Altura secures €8 million to boost UK expansion

An artificial intelligence software company is expanding into the UK following a multi-million-euro investment.

Altura has secured €8 million (£6.7 million) in Series A funding to accelerate the growth and launch of what it claims are the world’s first autonomous artificial intelligence agents that are designed to help businesses win more tenders. 

Bosses at the Amsterdam-founded start-up, which has opened a London office, say they aim to transform the bid management process by automating time-consuming tasks such as finding relevant tenders, drafting proposals and analysing performance.

They add the funding will help Altura develop its agentic artificial intelligence system, which goes beyond chatbots, completing tasks and making decisions to help bid teams operate faster, smarter and more strategically.

Matthijs Huiskamp, founder and chief executive of Altura, said: “We see the UK as a perfect next step for Altura. 

“While artificial intelligence is still in the early stages of adoption in bid management, the UK is one of Europe’s largest markets, with £350 billion spent annually on public sector procurement. 

“With the new Procurement Act, we see an even bigger need for bid management software, since this will enable and encourage even more companies to participate in the tenders. 

“This creates more demand for software such as ours that helps companies work more efficiently to win more bids.

“This investment accelerates our vision, and our London launch brings it into one of the world’s busiest tender markets, giving UK organisations the speed and clarity they need to win more deals.”

The platform is already used by companies including EY, Adecco and Ricoh, and will now scale into new markets with backing from Octopus Ventures and existing investors Fortino Capital, Curiosity VC and Perry Oostdam and Pawel Smoczyk of P1ST investors.

Constanza Diaz, investor at Octopus Ventures, added: “Bid management is an essential function in many companies, directly linked to companies’ top-line growth. 

“Altura is redefining what modern bid processes look like through its artificial intelligence-powered solution, giving teams the automation and insights they need to operate at the next level.”

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