Wordnerds raises £1.6 million to “scale at pace”

A Gateshead-based AI company is set to transform how businesses analyse customer feedback, following a £1.6 million funding round, including £720,000 from Newcastle-based venture capital firm Northstar Ventures.

Wordnerds, known for its AI-powered customer insight tools that are used by organisations such as Sainsbury’s, M&S and Network Rail, intends to use the investment to grow its commercial and product development teams, as the company looks to “scale at pace”. 

By combining artificial intelligence with behavioural science, Wordnerds’ platform transforms data into actionable insights, helping to make sense of unstructured feedback from sources such as surveys, emails and social media. 

Their “sophisticated” and “market leading” tools identify root causes of issues and highlight positive trends in real time, enabling businesses to respond proactively and tailor their services to customer needs. The platform’s flexibility also ensures it can be customised for each client.

£720,000 of the investment was provided by Northstar Ventures, with £160,000 coming from the Northstar EIS Growth Fund and £560,000 from the North East Innovation Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

The remaining funds were from early-stage investors Stephen Zinser and Leigh Cresswell, alongside a £521,000 grant from Innovate UK’s Future Economy Investor Partnership programme.

Tom O’Neill, investment manager at Northstar Ventures, said: “We are very pleased to be providing further investment into Wordnerds, including a commitment from the new Northstar EIS Growth Fund.

“The team at Wordnerds has developed a sophisticated, market leading AI-enabled product which provides rapid and incisive analysis to consumer facing businesses.

“They have an impressive list of customers and have grown significantly since our initial investment.

“This round of funding will help them to grow their commercial and product development teams, which will enable Wordnerds to scale at pace. We’re excited to work with the team on the next stage of their development.”

Pete Daykin, chief executive officer at Wordnerds, added: “Northstar first invested in Wordnerds back in June 2019.

“They supported our team and our product through our first few years of rapid growth and have sustained us all along our journey with perspective and practical advice.

“As we enter a period of strong growth, we are excited to approach a new period of scaling with Northstar Ventures.

“We are also delighted to welcome new early-stage investors whose experience will be invaluable on the next leg of our journey.

“With some of the region’s keenest tech and software minds involved with the company at all levels we are confident we have created something remarkable at Wordnerds.”

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