We are a new type of seed-stage fund. We believe business is now truly global. Exceptional entrepreneurs, that are building strong, category defining companies at highly advantageous valuations – can be found anywhere.SparksLab Global Venture are a team highly experienced in finding such talent and helping our entrepreneurs to develop, grow, network, and scale into other markets throughout the world.

 

Net Jacobsson is a Co-Founder & Partner at SparkLabs Global Ventures. He is a former Facebook executive, entrepreneur and investor with vast international experience from many pioneering companies.

Net started out in Sweden Ericsson Mobile Communications (now SonyEricsson) in 1998 with user interface design but then moved into different start-up product, business development and marketing roles. In Israel Net led international business for Icq/AOL and then joined Chinese browser company, Maxthon in 2005 as partner & SVP. Net put Maxthon on the world map and brought in CRV and Google as investors. Today, Maxthon has over 1 billion downloads.

In 2007 Net joined Facebook as the head of International business development with focus on new user acquisitions, new markets and early M&A opportunities. In addition Net was responsible for Facebook's mobile business and led a number of deals with mobile operators and handset manufacturers.

 

Since 2009 Net has been involved an advisor and investor in Crowdstar, OpenFeint (sold to GREE for $104M), Playhopper (Founder), PixOwl, P1 (Board of Directors), and Cellogic. During 2012, Net assumed the role as CEO for Ginger Software. Net is also a Partner at SparkLabs, a startup accelerator in Seoul, Korea.

 

 

Frank is a Co-Founder & Partner at SparkLabs Global Ventures and a Partner at SparkLabs, Asia’s premier accelerator based in Seoul. Frank was selected as part of the 2012 Wired UK Top 100 in tech, and Vanity Fair's The Next Establishment list 2010. 

 

Previously Frank was with Horizons Ventures (HK), representing them on the boards of Spotify, Siri, Summly, Affectiva, Bitcasa, Fixmo, DoubleTwist, Ginger, Desti and Magisto. He also is the founder of Kuato Studios, a leading educational games studio, and INQ Mobile which was an early pioneer in mobile internet, winning Best Handset at Mobile World Congress 2009. 

 

Frank started with Ericsson in 1994 as a coder and troubleshooter, lived in Singapore and HK, and then joined Hutchison Whampoa in 2001 and was responsible for the technical integration of the first 3G(WCDMA) networks around the world, launched under the Three(3) brand in multiple countries in 2003. He then ran the Three Groups’ global handset business, and developed and launched a range of products (Skypephone and INQ1), which pioneered mobile and internet communications

 

 

Bernard Moon is a Co-founder & Partner at SparkLabs Global Ventures. He is also a Co-founder & Partner at SparkLabs, a startup accelerator in Korea. Previously, he was Co-founder & CEO of Vidquik, a web conferencing & sales solutions platform. Bernard was a Managing Director at the Lunsford Group, which is a private investment firm with holdings in real estate, healthcare and other industries. Bernard was Co-founder & VP of Business Development of GoingOn Networks, a social media platform for companies, and also led their product development where BusinessWeek recognized them in their "Best of the Web" list. Previously, Bernard was a Director at iRG, a leading boutique investment bank in Asia, where he focused on TMT companies.

 

Bernard co-founded a couple of other startups, raised over $50 million in venture capital, and enjoys helping other entrepreneurs as much as possible: He serves as a mentor to MuckerLab, a startup accelerator in LA, and SixThirty, a fintech accelerator in St. Louis.. He is a frequent guest writer to various technology journals, such as VentureBeat, Mashable, TechCrunch, and ReadWrite, and has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. 

 

Bernard has spoke and lectured about startups and entrepreneurship at Stanford University, Global Entrepreneurship Congress, American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and other organizations. He was selected as one of 8 global judges for EDF's innovation contest (EDF is the world's biggest electricity producer based in France)

 

He completed a post-graduate fellowship with the Coro Foundation. He received his MPA in Telecom and New Media Policy from Columbia University and a BA in English and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

We are looking to invest in companies that:

Our approach:

Business is now truly global, but most investors are not. Exceptional entrepreneurs, that are building strong, category defining companies at highly advantageous valuations – can be found anywhere. This is the future of investing: Truly global, virtual, fast and highly networked.

 

SparkLabs is focused on startup companies from consumer Internet, enterprise software, online gaming, mobile, ecommerce, digital media sectors and healthcare. The program is three months in length and provides funding, office space, a structure program and access to a top-tier network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors and executives. 

 

SparkLabs is a member of GAN (Global Accelerator Network), which is the global champion of the seed-stage, mentorship-driven accelerator model and includes over 50 of the most respected accelerators from six continents around the world.

 

Later today, SparkLabs’ founders will announce plans to raise a $30 million fund to invest in early-stage software companies, together with a former Facebook Inc. executive and a former investor for billionaire Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing.

The fund, called SparkLabs Global Ventures, will invest in startups both inside and outside Korea, making bets of between $250,000 and $1 million.

