of clips with timestamped citations.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareMedia & Entertainment

Nick Halstead(Founder)in

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Hugging Facehuggingface.coin𝕏

Hugging Face is a collaboration platform that hosts and provides access to machine learning models, datasets, and applications.

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsBrooklyn, US

Julien Chaumond(Executive Officer, Director)inClement Delange(Executive Officer, Director)Clément Delangue(Co-founder & CEO)inThomas Wolf(Co-founder & CSO)in

Co-investorsA.Capital VenturesAIX VenturesBetaworksCoatue ManagementConnetic VenturesFelicis Ventures+16 more

Humannativehumannative.aiin

Human Native builds a platform to license creators' and publishers' data for use in training generative AI, aiming to give creators control, compensation, and credit for their work.

AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyData & Infrastructure

JamesJack

Co-investorsAdvance Venture PartnersGMG Ventures

Ittybitittybit.comin

Ittybit builds a private, searchable media library that lets teams index their video content and extract structured data from it.

AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsMedia & Entertainment

Co-investorsGMG VenturesOxfordSure Valley Ventures

Joinkultjoinkult.ai

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Joinkultjoinkult.gg

Kult is a companion app for gamers that aggregates the games, creators, and topics a player follows and lets them save guides, clips, builds, and notes into a personal "Stash." It surfaces that saved knowledge plus community and web content alongside live game sessions via voice and second-screen answers.

AI & Machine LearningConsumerGaming

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Kickstarter

One of the largest community commerce platforms for creative projects worldwide.

Co-investorsBetaworksFlori VenturesGMG Ventures

Kyrakyra.comin

Kyra runs influencer marketing programs for global brands, activating creators across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube and analyzing large volumes of creator video to forecast and measure campaign outcomes.

AdTechAI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMarketing Tech

Dev Karaca(Founder)inDevran Amaratunga Karaca(CEO & Co-Founder)Nicholas Dart(COO/CTO & Co-Founder)Stewart Rawle(Chief Commercial Officer)Steph Fadahunsi(Chief People Officer)Ed Galvin(Chief Financial Officer)

Co-investorsGMG VenturesTorch CapitalLionTreeMetaplanet25Madisonfirstminute capital+3 more

Lichenailichenai.co

Lichen AI is an agentic AI platform that turns employee interviews into insight and specifications for multi-agent systems.

Catherine Breslin(Founder)in

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Literal Labsliteral-labs.aiin𝕏

Literal Labs develops logic-driven AI technology, positioning its work as an alternative approach to machine learning.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechIoT

Noel HurleyLeon FeddenProfessor Alex YakovlevProfessor Rishad Shafik

Co-investorsGMG VenturesNorthern GritstoneSure Valley Ventures

Madewithintentmadewithintent.aiin

Made With Intent offers AI agents that automatically determine the optimal moment and personalized experience (such as popups, overlays, or email capture) to deliver to each website visitor based on their intent and context.

AI & Machine LearningE-commerceMarketing Tech

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Manawamanawa.com

Manawa is an online marketplace for booking outdoor adventure activities such as paragliding, connecting travelers with local activity operators.

MarketplacesSports TechTravel & Hospitality

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Metavrsemetavrse.com

METAVRSE is a boutique advisory firm on exponential technologies such as AI, compute infrastructure, and immersive/spatial computing, offering private briefings and strategic guidance to royal families, family offices, UHNWIs, venture capital, governments, and institutions.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise Software

Alan Smithson 🚀(Founder)inAlan Smithson(Co-Founder)Julie Smithson(Co-Founder)

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

minitapminitap.aiin𝕏

Minitap builds "mini" (minitest), an autonomous AI agent for mobile app QA that connects to a team's product specs, tickets, and codebase to map app flows and run end-to-end regression and PR tests across iOS, Android, and web.

AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsSaaS

Co-investorsEWORGMG VenturesMoxxie Ventures

Mozart AI

Mozart AI builds a "generative audio workstation" that combines DAW-style music production with AI-assisted composition.

Mozart AImozartai.comin

AI-powered music making platform centered on artist collaboration

Sundar Arvind(Founder)in

Co-investorsBalderton CapitalBridford Investments (Bridford Group)GMG Ventures

Oorbitoorbit.comin𝕏Jan 2022

Oorbit offers a cloud streaming solution that lets users upload Unreal Engine files and instantly stream high-quality interactive content, with low latency and reduced streaming costs.

