# Robert Hornby

> Robert Hornby is a funding round investor at NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance backing Biotechnology. See 12 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mercia-equity-finance)
- Total investments: 12
- Last investment: Apr 2026
- Lead investor: 67%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberthornby

Robert Hornby is a funding round investor at NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance focused on Biotechnology and Software. Robert Hornby is the venture capital investor at Mercia Ventures.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Biotechnology | 2 | 17% |
| Software | 1 | 8% |
| Automotive | 1 | 8% |
| Consulting | 1 | 8% |
| E-Commerce | 1 | 8% |

15 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Funding Round | 5 | 42% |
| Seed | 2 | 17% |
| Series A | 1 | 8% |
| Venture - Series Unknown | 1 | 8% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Alesi Surgical | Alesi Surgical was founded in 2009 to develop and commercialise products that improve the safety, efficacy and outcomes of surgical procedures. The company is a spin-out from the Welsh Institute for Minimal Access Therapy (WIMAT), a leading surgical training centre in the UK. Alesi Surgical has a unique level of access to experiencedsurgeons, surgical trainers and trainees, which allows it to identify issues in procedures and design devices to address these issues. | $7M | Venture - Series Unknown | Apr 21, 2026 |  |
| AssetCool | AssetCool is a thermal metaphotonics company. It produces photonic coatings and materials that enhance the functionality of electrical networks. | $13.7M | Series A | Jul 03, 2025 |  |
| Eventum Orthopaedics | Eventum Orthopaedics develops a device that will provide real-time measurements of the area during knee replacement operations, enabling surgeons to improve their decision-making. | $4.9M | Venture - Series Unknown | Mar 18, 2025 |  |
| Symphony Commerce | Shopblocks is a hosted ecommerce platform. If you want to run an online shop it gives you everything you need.Shopblocks is designed and built in Manchester, UK.The Shopblocks story begins in 2011. They were one part of a large team of digital marketing professionals. They had spent years designing and developing hundreds of websites forbusinesses large and small, in the UK and around the world. They launched online shops using every technology, every ecommerce platform and employing every tool available. But they disliked them all.The biggest struggle for us, and their clients, was change. Launching a website is one thing, but keeping it up to date and making regular improvements is expensive and time-consuming. Online businesses that can’t change and adapt become out of date very quickly. | $2.5M | Seed | Feb 03, 2025 |  |
| Alesi Surgical | Alesi Surgical was founded in 2009 to develop and commercialise products that improve the safety, efficacy and outcomes of surgical procedures. The company is a spin-out from the Welsh Institute for Minimal Access Therapy (WIMAT), a leading surgical training centre in the UK. Alesi Surgical has a unique level of access to experiencedsurgeons, surgical trainers and trainees, which allows it to identify issues in procedures and design devices to address these issues. | $6.6M | Venture - Series Unknown | Sep 19, 2024 |  |
| Ulemco | Ulemco specializes in the development of hydrogen technologies that allows commercial vehicles to run off hydrogen. | $6.3M | Venture - Series Unknown | May 15, 2024 |  |
| MGISS | MGISS offers software development and consulting services. | $762.8K | Venture - Series Unknown | Jan 29, 2024 |  |
| MGISS | MGISS offers software development and consulting services. | $762.8K | Venture - Series Unknown | Jan 29, 2024 |  |
| Symphony Commerce | Shopblocks is a hosted ecommerce platform. If you want to run an online shop it gives you everything you need.Shopblocks is designed and built in Manchester, UK.The Shopblocks story begins in 2011. They were one part of a large team of digital marketing professionals. They had spent years designing and developing hundreds of websites forbusinesses large and small, in the UK and around the world. They launched online shops using every technology, every ecommerce platform and employing every tool available. But they disliked them all.The biggest struggle for us, and their clients, was change. Launching a website is one thing, but keeping it up to date and making regular improvements is expensive and time-consuming. Online businesses that can’t change and adapt become out of date very quickly. | $1.9M |  | Oct 02, 2023 |  |
| Symphony Commerce | Shopblocks is a hosted ecommerce platform. If you want to run an online shop it gives you everything you need.Shopblocks is designed and built in Manchester, UK.The Shopblocks story begins in 2011. They were one part of a large team of digital marketing professionals. They had spent years designing and developing hundreds of websites forbusinesses large and small, in the UK and around the world. They launched online shops using every technology, every ecommerce platform and employing every tool available. But they disliked them all.The biggest struggle for us, and their clients, was change. Launching a website is one thing, but keeping it up to date and making regular improvements is expensive and time-consuming. Online businesses that can’t change and adapt become out of date very quickly. | $1.8M | Seed | Oct 02, 2023 |  |

10 of 12 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Greater Manchester Combined Authority](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/greater-manchester-combined-authority) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Mercia Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mercia-ventures) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [O2h Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/2h-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [AI Seed](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ai-seed-fund) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [ACF Investors](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/angel-cofund) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Ascension Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ascension-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

## About NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance

VC Fund · Henley In Arden, United Kingdom

Mercia Equity Finance is a regional investor that focuses initially on uncovering the hidden value. It uses both of its managed funds and its proprietary capital to invest across four distinct asset classes: venture, private equity, and debt, referred to as their 'Complete Capital Solution’. It aspires to be the first choice for investors,investees, and employees, and, by aspiring to be the first choice, they believe that Mercia will deliver superior returns for business owners, shareholders, and fund investors alike.

2 contacts available at NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Robert Hornby | Investor | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/robert-hornby-a64a |
| Will Clark | Fund Manager | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/will-clark-4f69 |

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Bpifrance](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bpifrance) — VC Fund
- [SFC Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/startup-funding-club) — VC Fund
- [HTGF (High-Tech Gruenderfonds)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/high-tech-gr%C3%BCnderfonds) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Robert Hornby invest in?

Robert Hornby invests primarily in Biotechnology, Software and Automotive startups, most often at Funding Round and Seed stage. Most of the 12 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Robert Hornby last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Robert Hornby closed in Apr 2026. Shizune tracks 12 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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