 

The SparkLabs fund’s global mandate and focus on early-stage startups make it a relative rarity in a world where earlier-stage “angel” funds tend to stay local, while global funds tend to shy away from investments in such young companies.

 

Initially, the plan was to restrict investments to Asia and the U.S., where SparkLabs’ three Korean-American founders have built their networks, SparkLabs co-founder Bernard Moon said in a phone interview.

 

But after a series of conversations with Net Jacobsson, an Israeli entrepreneur and former director of international business development at Facebook, the team decided to broaden its scope to encompass the whole globe.

 

At the same time, Mr. Jacobsson suggested the SparkLabs team bring in Frank Meehan, who helped run investments for Horizons Ventures Ltd., the private investment arm for Mr. Li, the Hong Kong billionaire whose business empire spans supermarkets, real estate, shipping and telecommunications.

 

During his time at Horizons Ventures, Mr. Meehan sourced deals from all over the world, while sitting on the boards of Spotify Ltd., Siri Inc., and Summly — three darlings of the startup world that his fund had invested in. More recently, though, Mr. Meehan had been looking to get involved in making investments in startups at an earlier stage, which brought him to SparkLabs.

 

- Bernard Moon, cofounder of SparkLabs -

 

Mr. Moon, 42 years old, said that the new angel fund would be loosely modeled on Horizons Ventures’ approach of sourcing deals from all over the world, relying on a “very interspersed” network to identify investment candidates.

 

But where Horizons Ventures tends to invest in more mature companies, the SparkLabs team will scour the globe for startups with entrepreneurs whose fundraising efforts have only just tapped out their immediate network of seed investors.

 

“After family and friends, we’re the next step,” Mr. Moon said. “We’ve all been entrepreneurs and we enjoy helping entrepreneurs… We’re continuing that here, but in a more professional manner.”

 

Messers Jacobsson and Meehan, who have both worked with the SparkLabs accelerator, will join Mr. Moon as the new fund’s full-time partners. SparkLabs Global Ventures will complement the work of its accelerator, which invests $25,000 in mostly Korean startups and nurtures them for three months.

 

The announcement of SparkLabs’ angel fund comes shortly after the launch of Homebrew LLC, a similarly-sized San Francisco-based fund that makes early-stage investments in tech startups. In recent weeks, Homebrew, which was founded by two former Google employees, announced its first investments, which include the developers of a small-batch shipping app and a legal services app.

Not only will the SparksLab Global fund – which has a total kitty of $30 million — zoom in on seed-stage investments, in addition to the early stage focus of its accelerator, but it will have a far broader global remit. The fund will invest across Asia, Europe, Israel and the US, going beyond the accelerator program’s primary focus on Korea and the US — although it does accept startups from other parts of the world.

The caliber of its founding team is impressive. Bernard Moon, co-founder and General Partner at SparkLabs, will be a primary operating partner alongside Net Jacobsson — who was Facebook’s first international executive and has advised Openfeint, Crowdstar and King.com — and Frank Meehan — formerly of Horizons Ventures, who has worked with Spotify, Siri, Summly and others.

The founding team totals six, and is spread across the US, Israel, Europe and Korea. That will see it not only invest in a range of markets, but also leverage their global networks to help startups push into new regions. That’s a very different prospect to the many Silicon Valley-based VCs who refuse to invest in startups that are anything less than an hour’s drive away.

Moon tells TNW that the fund is targeting the gap between early stage ideas and Series A — an issue he is well aware of from his work with graduates of the SparkLabs accelerator program.

The fund will typically invest between $250,000 and $1 million in deals, Moon says, and he expects that will see it last a maximum of three years. Like its broad geographical focus, SparkLabs is also keeping a wide berth in terms of the type of companies that it will target.

Moon is interested in companies dealing with big data, and he’s broadly keen on general consumer plays, enterprise business models and the growth of education technology. We can expect around one-third of investments to be for Asia, with the rest spread across the US, Europe and Israel, he adds.

There are already deals in the pipeline, with startups spread right across the world, so we can expect to get a clearer picture of SparkLabs’ position in the market soon.

SparkLabs Global Invests in Good.co, Its First Company in the HCM (Human Capital Management) Tech Space, and Zanbato, a Platform for Alternative Asset Classes Co-Founded by Joe Lonsdale 

  

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 18, 2014) - SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com), a global seed-stage fund, announced that John Pleasants, former Co-President of Disney Interactive and former COO of Electronic Arts, has joined as an advisor to their fund. 

  

"I'm excited to be part of SparkLabs Global because the depth of their experiences and global reach. The timing for a such a seed-stage fund is ideal because of how rapidly innovation and great companies are being founded throughout the world, and many are looking for help to cross the Pacific and Atlantic which this team excels at," explained John Pleasants. 

  

The global seed-stage fund additionally announced their first investment in the HCM (human capital management) tech space, Good.co, which seeks to fix hiring with user-driven analytics that measure culture-fit. The company raised $1.45 million from Norwest, SparkLabs Global Ventures and other venture capital funds. 

