Salesfire – a Middlesbrough company whose platform helps e-commerce stores to increase sales – has raised a further £2.75m from NPIF II – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).
The funding will enable the company to incorporate its latest AI-powered technology into its platform and create over ten new jobs in the next two years.
Salesfire’s software creates a comprehensive profile of every individual visiting a company’s website, and uses behavioural cues to understand their interests and shopping behaviour. It enables retailers to personalise the customer experience, guide shoppers through the buying funnel to improve conversion rates, then re-engage with them and build a one-to-one relationship.
The company is developing new AI technology that will give deeper insights into customer behaviour, such as recognising anonymous individuals with different user accounts, and will be particularly valuable once existing tracking tools such as cookies are phased out.
Salesfire is used by over 700 brands including Hamleys, Moss Bros, Select fashion, Sportsshoes.com and Trespass. Founded in 2017 by Rich Himsworth who had previously worked in software and marketing, it now employs 65 staff and has annual recurring revenue of £3m. The company first received backing from Mercia and NPIF in 2022 and the latest round brings the total it has raised to date to over £5m.
Rich Himsworth, founder and CEO, said: “Salesfire’s mission is to help retailers grow their e-commerce sites and drive revenue. Our new Salesfire AI technology will be revolutionary in giving them scope to identify more anonymous site traffic and opening up a whole new world of marketing and data opportunities. We are pleased to have the continued support of our investors in this latest round and really excited to be at the forefront of AI in e-commerce.”
Chris McCourt of Mercia Ventures said: “Salesfire stands out from competitors by offering the type of sophisticated features normally only available in more costly products. Its new AI technology will make the platform even more powerful and initial trials have shown it can further increase sales. This Investment will enable the business to accelerate its development and further differentiate itself in the market.”
NPIF II – Mercia Equity Finance can provide equity investments in the NPIF II area with a primary focus on the Yorkshire and Humber regions of City of Kingston upon Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.
The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.