Latest news with #NOIACapital
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
British Army supplier founded by Tony Blair's son raises $20m
A start-up co-founded by Sir Tony Blair's son Nick has raised $20m (£15m) to develop simulation technology for the British Army and Nato. Skyral, which is working on next-generation training programmes for the military, has secured new funding from existing investor NOIA Capital. Accrete Capital will take a minority stake. Nick Blair, the son of the former Labour prime minister and co-founder of Skyral, said the deal was an endorsement of the 'excellence of UK innovation'. It comes as the company awaits the outcome of a £2bn bidding process to redesign the British Army's training systems and technology. Skyral is part of a consortium which is among the frontrunners to become the Army's strategic training partner. This would see it handling exercises for 60,000 British soldiers each year and supplying everything from logistical support to virtual simulations and data analysis. Skyral's technology means it can create 'digital twins' that model human behaviour or real-world environments. This allows the military to run simulations in a virtual world alongside real training exercises. The Ministry of Defence is in the process of picking between two final bids to begin work next year. Rival bids from British contractor QinetiQ and French business Leonardo have already been ruled out. Future wargaming could see soldiers conducting exercises with their battleline units and military hardware, while away from the frontline analysts and officers simulate logistical challenges, cyber attacks or managing civilian populations. Sir Keir Starmer this week revealed his plans to boost military spending as part of the strategic defence review, with a focus on new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), drones and cyber warfare. Jason Kennedy, Skyral's chief executive and another co-founder of the business, said the defence review had 'prioritised digital advantage', an area where Skyral had expertise. He said: 'We simulate really large complex systems. We can simulate the whole critical national infrastructure of a country, or a city, or its people. We help train for the modern world.' Mr Blair joined Skyral as chairman last year. He is listed as one of its co-founders. His brother, Euan, runs Multiverse, a business that helps train apprentices using technology and is valued at £1bn. Skyral was previously part of £2bn technology business Improbable, but was spun out of the UK company two years ago. Improbable had spent more than $100m developing Skyral before selling it to Luxembourg-based fund NOIA Capital in 2023. It had previously worked with the British and American military as well as Nato.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Skyral Secures USD 20 Million Series A funding to Accelerate Modelling & Simulation Technology
NOIA Capital leads $20 million investment in British tech innovator Skyral, in partnership with Accrete Capital Partnership marries best of British tech with European and MENA private equity expertise Investment to support R&D, expand global team, and accelerate solution delivery across defence, national security, healthcare and infrastructure LONDON, June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BRITISH modelling and simulation software company Skyral today announced that it has raised USD 20 million in a Series A funding round led by European venture capital firm NOIA Capital. Led jointly by Co-founders and Executive Directors Jason Kennedy and Naomi Hulme, Skyral has quickly established itself as an international leader in advanced modelling and simulation technology. The firm creates strategic digital twins that model human behaviours alongside real-time and projected infrastructure systems such as transit, power, and telecommunications networks of entire cities and countries. With over USD 100 million already invested in R&D, Skyral's software-driven approach and cross-sector partnerships have led to rapid market adoption across defence, national security, healthcare, and infrastructure sectors globally. The company has built a strong track record working with the UK, US, and NATO partners while successfully diversifying its services, with over 60 percent of contracts now coming from both the public and private sectors. Nick Blair, co-founder and Chairman of Skyral, said: "This investment is a strong endorsement of both Skyral's technology and its ability to solve complex global challenges, as well as the excellence of UK innovation. Our digital twin software is at the forefront of a new era in decision-making, where virtual models power real-world transformation. With the backing of NOIA and our other investors, we are well-positioned to scale faster, deepen the capabilities of our platform, and deliver greater value to our customers worldwide." Skyral's mission is to help governments and businesses face unprecedented challenges by experimenting in the virtual world before making critical decisions in the real one. The impact of Skyral's technology has been far-reaching. It helped shape the requirements for the Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP) during a pathfinder with the British Army and has now been downselected as part of the Omnia Training consortium alongside Raytheon, Rheinmetall, Capita, and Cervus, paving the way for the next generation of collective training. Skyral's digital twins have been deployed to tackle complex public health challenges such as modelling the impact of COVID scenarios for the UK government during the pandemic, identifying clinical and policy pathways to reduce child stunting in Indonesia over 50 times faster than conventional methods, and large-scale infrastructure programmes. Jérôme Lhoist, partner at NOIA Capital, said: "We believe Skyral represents the next generation of AI-enabled strategic modelling and simulation technology. Their unique combination of digital twin capabilities and AI-powered analytics offers transformative potential across defence, national security, healthcare and infrastructure. We're excited to support their vision and help scale their impact globally." This funding round follows Skyral's rapid growth since its founding two years ago. Skyral intends to use the new capital to expand its team, accelerate product development, and strengthen its position in key markets across Europe, North America, and Asia. For more info, visit: About Skyral Founded in June 2023, Skyral has rapidly established itself as a leader in creating virtual representations of complex environments, enabling faster and smarter decision-making. Skyral's approach combines data visualisation, artificial intelligence, and digital twin capabilities to provide holistic solutions tailored to user needs. Skyral is one of the world's leading strategic modelling and simulation (M&S) software companies, using digital twin technology to transform defence, national security, healthcare and infrastructure globally. By integrating proprietary data with public infrastructure and human behaviour models, Skyral offers comprehensive insights that empower decision-makers across various industries. For more info, visit: Photo - View original content to download multimedia: Sign in to access your portfolio