  

The company is taking a provocative, consumer-first approach by building the world's largest culture graph of talent and companies through user-driven data. Their playful experience is powered by a scientifically-valid and self-learning algorithm that takes 90% less time compared to traditional assessments. Good.co's social features have fueled rapid collection of data-assets on users' personalities, peers, teams, and workplaces -- allowing the company to create a more efficient co-selection process. Gartner estimates the HCM market to hit $8.3 billion in 2014 and $8.8 billion in 2015. 

  

"We love Good.co's product and the need in the market it seeks fill by providing culture-driven analytics for companies and provides tools to help people find the best fit for their careers. Before, company culture was a known but intangible factor towards the growth and success of a company. Good.co makes culture more tangible and executives more confident that they can built a successful company environment," stated Bernard Moon, General Partner at SparkLabs Global. 

  

SparkLabs Global Ventures also recently invested in Zanbato, a platform that supports marketplaces, private clubs of investors, and independent wealth managers playing in the Alternative Asset Classes. The company was co-founded by Joe Lonsdale (co-founder of Palantir Technologies), Nico Sand, Dan Settel, and Kevin Leung. 

  

"SparkLabs Global is a big believer in FinTech and we are excited about helping Zanbato continue on its path to become the platform for alternative investment activities. We love their vision and the team," stated Frank Meehan, General Partner at SparkLabs Global. 

  

About SparkLabs Global Ventures 

  

SparkLabs Global Ventures is a new seed-stage investment fund. We believe business is now truly global, but most investors are not. Exceptional entrepreneurs that are building strong, category defining companies can be found anywhere. SparkLabs Global is a team of highly experienced entrepreneurs and operators based in London, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Singapore and Palo Alto, CA that will focus on helping our entrepreneurs to develop, grow, network, and scale into other markets throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.sparklabsglobal.com 

  

Contact: 

Bernard Moon 

Co-founder & General Partner 

+1-650-454-5244

Chrisitine Aum has joined SparkLabs Global Ventures (www.sparklabsglobal.com/) as a Senior Associate.

Previously, Ms. Aum was at Mirae Asset Securities as a member of the equity research group.

Mirae Asset Financial Group, the parent company, is an independent financial services group in Asia with over $58 billion under management.

SparkLabs Global Ventures is a $30 million global seed-stage fund investing in primarily pre-Series A companies.

Christine is a Senior Associate at SparkLabs Global Ventures. Christine was previously an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities and has experience of analyzing Korea’s two biggest industries, Automobile and IT sectors.

She was responsible for forecasting the market and share prices of the companies that are listed in Korea’s stock market, and published analyst reports, which involves analyzing data and fundamentals of the relevant industries and companies.

She also managed relationships with IR teams of various different companies in Korea and investors in Seoul, Hong Kong, New York and London.

Christine graduated from the University of Michigan with BA degree in Economics and Chinese language. Christine loves traveling and collecting new electronic gadgets. She also enjoys playing games, online shopping, exploring new entertainment (movies/music/games) and reading blogs on new electronic products in her free time to keep up with a new trends in culture and technology.

SparkLabs Global Ventures is a new seed-stage investment fund.

We believe business is now truly global, but most investors are not.

Exceptional entrepreneurs that are building strong, category defining companies can be found anywhere. SparkLabs Global is a team of highly experienced entrepreneurs and operators based in London, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Singapore and Palo Alto, CA that will focus on helping our entrepreneurs to develop, grow, network, and scale into other markets throughout the world. 

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 24, 2013) - SparkLabs Global Ventures is launching a new $30 million seed-stage fund that will invest in early-stage companies looking to rapidly scale their innovations. The fund's worldwide network of experienced partners identified strong demand from the best startups for on-the-ground regional support for partnerships and expansion opportunities to drive their growth.

The founding partners are Bernard Moon, Net Jacobsson, Frank Meehan, Jimmy Kim, John Lee, and Jay McCarthy. Bernard, Net and Frank will be the primary operating partners.

"SparkLabs Global Ventures was founded on our strong momentum from our SparkLabs accelerator in South Korea, where we have already invested in 16 fantastic startups. Jimmy Kim, John Lee, Jay McCarthy and I were planning to launch an angel fund covering Asia and the U.S. When the opportunity came to partner with Frank and Net on an angel fund, it was a no-brainer. We immediately found our combined network and entrepreneurial experiences for many entrepreneurs an exciting value proposition," said Bernard Moon.

Net Jacobsson was Facebook's first international executive and led their initial mobile business development efforts. He has been a highly successful active angel investor and advisor to companies such as Openfeint, Crowdstar, and King.com.

"Throughout my entire career, I've always been Mr. International, helping companies entering new markets or taking them global. Now, I finally have an opportunity to really be able to assist entrepreneurs in a more meaningful way both as an investor as well as an entrepreneur together with my talented partners," said Net Jacobsson.

Frank Meehan was part of Li Ka-Shing's Horizons Ventures team, representing Horizons on the boards of Spotify, Siri, Summly, Affectiva, Bitcasa, DoubleTwist, Fixmo, TOM.com, and others. Prior to that he was the global director for the mobile operator Three's handset business, and pioneered early mobile and internet communications integration with the Mobile World Congress award winning devices, INQ1 and 3 Skypephone.

