Biotech-focused virtual demonstration software company Envoke has secured £1m in equity investment from Mercia.
Used by biotech equipment manufacturers, Envoke is aiming to cut out the hassle of sending medical equipment for trial and demonstration to prospective purchasers.
Chief executive of Envoke, Stuart Warrington, said that shipment costs of medical equipment in some cases can cost up to £30,000, and sometimes more. On top of this, there are staff costs and the chance of damage to equipment during transit.
“Our platform creates a virtual version of the product that enables manufacturers to save huge sums and reduce their carbon footprint,” Warrington explained.
Warrington started the demo software startup in 2019 after previously founding a film and animation firm.
Envoke’s first customer was analytic equipment maker US multinational Thermo Fisher Scientific. It wanted to show its products, including PCR and blood testing machines, to faraway possible buyers.
The company’s client list has since expanded to Bio-Rad, Illumina, 10X Genomics and Roche.
“Companies are increasingly moving to online sales, however video conferencing alone is not sufficient for product demos,” said Mercia’s Will Clark.
“Thanks to their background in games development, Stuart and the team have created a powerful platform that in our view is the most advanced of its type on the market.”
With the £1m injection, the Leeds-headquartered business plans to attend more trade exhibitions and develop an “after-sales module”.
In the next 12 months, Envoke said it will grow its team from 16 to 26.
All of the £1m comes from the NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund overseen by Mercia.