Mid-Week Tech News Roundup – January 26th to January 30th 2026
27 Jan, 20266 minutesSummize raises $50m to accelerate global expansion and advance AI contract intelligenceUK-fo...
Summize raises $50m to accelerate global expansion and advance AI contract intelligence
UK-founded legal tech company Summize has raised $50 million in new funding to support its next phase of international growth and product development in AI-powered contract intelligence.
The investment round includes continued backing from existing investors Maven Capital Partners and YFM Equity Partners, alongside new capital from specialist technology investor Kennet Partners and global investor Federated Hermes Private Equity.
The funding follows a period of rapid growth for Summize, which has recorded more than five consecutive years of 100%+ ARR growth. In the second half of 2025 alone, the company increased customer bookings by 92% and grew ARR by 97% year-on-year. The business has also expanded its physical footprint, opening a new US office in San Diego to support West Coast customers and moving into a larger Manchester headquarters after growing global headcount by 59% over the past year.
With Laura Proctor as CMO and Rachel Cunliffe as CFO, Summize provides AI-powered contract lifecycle management tools that operate directly within the applications teams already use, including Microsoft Word, Outlook, Teams, Slack, Salesforce and HubSpot. Built on an agentic AI foundation, the platform applies legal context to contracts to improve accuracy, speed and trust, while also extracting insights from related financial, compliance and regulatory documents.
Its customer base includes organisations such as Revolut, AMC Networks, SHL Medical, ClearScore, Matillion and Groq, as well as multiple professional sports teams across the NBA, MLB and NFL.
Alex Taylor-Harris, Director at Kennet Partners, said the investment reflected Summize’s strong market differentiation and embedded approach, which brings AI-powered contract intelligence directly into day-to-day workflows. Investors also highlighted the platform’s ability to deliver fast ROI and its potential to extend beyond core legal use cases into wider business applications.
Tom Dunlop, CEO and co-founder of Summize, said the funding validates the company’s focus on intuitive user experience and trusted AI. He added that the new capital will be used to continue innovating across AI capabilities, expand the global team, and support a growing international customer base as Summize scales its presence worldwide.
Voxelo raises £300k pre-seed to scale AI-powered 3D product twins
Manchester-based startup Voxelo has raised £300,000 in the first close of its pre-seed funding round, as it looks to scale its AI-driven platform for creating 3D and AR product content for e-commerce brands.
The round includes backing from early investors and advisors, notably Andy Gray, former director at eBay and co-founder of NFT marketplace KnownOrigin, who has joined Voxelo as both an investor and advisor. The round remains open, with space for a small number of strategic investors ahead of final close.
Founded by Vladimir Mulhem, Ben McKay and Roman Bromidge, Voxelo is building a studio platform that turns a short product video into a production-ready 3D digital twin in around two hours. That twin can then be reused to generate interactive 3D models, AR “place-in-space” experiences, annotated product views, and lifestyle imagery, all from a single source.
At the core of the platform is Voxelo’s proprietary UG3D technology, designed to remove the cost, complexity and fragmentation of traditional product content pipelines. The company positions itself as an alternative to multi-tool, agency-led workflows, enabling non-technical e-commerce teams to create and scale advanced product content quickly and affordably.
Voxelo is already working with early customers including Cosatto and British Attire, and has received backing through innovation programmes such as Innovate UK and the Turing Innovation Catalyst.
Commenting on the raise, Mulhem said Voxelo’s focus is on improving buyer confidence in e-commerce by giving shoppers richer, more interactive product experiences, which in turn drive conversion. McKay added that many AI tools still struggle with reliability and remain limited to 2D outputs, while Bromidge emphasised the company’s focus on making advanced 3D creation simple and dependable for everyday teams.
Looking ahead, the funding will support product development and customer growth as Voxelo moves toward the final close of its pre-seed round. To coincide with the launch of Voxelo 2.0, the company has also opened sign-ups for its AI beta programme and is offering free credits to early users, signalling its ambition to lower the barrier to high-quality 3D product content at scale.
YFM completes management buyout to secure long-term independence
Leeds-headquartered private equity firm YFM Equity Partners has completed a management-led buyout, securing its long-term independence and marking what the firm has described as an “exciting new chapter”.
The transaction sees YFM’s existing partners acquire the equity held by the team that led the firm’s previous buyout in 2013. The deal was led by managing partner Jamie Roberts, alongside Eamon Nolan, head of fundraising and investor relations, and Marcus Karia.
Founded more than 40 years ago, YFM is one of the UK’s longest-established investors in high-growth entrepreneurial businesses, with offices across Leeds, London, Manchester, Reading and Birmingham. Planning for the buyout began six years ago, with the firm stressing that the change in ownership will not affect its day-to-day operations or its focus on backing ambitious management teams across the UK.