"Entrepreneurs are no longer satisfied with just being a hit in their home market. They are hungry to bring their amazing products to the world, and are looking for experienced seed investors that can actively support them. For example Asia-based startups now have the management teams that can globalize, and they are poised for explosive growth. The investors in SparkLabs Global Ventures are very excited about being able to support our entrepreneurs' expansion plans more effectively than other funds," explained Frank Meehan, who was named to Wired UK's Top 100 (2012) and selected in Vanity Fair's "The Next Establishment" list (2010).

Jimmy Kim is Co-founder and President of N3N, a provider of next generation control room solutions for Fortune 500 companies and governments. He was previously CEO of Nexonova and EVP of Nexon Corp, which services over 20 games across 60 countries to an audience of 300 million.

John Lee is Co-founder & EVP of Corporate Development and Strategy of Hostway. He serves additional responsibilities as CEO of Hostway India. John and his fellow co-founders bootstrapped Hostway into a top 5 web hosting company in the world with over 700 employees.

Jay McCarthy is Founder and Managing Partner of Pacific Advisers, which advised, financed and invested in a range of deals in Asia across industries, principally mining & energy, technology, luxury consumer and property.

"We are excited about this new fund since all of us enjoy helping other entrepreneurs and we know there are great entrepreneurs not only in Silicon Valley but throughout the world," said Net Jacobsson.

SparkLabs Global Ventures is a new seed-stage investment fund. We believe business is now truly global, but most investors are not. Exceptional entrepreneurs that are building strong, category defining companies can be found anywhere. SparkLabs Global is a team of highly experienced entrepreneurs and operators based in London, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Singapore and Palo Alto, CA that will focus on helping our entrepreneurs to develop, grow, network, and scale into other markets throughout the world. 

Bernard Moon

Co-founder & General Partner

+1-650-454-5244

 

About 70 undisclosed investors were listed on the regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

According to the filings, this is the first major outside investment the company has received to date.

 

The startup is an alum of the 2014 startup accelerator program Techstars Boston and offers a motion sensor device and app that allows users to track their athletic performance and compete with others.

 

Founded by European entrepreneur Leo Koenig in 2013, Woo Sports has garnered interest from companies such as Burton Snowboards and Red Bull.

 

Woody Benson, a Boston-based venture capitalist at Prism VentureWorks, is listed on the filing.

 

A request for comment was not immediately returned.

The tech scene is a competitive market right now -- especially in Europe. Does a budding digital business base itself in Holland? Germany? Ireland?

With its large and diverse talent pool, central location, and business-friendly tax policies, we’d argue that the U.K. has emerged as Europe’s premier tech hub.

But which U.K.-based shops are making the tech world buzz? And where are they located? After all, the U.K.’s digital economy expands far beyond London.

We’ve partnered with the HQ-UK team to introduce you to 5 dynamic, U.K.-based tech firms to watch in 2015:

Founders: Bonamy Grimes, Gareth Williams and Barry Smith
Launched: 2010
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

What it does: Skyscanner is a global travel search engine that compares prices on flights, hotels and car rentals? Its goal, says co-founder and CEO Gareth Williams, is to “make travel search simple and inspirational with … no added fees and no fuss.”

Why Edinburgh: In the past few years, Williams has seen “the emergence of a vibrant startup community” in Edinburgh, he notes. Because of the high quality of life in the city, many students stay in the area after graduating -- which has created a wealth of local talent. “We`re fortunate to be located a stone’s throw from Edinburgh University’s world-class School of Informatics,” says Williams. Skyscanner’s proximity to the school has helped them to recruit “really strong engineering talent.”

Why we’re watching: The travel industry is booming, and Skyscanner is right in the thick of it. In 2014, its revenue increased by 42 percent to £93 million (approximately $142 million). “Eighty percent of our visitors now come from outside our home market, and in greater China alone we saw a 61 percent increase in unique monthly visitors in 2014,” Williams says. They’ve gone mobile, too; users worldwide have now downloaded Skyscanner’s apps more than 35 million times.

Founders: Chris McClelland, Jonny Campbell, Kieran Graham and Ali Sisk
Launched: 2013
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland

What it does: Brewbot is a “smart brewing appliance” controlled with a smartphone. By monitoring the temperature, time and progress of the homebrewing environment, it allows users to focus on their ingredients. The mobile app also offers recipes and prompts that guide aspiring home brewers through the entire beer-making process.

Why Belfast: In a nutshell, the people. “There is a strong emphasis on the skills we need at local universities, with world-class electronic engineers pouring out of Queen’s [University],” Brewbot co-founder and communications director Jonny Campbell says. The “tight-knit and really supportive community” is also a big factor, he adds, with a growing number of startups, meet-ups, coding groups, hacker spaces and conferences both emerging in and flocking to Belfast. Added to the “lively social scene,” low cost of living and abundance of space, Campbell calls Belfast a “great place to live.”

