Puma VCT portfolio company CameraMatics, the AI-powered video telematics and fleet intelligence platform, has successfully closed a major new funding round led by Blume Equity, with participation from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and Goodbody Capital Partners. 

This investment will support the next phase of CameraMatics’ international expansion and continued product innovation as the company scales its AI-powered fleet safety and operations platform across the UK, Ireland, Europe and the United States.

As part of the transaction, Puma VCT 13 and Puma Alpha VCT have realised a material level of cash proceeds, while retaining a meaningful minority equity stake in this fast growing and well capitalised company.

Founded in 2016 by fleet industry veterans Mervyn O’Callaghan and Simon Murray, CameraMatics has built one of the leading connected fleet intelligence platforms in the market, combining AI-driven video intelligence, advanced driver assistance systems and real-time operational analytics to help commercial fleet operators improve safety, reduce operational risk and lower carbon emissions.

Puma first invested €2.4 million in CameraMatics at the beginning of 2021 as part of a larger funding round of €4 million and supported it across three subsequent rounds of investment totalling £7.6 million.

Prior to investing, Puma had followed the business for two years but identified that point as a compelling opportunity to invest, as the company demonstrated increasing traction with larger fleet operators. Puma’s original investment was made to support further expansion of CameraMatics’ UK business and an expansion into the US and mainland Europe. Alongside successful execution of those expansion plans the businesses has continued to drive market-leading product development. 

The company has delivered consistently strong revenue growth since it was founded, expanding its customer base across international and domestic markets, accelerating enterprise adoption and securing leading blue-chip customers. Now serving nearly 1,000 fleet customers, CameraMatics supports operations across thousands of commercial vehicles throughout the UK, Ireland, the United States and mainland Europe. The company employs more than 150 people across offices in Dublin, Waterford, Darlington, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona and the United States.

Recent enterprise contract wins include major organisations such as Royal Mail, Calor Gas, Wolseley, XPO and DFDS, while in the United States the company has expanded significantly through deployments with NASDAQ-listed Installed Building Products (IBP), which operates across more than 250 depots nationwide.

Mervyn O’Callaghan, Co-Founder and CEO, CameraMatics:

“This is a landmark moment for CameraMatics. When Simon and I founded the company in 2016, our ambition was to build a global technology platform that would fundamentally improve safety standards across commercial fleets. Since founding the company, we have delivered strong year-on-year growth, expanded internationally and earned the trust of many of the world’s leading fleet operators.

“Puma has been a highly supportive partner to us over the past several years, backing the business at a critical stage in our growth through supporting our international expansion, product development and broader scale-up journey. Their support has helped us build strong momentum, and we are pleased they will continue with us as a minority investor as we enter this next phase.”

Ben Leslie, Investment Director, Puma Growth Partners, added: 

“This transaction marks a successful outcome for Puma, delivering a positive return for our investors whilst allowing them to retain meaningful exposure to the company’s future growth. Since our initial investment in 2021, the business has scaled significantly, with revenue growing almost fivefold, underpinned by a differentiated product offering, international expansion and increasing adoption by major fleet operators.

“This is also a fantastic example of the VCT and EIS schemes working in a positive way to fuel UK innovation by investing in ambitious, growing businesses like CameraMatics who are seeking funding to scale, create jobs and drive progress within their sectors.”

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