Fireflai Secures Pre-Seed Investment to Tackle Product Data Challenges
Deal News | Mar 31, 2025 | DSW Ventures
DSW Ventures, the venture capital branch of Dow Schofield Watts, has made a pre-seed investment of £415,000 into Fireflai, a Manchester-based software startup. Co-founded by Tom Gardner and Craig Sumner, Fireflai develops solutions for the widespread issue of fragmented and inconsistent product data faced by manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. The company leverages advanced data science and AI technologies to address the high cost and complexity involved in managing such data. With former Matillion executive Laura Malins strategically advising the team, Fireflai aims to streamline product data integration, thus enabling significant savings and improved decision-making for its clients. This investment marks a major milestone for Fireflai, advancing its mission to establish itself as a leading technology company in Manchester.
Sectors
- Software Development
- Venture Capital
- Artificial Intelligence & Data Science
Geography
- United Kingdom – Fireflai is based in Manchester, UK, and DSW Ventures is also a UK-based venture capital arm.
Industry
- Software Development – The core business of Fireflai revolves around developing software solutions for product data management.
- Venture Capital – DSW Ventures is involved as a VC firm providing financial investment into early-stage companies like Fireflai.
- Artificial Intelligence & Data Science – Fireflai uses advanced AI and data science techniques to process and manage complex product data.
Financials
- 415,000 – The amount invested by DSW Ventures into Fireflai as a pre-seed investment.
Participants
| Name | Role | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fireflai | Target Company | Company | A Manchester-based software company founded to solve issues related to fragmented product data. |
| DSW Ventures | Bidding Company | Company | The venture capital arm of Dow Schofield Watts investing in Fireflai. |
| Tom Gardner | Co-founder and CEO | Person | Co-founder of Fireflai with entrepreneurial experience from Robiquity. |
| Craig Sumner | Co-founder | Person | Co-founder of Fireflai with expertise in digital process transformation. |
| Laura Malins | Non-executive | Person | Former Chief Product Officer of Matillion, now advising Fireflai. |
| Dow Schofield Watts | Parent Company | Company | The parent company to DSW Ventures. |