Why we’re watching: Brewbot started its journey with a successful Kickstarter campaign and has since landed $1.5 million of funding. “It`s an exciting time for us, as we are weeks away from getting the first Brewbot into the hands of our Kickstarter backers,” Campbell says. “We are not only changing how beer is brewed but we are changing how it is distributed and ultimately consumed. We are returning the power to the drinkers of beer to determine what kind of beer they want to drink. We want to democratize brewing.”

Founder: David Braben
Launched: 1994
Location: Cambridge, England

What it does: Frontier Developments is a game developer most famous for the “Elite” series. Frontier’s strengths are “immersive, fun gameplay design and unparalleled artistic quality underpinned and enabled by cutting-edge technology development and a talent for getting the best out of hardware and UI,” according to its website.

Why Cambridge: Cambridge is one of the U.K.’s most well-known tech clusters, with more than 21,000 residents employed in the digital sector. That it’s home to esteemed and historic Cambridge University has created an entrepreneurial local culture and unparalleled access to high-quality recruits. And we mean high quality: Cambridge has the sixth best engineering and technology program in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Ratings. Simply put, “There is a great talent pool,” explains Frontier’s founder and CEO, David Braben. “It is also a great place to live.”

Why we’re watching: Though the company has been “making successful games for publishers like Microsoft and Atari for many years,” Braben says, Frontier has recently started to publish its own games, too. "I`m very pleased with our progress,” he says. “We are in a great position to take advantage of the industry move toward online selling, which is really gaining momentum, as we now add Xbox One to the platforms we are supporting with ‘Elite: Dangerous.’"

Founders: Ben Taylor, Paul Stacey and Chris Pearson
Launched: 2006
Location: Manchester, England

What it does: Fatsoma is a digital ticketing platform aimed at organizers who want to use both technology and people to promote their events. With the software, users can do everything from share their event through email and social media, to sell and manage tickets. You can even recruit “reps” to promote an event in return for a commission through the platform.

Why Manchester: When asked why the Fatsoma team chose to base themselves in Manchester, co-founder and CEO Chris Pearson had an abundance of reasons -- with the people being most important. “There is no other city in the U.K. with a better history of producing innovative, hardworking and creative individuals,” Pearson says. “It’s a city that produces a lot with a little.” (Case in point: legendary codebreaker Alan Turing was a member of Manchester University’s Computing Laboratory staff in the 1940s and ‘50s.) Plus, considering the “vibrant live music and creative arts scene,” and the “number of world class universities,” Pearson says, “there really wasn’t any other choice.”

Why we’re watching: A lot of things have been going on behind-the-scenes at Fatsoma in the past year. Not only did they rebuild their web platform, but they also launched multiple mobile applications. “We’ve recently taken on a round of investment that means we’re able to catalyse our growth into markets that we were beginning to see emerging organically,” Pearson says. “Treading [on] new ground is always exciting -- and scary. We can’t wait.”

Founders: Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus
Launched: 2011
Location: London, England

What it does: TransferWise is a peer-to-peer money transfer network. When its users want to send money to a foreign country, the service matches them with users sending money in the other direction. By bypassing traditional banks, TransferWise saves its customers money on currency conversion and transfer fees.

Why London: Though startups are popping up all over the U.K., London remains the heart of the country’s tech scene. The numbers speak for themselves: within the city, there are more than 36 business accelerators, 70 co-working spaces and 45 higher education institutions. TransferWise co-founders Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann are Estonian, yet they decided that London was the right home base for their company headquarters. “It’s one of the few places in the world that brings together both tech and financial talent in the same place,” explains Hinrikus, who’s also the firm’s executive chairman. “We’re growing 15 to 20 percent month on month,” he adds. “With that level of growth I can’t stress enough how important it is to be surrounded by awesome people and to hire the right talent. London makes that easier.”

Why we’re watching: TransferWise is growing fast, and people are taking notice: in January, the company won a $58 million investment from U.S. venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz. As Hinrikus exclaims, “We’re going global!” The plan for the funds is to open offices in New York, Florida, Berlin and Australia. “We’re dedicated to providing a service that is transparent, fair and fast -- we’re excited about sharing it with the world,” he says.

The U.K. has created the best conditions for business-builders anywhere in the world. The number of people starting digital businesses here is greater than ever – and the number of companies choosing the U.K. for their international headquarters is also unprecedented. Locating your digital business in the U.K. means that you won’t find it hard to get people with the skills you need. If you are a tech company considering international expansion, HQ-UK can help you every step of the way. Visit www.techcityuk.com/hquk for more information.

The tech scene is a competitive market right now -- especially in Europe. Does a budding digital business base itself in Holland? Germany? Ireland?

With its large and diverse talent pool, central location, and business-friendly tax policies, we’d argue that the U.K. has emerged as Europe’s premier tech hub.

But which U.K.-based shops are making the tech world buzz? And where are they located? After all, the U.K.’s digital economy expands far beyond London.

