Our investment in Grantify: Unlocking innovation capital to fuel the next generation of startups

06.11.24By Jonny Chiles & John Rosenberg

  • Grantify’s human-in-the-loop generative AI platform is transforming the grant application process, making it easier for innovative startups to discover and apply for relevant funding opportunities.
  • Founded in 2019, Grantify has helped entrepreneurs in the UK and US raise over $175M in non-dilutive funding since inception.
  • New growth equity from Farview will be used to accelerate Grantify’s ambitious AI technology roadmap and international expansion plans.

 

Why we invested

We’re excited to announce a significant minority investment in Grantify, the AI-powered grant discovery and application platform. The company is on a mission to demystify the grant funding ecosystem and democratise access to non-dilutive funding for startups across the UK, US, and beyond – with ambitions to raise $1B globally by the end of 2028.

It all started with our “CFO Business Partnership Toolset” investment thesis. We believe the role of the CFO has fundamentally changed over the past decade, and finance leaders are increasingly asked to oversee company-wide performance, unify data across multiple siloes and bring strategic insight to every business partnership. With that in mind, we set out looking for the next generation of finance tools capable of automating manual tasks by harnessing the power of AI.

Innovation financing quickly became an area of focus due to the critical role it plays in the lifecycle of SMBs. Government programs like R&D tax credits are well understood in the UK and the market is served by an established network of accountants and tax advisors. However, the adjacent grant market is much more opaque. We quickly learned there are limited public resources on available grants and their eligibility criteria. Moreover, the application process is complex, time-consuming, and it can often feel like buying a lottery ticket. Enter Grantify.

When we first met Mat and Luke Westergreen-Thorne, it was clear they were building something special. Their journey started when they secured a six-figure grant for their own startup. The process took a year from start to finish, and they were amazed by the lack of information and support available –they had no idea which grants they were eligible for, what to write to meet the judging criteria, and how many words to use. This sparked the first iteration of their product: a step-by-step PDF guide for founders looking to emulate their success. After years of hard work, product development, and iteration, Grantify has evolved into a cutting-edge platform that combines AI technology with human grant experts to streamline the grant application process.

The unique combination of technology and human-in-the-loop grant expertise enables Grantify to address the significant time and cost challenges associated with applying for funding. The platform breaks complex applications into small, bite sized questions alongside guidance and model answers. Furthermore, Grantify’s extensive experience supporting successful and unsuccessful applications has been codified in the platform, ensuring that entrepreneurs spend their time on the most impactful sections of the application where marks are awarded. The output is a well-structured, evidence-based proposal that addresses fundamental judging criteria and clearly communicates the potential of the funding project. In other words, Grantify handles the boring stuff and allows their customers’ ideas to shine through. All while maintaining the strictest data privacy and confidentiality standards.

During our investment process, we were particularly impressed by Grantify’s commitment to transforming how startups access grant funding. Their first innovation was to simplify the application process for Innovate UK and SBIR into a streamlined, tech-enabled experience that is accessible to innovators from all backgrounds. Step two is lifting the veil on the landscape of available grants. Grantify’s upcoming AI grant finder will match customer profiles against a universe of thousands of grant programs, increasing startup participation and enabling entrepreneurs to apply for the most relevant funding opportunities.

Grantify has helped hundreds of UK and US startups secure over $175M in non-dilutive funding and has been recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing companies in The Sunday Times 100. The new funding will be used to:

  • Enhance AI capabilities: Grantify will continue to develop its industry-leading AI-powered tools to make the platform even more efficient and effective.
  • Accelerate US expansion: In addition to R&D, this funding will be instrumental in driving Grantify’s strategic expansion into key growth markets, particularly North America where innovative startups are able to access well over $4 billion of federal grant funding1, in addition to billions in state, regional and private programs.
  • Deepen Grantify’s customer impact: Grantify are committed to reaching innovative companies that have traditionally been underserved by the grant funding ecosystem, including those outside of university networks and major tech hubs. By increasing program awareness and transforming how companies access funding, innovation ideas from diverse sectors and regions can have the opportunity to flourish.

We’re thrilled to partner with Mat, Luke and the rest of the talented Grantify team and support their long-term vision of raising $1B in funding for Grantify customers.

Mat Westergreen-Thorne, CEO & Co-Founder of Grantify, said: “Our mission at Grantify is to empower innovators across the globe and become their trusted funding partner as they scale. We are excited to welcome Farview as our partner on this journey, and we look forward to drawing on their deep experience scaling B2B technology companies.”