Cloud ComputingGamingSaaSLondon

Ashkan Kooshanejad(Executive Officer, Director)Corby Pryor(Director)Pooya Kooshanezhad(Executive Officer, Director)

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Papercuppapercup.cominAcquired

London-based AI dubbing company whose synthetic-speech technology translated video into other languages; IP acquired by RWS in 2025.

Jesse Shemen(Founder)in

Co-investorsGMG VenturesOctopus VenturesBDMIEntrepreneur FirstSands Capital Ventures

Pinnaclepinnacle.co

Pinnacle offers a performance coaching program (Pinnacle Black) that pairs human coaches with AI and wearable data to improve executives' cognitive performance, decision-making, and resilience.

AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkWellness & Fitness

Co-investorsBetaworksGMG Ventures

Radicalradicalmotion.com

Co-investorsBetaworksGMG Ventures

Regroup Nationkickstarter.com

Regroup Nation is a personal-development resource offering a book, podcast and guidance on overcoming setbacks and staying motivated.

Co-investorsAvant Global LLCCollaborative FundMoth FundUnion Square Ventures (USV)Yes VCBetaworks+2 more

Resemble AIresemble.aiin𝕏

Resemble develops generative voice models and synthetic speech technology, alongside deepfake detection capabilities.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareMedia & Entertainment

Zohaib Ahmed(Co-founder)inSaqib Muhammad(Co-founder)

Co-investorsBerkeley FrontierBetaworksBright Pixel CapitalCALIFORNIA INNOVATIONComcast VenturesGlobal Brain+11 more

Scrollscroll.aiin𝕏

Scroll AI is a browser-based AI notebook that ingests documents, media and web pages and answers questions about them.

Co-investorsGMG Ventures1confirmationArrington CapitalCoinbase VenturesFlyer One VenturesMaelstrom+4 more

Seatedseatedapp.io

Seated is a customer acquisition platform for restaurants that fills empty seats and drives foot traffic without requiring new technology or staff training, generating revenue through introducing diners to restaurants for dining, takeout, and private events.

MarketplacesRetail Tech

Co-investorsFlucas VenturesGMG VenturesInsight PartnersLong Venture PartnersRho VenturesShrug Capital+2 more

Sensitysensity.aiin𝕏

Sensity AI develops deepfake detection technology that identifies synthetically generated or manipulated images, videos, and audio by using deep learning to detect pixel-level and acoustic artifacts left by generative AI.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDeep TechGovTech

Giorgio Patrini(Co-founder)inFrancesco Cavalliin

Co-investorsBetaworksGMG VenturesBetaworks Ventures Management, Llc

Signalsignal-ai.comin

Signal AI develops AI-powered reputation and risk intelligence solutions for corporations.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechMedia & Entertainment

David Benigson(Founder)in

Co-investorsBattery VenturesFrontline VenturesGMG VenturesHighland EuropeManta Ray VenturesMMC Ventures+2 more

Simulonsimulon.comin𝕏

Simulon builds an iPhone-based visual effects app that composites photorealistic 3D assets into live-action footage.

Co-investorsFirst Spark Ventures, LlcGMG Ventures

SPOKENLAYERspokenlayer.com

New York-based company that produces, distributes and monetizes short-form spoken-word audio for major publishers.

New York City, US

Will Mayo(Founder)

Co-investorsBlue CollectiveGMG Ventures

Storyblokstoryblok.comin𝕏

Storyblok develops a headless content management system (CMS) that helps developer and marketing teams build and manage digital content and experiences.

Developer ToolsMarketing TechSaaS

Dominik Angerer(Founder)inAlexander Feiglstorfer

Co-investors3VCBrighton Park CapitalDragon Capitalfirstminute capitalFounders FactoryFounders Factory NY+3 more

Streetbeesstreetbees.comin

Streetbees offers SBX, an AI-powered consumer research platform that combines quantitative data with qualitative human stories, letting brands explore, test, track, and segment consumer behavior.

AI & Machine LearningMarketing TechSaaS

Co-investorsGMG VenturesAtomicoLocalGlobeoctopus investments

Theknowmediatheknowmedia.co

The Know Media publishes a free daily 5-minute email newsletter that summarizes major news stories without bias or clickbait and includes positive news and recommendations.

ConsumerMedia & Entertainment

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Unakinunakin.ai

Unakin builds Sawyer, an AI agent for game development studios that handles coding and non-coding tasks such as bug fixing, performance optimization, QA, design, and player feedback analysis.

AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsGamingLondon, GB

Ollie Markham(CEO)inGian Luigi D'Alessandro(CTO)in

Co-investorsBetaworksEntrepreneur FirstGMG VenturesMozilla Ventures

Unbox Commerceunbox-commerce.comin

Unbox provides tools and support to help global enterprise brands scale social commerce as a growth channel.

