Introducing our two newest founders to the Conduit EIS Impact Fund
By Gabrielle Morgan, Senior Investment Manager & Natalie Otwoma, Operations Associate
Since the inception of the Conduit EIS Impact Fund in 2021, we’re pleased to share the Fund has closed it’s 11th round in April 2024 on target. The Fund is on track to reach £10m in AuM this year. We have hit the ground running; the investment committee has already approved the first investment of the year – a cutting-edge home energy optimisation platform.
In addition to closing its 11th round of funding, the Conduit Fund was busy closing deals in Q1 2024. We are thrilled to introduce two of our latest investments, Sorted –computer vision + AI platform optimising recycling processes and Nebuflow – a nebuliser that can improve treatment for respiratory illness.
Sorted Team
Sorted
Only 9% of the plastic ever produced has been recycled, and 19% has been incinerated. Worldwide recycling processes aren't working, and autonomous robots aren't the full answer (yet).
Problem: Waste picking is hard! Some items are easier to identify than others. For example, waste companies need to sort plastic by polymer type as well as usage; they need to identify if an item of plastic was used for food packaging or was in contact with chemicals. Existing technology is great at sorting plastic bottles for instance, but almost everything else is going to incineration or landfill. Less than 10% of recyclable plastic globally is actually recycled, and in the UK at least 47% is incinerated.
Solution: Using computer vision, spectroscopy and precision lasers driven by AI, Sorted’s solution is designed to augment sorting capabilities by highlighting valuable items on recycling conveyer belts to assist human pickers in recycling facilities. This approach enables them to have a higher degree of efficiency and accuracy when identifying items on fast moving recycling lines.
Why we invested: This application of AI offers a digitalised solution to a profoundly tangible environmental, social, and economic challenge on a global scale, especially at a time where there are upcoming regulations, such as the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Sorted underscores the potential of AI to create beneficial outcomes in waste management. At scale, they have the potential to enable a climate impact reduction of 995 KtCo2 eq/year, equivalent to 1,003,657 passengers flying from London to New York. We’re thrilled to be supporting Luis, Arthur and the Sorted team!
Dr Elijah Nazarzadeh, CEO and co-founder of Nebu-Flow, said: “Our mission is to revolutionise respiratory drug delivery. The investment accelerates our development activities to position the company for inhalation delivery of RNA-based formulations. Our technology is patented in different territories including UK, US, and Canada, and we now look forward to the commercialisation stage with the support of SCVC and our other investors."
Nebuflow
From asthma to tuberculosis, nebulisers are a life-saving method of drug delivery for millions across the globe.
Problem: The most common causes of death and disability worldwide are patients with respiratory disorders. These respiratory diseases are best treated by delivering drugs directly to the lungs using a nebulizer or an inhaler. Biologics - therapeutic agents derived from natural components - are yet to make an impact on these diseases as existing technologies are not able to effectively nebulize biologics which are inherently more complex molecules.
Solution: Nebu-Flow is developing a new generation of nebulisers to enable inhalation delivery of lifechanging treatments. The company’s patented aerosol formation technology enables efficient delivery of hard-to-nebulise drugs by controlling the droplet size for deep lung deposition, enabling injection free systemic drug delivery through inhalation route, especially for cardiovascular and central nerve system disorders.
Why we invested: The worldwide inhalable drug market was valued at approximately $33 billion in 2023, with the nebuliser market valued at over $1 billion. The potential impact is vast on hard-to-treat disease such as cystic fibrosis which is why we’re thrilled to have supported Nebuflow’s founder Elijah and his team in securing £4.7 million of seed investment. This is to accelerate their development of a new generation of nebulisers which could revolutionise the treatment of respiratory disease.
Our Next Close
The next opportunity to invest in the fund will be in July 2024. The minimum ticket per investor is £25,000, available to both retail and professional investors.
The fund aims to invest in eight to ten impact-driven Seed to Series A investments per year with a target return of 2.5 - 3x over a 4 -7 year time horizon. 60% of the Fund’s portfolio is in climate tech, followed by health, education and inclusion. The Fund invests in these four themes because they address the greatest challenges facing people and planet today, and the sectors with the fastest growing innovations and scalable impact solutions.
If you would like to invest in the Fund and build a portfolio of impactful EIS ventures over the course from July, please sign up for an information session with the team or email conduitimpactfund@theconduitconnect.com to schedule a 121 at The Conduit Club.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment, and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more.