We’ve partnered with the HQ-UK team to introduce you to 5 dynamic, U.K.-based tech firms to watch in 2015:

Founders: Bonamy Grimes, Gareth Williams and Barry Smith
Launched: 2010
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

What it does: Skyscanner is a global travel search engine that compares prices on flights, hotels and car rentals? Its goal, says co-founder and CEO Gareth Williams, is to “make travel search simple and inspirational with … no added fees and no fuss.”

Why Edinburgh: In the past few years, Williams has seen “the emergence of a vibrant startup community” in Edinburgh, he notes. Because of the high quality of life in the city, many students stay in the area after graduating -- which has created a wealth of local talent. “We`re fortunate to be located a stone’s throw from Edinburgh University’s world-class School of Informatics,” says Williams. Skyscanner’s proximity to the school has helped them to recruit “really strong engineering talent.”

Why we’re watching: The travel industry is booming, and Skyscanner is right in the thick of it. In 2014, its revenue increased by 42 percent to £93 million (approximately $142 million). “Eighty percent of our visitors now come from outside our home market, and in greater China alone we saw a 61 percent increase in unique monthly visitors in 2014,” Williams says. They’ve gone mobile, too; users worldwide have now downloaded Skyscanner’s apps more than 35 million times.

Founders: Chris McClelland, Jonny Campbell, Kieran Graham and Ali Sisk
Launched: 2013
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland

What it does: Brewbot is a “smart brewing appliance” controlled with a smartphone. By monitoring the temperature, time and progress of the homebrewing environment, it allows users to focus on their ingredients. The mobile app also offers recipes and prompts that guide aspiring home brewers through the entire beer-making process.

Why Belfast: In a nutshell, the people. “There is a strong emphasis on the skills we need at local universities, with world-class electronic engineers pouring out of Queen’s [University],” Brewbot co-founder and communications director Jonny Campbell says. The “tight-knit and really supportive community” is also a big factor, he adds, with a growing number of startups, meet-ups, coding groups, hacker spaces and conferences both emerging in and flocking to Belfast. Added to the “lively social scene,” low cost of living and abundance of space, Campbell calls Belfast a “great place to live.”

Why we’re watching: Brewbot started its journey with a successful Kickstarter campaign and has since landed $1.5 million of funding. “It`s an exciting time for us, as we are weeks away from getting the first Brewbot into the hands of our Kickstarter backers,” Campbell says. “We are not only changing how beer is brewed but we are changing how it is distributed and ultimately consumed. We are returning the power to the drinkers of beer to determine what kind of beer they want to drink. We want to democratize brewing.”

Founder: David Braben
Launched: 1994
Location: Cambridge, England

What it does: Frontier Developments is a game developer most famous for the “Elite” series. Frontier’s strengths are “immersive, fun gameplay design and unparalleled artistic quality underpinned and enabled by cutting-edge technology development and a talent for getting the best out of hardware and UI,” according to its website.

Why Cambridge: Cambridge is one of the U.K.’s most well-known tech clusters, with more than 21,000 residents employed in the digital sector. That it’s home to esteemed and historic Cambridge University has created an entrepreneurial local culture and unparalleled access to high-quality recruits. And we mean high quality: Cambridge has the sixth best engineering and technology program in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Ratings. Simply put, “There is a great talent pool,” explains Frontier’s founder and CEO, David Braben. “It is also a great place to live.”

Why we’re watching: Though the company has been “making successful games for publishers like Microsoft and Atari for many years,” Braben says, Frontier has recently started to publish its own games, too. "I`m very pleased with our progress,” he says. “We are in a great position to take advantage of the industry move toward online selling, which is really gaining momentum, as we now add Xbox One to the platforms we are supporting with ‘Elite: Dangerous.’"

Founders: Ben Taylor, Paul Stacey and Chris Pearson
Launched: 2006
Location: Manchester, England

What it does: Fatsoma is a digital ticketing platform aimed at organizers who want to use both technology and people to promote their events. With the software, users can do everything from share their event through email and social media, to sell and manage tickets. You can even recruit “reps” to promote an event in return for a commission through the platform.

Why Manchester: When asked why the Fatsoma team chose to base themselves in Manchester, co-founder and CEO Chris Pearson had an abundance of reasons -- with the people being most important. “There is no other city in the U.K. with a better history of producing innovative, hardworking and creative individuals,” Pearson says. “It’s a city that produces a lot with a little.” (Case in point: legendary codebreaker Alan Turing was a member of Manchester University’s Computing Laboratory staff in the 1940s and ‘50s.) Plus, considering the “vibrant live music and creative arts scene,” and the “number of world class universities,” Pearson says, “there really wasn’t any other choice.”

Why we’re watching: A lot of things have been going on behind-the-scenes at Fatsoma in the past year. Not only did they rebuild their web platform, but they also launched multiple mobile applications. “We’ve recently taken on a round of investment that means we’re able to catalyse our growth into markets that we were beginning to see emerging organically,” Pearson says. “Treading [on] new ground is always exciting -- and scary. We can’t wait.”

