At Tended, our mission has always been clear: to eliminate preventable accidents and fatalities through cutting-edge safety technology. Today, we’re proud to share a major milestone on that journey, as we’ve secured a £2 million investment from leading venture capital firms Praetura Ventures and Blackfinch Ventures. This is crucial funding that will help us expand into new sectors and global markets.
Our geospatial technology has already made a real impact on railway safety. Tended’s positioning device alerts rail workers when they exit designated safe zones, allowing them to maintain a safe distance from onsite hazards, such as open lines and in-use heavy machinery.
Train companies are often fined millions for track deaths and near misses. And while near misses are at record lows, they do still occur, with 22 taking place in the 23/24 fiscal year, according to the Rail Safety and Standards Board’s latest Annual Health and Safety Report. There is still vital work to be done to ensure every worker gets home safely.
Using rail-specific geospatial data, we provide precise positioning to replace traditional and unscalable ways of ensuring worker safety, including paper-based diagrams and verbal briefings. Alerts are triggered in under 0.25 seconds, giving workers time to move out of harm’s way or respond to a potential danger, mitigating the risk of potential injury or fines. Tended’s solution also provides rail companies with asset tracking, providing a bird’s eye view of their worksites that makes it easier to identify and correct unsafe activities before they become incidents.
We’re proud to be working with major rail companies including Network Rail, with whom we’ve secured a seven-figure contract, and Siemens Mobility, who are now embedding our geofencing technology into their business-as-usual processes nationwide. Together with Siemens, we’ve also been developing new functionality that will play an integral role in worksite management.
This new round of investment, led by Praetura’s EIS Growth Fund, will allow us to expand our team across sales and engineering, strengthen our IP portfolio, and bring the next generation of our wearable safety device to market. We're also excited to welcome Praetura partner Andy Barrow to our board, alongside Ijaz Khan from Blackfinch Ventures.Together, Andy and Ijaz bring key experience including from other board positions across software businesses in their growth phase.
Since raising the investment, Tended has also begun its expansion into Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands. We’re collaborating with influential leaders within the rail sector such as Irish Rail and Translink to digitise worksites and drive safety innovation across borders.
Leo Scott Smith, CEO and founder of Tended, said: "Our mission is to put an end to preventable accidents and fatalities. Working with top-tier investors and partners, we're pushing the boundaries with geospatial technology and developing some exciting new capabilities that are moving us closer to this mission. These include Blackfinch and our new investor Praetura, and their backing will enable us to accelerate our company growth and expansion into new markets and territories. Expanding our geographical footprint will enable us to bring our technology to new customers and industries that can greatly benefit from our solutions. We're excited to capitalise on these new opportunities while continuing to drive the business forward."
Andy Barrow, partner at Praetura Ventures, said: "Railway infrastructure relies on constant maintenance and the continued efforts of trackside staff to ensure services operate smoothly and safely. This is why companies must do everything in their power to protect those who work on the railways. Tended instantly inspired us with its approach to advanced geospatial technology, which is already having a profound impact on the safety of trackside workers. This investment also marks our latest foray into transport and using technology to improve infrastructure. We’re looking forward to working closely with Leo and the team, living by our ‘more than money’ ethos to help the business attract more major clients and contracts in the UK and around the world.”
Richard Harley, Ventures Director at Blackfinch Ventures, said: “Blackfinch Ventures have been working closely with Tended for several years now, and have seen the team pivot twice as they adapt their solution and capabilities to the environments and sectors that will benefit from their technology. The company has been awarded multiple long duration contracts, strengthened its expertise and now has a unique position within the rail safety network. We are delighted to be part of this continued evolution and growth that's helping to protect workers around the world.”