AI & Machine LearningE-commerceMarketing TechRetail TechSaaS

Hugo Soul(Founder & CEO)Michael Coombs(Founder & COO)

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Unit1unit1.studioin

Unit1 Studio produces virtual concerts and avatar-based live performances, creating digital doubles of artists and combining LED display, lighting, sound, and post-production technologies for stage and screen.

Creator EconomyDeep TechMedia & Entertainment

Co-investorsGMG Ventures

Unlock Protocolunlock-protocol.com𝕏

Unlock is an open-source, community-governed protocol that lets developers, creators, brands, and platforms create time-based memberships represented as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Creator EconomyCrypto & Web3Developer ToolsSaaS

Co-investorsGMG VenturesKindred Ventures

Vidsyvidsy.coin

Vidsy is a creative company that produces video and creative content by combining human creativity with AI.

AdTechAI & Machine LearningMarketing Tech

Gerard Keeley(Co-founder & CEO)inArchie Campbell(Founder)inAlex M.(Founder)in

Co-investorsCoral Reef IOGMG VenturesAscension Ventures

Wonder Studioswonderstudios.comin𝕏

Wonder is an entertainment company that supports filmmakers, artists, and technologists in creating and distributing film and video content, backing creators as they build their own IP.

AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMedia & EntertainmentLondon, GB

Xavier Collins(Co-founder)Justin Hackney(Co-founder)

Co-investorsAtomicoLocalGlobeBlackbird VenturesGMG Ventures

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Principals & officers · per Companies House

what is this? ⓘ
Alan Xavier Hudson

Director · Irish · since 2017

Ownership & control

Alan Xavier Hudson75–100% of shares, 75–100% of voting rights, right to appoint and remove directors

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Mercuri.vc made?
Mercuri.vc has 43 tracked investments.
What stage does Mercuri.vc invest at?
Mercuri.vc invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
What is Mercuri.vc's typical check size?
Mercuri.vc typically writes checks of $630K – $1.3M.
What sectors does Mercuri.vc focus on?
Mercuri.vc focuses on AdTech, AI & Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Creator Economy, Developer Tools, EdTech, Enterprise Software, Gaming, Marketing Tech, Media & Entertainment.
Where is Mercuri.vc located?
Mercuri.vc is headquartered in London, GB.
Does Mercuri.vc lead rounds?
Yes, Mercuri.vc leads investment rounds.
Who does Mercuri.vc co-invest with?
Mercuri.vc most often shares deals with GMG Ventures, Betaworks, Metaplanet, among 79 tracked co-investors.

From the blog

visit blog ↗

Recent posts announce and explain Mercuri's investments in AI companies across its MediaTech thesis: Electric Twin (synthetic audience modelling and decision simulation), Mozart AI (artist-controlled AI music creation), and Faculty AI (enterprise AI, now acquired by Accenture). AI summary

Co-investors · 7

LocalGlobe

LocalGlobe is part of a multi-generational Phoenix Court platform that backs companies from pre-seed through public markets, founded by the Klein family who are considered founders of European seed investing with multi-decade relationships across the European tech ecosystem. The fund operates from a physical founder village at Phoenix Court in London and focuses on backing unconventional entrepreneurs in specific geographic neighbourhoods, having been among the earliest institutional backers of European outliers like Wise, Zoopla, and Citymapper.

Betaworks Ventures Management, Llc

Betaworks Ventures Management is a seed-stage venture capital firm with offices in New York City and San Francisco that concentrates on product-oriented companies.

Both backed · 1
$250K – $750K
Latitud Ventures

Latitud is an early-stage investor and community platform connecting Latin American startup talent with Silicon Valley, including a Fellowship program for founders.

$100K – $5M
Lakestar

Lakestar is an investment firm founded by Dr. Klaus Hommels in 2012, managing venture capital funds and personal investments across stages and geographies, with a focus on technology companies supporting Europe's sovereignty and prosperity.

$540K
Haatch

Haatch is an early-stage investor that backs UK founders, providing hands-on operator support to help startups accelerate.

$500K – $1M
Ascension

Ascension is a UK-based early-stage venture capital firm that backs mission-driven, outlier founders from day one and supports them through subsequent milestones.

Edge VC

Edge VC is a UK-focused venture firm backing bold, intellectually curious founders, investing in seed and Series A companies in rounds of up to £5m.

$1.3M – $6.5M

Firms observed investing alongside Mercuri.vc, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Mercuri.vc's recorded portfolio.

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