Founders: Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus
Launched: 2011
Location: London, England

What it does: TransferWise is a peer-to-peer money transfer network. When its users want to send money to a foreign country, the service matches them with users sending money in the other direction. By bypassing traditional banks, TransferWise saves its customers money on currency conversion and transfer fees.

Why London: Though startups are popping up all over the U.K., London remains the heart of the country’s tech scene. The numbers speak for themselves: within the city, there are more than 36 business accelerators, 70 co-working spaces and 45 higher education institutions. TransferWise co-founders Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann are Estonian, yet they decided that London was the right home base for their company headquarters. “It’s one of the few places in the world that brings together both tech and financial talent in the same place,” explains Hinrikus, who’s also the firm’s executive chairman. “We’re growing 15 to 20 percent month on month,” he adds. “With that level of growth I can’t stress enough how important it is to be surrounded by awesome people and to hire the right talent. London makes that easier.”

Why we’re watching: TransferWise is growing fast, and people are taking notice: in January, the company won a $58 million investment from U.S. venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz. As Hinrikus exclaims, “We’re going global!” The plan for the funds is to open offices in New York, Florida, Berlin and Australia. “We’re dedicated to providing a service that is transparent, fair and fast -- we’re excited about sharing it with the world,” he says.

The U.K. has created the best conditions for business-builders anywhere in the world. The number of people starting digital businesses here is greater than ever – and the number of companies choosing the U.K. for their international headquarters is also unprecedented. Locating your digital business in the U.K. means that you won’t find it hard to get people with the skills you need. If you are a tech company considering international expansion, HQ-UK can help you every step of the way. Visit www.techcityuk.com/hquk for more information.

SugarCRM has quietly acquired (or at least acqui-hired) Stitch, a San Francisco-based “personalized digital assistant” for salespeople, Fortune has learned.

Stitch sent word to users late last week that its service was shutting down, although it made no mention of being acquired. It also has not yet updated its website, which still instructs visitors to download Stitch in the iOS app store and Google Chrome web store even though the app is no longer available in either one.

No word yet on financial terms.

Stitch had raised over $3 million in seed funding from firms like Google Ventures, Foundation Capital, Eniac Ventures, SoftTech VC, Freestyle Capital and SparkLabs Global. Four of its engineers also won the $250,000 grand prize at last fall’s hackathon during Salesforce CRM annual Dreamforce event.

Cupertino, Calif.-based SugarCRM has raised over $100 million from firms like DFJ, New Enterprise Associates, Goldman Sachs GS and Walden Venture Capital. A company spokesman has not yet returned a request for comment (not too surprising, given that it’s a Saturday night).

 

Countertop is going up for pre-order today, costing $99.95, which is half the planned full retail price, with a shipping date of fall 2015. It’s U.S. only for now.

 

The device consists of a smart board that can weigh and track ingredients plus an app that recommends recipes, dispenses step by step meal making instructions and tracks nutritional intake, such as calories.

 

The bigger twist is that the board is also able to recognize some of your existing kitchenware, such as blenders and crock pots, when you retrofit them with dedicated Countertop adaptors.

 

It can also integrate with fitness wearables, such as Jawbone’s UP, and with Apple’s Health data repository in order to factor in personal activity and sleep cycle data to its meal recommendations — with the pitch being that enables Countertop to offer tailored nutrition suggestions customized to the individual user.

 

“Countertop suggests personalized, easy-to-make meals or snacks that are healthy and tailored to your palate and nutritional goals,” says Orange Chef CEO Santiago Merea. “We’re not trying to encourage folks to make a culinary masterpiece — in fact, most of our meals generally include five or less ingredients. We walk each user through the process of adding, prepping, and cooking their meal, and along the way we hope our users learn more about what kind of nutrition they are getting.”

 

The company behind Countertop, Orange Chef, started back in 2011, when it was called Chef Sleeve, selling simple plastic sleeves to protect iPads being used in the kitchen. It’s steadily expanded its culinary-focused product portfolio, pushing into connected kitchen devices in 2013 — with a smart Bluetooth kitchen scales (plus app) called Prep Pad that also focused on helping people eat healthier.

 

Countertop continues the startup’s expansive trajectory by looping in existing kitchen devices via dishwasher-proof, heat-resistant NFC stickers (the aforementioned adaptors). So while there is some overlap with Prep Pad, the forthcoming gizmo can tap into more of your kitchen gadgetry.

 

“When the user places an appliance on Countertop, the app now understands the context of what the user is trying to accomplish in the physical world and can give recommendations based on this,” explains Merea. “Furthermore, it helps our base understand when the appliance is being used during Make Mode (dumping ingredients step by step without pre-measuring) and scales the recipe accordingly according to the model, capacity, etc.”

 

Orange Chef has partnered with Vitamix blenders (which is also a seed investor) and Crock-Pot slow cookers to push the system, with dedicated NFC adaptors ($9.95 and $4.95 for those devices respectively, during the pre-order period).

 

It says it plans to expand the system further, with Merea noting it is talking to “several large, beloved kitchen brand mainstays about ways of integrating their product lines with Countertop”.

 

Despite the fresh focus on partners, Countertop does not require other gadgets to work. But partnering with existing kitchen brands is evidently its preferred route to grow its own business.

