News / AI
Bristol-born AI startup completes £480k funding boost to scale up
The female founders of Bristol-born AI startup Decima2 first met at the Merchant Venturers Building of the University of Bristol some eight years ago.
The foundations of the company were famously laid over a couple of beers at the Blue Lagoon on Gloucester Road.
Alexis Monks, who studied computer science at the University of Bristol, joined forces with Dr Torty Sivill to launch the startup, Decima2 in 2024.
The AI startup has recently raised more than £480,000 in pre-seed funding.
The foundations of the company were famously laid over a couple of beers at the Blue Lagoon on Gloucester Road
The round includes more than £100,000 in equity-free support alongside backing from Haatch, Y Combinator and Oxbridge AI Challenge & Oxbridge AI Society.
The investment will help accelerate development of Decima2’s AI-driven platform, designed to reduce wasted marketing spend for small and medium-sized businesses.
Monks said: “We started Decima2 for those who are frustrated with wasting limited marketing budgets on ads and campaigns they can’t properly measure.
“Our mission is to eliminate wasted marketing spend by giving smaller teams the same level of insight and optimisation traditionally only available to large enterprises.
Decima2 has recently raised more than £480,000 in pre-seed funding
“The platform uses causal modelling and generative AI to continually optimise Google Ads and high-converting landing pages, helping businesses double down on what genuinely drives results.”
The startup develops marketing technology that helps businesses understand which marketing activities actually drive growth.
Using causal modelling and generative AI, the platform analyses campaign data to measure the real impact of advertising and customer acquisition, helping companies optimise marketing budgets and make better strategic decisions.
The startup develops marketing technology that helps businesses understand which marketing activities actually drive growth
Its focus is on making advanced marketing analytics accessible to smaller companies that may not have in-house data science teams.
Sivill said: “Our focus has always been on applying rigorous causal methods to real commercial problems. This investment gives us the runway to deepen the technology and deliver a measurable impact for growing businesses.”
The founders returned to the University of Bristol to pitch their business at the university’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase 2025
The startup has already received recognition from initiatives including the Oxbridge AI Challenge, Technology for Marketing Awards, Women TechEU and Tech Nation Rising Stars programme.
In 2025, the founders returned to the University of Bristol to pitch their business at the university’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase, a Dragons’ Den-style event where they secured a £20,000 funding boost.
The female founders of Bristol-born AI startup Decima2 first met at the University of Bristol
The two female founders are geared up for the next phase of their startup which has already received the blessings and backing from the industry dons.
Bristol’s prominence as a hub of AI has grown rapidly over the years. In 2025, Lloyds Banking Group named Bristol as its ‘AI Capital’, just after the launch of the supercomputer Isambard-AI in summer. The University of Bristol was also named “AI University of the Year” in 2024.
All photos: Alexis Monks
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