Manchester’s Ryft raises £5.7m Series A to challenge global payment giants

Manchester-based fintech startup Ryft has secured a £5.7 million Series A funding round as it looks to strengthen its position in the global payments landscape. The investment will support the development of technology aimed at helping acquiring banks, such as Danish provider Clearhaus, compete with established players like Stripe Connect and Adyen.

Founded by Sadra Hosseini and Alex Mackenzie who previously exited their hospitality tech startup Butlr to OrderPay in 2021, Ryft provides marketplace payment infrastructure that helps acquiring banks manage complex, multi-party transactions more efficiently. With this latest raise, the team aims to fuel its global expansion, ramp up hiring, and enhance its suite of payment automation tools.

The funding round was led by EdenBase, and joined by GPOS Investments, British Business Bank, Pembroke VCT, SidebySide, Ingenii VC, and a group of strategic angels, including current and former PayPal executives. The latest raise brings Ryft’s total investment to £7.4 million since its 2022 seed round.

Ryft has quickly established credibility in the space, securing an FCA licence and forming key partnerships with American Express, Visa, and Mastercard. It has also been recognised as a Mastercard Network Enablement Partner—an indicator of its growing relevance in the payment infrastructure space.

Commenting on the raise, CEO Sadra Hosseini said acquiring banks are under pressure to evolve: “The traditional payments model was built for one-to-one transactions. Today’s marketplaces demand something more flexible and cost-effective. Ryft enables acquiring banks to offer modern payment solutions without the usual complexity, cost or delays.”

Investors pointed to the team’s clarity of vision and deep understanding of the payments ecosystem. Jason Druker of SFC Capital said: “Ryft is tackling a major bottleneck in marketplace payments with real scalability. The team has executed strongly and continues to impress.”

Echoing the sentiment, EdenBase’s Eric Van der Kleij called the founders “proven operators” with firsthand insight into the challenges of integrating payment systems. “They’ve developed a powerful backend solution that makes compliance, speed and cost-efficiency a given for platform businesses,” he added.

As Ryft continues to build momentum, its mission is clear: to give financial institutions the tools they need to thrive in the era of digital commerce, without being locked into the constraints of legacy systems or high-fee third parties.

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Vypr raises £5m to fuel global expansion and launch next-gen consumer insights platform

Manchester-based scaleup Vypr has secured £5 million in fresh funding as it prepares for its next stage of growth, including international expansion and the launch of an enhanced version of its consumer insights platform.

The latest round includes £4 million from YFM Equity Partners—bringing the firm’s total investment in Vypr to £9.5 million—alongside £1 million from other investors and company leadership. Vypr’s total funding now stands at £13.4 million.

Founded to bring speed and scientific rigour to product development, Vypr enables brands to test and validate product ideas using real-time consumer feedback underpinned by behavioural science. The platform is used by major names such as Aldi, M&S, Brewdog, Kraft Heinz, and Red Bull to optimise both new and existing product ranges.

With an annual recurring revenue of over £6 million and a compound annual growth rate exceeding 40%, Vypr is now targeting expansion into markets including the US, Australia, and several key European countries. The raise will also support the rollout of new AI-powered tools and a self-serve platform designed for faster global insight delivery.

Chris Williams, CEO of Vypr, said the funding reflects growing confidence in the company’s trajectory: “There’s no clearer vote of confidence than a major investor significantly increasing its stake. With a strong team and a differentiated platform, we’re now in a position to scale globally while evolving our tech to better serve customers in FMCG and retail.”

Vypr’s leadership team includes Chairman Richard Law, former CEO of GBG, alongside investors such as Richard Young and Ranjit Singh Boparan, founder of 2 Sisters Food Group.

Sophie Tainton, Portfolio Director at YFM, highlighted Vypr’s continued growth and innovation: “The business has created a standout product intelligence platform and is now attracting significant attention internationally. With a clear roadmap and experienced leadership, Vypr is well-placed to scale into new markets while continuing to lead the way in data-led product development.”

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Datatonic names Scott Eivers as new CEO amid global growth plans

Cloud data and AI consultancy Datatonic has appointed Scott Eivers as its new global CEO, as the company continues to scale operations across the UK, Europe, and North America. The move signals a fresh chapter for the fast-growing firm, known for helping enterprise clients unlock business value through advanced data analytics, cloud engineering, and AI-driven innovation.

Eivers steps into the role following a successful tenure at Nordcloud (an IBM company), where he was instrumental in scaling the UK&I business and developing marketing and product functions. His earlier career spans senior roles at Vodafone, BT, and Gartner Consulting, where he led large-scale technology and business transformation projects across EMEA.

He succeeds founder Louis Decuypere, who now becomes Chairman. Decuypere, who has led the business since its inception nearly a decade ago, said the transition comes at the right time as the company enters a new phase of international expansion. “With Scott’s leadership and our amazing team, I am incredibly excited about the unprecedented success ahead,” he commented.

Datatonic has built a strong reputation as a go-to partner for enterprises looking to drive real-world impact through data and AI. A long-time Google Cloud Premier Partner, the firm has delivered solutions such as a GenAI platform deploying over 600 models for Vodafone, reduced churn rates for Cineverse, and productivity boosts via Google Cloud’s AgentSpace. Its offering spans everything from strategy and implementation to managed services and AI upskilling through its academy arm.

The appointment follows a series of strategic hires, including David Kress as Chief Revenue Officer, as Datatonic gears up to meet surging demand for specialist data and AI services in sectors where speed, scale, and technical depth are critical.

Scott Eivers said: “Datatonic is packed with some of the best data and AI talent in the business. I’m looking forward to helping the team scale even further and supporting our clients at a time when the right strategy and tech can completely transform outcomes.”

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usecure continues Human Risk Management winning streak in G2 Spring Report

Cybersecurity training specialist and Charles Preston founded usecure has once again emerged as a leader in G2’s Spring 2025 Report, building on its strong momentum from previous quarters. The Manchester-based company, which focuses on simplifying human risk management through tailored security awareness and monitoring tools, topped multiple performance categories in this season’s rankings.

Across both the enterprise and small business segments, usecure earned #1 positions in key areas of its Security Awareness Training offering, including Customisation, Reporting, and Baselining—three titles it retained from the Winter report. Notably, it also climbed to the top spot for Pricing Competitiveness in both the Enterprise and Small Business categories, reflecting growing market confidence in its accessible approach to cybersecurity training.

In addition, usecure's Dark Web Monitoring solution claimed the #1 ranking for Pricing Competitiveness, up from second place last quarter.

Kerryn Zendera, Head of Marketing at usecure, credited the company’s ongoing success to its user-first design philosophy: “At usecure, we’ve always believed that empowering people is the key to stronger cybersecurity. These results reflect how that approach continues to resonate—whether with enterprise clients or fast-growing startups.”

As organisations increasingly seek to reduce risk through human-centric security strategies, usecure’s momentum in the market suggests it remains a go-to platform for those looking to build more cyber-aware cultures across teams of any size.

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