 

“You don’t even need add-on adapters or other kitchen gadgets for it to work. We made a bet that users will want to use Countertop with their Vitamix and Crock-Pot because these are two broadly adored products with communities of actively engaged users,” adds Merea.

 

Orange Chef has raised $4.8 million in seed funding from investors including Google Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Lerer Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Vitamix and individual angel investors including Warby Parker co-founder and co-Chief Executive Dave Gilboa.

 

It’s not currently breaking out sales of its existing devices, such as its Bluetooth kitchen scales, with Merea merely dubbing them as “significant”.

 

At this nascent stage in the Internet of Things startups are having to come up with workarounds to blend their own connected devices with existing dumbware to massage their usefulness — such as Countertop’s NFS adaptors. How robust and usable these bridging techs are remains to be seen.

 

The grand vision for the connected kitchen of the future is, presumably, a smart refrigerator which automatically orders the fresh ingredients required to prep your next set of nutritionally-optimized meals. But we’re a ways off that fully automated health-quantifying, grocery-delivering future. And so enter more NFC stickers.

Andela launched six months ago, in September 2014, and has been gaining traction.

“Today, we crossed an important milestone” said Jeremy Johnson in the blog post. “Andela has now received over 10,000 applications. The size of our applicant pool is a testament to the fact that word about what we are doing has spread across Nigeria — and beyond. Applications have been received from South Africa, Botswana, Ghana and Kenya, a signal that there is demand for Andela in other parts of the continent.”

Andela’s applicant pool has been growing exponentially, and this according to them, shows that they are “tapping into a growing market and a hunger for opportunity”.

Andela is said to have an acceptance rate of 0.6%, with the most selective technology training program on the African continent. Jeremy Johnson also said that the company has 100% success rate with clients and 80% of them ask for additional services within the first six months. Andela has shown that their business model is highly effective.

Andela currently has a team of over 80 developers and had to move into a new campus to better accommodate them.

PayByGroup (www.paybygroup.com/business) gives travelers the ability to split the cost of a vacation rental with family or friends directly from the booking website. This increases guest satisfaction ratings and reviews, cuts booking cycles by five to nine daysi, boosts marketing reach by 40 percentii, and protects managers and their homeowner clients by collecting contact information and rental agreements from every guest in the booking party. 

 

With the new PayByGroup for HomeAway Software integration, property management companies that use Escapia, V12.NET, or any other HomeAway Software platform can now easily add the PayByGroup checkout option to their website without any integration work or changes to existing processes.

 

PayByGroup`s volume has grown 172%iii over the past month, and 10 to 20 percentiv of travelers choose PayByGroup as their preferred checkout option on vacation rental websites that offer it. That number continues to rise as the payment option becomes more widely available throughout the travel and e-commerce industries. The PayByGroup for HomeAway Software integration streamlines the group booking process by connecting directly to property managers` inventory and tracking multiple travelers` payments in real-time. As an added benefit to property managers, the average traveler group spends 16% more on accommodations when they are able to split payments.

 

"We`re excited to incorporate PayByGroup for HomeAway Software customers. Our software platforms are designed to help vacation rental managers serve guests and owners by integrating innovative solutions to meet their needs. PayByGroup is an incredibly valuable solution for our customers," said Bill Furlong, HomeAway Software.

 

"The PayByGroup for HomeAway Software integration is a huge win for the travel industry. Thousands of property managers can now see immediate booking and revenue boosts by eliminating the nightmare of multiparty payments and catering to what travelers want," noted Frank Langston, President and COO at PayByGroup.

 

HomeAway Software users can learn more about the service and sign up for a free PayByGroup for HomeAway Software trial to start boosting their bookings and revenue today. PayByGroup accepts payments using all major credit and debit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, and uses industry-leading security to protect user information and credit card data.

 

 

PayByGroup is the world`s leading group payments platform. It integrates with businesses` existing payment processors to provide consumers with a best-in-class group purchasing experience. 

 

Vacation rental businesses that choose PayByGroup reliably capture extra marketing leads, screen renters more effectively, and boost their revenue with additional bookings. To learn more about adding PayByGroup to your business website, go to www.PayByGroup.com/business or contact Frank Langston at flangston@paybygroup.com.

 

 

HomeAway Software is the leading provider of property management software for professional vacation rental managers. HomeAway Software solutions consist of powerful productivity tools that automate key vacation rental management tasks, streamline operations, and help vacation rental managers maximize their online potential through world-class websites, booking engines, and the industry`s leading distribution programs. HomeAway Software is part of HomeAway, Inc. AWAY the world`s leading online marketplace of vacation rentals.

 

i Derived from HomeAway traveler survey of average days to book (10.4). Survey conducted Q1 2012 of 2,199 participants.

ii Derived from calculation: 10% or more of bookings choose the PayByGroup option when booking; the average PayByGroup transaction containing 5 participants.

iii PayByGroup transaction volume in December 2014 versus January 2015.

iv Based on random sampling of PayByGroup merchants