Roberts said the transaction provides continuity while supporting YFM’s longer-term growth ambitions. The firm is currently in the second year of a five-year plan focused on expanding its regional footprint, increasing the number of entrepreneurs it supports, and growing assets under management. The buyout was funded using debt provided by Triple Point, allowing the business to remain fully owned by its partners.
The move follows a strong period of activity for YFM, including the recent close of an £85 million VCT fundraising and the launch of fundraising for its latest Buyout Fund. Several former partners, including Dave Hall and David Bell, will continue to support the firm and its portfolio companies in advisory roles as YFM enters its next phase of growth.
Legal and financial advice on the transaction was provided by Broadfield Law, HCR Law, James Cowper Kreston, Gunnercooke and Simmons & Simmons.
Ecofill appoints Mark Watford as Chief Financial Officer to support next phase of growth
Leeds-based construction technology business Ecofill Group Ltd has appointed Mark Watford as its new chief financial officer, strengthening its leadership team as the company continues to scale operations in the UK and internationally.
Watford brings more than 25 years of senior financial, commercial and operational leadership experience across construction, infrastructure and technology-led businesses. His background spans both SMEs and large corporates, with international exposure across Europe, North America and Asia, including work with private equity-backed groups and complex transformation programmes.
In his new role, Watford will provide strategic financial oversight and governance, with a focus on ensuring Ecofill has the financial structure, controls and insight required to support sustainable growth as demand for its technology increases.
Trevor Gaughan, founder and chief executive of Ecofill, said the appointment marks an important step for the business as it scales, adding that Watford’s experience will be critical in supporting resilient, structured expansion.
Ecofill, which operates nationwide from its Leeds base, specialises in transforming on-site clays and subsoils into high-performance aggregate replacement products. Its approach removes the need for landfill disposal and imported aggregates, while significantly reducing carbon emissions and lorry movements.
Watford said he was drawn to Ecofill’s clear purpose and growth potential, and to the opportunity to help build strong financial foundations for a UK-based business with ambitions beyond the domestic market.
Inizio Evoke appoints Kristin Ryan as EVP to lead AI transformation in healthcare communications
Global healthcare communications platform Inizio Evoke has appointed Kristin Ryan as Executive Vice President, AI Transformation & Acceleration, a newly created role focused on scaling responsible use of artificial intelligence across its business.
Ryan joins Inizio Evoke from GCI Health, where she most recently served as EVP and US Head of Digital & Innovation. Over the past decade, she has worked at the intersection of healthcare communications, data-driven strategy and emerging technology, helping global health brands adopt digital and analytics-led approaches to improve engagement and measurable outcomes.
In her new role, Ryan will be responsible for accelerating the adoption of AI across Inizio Evoke’s healthcare communications and commercialisation work, with a focus on responsible, scalable deployment that enhances client delivery rather than replacing human expertise. The appointment reflects growing demand across life sciences for AI-enabled tools that support more effective, compliant and patient-centric communication.
Ryan has led omnichannel digital programmes spanning communications, professional and consumer marketing, and has been recognised for her work, including being named to PRWeek’s 40 Under 40. She is also active in industry groups shaping the future of AI in healthcare.
Will Reese, Chief Innovation Officer at Inizio Evoke, said the appointment signals a deliberate step in embedding AI more deeply across the organisation, ensuring it delivers practical value for clients while supporting teams to work more effectively.
Inizio Evoke is part of the wider Inizio group, which supports life sciences companies across clinical development and commercialisation. The move underlines Inizio Evoke’s ambition to position AI as a core capability in modern healthcare communications, aligned with governance, ethics and long-term impact.
FLock.io appoints Tiffany Wang as Head of EMEA to support regional growth
Decentralised AI platform FLock.io has appointed Tiffany Wang as its new Head of EMEA, marking a step forward in the company’s international expansion and regional leadership.
Wang joined FLock.io in 2024 as Legal Counsel, where she played a key role in strengthening the company’s legal and compliance foundations while supporting its growth through partnerships, communications and ecosystem engagement. Her promotion reflects FLock.io’s increasing focus on building regional leadership as it scales adoption across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Since stepping into the role, Wang has been involved in advancing FLock.io’s external collaborations, including its ongoing work with UNDP AltFinLab and a newly announced strategic partnership with the Blockchain for Good Alliance. These initiatives align with FLock.io’s broader ambition to apply decentralised technologies to responsible, privacy-preserving AI development.
Founded and led by CEO Jiahao Sun, FLock.io is building a decentralised AI training platform that combines federated learning and blockchain to enable secure, privacy-first model training without centralising data. Its approach allows communities and organisations to collaboratively train and own AI models, with data remaining local and under the control of its owners.
The company has gained growing recognition in the decentralised AI space, including selection for CB Insights’ AI 100 in 2025 and backing from leading Web3 and AI investors, alongside support from the Ethereum Foundation. Wang’s appointment is expected to support FLock.io’s continued momentum in EMEA as it expands partnerships, enterprise adoption and ecosystem activity across the region.
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