NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance, which is managed by Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II), has recently backed a Manchester-based software company building ultra-fast storage systems for AI workloads.
We contributed to the £5m investment into PEAK:AIO alongside a Silicon Valley investor, with the round led by Pembroke VCT, with NPIF II.
In doing so, we’re helping Peak AIO solve the data storage industry’s biggest problems: how information is stored and accessed.
The new funding will support PEAK:AIO’s global expansion, grow its team, and accelerate development of its scale-out high-performance platform to meet the rising global demand. Its software delivers significantly faster performance while using less energy and physical space compared to traditional storage systems.
AI represents one of the fastest-growing technological transformations in history, with the global market expected to surge from $189 billion in 2023 to $4.8 trillion by 2033. PEAK:AIO directly addresses this challenge with advanced technology that enables organisations to scale AI more cost-effectively and sustainably, turning a global problem into an opportunity for long-term impact.
PEAK:AIO has already demonstrated strong early traction, with its revenue and partner networks both quadrupling over the past year. Its platform has been implemented in institutions where traditional storage technology was preventing AI progress. This includes The NHS, King’s College London, Zoological Society of London, and notably, Los Alamos National Laboratory, a US Government research facility that received $5.24 billion in funding last year.
Mark Klarzynski, Co-Founder and CSO of PEAK:AIO said: “AI has created demands that traditional IT was never designed to handle. From the start we built PEAK:AIO to answer those challenges, and our success in the UK quickly led to adoption in the US. This investment is about more than growth, it is about backing a UK company that is setting new standards in AI infrastructure worldwide.”
Louise Chapman, NPIF II Fund Principal at Praetura Ventures, which is merging with Par Equity to form PXN Group (subject to FCA approval), said: “Our NPIF II investment into PEAK:AIO comes at a very opportune time for the AI sector, with Google, Microsoft and Nvidia all announcing plans to invest tens of billions into the UK. Going forward, this news will create even bigger opportunities for companies such as PEAK:AIO, which has already been enjoying impressive traction to date – both in the UK and on a global scale. We’re now looking forward to being part of the company’s next chapter and supporting the team.”
Sue Barnard, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “It’s exciting to see a Northern business at the forefront of the AI sector, developing innovative solutions that advance the technology. Funding plays a crucial role in accelerating businesses in their growth journey and this latest round of funding will help create new jobs and scale the business for a successful future.”
PEAK:AIO is led by founder and Chair (and Acting CTO) Mark Klarzynski, who has spent over 35 years pioneering data innovation with three previous successful exits in enterprise technology. He is joined by CEO Roger Cummings who has led six exits, including two to IBM and others to AWS, Hitachi, and HPE, and Chief of AI and Cyber Security Strategy and Co-Founder Eyal Lemberger, who brings 25 years’ experience in AI infrastructure and cyber forensics.
