A Newport tech start-up that has developed a case management system for use by child social care providers has been boosted with a six figures equity investment.
The pre-seed round for Lumin Solutions, which successfully spun out of the Alacrity Foundation entrepreneurship programme, was led by SFC Capital, the Development Bank of Wales and a syndicate of business angels.
The company is run by directors Piers Oliphant, 25, Ben Miller, 24, and Ben Gretton, 23. They teamed up at the Alacrity Foundation.
Lumin’s innovative software product is an outcome-focused recording and planning system for care providers, many of whom are still predominately paper-based. It offers a digital care assistant that improves user experience and outcomes, reduces costs and improves regulatory compliance with evidence tracking.
Key features include care plans, assessments and regular reporting. AI-powered analytics will enable users to analyse their data and records with speed and customisation, offering insights into their organisation and care practices to improve outcomes and prepare for inspections.
The funding from SFC, the development bank and the syndicate of business angels led by lead investor Darryl Morton will be used to scale-up product development, sales and marketing.
Director Mr Oliphant said: “The Ƶ’S Digital strategy is pushing care providers to adopt digital care recording systems and maintain appropriate records by 2025. With 60% of care providers still paper-based or partly digital, this is a rapidly growing market.
“Our technology will help provide local care providers with a data-driven and joined-up approach that has a clear audit trail. This will allow care providers more time to focus on providing quality care, therefore ultimately improving childcare.
“The Alacrity Programme has helped us to become investor ready so that we can secure the funding needed to scale our operation but what we are really excited about is being able to access the knowledge and experience of our investors, particularly Darryl who has founded, scaled and exited similar tech businesses.”
Lead investor Mr Morton of Summit Venture said: “The child social care market is under-served by quality care management software systems. In a short space of time, the team at Lumin have already developed a core system and have road-tested this with a number of industry partners, and now, with the financial backing from this investment round, are poised to develop the software further and help to raise standards within the sector. It is a really exciting opportunity to be involved with.”
Adam Beveridge of SFC Capital said: “One of the biggest challenges for any start-up is securing initial funding. It is credit to the team at Lumin and their commitment to developing innovative software that tackles real-life industry problems, that this pre-seed round has been so successful. We’re pleased to be adding them to our investment portfolio of over 400 start-ups and look forward to supporting them alongside the Development Bank and Darryl as our co-investors.”
Hannah Mallen, an investment executive with the Development Bank of Wales, said: “This is a dynamic and enthusiastic team that share a commitment to making a real difference. There is a clear market for Lumin’s people-focussed digital solution as child social care providers recognise how emerging technologies enable early intervention, risk assessment, and improved decision-making in child welfare. We’re delighted to be investing alongside SFC and using our Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund to add real fire power to the investment by Darryl and the syndicate of business angels.”
The equity investment for Lumin Solutions from the Development Bank of Wales came from the Wales Angel Co-Investment Fund and the £20 million Wales Technology Seed Fund. Financed entirely by Welsh Government, the Wales Technology Seed Fund offers equity investments between £100,000 and £350,000 for Welsh tech businesses, and those willing to relocate to Wales, at a proof-of-concept stage.
